Flavours of Málaga: Spicing up the guests’ experience

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Flavours of Málaga:

Spicing up the guests’ experience

An explorative study about improving the hospitality performance

of the women of Trinidad-Perchel

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Flavours of Málaga:

Spicing up the guests’ experience

Annouk van der Lelij Student number: 355458

Tourism Management Hospitality Business School Saxion University of Applied Sciences

First examiner: Ms. Inge Hermann Second examiner: Ms. Almudena Gonzalez

17th_{of June 2019, Deventer,}

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Preface

The week before my thesis semester was officially starting, the biggest question I asked myself was: ‘How will I motivate myself enough to go to school every day and work on my thesis?’

Looking back, I cannot help but chuckle a little, since I have been at ‘The Office’, as we (the other Flavours of Málaga thesis students and I) like to call it, nearly every day the last 5 months. At the beginning of the semester, when teachers told us that writing a thesis should be considered as a full time job, I was one of many students that did not quite believe and understand this comment. Thus, as I always do, I agreed to several other projects besides writing my thesis. As one could guess, I did misjudge the work load of writing a thesis and within a few weeks I had my first stress attack - in a restaurant, in public - and wondered how I could ever write a 40 pages long thesis. Well, here I am, writing the preface of my thesis. The Málaga project is a project very close to my heart, since it focusses on a highly relevant and important topic: empowering women in this tough world. I especially feel very involved in the overall concept of my individual assignment, which is hospitality performance. Hospitality is something I am incredibly passionate about, and I am excited to contribute to making the world a more hospitable place.

I feel very proud to be part of this project, and to work together with an amazing team of lecturers and students who have all supported me throughout the process of writing this report. A big thanks to my family and the Flavours of Málaga family for letting me be the silly, energetic and (over)enthusiastic me. A special thanks to Ms. Inge Hermann, who was always available for questions and support, pushed me in the right direction when needed and prevented me from writing silly things.

Annouk van der Lelij Deventer, 17th_{of June 2019}

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Summary

In light of global trends, such as increasing technological innovations and an increasingly globalized economy, along with the continuous growth of the tourism industry, the importance of hospitality performance within a tourism organization is becoming unmistakable. This goes hand in hand with the shift from a service economy to an experience economy, as the way a product or service is being delivered is becoming significantly more important than the product or service itself. Nonetheless, not all tourism players are yet understanding the significance of the experienced hospitality, which often results in a discrepancy between the offered and expected hospitality performance. This study aims to gain insights regarding the hospitality performance of the beneficiaries, La Alacena del Corralón, of the project ‘Flavours of Málaga’ and how this performance can be improved. These insights are relevant to new players who enter the tourism industry, like the beneficiaries, to be able to distinguish themselves and to meet and exceed the expectations of the tourists.

Literature research was conducted to gain a thorough understanding of hospitality performance and the connected intangible and tangible aspects, which were observed by participants during the pilot cooking workshop of La Alacena del Corralón in Málaga. The observations resulted in many insights regarding the current hospitality performance of La Alacena del Corralón and what is actually desired. Therefore, various recommendations have been suggested. Advised is to start with the project called Higiene y seguridad en el trabajo ‘Hygiene and safety in the workplace’.

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1 Introduction

1.1 Developments within the tourism industry

It is evident that the tourism industry is constantly evolving and currently one of the fastest growing sectors in the world (World Tourism Organization, 2018; WTTC, 2018). In the annual report of the WTO (2018), it is stated that international tourist arrivals increased with 7.0% in 2017, which resulted in a total international tourist arrivals of 1,326 million. Furthermore, the total international tourism receipts amounted to US$ 1,340 billion (World Tourism Organization, 2018). Within this report, the WTO also argued that the total contribution of the tourism industry to the GDP, which was 10.4% in 2017, is only expected to continuously increase. Besides that, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (2018), one out of ten jobs worldwide is directly or indirectly related to the sector.

