Standard Hospitality Elements at Resorts An Empirical Assessment

Prior research investigating the factors important to resort visitors has generally focused on a specific resort setting or market segment, which has resulted in a tendency to emphasize activity-related elements. While useful, this tendency to emphasize activity-related elements has limited our understanding of the role of the nonactivity, hospitality-based elements common to all resort types. Given this gap in the research literature, the purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the importance of these standard hospitality elements to resort consumers. Using survey data collected from a sample of recent resort visitors, three underlying factors are identified. Subsequent analyses examine the impacts of sociodemographic and trip characteristic variables on the relative importance of these three factors. Results suggest important implications for industry executives along with directions for future investigation.