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1 – 10 of over 19000Mahalia Jackman and Simon Naitram
This study analyses how the socio-demographic profile of the tourist, trip-related characteristics, distance, and economic conditions in the source country affect pleasure…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyses how the socio-demographic profile of the tourist, trip-related characteristics, distance, and economic conditions in the source country affect pleasure tourists' length of stay behaviours in Barbados.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses “biggish” data (over 3.6 million observations), parametric models (OLS) and statistical learning models (regression trees) to develop a length of stay decision rule to segment pleasure tourists' length of stay. Our sample period is January 2004 to March 2013.
Findings
The analysis revealed a great deal of heterogeneity in the impact of the predictors across segments, which would be typically hidden from simple parametric approaches often used to model length of stay (such as OLS).
Practical implications
The main implication is that conventional models of length of stay should be complemented with segmentation analyses to shed some light on the heterogeneous length of stay behaviours of specific market segments.
Originality/value
Many studies on small tourism-specialising states focus on modelling aggregate arrivals. By modelling micro-data for Barbados, we provide insights on this aspect of tourism demand for small states. Second, very few studies use classification tools to analyse length of stay. The study contributes to the literature through its methodological approach.
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Mostafa Mohamed Al Sayed and Michael Elnemais Fawzy
The purpose of this paper is to study the role of social factors that determine the length of stay in a mental hospital and also understand the main factors leading to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the role of social factors that determine the length of stay in a mental hospital and also understand the main factors leading to the phenomena as a step to solve it.
Design/methodology/approach
A case-control cross-sectional observational study is performed which studies correlates for the lengthy stay in a mental hospital. The study population consists of two groups: Group A (94 patients), taken from the patients hospitalized for more than one year, further subdivided into schizophrenia and schizoaffective inpatient group and bipolar affective inpatient group; and Group B (94 patients), receiving their treatment at the outpatient clinic after being admitted for less than six months, this group was further subdivided into same categories as Group A.
Findings
The study showed that the positive score in positive and negative symptoms scale (PANSS) showed highly statistically significant (p<0.01) correlation with the length of hospital stay for the schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients in the inpatient group. The results showed no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) between the inpatient schizophrenic cases and the inpatient affective cases regarding the length of hospital stay.
Research limitations/implications
The linear regression model was used to understand the predictors of increased length of hospital stay. The linear regression analyzing the scale data of schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients found that the length of hospital stay for the schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients depends on the patient’s age and his positive PANSS score. On the other hand, linear regression model for bipolar affective patients in the study found no statistically significant attributes of the length of hospital stay.
Practical implications
The study found that the length of hospital stay for schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients depends on the patient’s age and his positive PANSS score.
Social implications
The need for this study stems from the large numbers of mental inpatients who have been lengthily admitted in mental health hospitals in Egypt, while trying to understand main factors leading to the phenomena as a step to solve it. The study found that there is a highly significant difference between inpatient group and outpatient group regarding the marital status, education level, and psychosocial class, with inpatient group having more single, illiterate, and very low social class cases.
Originality/value
Research in the area of chronic psychiatric hospitalization and its effect on the course and prognosis of mental illness is still scarce, especially in the Arab world; therefore, the research will open the door for further research efforts in the future with a larger sample of patients to study the pros and cons of deinstitutionalization taking into account the past experience of health systems in other countries.
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Regi Alexander, Avinash Hiremath, Verity Chester, Fatima Green, Ignatius Gunaratna and Sudeep Hoare
The aim of the project was to evaluate the short‐term treatment outcomes of patients treated in a medium secure service for people with intellectual disability. A total of 138…
Abstract
The aim of the project was to evaluate the short‐term treatment outcomes of patients treated in a medium secure service for people with intellectual disability. A total of 138 patients, 77 discharged and 61 current inpatients, treated over a six‐year period were included in the audit. Information on demographic and clinical variables was collected on a pre‐designed data collection tool and analysed using appropriate statistical methods. The median length of stay for the discharged group was 2.8 years. About 90% of this group were discharged to lower levels of security and about a third went directly to community placements. None of the clinical and forensic factors examined was significantly associated with length of stay for this group. There was a ‘difficult to discharge long‐stay’ group which had more patients with criminal sections, restriction orders, history of abuse, fire setting, personality disorders and substance misuse. However, when regression analysis was done, most of these factors were not predictive of the length of stay. Clinical diagnosis or offending behaviour categories are poor predictors of length of hospital stay, and there is a need to identify empirically derived patient clusters using a variety of clinical and forensic variables. Common datasets and multi‐centre audits are needed to drive this.