Hospitality performance is unmistakably significant within the tourism industry, not only due to the continuous growth of the industry but also in the light of more global trends and transformations – the emergence of new markets and cross-over industries, increasing technological innovations, and an increasingly globalized economy. Despite a continuous growth of new tourism players entering the industry, they offer in essence the same products and services to tourists. Therefore, distinguishing oneself amongst others is essential in order to survive in this highly competitive industry. In addition, and following Langvinienė and Daunoravičiūt’s (2015) argument, tourism businesses should not merely satisfy the needs of their customers, but instead aim to exceed them by focusing on their hospitality performance (Pijls, Groen, Galetzka, & Pruyn, 2017). In today’s globalized environment, despite technological innovations, the human component remains the most important component for a positive touristic experience (Carlzon, 1986; Denizci & Tasci, 2010; Tasci & Semrad, 2016).

Besides a growth in tourism numbers and expenditures we also see a shift within the global economy from a service economy to an experience economy. Therefore, the focus, especially notable in the tourism and hospitality industry, is no longer on what is being offered but how services are delivered (Pine & Gilmore, 1999; Pijls, Groen, Galetzka, & Pruyn, 2017). However, this shift is not yet fully recognized and implemented amongst all players, such as tourism service providers and travel agencies, and in many cases results in a discrepancy between the offered and desired hospitality (Brendan, 2017). Research regarding hospitality has grown enormously in the last few decades, validating the importance of understanding and applying hospitality within a business. Most research explores the meaning of hospitality and how this is experienced within an organization, yet only focusses from the viewpoint of the host (Pijls, Groen, Galetzka, & Pruyn, 2017). However, in order to advance hospitality performance, one must understand how the hospitality is experienced by customers first.

1.2 Description of the project and partners

An increasingly popular and visited holiday destination is Málaga, located in Andalusia, on the Costa del Sol in the Southern part of Spain. Málaga is a booming tourism destination, with over 1.3 million tourist arrivals in 2017 (Auntamiento de Malaga, 2018). In 2016, the total economic impact of tourism in Málaga resulted in 1.6 billion euros (Hermann, Meijerhof, & Gonzalez, 2018). Nonetheless, this positive impact is not reaching the entire city of Málaga and its communities, and especially women in Málaga are

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9 underrepresented in many related work opportunities and are not benefiting from the tourism growth. This is particularly visible in the neighbourhoods of Trinidad and Perchel (also known as Trinidad-Perchel), both shaped by its gastronomic heritage, culture and many local traditions (Raúl, n.d.). In contrast of Málaga’s city centre, Trinidad-Perchel is currently suffering from high unemployment rates (62.3% in 2014) and other socio-economic issues, mostly affecting women. One of the key reasons, is the limited possibility to receive proper education. The women of Trinidad-Perchel have a strong ambition to become part of the booming tourism in Málaga in order to gain from the social and economic developments and strengthen the long term livelihood of the wider community of Trinidad-Perchel. This presents a unique opportunity for these women to use their culinary heritage.

For this reason, the project ‘Flavours of Málaga’ has been initiated. This project, with a duration from May 2018 until December 2019, focusses on the development of tourism products and activities in the area of Perchel. It aims to use tourism as a means in order to empower the women of Trinidad-Perchel and to boost the overall livelihood for the communities in Trinidad-Trinidad-Perchel. Currently, a cultural excursion in combination with a gastronomic workshop is being developed by the project group. This project is being carried out by the Hospitality Business School of Saxion University of Applied Sciences together with Asociación Club Gastronómico Kilómetro 0 and the municipality of Málaga, moreover it is being funded by the TUI Care Foundation. The focus of the Hospitality Business School has always been towards sustainable tourism development, and this is a needed expertise within the project. The mission of the TUI Care Foundation is to enhance the positive impacts of tourism in order to foster development of destinations all over the world. For this study, both partners will be represented by Leanne Jansen-Schreurs. She is currently a Spanish Lecturer at Saxion University of Applied Sciences and is actively involved in the project.

