BS 3149 Research Methods in a Hospitality Context

Student ID: 1116639 Robert Gordon University Business Hotel Management School BA Hotel and Hospitality Management Course Research Methods in a Hospitality Context Motivation of people to visit themed hotels Module Co-ordinator: Heather Robinson

Submission Date: 13:00 19th December 2011 Word Count: 4200
Even though the themed hotels are still providing the main commodity – food and bed, their general product is experience, for example the hotel under the water, hotel in the place where the bunker used to be or the jail hotel, people cannot get the same feelings from staying in usual hotel. Nowadays themed hotels are becoming more and more popular among the travelers, as people are interested in different hotel concepts.
As themed hotels are quite a new concept there is no clear definition of it, but the Co-founder of unusualhotelsoftheworld.com (the biggest booking system for themed hotels) Steve Dobson defined it as a hotel that has an extreme difference from the other hotels with its own concept. Moreover themed hotels are mostly small businesses which are not belonging to the chain. Small businesses have its benefits; in that case themed hotels are different also. They are (Moriarty, Jones, 2003): * Most of the time the decisions are made by the owner * The contact between owner and the customer is closer * More flexible to changes * More innovative
Themed hotels are usually not attracting business people, as their needs are different, they normally coming for the conventions and meetings but themed hotels do not have appropriate facilities for that; the potential customers are leisure travelers who are open mind and ready for some new, unusual and even sometimes extreme