Individual research Project

Accuracy of hotel star rating in United Kingdom

B00226378

Word count:3241

Tables of Contents Introduction 1

Research Aims and Objectives 2

Research philosophy 3-4

Literature review 5-7

Research design 8-9

Sampling strategy 10-11

Limitations 12

Ethical considerations 13

References 14

Introduction

The research topic is on the accuracy of hotel star ratings in United Kingdom. The grading of hotel standards are often taken for granted by the industry itself as well as the guests. However, they are actually any prospective customer’s first indicator or the travel agent of the service level as well as playing a role on a customer’s comfort expectations during their stay in the hotel.

For most parts in Europe hotel grading is either implemented or legislated by the appointed official of the government or directed by the national hotel associations which is the case in Northern as well as Central Europe.

In United Kingdom, a special case is directed as the Regional Tourists’ boards and also two motoring organisations which are (AAA and RAC) are also part of the hotel grading(VisitBritain, VisitScotland and VisitWales).

Certainly, given the importance of hotel classification as a marketing tool, it still has received inadequate attention. A lack of consistency in standards within various countries and also across the borders can usually lead to disappointment and confusion on the client’s part. The client’s expectations may be obtained from various past experiences. Understanding the accuracy of the star ratings is crucial for hotels to improve or maintain their services in order to keep up with their star rating as well consistency of their clients.

Research Aims

This research will explore and focus on how accurate the current hotel star ratings are at the present moment and also based on the reviews from customers varying from 1*,3* as well as 5* hotels. In addition the research will also use a proposition theoretically based on the testing as Saunders et al (2009) describes it. The research will also focus on the effectiveness of the grading standards and how they can be improved relating to Maslow’s theory which is directly to the satisfaction of the customer’s needs with regards to their hotel experience.

A combination of primary and secondary data of the research should conclude based on the results and information gathered as well as various research limitations which will be discussed later in the proposal.

Research Objectives:

According to Maylor and Blackmon (2005), objectives set must follow the SMART test at the same time accoding to Sekaran &Bougie (2009) explain tally with the overall purpose or research topic.

Objectives for the research include:

To find out how the UK official grading system works To find out more on the main organisations involved in the management and

enforcement of the ratings To find out the standards of each hotel based on its star rate (1,3,5*) and who

made the decision of their star rate. To find out if the standards are maintained to keep up with hotel’s star rate. To evaluate current measures in the system as well as the actual customer

review star rates.

Research philosophy

‘A research philosophy is an over-arching term relating to development of knowledge and the nature of knowledge’ (Saunders and Thornhill 2007).The philosophy adopted will contain important assumption about the way the world is viewed according to the researcher.

According to Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2000), research paradigm can be defined as a frame with is broader, which includes perception, several theories understanding as well as beliefs of various theories and practices which can be used when a research is being conducted.

In addition according to Gliner and Morgan (2000), ‘paradigm is a way of thinking about and conducting a research’ with a concept that will influence the researchers beliefs and values in order to provide arguments which are valid and terminology for results which are reliable. Therefore the philosophy will be based on how the author views and belief’s on how to undertake the study taking into account the research objectives and aims.

Easter-by-Smith et al, (2006) discusses three various components of research paradigm for the research philosophy and these include:

Epistemology » This involves the researchers view based on the nature of reality. This is also an excellent way to explore as well as investigate the real world.

Ontology» The researchers view of the nature of reality. Our assumptions on the way the world works.

Axiology» ‘philosophy that studies judgements about the role of values’ (Saunders et al, 2009).

Pillars of research philosophy:

Positivism: this approach mainly focuses on quantitative research and Trochim (2006) suggests that this is a perspective which is philosophical that actually aims to explain various experiences. The philosophy aims to uncover the truth about how things are in order to control and predict which can be used in the research as one of the main objectives is to find out the current ratings, their accuracy and if they are being maintained depending on the star rate of each hotel.

Interpretivism: Advocates the necessity for the researchers to be able to understand social actors as a role played by humans and understanding the differences. Emphasis is mainly drawn to the difference between researches conducted amongst people instead of objects such as computers.

This can also be considered part of the research since research done will be based on the customer reviews as well which is also part of the objectives.

Due to one of the researchers objective to find out and test customers’ expectations of the star of hotels deductive approach will be used.

Literature review

According to (Boswell &Cannon 2009), literature review analyses, explore and exercise the actual area of the research as well as showing the gap which is between the knowledge and curiosity of the researcher of the subject area. The purpose of the literature review is to avoid duplication of the work and to enable the researcher for development of an awareness of various data and useful sources. Conducting literature review has its advantages for the researcher which can include:

The discovery of relevant ideas to the proposed research Find out or recognise any relevant methods which could be related to the

research Identifying of any opposing views e.g. customers against the rate the hotel

was given etc. Locating of similar works of the research Help in increasing the knowledge of that particular area (Hotel industry) Hel in discovering relevant ideas and information to the research proposed Avoiding various mistakes which other authors may have made As well as recognising a gap which literature can be added to It is the best in helping with the study’s establishment. (Houser 2007)

(Greenfield 196)

Reviewing the literature will also help the researcher improve their understanding of research approaches as well as knowing when, where and why it might be used.