1.3 Management problem

Due to the global trends and developments, such as technological innovations, globalization and a rapid growth of the tourism industry, it is especially important for new players to be able to meet and exceed growing expectations of tourists as well as to differentiate themselves within the industry. Since the tourism industry is particularly focusing on delivering an experience, hospitality performance plays a vital role whether guests are eventually satisfied with the offered products and services. Considering that many [female] residents in Trinidad-Perchel have not had the opportunity to receive proper education, neither have had the chance to work with and in the tourism sector, a lack of knowledge and experience regarding tourism and tourists is likely to exist. Since tourism is a broad and complex industry, this possible shortcoming comprises of various aspects. As discussed in the previous paragraphs, hospitality performance is one of these aspects, and is becoming increasingly important to be used as one of the key differentiators of an organization. Therefore, it is important to research the possible extent of such a shortcoming on hospitality performance and if so, how this can be improved to enable La Alacena del Corralón to scale up to a professional and successful organization.

The following management question will be addressed within the advisory part of this thesis assignment: “How can the beneficiaries improve their hospitality performance in order to avoid discrepancies between actual performance and visitor expectations?”

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1.4 Objectives and research questions

1.4.1 Objective of the advice

The advice will focus on the discrepancy between the current hospitality performance of the beneficiaries and the expectations of the visitors, indicating the aspects of hospitality which do not meet the expectations of the tourists. Based on these insights, recommendations are formulated to improve the beneficiaries’ hospitality performance in order to avoid discrepancies and thus, optimize the experience of the visitors. Consequently, the objective of this thesis assignment is to create an implementation plan regarding the hospitality performance of the beneficiaries of the project. Illustrating the current and desired situation, this plan should act as a teaching tool and framework.

1.4.2 Objective of the research

In order to formulate the advice, it is important to gain more insights regarding the core concept of this project. The research will focus on creating better insights into hospitality performance and what the various dimensions and aspects of hospitality performance are, as well as what hospitality performance means within the context of this project. In addition to that, the research intends to gain data on how the visitors experience the hospitality performance of the women of La Alacena del Corralón, as well as on their expectations. Hence, the objective of the research is to gain a better insight into what the current hospitality performance of the women of Trinidad-Perchel is and how it is experienced by the visitors, in order to avoid discrepancy between the current and desired hospitality performance.

1.4.3 Research questions

The research aims to answer the following research question:

“What is the discrepancy between the current and expected hospitality performance of the beneficiaries?” This will be done with the use of the following sub questions:

 What are definitions, dimensions and aspects of hospitality?

 Which definitions, dimensions and aspects apply within the context of the project?  How is the hospitality performance perceived by the participants of the (pilot) workshop?

1.5 Reading guide

In the following chapter you will find the theoretical framework, in which the core concept hospitality performance will be further defined, explored and operationalised. In chapter 3, the approach to the research will be explained, including a description of the chosen research strategy, methods of data collection, selection of data sources and methods of data analysis to be used. Chapter 4 will follow with a thorough discussion of the research results. Afterwards, a discussion of the validity and reliability of the research will be presented in chapter 5, followed by the conclusion of the research in chapter 6. Chapter 7 contains the advice for the project ‘Flavours of Málaga’ based on the literature review and the research results. The report will end with an afterword with regards to process of writing the thesis and the value of the thesis for the industry, bibliography and the appendices.

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2 Theoretical framework

In order to provide reliable and relevant conclusions for the project ‘Flavours of Málaga’, it is necessary to explore the core concept of the research, which is hospitality performance.

The approach to finding and evaluating the literature will be discussed first. Afterwards, the chapter will dive into the core concept, hospitality performance. The definitions, dimensions and aspects of hospitality performance will be analysed and compared to one another. In addition to that, the literature research also aims to find out how the performance can be measured in context of the project.

2.1 Search methods

The search engine primarily used is Google Scholar and referred to databases such as Taylor & Francis Online, ScienceDirect and Elsevier. The main search terms that have been used are: hospitality; hospitality performance; hospitality behaviour; hospitableness; servicescape; and SERVQUAL model (see appendix I). After using these terms, the so called ‘snowball method’, which means that one particular article, refers further to several other articles (Verhoeven, 2011), has been applied. The quality of these articles have been assessed by using the AAOCC criteria (see appendix II).

2.2 Defining hospitality

Although there have been several attempts to define hospitality (see appendix III for relevant definitions), it seems that many different ideas and approaches exist.

