Spatial competition in the lodging industry
Abstract
The importance of location for hotels is widely acknowledged. However, the research effort to date has been somewhat unsatisfactory in integrating and operationalizing location to explain operating performances and competition of hotels. Most notably, while acknowledging the importance of location in agglomeration effects and defining markets (such as by utilizing zips codes and administrative boundaries), the prior studies have utilized location as the dominant attribute, but at the same time, shared a number of untested assumptions. Developing hypotheses based on applicable literature, this dissertation searches for empirical evidences in the circumstances when some of these assumptions are not expected to hold. In the first essay, the assumption regarding agglomeration externalities and competition between undifferentiated hotels is tested. The second essay addresses the fixed nature of geographic boundaries in hotel submarkets, implicitly suggested by the literature. The third essay examines the effect of hotel occupancy tax on regional competition for lodging demand due to cross-price elasticity, whereas conventional models treat the effect of tax unique in the light of own-price elasticity. Through testing of econometric models significant support is found for the hypotheses in all three essays.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Jang, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Management|Commerce-Business|Regional Studies
Off-Campus Purdue Users:
To access this dissertation, please log in to our
proxy server.