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The length of stay (LoS) is of major importance from the perspective of the management of tourist destinations. As tourists heavily rely on the online reviews of other travelers…
Abstract
Purpose
The length of stay (LoS) is of major importance from the perspective of the management of tourist destinations. As tourists heavily rely on the online reviews of other travelers as a primary information source, this study aims to empirically examine how the LoS can influence the online reviews for hotels, with special emphasis on the textual review content.
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyzes online review data collected from Booking.com by using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count program to operationalize review depth, analytical thinking and the authenticity reflected in customer reviews. Based on the analyzed data, this study used a series of regression analyses to understand the impacts of the LoS on online reviews.
Findings
The author’s analysis found that a longer stay at a hotel causes consumers to be more likely to post online reviews that not only include a numerical rating as well as written content but also lengthier and more detailed descriptions of their hotel experiences. Further analysis found that the LoS at hotels causes systematic differences in the linguistic attributes of the review content. Specifically, consumers who stay longer tend to write reviews with more analytical information, resulting in consumers perceiving the online reviews as more authentic.
Research limitations/implications
Although the LoS has been considered a significant issue in tourism, studies examining the impact of different lengths of stay on consumers’ post-purchase behaviors are limited. In this light, the author’s findings demonstrate how the LoS can change the linguistic attributes of online reviews. It expands the body of knowledge of the LoS in tourism.
Originality/value
This study represents the first attempt to empirically examine and reveal how the different length of stay at a hotel systemically influences consumer review-posting behaviors.
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Studies that investigate the length of stay as a predictor of consumer post-purchase behavior are rare despite its importance in efficient hotel management. By analyzing online…
Abstract
Purpose
Studies that investigate the length of stay as a predictor of consumer post-purchase behavior are rare despite its importance in efficient hotel management. By analyzing online customer reviews, this study aims to fill this gap in the extant literature on the relationship between length of stay and customer satisfaction level.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected and used online review data on hotels in London for this study. A series of linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of length of stay on customer satisfaction as measured by review ratings. The authors used the Mahalanobis matching approach to confirm the empirical findings.
Findings
This analysis shows that length of stay is negatively associated with customer satisfaction. Additionally, the authors find that this negative relationship is stronger in high-end hotels than in low-end hotels.
Research limitations/implications
The research findings contribute to the literature by shedding light on a new stream of research, namely, length of stay. Additionally, the research findings offer novel insights that could help hotel managers understand the trade-off between longer stays and customer satisfaction.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first few studies to show the systematic impact of length of stay on the valence of online review ratings, as well as the moderating effect of hotel levels by analyzing customer online reviews on hotel experiences.
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Nimit Soonsan and Umaporn Somkai
This paper aims to investigate the impact of gastronomic experience on sharing experiences, as well as place attachment as a mediator and length of stay as a moderator.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impact of gastronomic experience on sharing experiences, as well as place attachment as a mediator and length of stay as a moderator.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative method was used in this study. The paper conducted an online survey from 717 international tourists who visited Phuket, a city of gastronomy.
Findings
The result revealed that four dimensions of gastronomic experience – entertainment, escapist, education and aesthetic – affected sharing experience. The mediating role of place attachment was documented. As expected, the length of stay moderated the effect of the gastronomic experience on sharing experience through place attachment as a mediator.
Practical implications
These results could help destination managers to develop tourist experiences and enhance customers' length of stay and place attachment. On the other hand, this research contributes to the understanding of the factors that affect sharing experience in the tourism industry with a special focus on the city of gastronomy.
Originality/value
Prior research shows that tourism experience provides a future tourist behavior based on effective attitudinal variables. At the present, this research provides researchers with information on how to narrow the behavior gap through a range of marketing. This study gives additional insights into the indications of what visitors will transfer into behavior and why an area that has not been addressed previously in this context.
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Jeffery Cole Kreeger and Scott Smith
The purpose of this paper is to determine how much the lodging shared economy (LSE) utilizes minimum length of stay (MLOS) controls to maximize revenue and reduce housekeeping…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine how much the lodging shared economy (LSE) utilizes minimum length of stay (MLOS) controls to maximize revenue and reduce housekeeping expense, since cleaning between guest visits represents a substantial variable cost for each guest’s stay. Hosts in the LSE are becoming increasingly perceptive in maximizing revenues.
Design/methodology/approach
Daily data for one year were collected for Vacation Rental by Owner properties in Hilton Head Island, SC and Orlando, FL. The collected data include daily vacancies for two different lengths of stay. Linear regression was used to explore the relationship between relative demand and vacancy length of stay differences.
Findings
During high-demand periods, there were few differences between the availability of short-term and longer-term reservation vacancies, which indicated hosts were not encouraging guests to stay longer during each visit. These results reveal differences in vacancies for three-night vs six-night reservations. A host can generate more revenue and decrease expenses by maximizing booked nights per visit.
Research limitations/implications
Due to confidentiality issues, this study does not capture vacation bookings but instead captures vacancies. In addition, Average Daily Rate was not utilized in this study.