Brotherton and Wood (2000) define hospitality as ‘a contemporaneous human exchange, which is voluntarily entered into, and designed to enhance the mutual wellbeing of the parties concerned through the provision of accommodation, food, and/or drink’ (p. 143). Although this does acknowledge the fact that hospitality revolves around a relationship between two or more parties and that it aims to enhance the wellbeing of these parties, it fails to mention any type of behaviour that is associated with the concept of hospitality. Lashley (2000), on the other hand, does recognize the behaviour involved and argues that ‘hospitality is essentially a relationship based on hosts and guests, requiring the guest to feel that the host is being hospitable through feelings of generosity, a desire to please and a genuine regard for the guest as an individual’. Arrifin (2013) also states that hospitality is comprised of a ‘host-guest relationship’ and that it involves ‘hosting behaviour’ with the aim to create a memorable service experience. Williams (2002) ascribes several key characteristics to the concept of hospitality, including:  a concern with producing and supplying certain physical products; such as accommodation, food

and drink;

 involvement in an exchange relationship, which may be economic, social or psychological in nature;  a combination of tangible and intangible elements, the precise proportion of each varying according

to the specifics of different hospitality encounters;

 association with particular forms of human behaviour and interaction;  an activity entered into on a voluntary basis by the parties involved;

 and an exchange which takes place within an intermediate time frame, and one which reflects the close temporal connection between production and consumption (p. 6).

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12 These characteristics go hand in hand with Tasci and Semrad’s (2016) idea of hospitality. According to them, hospitality is a combination of offered 1) products, 2) service, and 3) hospitableness. These three address both the tangible as well as the intangible aspects. The offered products mainly focus on taking care of the basic and higher level needs of travellers, such as food and drinks, shelter, but also throughout entertainment, such as sport and technological facilities as well as social activities. The offered service includes various tasks such as housekeeping and the process of checking in and out. In addition to that, the service also affects perception of the offered products, and in general, it shows that when the quality of the service is high, the offered products are perceived more positively. Simultaneously, hospitableness must be present during this delivery of goods and services in order to feel true hospitality, making guests ‘feel welcomed, safe, loved, respected, and achieved’ (Tasci & Semrad, 2016, p. 31). According to Tasci and Semrad (2016), hospitableness can be seen as the differentiating factor of hospitality which marks the delivery of the tangible and intangible components of hospitality.

For this study, the following combined definition will be used: hospitality involves an interpersonal relationship between host and guest combining offered products, service and hospitable behaviour (see appendix IV for the operationalization of hospitality).

2.3 Tangible services

Following Tasci and Semrad’s (2016) view on hospitality, Ariffin, Nameghi and Zakaria (2012) argue that the emotions of guests, and thereby their satisfaction, are partly influenced by the tangible elements of a service or product offered. According to Pizam (2007) ‘the act of being hospitable, through increased attentive social interactions with the guest and with improved guest amenities, increases a guest’s wellbeing while advocating total quality customer care’. Several other past studies (Sim, Mak, & Jones, 2006; Eraqi, 2006; Wu & Liang, 2009) illustrated the strong impact the physical environment has on customer satisfaction. Dong and Siu (2013) named this environment, where interaction between guests and employees or hosts takes place, servicescape. Servicescape includes all tangible elements that facilitate the process of providing a service, such as general facilities as well as tangible communication (Ariffin, Nameghi, & Zakaria, 2012). These elements are illustrated in the following table:

Servicescape Other tangibles

Facility exterior  Business cards  Stationery  Billing statements  Reports  Employees dresscode  Brochures  Web pages  Virtual servicescape  Exterior design  Signage  Parking

 Surrounding environment / landscape Facility interior  Interior design  Equipment  Signage  Layout  Ambient conditions  Cleanliness

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13 Within the context of this project, and especially within this research, there are a few aspects that are considered to be most important. The following aspects of tangible hospitality will be studied: exterior design; interior design; equipment; cleanliness; ambient conditions; and employees’ dresscode (see appendix V for the operationalization of the tangible hospitality).

