Original scientific paper
Specialist lodging in the USA: Motivations of bed and breakfast accommodation guests
Janice Scarinci
; Hotel, Restaurant and Resort Management Northwood University, West Palm Beach, USA
Harold Richins
; School of Travel Industry Management, Honolulu, USA
Abstract
Interest in specialist lodging has become prominent in the United States as well as elsewhere in the world. Some of the world trends in tourism that are influencing this niche market are greater competition, increased market fragmentation and complexity, more experienced and discerning customers and communication technology. These factors have created a strong demand for unique products and the Bed and Breakfast providers have made efforts to create competitive advantages, leading to even more variety in the sector.This paper provides insight into motivational factors of the specialist-lodging sector in the United States, specifically Bed and Breakfast accommodation.
A study was conducted in order to explore, in some detail, the key issues of guests' motivation, guests' satisfaction, and guests' sources of information in the USA. Of these factors, the motivational results of the study were primarily utilized for the purposes of this paper. Motives were aligned to the motivational categories of Maslow (1954) needs and Pearce's (1988) motivational travel ladder. Of the five hierarchical travel career steps, relaxation and physiological needs were ranked of highest importance. Understanding the key motivational factors of service provision may offer some direction in shaping facility, amenity, service and marketing decisions of specialist accommodation operators.
Keywords
bed and breakfast; tourist motivations; specialist accommodation; niche lodging; USA
Hrčak ID:
36620
URI
Publication date:
3.11.2008.
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