An investigation into seasonality;

How to increase overnight stays in

the shoulder season:

A case study in Austria

INDEPENDENT STUDY

Student name:
Manuel Handlechner

Programme:
BA Hospitality Management

Year of submission:
2007/2008

Abstract

Seasonality has long been viewed as one of the most unique and worrisome facets of the tourism industry. This paper provides an overview and evaluates the issues of seasonality in an Austrian winter resort. The tourism and hospitality industry faces seasonal fluctuations of demand every where in the world. As a result diverse problems occur for hotels in the tourism regions, such as overuse of facilities, seasonal environmental congestion and off-season unemployment. This paper reviews these issues taking the case of an Austrian Hotel, and examines the seasonality problem and poses some solutions to increase overnight stays in the shoulder season and increase the turnover. This study is divided into five chapters. First of all an introduction of the subject area, the aim and objectives of the study are given. The literature review critically reviews previous papers and works. It includes the secondary research that is required for the purposes of the study. A range of theories and factors that have been previously discussed and studied by other researchers are presented. The methodology of the study and includes the methods that have been adopted in this research and for this specific study. It justifies and explains the survey development process, the questionnaire design and gives emphasis on the reliability of the results being taken from the research method. For the analysing of the 228 valid questionnaires, the researchers used the statistic program SPSS. The data is presented via tables and graphs. This analysis presents various tables and graphs in relation with the questions of the questionnaire distributed in the visitors of the hotel. The analyses and the recommendations of the author conclude this research.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ii
Table of contents iii
List of tables iv
List of figures v
CHAPTER 1 1
INTRODUCTION 1
The aim and objectives of the study 2
Case Study Background 2
CHAPTER 2 4
LITERATURE REVIEW 4
CHAPTER 3 12
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 12
Survey methodology 13
Questionnaire Development Process 14
Sampling method and sampling size 15
Questionnaire Design 16
Analysing the data 17
The investigation of the case study 18
Limitations of Methodology 19
CHAPTER 4 20
DATA PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION 20
The questionnaire 20
CHAPTER 5 35
CONCLUSION 35
References
Bibliography
Appendices

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Cross-tabulation: Country ­ Season 23
Table 2 What are the main activities you engaged in on your visit? 24
Table 3 Why are you coming in the winter season? 27
Table 4 Have you visited the region during 28
Table 5 ...if yes, where did you go last year? 30
Table 6 Were any of these trips short breaks? 31
Table 7 What would attract you to visit the region in the shoulder season? 32
Table 8 Cross-tabulation: Age - How to attract 33

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Which age group do you fall into? 20
Figure 2 What gender are you? 21
Figure 3 You are travelling 22
Figure 4 Where do you come from? 22
Figure 5 What is the purpose for your travel? 24
Figure 6 How often you have been to this region? 25
Figure 7 How long do you stay in the region? 26
Figure 8 Do you take more than one holiday a year? 29
Figure 9 Were any of these trips short breaks? 31
Figure 10 What would attract you to visit the region in the shoulder season? 32

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Chapter 1

Introduction

This research aims to review relevant literature review and evaluate particular research methods which will be used in measuring the seasonality in the holiday region; in a case study of a hotel in the area. The relevant literature review is analysed to draw the scope of seasonality before engaging in deep details. The framework of research method of the study is described, examines what advantages and disadvantages utilized methods are, and discovers why these methods are appropriate in this topic. Data collection will be presented from employing questionnaires.

Seasonality has long been viewed as one of the most unique and worrisome facets of the tourism industry. It can be defined as a cyclical pattern that more or less repeats itself each year. It usually refers to a temporal imbalance in the demand, and may be expressed in terms of the number of tourists, their expenditure, and bed nights. (Jang 2007) Andriotis (2005) argues that the tourism industry worldwide faces seasonal fluctuations of demand. These fluctuations are attributed to diverse factors ­ mainly climatic conditions, human decisions, inertia or tradition and supply restrictions ­ and result in various problems for tourist-receiving destinations, such as seasonal environmental congestion, low return on investment for tourist enterprises, overuse of facilities and off-season unemployment. (Andriotis 2005) Many destinations are suffering from the phenomenon `Seasonality′ therefore it is important to do research on this topic to investigate the issues of seasonality and discover suggestions and solutions.

The majority of authors focused on the destination in general; there are only a few studies which apply to a single organisation or hotel. It is crucial to evaluate the impacts of seasonality for the single hospitality firm. It is further important to understand the fluctuations in demand and assess the advantages and disadvantages in order to draw out opportunities for a specific organisation.

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The aim and objectives of the study

The study aim is to investigate the issues of seasonality in the hospitality industry and especially in the Austrian case study hotel.

Objective one: To critically evaluate academic theory and existing literature on seasonality in the hospitality industry

Objective two: To evaluate some solutions to attract people to visit the area in the shoulder seasons.

Objective three: To evaluate potential improvements in the hotel, to increase the overnight stays.

Case Study Background

General information about the region and the hotel

The holiday region is one of the top winter destinations in Austria. With 2700 inhabitants the city is quiet small. Nonetheless there were more than 330.000 overnight stays in the last winter season. The tourism is the major income sources of the town and many residents are working in the tourism and hospitality industry. The region offers more than 7100 Beds for tourists and visitors. (Prugger, H., personal communication, 12. January 2008)

The Case Study hotel is one of the leading 4-star hotels in the region and as many other hotels it has two main seasons. The summer season from mid June to the end of September and the winter season from December to the end of March. So the shoulder seasons show considerably less overnight stays.

The general demand in the region is low in the shoulder seasons. Every hotel needs a purposeful offer and price strategy as well as an excellent marketing strategy. The utilisation of the case study hotel was 86% in the last winter season. If we compare this number with the utilisation of the whole year (64%) it shows that the demand of the remaining year is relatively low.

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The author has chosen this hotel because it is `typical Austrian′. The hotel is located in one of the most famous holiday areas in Austria. It is a family run hotel and for three generations one family has managed the hotel. It is in the `4 star category′ and offers 80 guest beds in 45. The hotel offers two sand tennis courts with floodlight installations and sufficient parking lots. The guest can use a big Spa area with a sauna, steam bath, solarium, Kneipp - basin, and massages. Further the hotel has its own children′s playground and a kids club.

The restaurant is used for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is built in a rustic style with 120 seats. The hotel offers as well a smaller room with 60 seats if desired. The enterprise is member of the "Round Table conference hotels Austria" and equipped with the necessary equipment (Flipcharts, overheads, projectors, touch screens).

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