2.4 Intangible performance

In addition to the tangible aspects and in line with the used definitions and argument by Tasci and Semrad (2016), hospitableness is the ‘most prominent, dynamic, and influential component of hospitality’. Therefore it is important to highlight what this hospitable performance actually means. Various research defines this performance as an attitude that make guests feel welcome and safe (Brotherton, 1999; Lashley, 2007). According to Burgess (1982, p. 50) hospitableness means ‘the warm, friendly, welcoming, courteous, open, generous behaviour of the host, creating the hospitable social environment’ (as cited in Pijls, 2017, p. 127). In addition to that, Telfer (2000) argues that hospitable behaviour refers to genuine needs to please and care for the guests and following the view of Lashley (2000) it should involve the desire to please. Whereas these authors mainly focus on hospitality from the perspective of the host, Pijls’ (2017) research explores hospitality performance from a customer’s point of view. Her research revealed nine relevant dimensions of hospitality that are being experienced. These dimensions, together with their corresponding attributes, are presented in the following table:

Dimensions Attributes

1) Welcome Open; inviting; welcome; warm; approachable; courteous; friendly; polite;

2) At ease Safe; secure; at home; at ease; comfortable; relaxed; knowing what’s coming;

3) Acknowledgement Contact; feeling important; appreciation; interest; respect; taken seriously; taking time;

4) Empathy Understanding (general); understanding needs; involvement; support; same

wavelength;

5) Servitude Helpful; available; relief of tasks and worries; effort to take care; sincere; treated like a king/queen;

6) Autonomy Being in control; having influence; having choice; independence; freedom;

7) Entertainment Distraction; pleasure; entertainment; 8) Efficiency Efficient; easy; fluent;

9) Surprise Unexpected; exceeding expectations; surprising.

Table 2 Experiential dimensions of hospitality

Since this study focusses on how hospitality is experienced from the guests’ perspective, these experiential dimensions will be used in order to describe the intangible aspects of hospitality. For this study, the most important aspects have been selected and will be further researched: inviting; friendly; safe; trust; at home; interest; taking time; taken seriously; understanding needs; support; helpful; relief of tasks and worries; being in control; having choice; entertainment; joy; efficient; surprising; and exceeding expectations (see appendix VI for the operationalization of intangible hospitality).

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2.5 Hospitality as a USP for tourism businesses

As goods and services become commoditized in today’s economy, the experiences that companies create for their customers is what matters the most. Hence, the presence and quality of hospitality plays a more dominant role than the quality of service in general, as organizations operate in the so called “experience economy’ (Oh, Fiore, & Jeoung, 2007). Additionally, the rise of globalized tourism activities has shifted the focus towards the development of a more hospitable approach. Hospitality is able to enhance the value of the core service (Kandampully, 2006; Lovelock & Gummesson, 2004; Wang, 2013), and, according to Arrifin, Nameghi and Zakaria (2012), the extent to which an organization is able to offer a hospitable service can be used as a unique selling proposition. Furthermore, a thorough understanding of the hospitality encounters can advance the development of an effective competitive strategy. Besides that, conveying commitment and delivering hospitality have been identified as a critical component of customer satisfaction, as well as repurchase intention (Winsted, 2000; Stock & Hoey, 2005). Lashley and Morisson (2003) agree, and state that hospitality “can be used to build loyal customers as ‘commercial friends’”.

Lashley (2007) argues that the concept of hospitality can be found both in private domestic settings, for instance at someone’s home, as well as in commercial settings, for example in a hospitality business. In the current tourism industry, these domains are often overlapping and thus creating a “commercial home”, where commercial activities are interwoven within a more private and domestic setting (Lashley 2007; Hemmington, 2007). Within this research, the focus is on hospitality in the context of a commercial home.

2.6 Conceptual framework

The following figure presents a conceptual framework of the concept hospitality, applied to the context of this research:

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15 The literature review has explored the concept hospitality, revealing that hospitality is comprised of both tangible as well as intangible elements that are provided throughout an interpersonal relationship between host and guest. Within this research, the focus will lay on the abovementioned aspects of both dimensions of hospitality. Moreover, the framework illustrates that in between these dimensions, a discrepancy can exist when the two are not aligned. The research that will be conducted is based on this approach towards hospitality.

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3 Methodology

In this chapter the design of the research is described, which aims to answer the previously mentioned research questions. In the following paragraphs the research methodology will be elaborated on, including the chosen research methods, methods of data collection, selection of data sources and methods of data analysis.