The skills important during the literature review are:

Being able to evaluate the information read And relating it to various other information obtained.

According to Saunders et al (2009) they are 3 literature sources which can be used for the research and below is an overview.

(Saunders et al 2009 pg69)

The research will have the use of Primary literature will be in the form of hotel reports as well as emails back and forth from various hotels which will take part. However secondary literature will be the main sources since primary sources are usually difficult to trace and also because they can be accessed easily through the use of:

Journal articles: These sources will be accessed through the university banner subscription on Athens database for free with use of both academic and professional journals websites such as (online.sagepub.com).

Books: Wider range or various topics are often pulled together in a book therefore an important theoretical element in assisting with the research methods and clarifying some of the research objectives. For this research well known experienced authors will form a theoretical base during the study such as (Timothy L. G Lockyer and Buttler).

In addition tertiary sources will be used to help the researcher find secondary and also primary research which includes e.g. abstracts or indexes (Saunders et al 2009).

The literature review used will firstly establish key words and the internet will b used as a literature source to gain vast information from the World Wide Web.

Initial dictionaries, handbooks, reading, thesaurus (saunders et al 2009)

In order to produce keywords which will be the most relevant for the research, the researcher will have brainstorm sessions with material support that includes: dictionaries, handbooks, thesauruses as well as encyclopaedias in general as well as for subjects which are specific when carrying out objectives in the study.

For specific information or a specific site the search engines such as Google and the Google scholar and relevant information will be filtered to obtain up to date information. Dictionaries will also be used to help the researcher understand various terminologies.

An evaluation of the literature attained will be conducted with the use of sufficiency and relevance during the study.

The research will also use appropriate standard Harvard referencing to acknowledge all authors and information obtained to avoid plagiarism.

Research design and strategies

According to (Blumberg, Cooper and Schindler, 2005) they are various methods of research design which differ in detail, however altogether they give the following essentials of a research design:

A design is time-based and actively planned A design directs its source selection as well as the types of information It outlines each research activity procedures Always bases on its question of the research

According to Saunders et al (2003), research strategy is a methodology used to assist the researcher so that they will be able to investigate their issue for their research. The strategy will be used as a plan generally to help the researcher answer questions of the research in a way that is systematic.

A strategy which is effective includes: the objectives of the research which are already set, questions of the research as well as data collection resources to assist the researcher when conducting the study of the research in a manner that is effective.

According to (Houser 2007), an effective strategy during the study of research includes a clear analysis of the literature review which has been discussed, interviews, case studies, experiments, surveys as well as observations which will also be included in this research. The research will use the strategies above based on the nature of the study.

Case study: According to Robson (2002:178) a case study is defined as

‘A strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence’

This is a useful way when conducting the research as a rich understanding on the hotel industry will be gained. Triangulation will be used as different collecting of data techniques can be used since various star rate hotels will be involved in the research within the study of the hotel industry and its accuracy.

This will be based on at least 12 hotels all varying from 1*, 3* and 5* hotels therefore case studies from all hotels will be useful as well as organisations that manage and enforces hotel star rates.

Surveys: This is one of the popular methods of gathering data for any business. This method allows the researcher to obtain quantitative data which can be used analyse quantitatively with the use of descriptive as well as inferential statistics. This is one of the main methods which will be used to analyse and tackle the following objectives:

To find out if the standards are maintained to keep up with hotel’s star rate. To evaluate current measures in the system as well as the actual customer

review star rates.

Surveys: will be used with a semi-structure to allow guests to add any comments although the majority of the surveys will be structured with the use of likert scale. The researcher can conduct this online as well as through postal addresses from hotels guests for feedback.

Experiment: The purpose of an experiment is to as assess whether a change in a particular independent variable has an effect on another depended variable Hakim 2000). This is also an appropriate way of tackling ways to find out is the hotel is still maintaining its standards of star rate as consistency is important. This can be done through classic experiments of various visits at the same hotel and results from different days visited by various guests as well as the same star rate hotels standards.

Interviews: If possible interviews with the organisations that enforce star rates like AA can be conducted with one of their colleagues involved in star rating in order to obtain first hand information from the organisations and find out more of their criteria in hotel grading through the use of qualitative information which will be used to evaluate the current measures.

The two methods qualitative and quantitative will be used to collect data and they will be combined together.

(Saunders et al 2009) explains quantitative research as a ‘predominantly used as a synonym for the collection of data such as (graphs or statistics) that are used which generates numerical data. This is also used in the research through the survey’s results and graphs and statistics will be used to support the study and explain results. Qualitative on the other hand generates or uses non numerical data which can be collected through the interviews and also analysed through various surveys undertaken with comments added which will help in the process of concluding the research of Hotel accuracy.

Questionnaires and surveys will be carried out on all 12 hotels to be assessed as well as telephone interviews with other guests if possible to find out feedback on each hotel star rate.

All the surveys and questionnaire will include a covering letter which states the purpose of the survey and maintain anonymity and a box to post the feedback will be placed on each hotels front desk for guests leaving to post their feedback before they leave the hotel.

