THE IMPACT OF TYPICAL RECOVERY PRACTICE USED IN OVERSOLD ROOM ON TURKISH GUESTS
Vedat İyitoğlu, G. Nilüfer Tetik
DOI: 10.35666/25662880.2015.1.281
UDC: 338.488.2:640.412(560)
Abstract: A significant number of accommodation companies overbook in order to maximize their revenue especially during the peak periods. However, overbooking is a risky activity that may bring companies face to face with the problem of overselling rooms. In such a situation of overselling rooms, hotels usually transfer their guests to other hotels having similar quality as a typical recovery practice. In this study, it is aimed to explore the possible impacts of this practice on Turkish guests' satisfactions and revisit intentions. The data of the study was collected through a scenario-based questionnaire in Mersin in the period of May-June, 2014. By using snowball and convenience sampling methods, the researchers reached 116 valid questionnaires in total. As a result of the study, it was understood that the typical recovery practice had a tragic impact on Turkish guests. The results especially indicated that the participants' revisit intentions were relatively much more affected, causing very few of them to revisit intentions. On the other hand, less experience and younger participants were found to react in a statistically more positive manner to such transfer activities. Depending on the findings it is suggested that the hotels‘ managers who have guests mostly from the Turkish market be more careful about overbooking practice. Additionally, if such transfers are inevitable, they are recommended to start with the youngest guests who have least experiences of vacation.
Key words: Overbooking, Oversold, Guest Satisfaction, Revisit Intention, Turkish Guests, Hotels