3.1 Research methods

This thesis is an explorative study and relied on a combination of literature review and field research. As Verhoeven (2011) states, literature research is significant for almost any research and will almost always be the foundation of the research since it acts as theoretical support for the research report. Within the literature research, secondary sources have mainly been used, since the topic hospitality performance has been explored in previous research. The sub question “What are definitions, dimensions and aspects of hospitality?” and which of these apply within the context of this project, have been answered within the literature research.

The sub question “What is the measured hospitality performance in the context of the project?” has been answered by conducting field research, which combined a quantitative and qualitative research approach in one research method. Quantitative research emphasizes objective measurements and entails collecting numerical information (Babbie, 2010; Muijs, 2010; Verhoeven, 2011). In qualitative research, the elements that will be researched are studied in their normal surroundings with limited interruptions. The essence of qualitative research is to gain insights into how people perceive things, which makes this kind of research interpretative by its nature (Verhoeven, 2011). Following Verhoeven’s (2011) argument, this type of research is chosen since the research intended to find out how the visitors perceived the hospitality performance of the beneficiaries.

3.2 Methods of data collection

The chosen research method was to observe the beneficiaries of the project. Observation research is a systematic method to observe certain behaviours of people, and it allows small groups to be studied in their normal surroundings (Verhoeven, 2011). Various manners of observation exist, one being whether the observation is structured or not. For this research the structured observation has been chosen, meaning a list of behaviours that are intended to be observed is made beforehand (Verhoeven, 2011). The observation has been done directly, since the beneficiaries were able to see the people that were observing them, however it was a concealed observation which means the subjects did not know that they were being observed. This was chosen in order to achieve the most accurate results, since the research aimed to observe the natural behaviour of the beneficiaries’ hospitality performance.

During the observation, there were two different ways to answer the questions on the observation sheet, which provided more insights. Firstly, the question had to be answered by scoring the question from 1 until 5, which is called a multi-point scale. This has provided a clear result whether something was perceived positively or negatively. Since it was also from significant importance to find out why a certain score has been given, the second part of answering the question was to provide an explanation of the score. Examples and arguments had to be given here in order to support the score.

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17 The field research took place in Málaga, Spain, from the 23rd_{of April until the 26}th_{of April 2019. The}

pilot of the workshop was held on the 24th_{of April, hence this was when the observation took place.}

Beforehand, the observants received sufficient information regarding the content and use of the observation sheet, as well as the reason behind it.

3.3 Selection of data sources

Before conducting the actual research, a selection of who and how many people will be part of the research had to be made. It was important to follow a set of guidelines when drawing this sample, in order to increase the reliability and validity of the results and consequently the tenability of the conclusions (Verhoeven, 2011).

Generally speaking, the structure of an observation is that there is one or multiple observant(s), who observe the behaviour of the subject(s) (Verhoeven, 2011). However, in this particular case, the research focussed on both the subjects of the observation as well as the group of observants itself. This has been decided since the research aims to gain insights on the hospitality performance of the beneficiaries of the project and the expectations of the participants of the workshop. Therefore, two samples had to be drawn.

Firstly, the subjects of the observation were chosen by using the non-probability sampling, since it was already known who needed to be observed (Verhoeven, 2011). The sample was the group of women that are participating in the project and conducting the tourism activities, such as the gastronomic excursion and workshop.

The second part of the research focussed on the expectations of the participants of the workshop regarding hospitality performance. The group of people that observed the hospitality performance within the setting of the pilot of the workshop, was already pre-determined and consisted of 24 Tourism Management students of Saxion University of Applied Sciences. Since they study in the field of tourism, they were already known with the concept of hospitality performance.

3.4 Methods of data analysis

As discussed, the answers of the observation were based on the multi-point scale, with the scores 1 until 5. The score 1 is considered the worst and score 5 is considered the best. General conclusions regarding the perceived hospitality were drawn based on the average scores, which was done by using the Microsoft Excel. The scores were presented in tables, which were used to analyse the data and draw conclusions. Moreover, the data that was collected with the observation research did also have a qualitative nature. The data was analysed by using the following coding steps (Verhoeven, 2011):

 Step 1: The ‘open coding’ process will be initiated by dividing the data into fragments and adding one or more codes to each fragment.