Sampling Strategy

The purpose of sampling according to (Blumberg, Cooper and Schindler, 2005) is to select some of the population’s elements in order to draw up conclusions which will be based on the entire population. They are various reasons for sampling and these include:

A greater speed of the collection of data Offers an economic advantage as is it lower in cost unlike conducting a

census which may be expensive and timely. Accuracy of results obtained is greater Populations elements availability

They are two main sampling methods which include:

Probability sampling And Non probability sampling

Probability sampling is based on random selection concept- this method ensures that each population element has a known chance of selection that is non-zero.

Cluster sampling will be used in the research as it has a combination of stratifies and also which collects elements of the population in this case of the guests.

For this research multi-stage area sampling will be used through the use of surveys in this case in the hotel industry (Gliner & Morgan, 2000) due to the Clumster being of equal size as the hotels assessed on are the same but in 4 different categories 1*, 2*, 3* as well as 5*.

Non-Probability Methods: Non-probability method differs as probability of the chosen specific population members if unknown. This means that the it is often judgement used instead of probability. The method is often used for interview surveys which will also be used in this research. It is also a type of stratified sample where cases selection is purely non random (Barnet 1991). Advantages of using this sample include:

A frame of sampling is not required. And It is of great use for large population which will be used in various hotels

Purposive sampling: This will also be used as it enables the researcher to be able to select cases which will answer any research questions. Data obtained will vary and be categorised with the use of gender and age range when conducting the surveys.

Maximum variable sampling will also be used to collect data explaining and describing key themes for observation and (Patton 2002) argues that this is therefore strength. He argues that this should be done by identifying characteristics before selecting the sample and this will be done in the research for various hotels feedback from the customers.

Research Limitations

Following this research, they are various limitations which can affect this study and this includes:

The cost of travelling up and down to various hotels which will be chosen and to ensure all questionnaires are collected on time therefore help from close people can be used to help around during the research.

They may not be enough responses from other guests in order to help evaluate the accuracy of each and every hotel therefore in the process if this is happening more hotels will need to be asked for each star rate to take part in the research.

The managers and enforcers of the star rates may not be able to allow me to interview them therefore other options like emailing them back and forth or asking for a telephone interview may be helpful.

The time required to carry out research effectively may be limited as delays can occur as dealing with the organisations that set the hotel star rates may take longer than anticipated and if this occurs secondary data from their websites will have to be used to find out the standards as well as online academic journals.

Some hotels mainly chosen in the first place may not be willing to participate therefore trying again until all 12 hotels agree will be essential.

However this can be taken into account therefore plans on how to overcome these limitations will be considered and dealt with as well as adapting to situations if they occur in order to reach the goal of finding out the accuracy of hotel star ratings in the UK.

Ethical Considerations

When carrying out the research they are ethical considerations which the research must take into account

Ethical treatment of participants: In general research conducted by the researcher must be design for it not to cause discomfort, harm, pain or loss of privacy therefore it is important during the research to safeguard against issues like that by following the following guidelines during this study:

1. Explain the benefits of the study Understand and clearly explain the participates protection and rights Ensure informed research is obtained

Informed consent: Informed consent is just a matter of disclosing the procedures which will be carried out for the proposed survey which will be conducted during the study fully before requesting permission with the research.

Debriefing participants during the study: debriefing involves various activities which actually follows a data of collection:

clarification of any deception explanation of hypothesis goal and purpose of the study results sharing post study Post- study up of any medical attention as well as physical attention.

(Blumberg, Cooper and Schindler, 2005)

Rights of privacy: once confidentiality is guaranteed by the participant to the researcher, it is then important to protect the participant’s confidentiality in several ways during this study which include:

Ensuring that documents obtained are signed non-disclosure Restricting any access to the participants identification Ensuring that revealed information of the participant has a written consent. Restring any access to various data instruments where participants are

identified Not disclosing data from sub-sets.

References

Bibliography: Blumberg, B., Cooper, D. and Schindler, P. (2005). Business research methods. 1st ed. London: McGraw-Hill.

Boswell, C. & Cannon, S. (2009) Introduction to nursing research: incorporating evidence-based practice 2nd ed. UK: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Cohen, L. Manion, L. and Morrison, K.R.B. (2007) Research methods in education, 6th Edition. Routledge

Common standards for hotel and accommodation AA: [Online]: Available: http://www.theaa.com/travel/accommodation_restaurants_grading.html accessed (16/04/14)

.Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S. (2006) Business Research Method, 9th Edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Gliner, J.A. & Morgan, G.A. (2000) Research methods in applied settings: an integrated approach to design and analysis. USA: Routledge.

Kasi, P. (2009) Research: What, Why and How? A Treatise from Researchers to Researchers, 1st Edition. Bloomington: AuthorHouse.

Patton, M.Q. (2002) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods(3rd edn). Thousand Oaks, CA:

Sage

Saunders, M. et al. (2009) Research methods for business students, 4th Edition. London: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R. (2010) Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach, 5th Edition. Hoboken, N.J./Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.div>