Representación pedagógica

As was discussed in Chapter One, the aim of this thesis was to evaluate the proposed theoretical model determining loyal Arab guests’ perspectives of staying at five-star hotel chains. The focus on this type of customer was because the hotel industry has recently become interested in practicing relationship marketing with loyal customers (i.e., practicing different types of loyalty schemes), as they are more profitable than others (see Section 2.6). Not only can this interest be seen in the industry, but also in the literature. For example, Bowen and Shoemaker (1998) tested their model of relationship marketing from loyal customers' perspectives at luxury hotels in the USA, and Kim and Cha (2002) tested their model by using a sample of loyal guests at five- star hotels in Seoul. Thus, the focus of both practitioners and academics suggest that loyal customers are more able to evaluate their perceived relationships with hoteliers than others. With that in mind, it is assumed that this thesis will provide a new insight into how loyal Arab guests at five-star hotels view their relationships with hoteliers, which has not been investigated before.

To approach loyal Arab guests, international five-star hotel chains have been chosen because previous research indicates that five-star hotels use relationship marketing practices more frequently than midrange or budget hotels (Kim and Cha, 2002). Loyal Arab customers formed the final sample of this thesis due to the similarities Arabs have in many aspects. These include Arabic language, religion and other cultural components (i.e., shared social heritage, visions of social reality, value orientations, beliefs, customs, norms and traditions), artistic achievements, knowledge or thought, and the sciences (Barakat, 1993). In addition, Nydell (1987) points out that most Arabs share the same basic beliefs and values across national and social class boundaries. She also maintains that “although there many differences among Arab countries, the Arabs are a clearly-defined cultural group, members of the Arab nation” (p.18). According to the Jordanian tourism ministry (2005), 88.3 % of tourist arrivals in Jordan are from Arabian countries during 2005 (see Table 4.9). Consequently, Arab tourists who travel to Jordan are unlikely to be culturally different from Arabic

travelers to other countries. Therefore, in agreement with Kent (2001), the sample frame in this thesis that can be most readily accessed (guests in five-star hotel chains in Jordan) is considered as the target population.

Table 4.9: All Arrivals by Point of Entry and Region from Jan. - Dec. 2005

Source: Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Bold face indicates numbers of Arab tourists including Jordanians.

(Total Arabs non-Jordanian + total Jordanians)/grand total = 88.3%

Jordan has been chosen as a place to approach the sample of this thesis because: 1) Jordan is centrally located between Arabic countries and a good destination for Arab tourists; 2) Jordan has a sufficient number of five star hotel chains to provide a large sample size; 3) Jordan is a member of the United Arabic Nation Union; and 4) the researcher has access to five-star hotels in Jordan, as he is a tourism lecturer in Jordan and with extensive contacts throughout the local industry. Thus, he was in position to control expenses and address problems that may arise in data collection.

According to the Jordanian tourism ministry, there are 21 five-star hotels in Jordan. All but three of these hotels were invited to participate in this survey to obtain a representative sample and maximize the response rate. These three hotels were excluded because they were not members of international hotel chains. As a result, fifteen hotels agreed to participate in this research (see Table 4.10). These hotels were located in different parts of Jordan, and this widespread sample helps reduce any

Region By Sea By Land By Air Total

Africa 448 4,487 7,618 12,553

Americans 6,109 52,065 136,708 194,882

Asia & Pacific 4,936 90,439 83,752 179,127

Europe 19,707 446,261 184,660 650,628 U.N 3 788 134 925 Arabs (non Jordanian) 329,966 4,542,776 471,331 5,344,073 Sub Total 361,169 5,136,816 884,203 6,382,188 Jordanians 37,813 1,920,352 540,125 2,498,290 Grand Total 398,982 7,057,168 1,424,328 8,880,478

potential geographical bias (Wong, 2004). In regard to the sample size, it is not possible to determine a priori the overall number of loyal guests staying at each hotel,

as this is commercially sensitive information.

To identify loyal guests, this thesis applied the definition that ‘loyal guests’ are individuals who have stayed ten nights or more a year with a particular hotel chain. This criterion has been chosen for two main reasons. First, there is disagreement in the literature, particularly in regard to hospitality, on the definition of ‘loyal customer’. For example, Kim and Cha (2002) collected data from twelve five-star hotels in Seoul, based on the criteria that a loyal guest stayed 20 nights or more a year, while Bowen and Shoemaker (1998) considered a loyal guest as someone who stays at a particular hotel at least three times. Second, within the industry, each hotel has different classifications for defining loyal guest, and thus different loyalty programs are designed. In the Holiday Inn hotel chain, for example, a program called “priority club” is adopted, allowing guests to receive advantages from a card he/she holds recording the number of nights stayed. If the guest stays fifteen qualifying nights, he/she receives a gold card, but to get a platinum one, they need to stay at least 50 qualifying nights (see Holiday Inn, 2005) In contrast, the Hyatt hotel chain starts its loyalty program from the first stay (see Hyatt, 2005). Taking the literature and industry perspectives into account, a discussion with four of the hoteliers established ten nights or more as the most appropriate criterion for use in this thesis.

The type of sample used in this thesis was a ‘purposive sample’, in which the full range of hotel guests was surveyed. Those who met the criteria of being 1) Arab and 2) loyal (i.e., spent 10 night and more in one hotel chain) were included in the data to be analysed, while others were omitted. Malhotra (1996, p.366) defines purposive sample as “a form of convenience sampling in which the population elements are purposely selected based on judgment of the researcher”. Similarly, Dillon et al. (1993, p.229) view purposive sampling as involving “selecting certain respondents for participation in the study presumably because they are representative of the population of interest and/or meet the specific needs of the research study”. This type of sample was chosen for use in this thesis, as it is based on those units or elements contribute to answering the particular research question at hand (i.e., Churchill, 1995; Kinnear and Taylor, 199

Table 4.10: Locations and Number of Hotels, Rooms and Beds (2005) Location Name of the Hotel No. of hotels Rooms Beds

Amman 12 3.636 6455

Amman Marriott 293 400

Crown Plazza Amman 302 444

Four Seasons** 366 357

Grand Hayyat Amman 366 940

Holiday Inn 218 310

Jordan Inter-Continental 440 650

Le Meridien Amman 432 864

Le Royal 282 564

Radisson SAS Amman 260 440

Regency Palace 300 550

Sheraton Amman** 267 536

Kempinski 283 400

Dead Sea 2 556 1056

Dead Sea Marriott 216 376

Dead Sea Movenpick 340 680

Petra 5 613 1098 Grand View* 133 266 Nabatean Castle* 92 176 Petra Marriott 100 161 Petra Movenpick 183 306 Taybet Zaman* 105 189 Aqaba 2 490 804 Movenpick /Aqaba 255 380 Sheraton/Aqaba** 235 424 Total 21 5298 9413

Source: Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. ** Hotels that have not agreed to participate in the study.

* Hotels that have not been included in the survey, because they are not international hotels chains.