 Step 2: The ‘axial coding’ process will start by putting the codes in different categories. This will be presented in a few ‘code trees’.

 Step 3: The results of both coding processes should be elaborated on by grouping the terms and forming a hierarchy, which shows what the most important code is and so on.

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18  Step 4: Start the structuring process of ‘selective coding’ by establishing relationships between the

core concepts, these should be visualized by using for instance a matrix or a diagram.  Step 5: The results of this process should be described and elaborated on.

It is also important to keep memos throughout each step, to be able to reconstruct the coding processes and use it when elaborating on the outcomes.

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4 Research results

On the 25th_{of April 2019, the first pilot of the cooking workshop of La Alacena del Corralón took place}

in the Corralón Santa Sofia. The workshop was around 2.5 hours long, and consisted of cooking a three course meal. Afterwards, the food was served and the group was able to eat all together outside, in the garden of the Corralón. A group of 24 students, studying Tourism Management at Saxion University, actively participated in the workshop. Besides that, three fourth year Tourism Management joined the workshop, as well as three teachers.

Eventually, 22 first year students and three fourth year students have observed the hospitality performance of the women of La Alacena del Corralón during the workshop. All students have the Dutch nationality, and the ratio between female and male was 4:1. The age of these students is between 18 and 24 years old, and they live in or around the province Overijssel, The Netherlands. The group was split into two subgroups: subgroup one (11 observants) got the task to observe the intangible hospitality, and subgroup two (14 observants) observed the tangible hospitality. Each student received their own observation sheet (see appendix VII and VIII for the observation sheets), where they had to answer a set of questions based on the dimensions of hospitality. Each of these questions included both a score from 1 – 5, 1 being the worst and 5 being the best, as well as the question ‘Why?’ where the participants could argue their score. There was also room for general comments regarding the entire experience of the workshop.

The following paragraphs will explore the most important findings of the research. The dimensions of the intangible hospitality will be discussed first, afterwards the dimensions of the tangible hospitality will be discussed. A complete overview of the scores can be found in appendix IX, and the corresponding coding table in appendix X.

4.1 Intangible performance

Welcome

Table 3 Overview scores 'Welcome'

The first dimension of intangible hospitality performance is ‘Welcome’, comprising of the aspects ‘inviting’ and ‘friendly’. In brief, welcome has to do with an inviting atmosphere and to what extent a guest feels approached in a friendly manner. As the table illustrates, both inviting (3.8) and friendly (4.2) have high scores.

In detail, the inviting atmosphere was often described by the respondents in terms of ‘happy’, ‘feeling welcome’ and ‘being welcomed’, with conjoining quotes such as “Many women greet you and smile at you” (participant 1) and “very welcoming and kind people” (participant 12). Contrary, however, some participants mentioned that a word of welcome was absent, as participant 2 mentioned ‘it could be that the women did not do this because of the language barrier’.

Dimension Question 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Average

Welcome The atmosphere of LAC is inviting 4 4 4 4 3 3 5 4 3 4 4 3.8

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20 Subsequently, participants felt approached in a friendly manner, relating the friendliness to ‘happy’, ‘hospitable’ and ‘helping’. Even though the women did not speak English, most participants still experienced the women as friendly and kind. As participant 11 said “They smile a lot, are warm people and are great in their non-verbal communication”.

At ease

Table 4 Overview scores 'At ease'

The dimension ‘At ease’ is related to the aspects of feeling safe, feeling at home, and trusting the organization. The aspects feeling safe (3.7) and trusting the organization (4.1) received a high scored, whereas feeling at home received a 3.2.

The feeling of being safe was mainly described by the words ‘friendly’ and ‘expertise’, as participant 2 mentioned “I felt like they knew what they were doing and they have knowledge about how to cook”. However, due to the fact that the women did not speak English, the feeling of safety decreased for some participants.

In addition to that, the cooking skills and experience were also the main reasons why participants said that they trusted the women. As participant 4 commented, “They cooked a lot of times before so I trust them completely”.