Practical implications
LSE hosts can maximize revenues using MLOS controls. Minimizing housekeeping costs boosts a host’s profitability.
Originality/value
Although this research has been conducted for hotel MLOS, there is a gap in the literature regarding LSE hosts’ use of MLOS.
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Ozan Atsız, Veronica Leoni and Orhan Akova
This paper aims to empirically analyze tourists' length of stay in Istanbul, an important cultural destination. The objective of the study is twofold: (1) uncovering the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to empirically analyze tourists' length of stay in Istanbul, an important cultural destination. The objective of the study is twofold: (1) uncovering the qualitative difference between one-night visitors and longer stay visitors and (2) for those visitors staying longer at the tourism destination, investigating the key determinants of length of stay.
Design/methodology/approach
This research was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to international tourists who were about to leave the destination. To perform the analysis, we applied a two-step approach: first, we opted for classical binary logit to investigate the tourists' group membership (one-night vs longer stays); second, we applied a zero-truncated Poisson model for uncovering the drivers of length of stay for longer stay visitors.
Findings
The results confirmed the structural difference between the two visitor subgroups. Moreover, we found a positive impact of cultural attributes on tourists' length of stay.
Practical implications
The findings provide useful information for destination managers and planners, highlighting the importance of designing different tourism policies in light of tourists' heterogeneity. Moreover, the results confirmed the importance of the preservation and promotion of cultural attributes, given that these are a key factor in determining the success of a destination.
Originality/value
The importance and originality of this study are that it explores the impact of cultural/heritage attributes of the destination on tourists' length of stay. Moreover, it sheds light on the qualitative difference between short- and long-stay visitors.
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The understanding of the factors that influence the selection of accommodation by guests is an important issue for international accommodation providers. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
The understanding of the factors that influence the selection of accommodation by guests is an important issue for international accommodation providers. The purpose of this research is to gain a greater understanding not only of the factors that influence the selection of motel accommodation by guests, but also of when and under which situations these factors become trigger points for decision making, focusing in particular on the influence that the length of stay has on the trigger points that impacted the selection process.
Design/methodology/approach
To undertake this research, five focus groups were conducted, involving participants who had previous experience in staying in motel accommodation either for business, on vacation or a combination of the two. Participants were selected and invited from a large variety of occupations and backgrounds.
Findings
Three levels of trigger points were identified for different lengths of stay. For overnight stays requirements were “minimalist”, convenience being the prime trigger point, and visitors felt they could tolerate most situations. For stays of two‐four nights there were certain requirements, “essentials”, that provided the necessary requirements for sleeping, eating and relaxation, while for stays longer than four nights, additional requirements that enhanced the stay, “enhancers”, were sought, raising the provision of the “essentials” to a higher level of sophistication and comfort.
Originality/value
This research, although conducted in New Zealand and in a specific part of a market, illustrates how complex the process of accommodation selection is by guests and in particular how the trigger points for selection change with the length of stay. It indicates how the physical facilities provided need to be tailored to the market in relation to the length of the visitor's stay.
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Wallace Mandell, Victor Lidz and James J. Dahl
Retrospective studies of therapeutic community (TC) treatment for drug abuse found reductions in drug use, criminality, and increased work participation after treatment…
Abstract
Purpose
Retrospective studies of therapeutic community (TC) treatment for drug abuse found reductions in drug use, criminality, and increased work participation after treatment completion. These studies have also shown treatment benefits, even without completion, are correlated with days of stay in residential treatment. However, others have found that high rates of early leaving from TC treatment reduce the proportion of clients with positive outcomes, raise the total cost per treated client, and lower the treatment benefit-to-costs ratio. The purpose of this paper is to describe an experimental approach to raising the days in residential treatment using earlier vocational access for clients.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study used a random assignment design to compare earlier integration of on-site vocational training in a vocationally integrated therapeutic community to off-site vocational training initiated after one year of residence in a traditional therapeutic community.
Findings
The resulting data support the hypotheses that client expectations and early training in job skills increase rate of treatment affiliation, the proportion of clients having effective lengths of stay, and the rate of treatment completion.
Research limitations/implications
Research limitations/implications include the difficulty of assuring unbiased selection and controlling treatment assignment and conditions.
Practical implications
Practical implications of this research project are to support practitioners striving for longer, more effective lengths of stay, while at the same time attempting to reduce treatment time and increase effectiveness.
Social implications
Social Implications of this project are to encourage social support for addiction treatment and emphasize the value of paired residential treatment and vocational education.
Originality/value
The originality and value of this research project lies in the adoption of a working model at Phoenix House TC (in-house vocational preparation), which utilizes early in-house vocational education as a means to increase residential program participation, increase employment skills and prospects, and decrease overall length of treatment.
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