A Theory of Lodging: Exploring Hotel Guest Behavior

The hospitality industry is a broad term that is composed of several separate industries including: lodging, foodservice, events, private clubs, and gaming. As massive as these industries are when combined, the hospitality industry is often perceived as a component of the larger field of tourism. Other major components of tourism include: destination management, tourism development, ecotourism, and tourism sustainability. The tourism literature is teeming with research that offers a variety of theories and models to explain the dynamics of this universal construct.

In contrast, hospitality is often perceived as an applied field; that is, one that does not have its own theories but rather uses theories from other domains. It is often described as worthy of study because of the unique characteristics of the field. Such characteristics include large firms that operate across extensive geographic areas, possibly having operations on multiple continents. Such far-reaching operations result in units operating at a distance from headquarters where decisions are made. Communication between units becomes challenging because of time zones, languages, cultures, and even local business practices and traditions. Whether it is about operating businesses in a large number of U.S. states or across international boundaries, hospitality firms must develop legal knowledge and skills so that they can navigate the labyrinth of rules, regulations, and tariffs in the various jurisdictions. The result of these factors is that hospitality firms operate in highly complex and diverse environments, serving sociologically, economically, and culturally diverse clientele.

Operating principles have developed over time. For example, a hotel typically is organized in the same manner from firm to firm. There is usually a reception area at the front of the building where customers check into and out of the hotel at a front desk with the assistance of desk clerk employees who facilitate the transactions. A housekeeping department is usually in the back of the hotel, out of sight of most guests, and it functions as the manufacturing unit, preparing the rooms each day by servicing them with cleaning supplies and fresh linens for the front desk to sell again that same night. A security department aids in protecting people and assets. Often, a food and beverage department operates a restaurant to provide daily meal service and a bar to provide evening libation and sometimes entertainment. In larger properties, a banquet and catering department will provide conference rooms and supporting services for groups to hold meetings, conduct events, weddings, and so on. A general administration unit will handle planning, forecasting, record keeping, accounting tasks, marketing and sales, revenue management, human resources, and other management activities.

This listing of common operating practices illustrates the applied nature of the field. The primary domains of business are readily apparent. Operations management theory has been used to describe the value chain and to develop efficiencies in operations. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for hotels and restaurants have been developed by the accounting field to handle the particulars of this type of business operation. Marketing principles are routinely applied in the ongoing sales and marketing activities as the staff work to generate reservations (advance sales). Human resources practices are employed on a routine basis to attract, train, retain, and develop the large number of workers who function in the many departments. Certainly, there is no unique theory necessary to describe this. It is the epitome of a business enterprise in action regardless of location, culture, language, or laws.

However, is there something else happening in the lodging model that researchers have not identified, understood, or explained? Reflecting on the basis of many theories of tourism, there is a psychological and/or sociological aspect of the individual traveling away from home that forms the genesis of those constructs. That is, the individual, once away from the safety, familiarity, and security of their home and local environment, develops different needs, both physical and psychological, that he or she seeks to meet.

Certainly, a safe and clean place to sleep is one of those new needs. During sleep, the individual is at his or her most vulnerable time. The individual is not conscious and cannot be aware of looming threats or actual attack. Thus, a safe and secure place to sleep becomes paramount when the individual is away from home on an overnight basis. Furthermore, the individual does not want to be exposed to an unhealthy environment where disease, infection, or other unsavory conditions would make that safe sleeping location one of a danger to one’s physical well-being.

What one does each day to prepare for leaving home and entering the community is often different when staying in a lodging facility. When at home, individuals likely have a routine, using familiar equipment and supplies to bathe, dress, and nourish oneself. The home was outfitted with equipment that is used regularly and its use becomes comfortable. The supplies were selected to best meet the individuals’ particular physical features (hair, skin, teeth, etc.). The linen and towels were selected by the individual and become old friends through use. The clothing wardrobe was usually developed over time and offers the individual a wide array of choices, depending on mood and intended task.

When staying in a lodging facility, these comfortable routines are not the same. It is difficult for most individuals to precisely replicate those routines when staying elsewhere. Thus, the equipment in the hotel is not the same as it is at home. While most items are easily recognized and simple to use, it is not the same. Temperature settings of a shower have to be learned anew. Room thermostats function differently when attempting to heat or cool the room to a desired level. Towels are often of a different size, color, and texture. Drying with them becomes a slightly different process. The amenities provided in the hotel room are usually a different brand of shampoo, soap, or lotion and may interact with the chemical nature of the body in unexpected ways. The sheets and blankets may differ enough to interfere with the expected comfort of sleep and thus impede sleeping rhythms.

Moving beyond safety, security, and the comfort of daily routines, the issue of responsibility for one’s immediate environment emerges. Guests often internally acknowledge that their time spent in the hotel is transitory; that is, they will not be there for very long. Thus, their willingness and desire to take care of the physical environment is not always the same as it may be at home. Luggage can be awkward and unfamiliar to manipulate through the confines of a hotel room. It often is bumped into furniture and walls. Nicks and scratches are occasionally the result. Towels are sometimes used to dry and clean objects other than skin. If they are stained in the process, they are simply dropped on the floor of the bathroom for the hotel staff to replace. Hotel room drapes often cover large windows and are frequently heavy and expansive. Opening and closing them improperly through unfamiliarity can result in stress on the material and occasionally tearing. It is not necessarily that the guest is malicious in these behaviors. It is that the guest is in an unfamiliar environment, does not plan to stay for a long period of time, is paying for the service, and therefore does not invest the energy and thought to protect the environment as they may do when at home.

The issues we addressed in selecting and providing a home were long-term decisions that we expected to use as a support system for an extended period of time. We are financially and legally responsible for that home. We may pay a rent to a landlord and have a lease to fulfill. Or we may have bought the home and have a mortgage to pay, taxes to remit, and maintenance to perform. But when staying in a hotel, we are well aware of the short-term nature of the planned experience. Our sense of commitment is very different from the choices we made when we selected and provisioned our home.

These differences suggest that the individual has a somewhat separate set of behaviors that are used when staying in a hotel rather than at home. It may be that, similar to tourism perspectives, when we leave home we think of ourselves no longer as a resident but rather a traveler. Everything we do is of a temporary nature. Our perspectives have shifted and our sense of commitment and responsibility to our lodging and visited place is not the same as to our own home and community. We want to be safe and clean in our temporary lodging, but we know that we will shortly leave that visited place and return to our home. Whatever we experienced or did in that visited place will be left behind. It is freeing in the sense that it limits our impact, our responsibility, and usually minimizes the consequences of our actions.

The question for hospitality researchers is: does this difference in perspective and behavior present the opportunity to develop a theory of lodging? Is there something about how humans choose to act when staying in a hotel and distant place that is explained differently from how the human acts within their own home and community? It is likely not about the business product (the hotel room) or how it is provisioned. Those established business practices appear to be well explained by business economic theories. It is the difference in human behavior while in a hotel that may require study and explanation.