Although a few participants did feel at home and experienced a nice atmosphere, others felt less at home. Some participants experienced the workshop as chaotic hence they did not feel completely at ease, and for many the language barrier did also play a role in feeling less at home. Participant 10 said that “because of the language barrier it was difficult to understand each other”.

Acknowledgement

Table 5 Overview scores 'Acknowledgement'

‘Acknowledgement’ is an important dimension of intangible hospitality as well, as it revolves around the contact and connection you experience with the host. Aspects of this dimension are ‘interest’, ‘taking time’, and ‘taking seriously’. These three aspects received an average score of 3.2, 3.4 and 3.8. Specifically, the lack of interest was mainly felt because of the language barrier. Comments from participant 4, “Their English is not that good so communicating was difficult”, and from participant 9, “Difficult because of the language” are examples of this barrier. Nevertheless, some of the participants did feel like the women wanted to show interest in them, only this was too difficult because of the different spoken languages. According to participant 2, “They ask us how we are doing and talk to you (try to involve you) even though they know (I think) that I cannot speak Spanish to them”.

At ease I feel safe among the women of LAC 5 4 4 4 4 3 5 3 2 3 4 3.7

I trust the women of LAC 5 4 4 4 3 3 4 5 5 4 4 4.1

I feel at home at LAC 3 5 3 3 2 4 4 3 2 3 3 3.2

Acknowledgement The women of LAC show interest in me 3 5 3 2 4 2 3 2 3 4 4 3.2

The women of LAC take time for me 3 3 3 4 4 3 4 2 4 3 4 3.4

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21 The opinions regarding the aspect ‘taking time for me’ differ, some participants experienced the women to be helpful and taking their time to explain everything carefully, whereas others felt like they were being rushed and it all went very fast. Participant 11 states that “when we were with less people they did take their time for me, in the whole group it was difficult”.

Generally speaking, participants felt taking seriously, since the women understood that they did not have much experience and they gave useful directions. However, again, due to the language barrier participants were not completely sure whether the feeling was justified.

Empathy

Table 6 Overview scores 'Empathy'

Empathy in the context of hospitality is about understanding the needs of the guests and to satisfy those. Aspects of this dimension are ‘understanding needs’ and ‘support’. As shown in the table above, the first aspect (2.6) scored relatively lower than the second aspect (3.9).

The main reason why participants did not feel understood is the language barrier. The participants felt like they were literally not understood, and could therefore not express their needs. Besides that, participant 8 said that this feeling was not present because “the women were so rushed and paid more attention to themselves”.

The aspect ‘support’ received a high score because the women provided help where needed and did this in a friendly way. Participant 2 mentioned that “when you ask them something they answer in a friendly way” and participant 8 says “that the women are there for you and when you tell them you don’t understand something they will help you”.

Additionally, the aspect involvement, which was not selected in the observation but did arise from literature review, got referred to by participant 6, who mentioned “they tried to involve everyone and stimulate them to participate”.

Servitude

Table 7 Overview scores 'Servitude'

Servitude is about the service that is provided during the experience and whether this came across genuine. Aspects of servitude are ‘genuine’, which received a high score of 4.0, and ‘relief of tasks and worries’, which scored a 3.3.

Most participants did experience the service to be genuine, and often used the words ‘helpful’ and ‘supportive’ to describe the women. Yet, some participants questioned whether the women wanted to genuinely help them, so did participant 11 say “I think so, only sometimes I felt like it was too hectic for them and they rather did everything themselves because it was easier. But mostly they tried to help me when possible”.

Empathy The women of LAC understand my needs 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 5 2 3 2.6

The women of LAC provide support to me 5 5 4 4 1 4 4 4 5 3 4 3.9

Servitude The women of LAC genuinely wished to help me 5 4 3 4 3 4 5 4 4 4 4 4.0

(22)

22 With regards to ‘relief of tasks and worries’, most participants mention that the women help out where necessary. Participant 3 commented that “the women do everything when you do not understand something”, however participant 8 “got the feeling that I’m doing everything wrong”.

Autonomy

Table 8 Overview scores 'Autonomy'

The dimension ‘Autonomy’ focusses on the independency of the visitor. The hospitality environment is there to able and to support the visitor to fulfil his or her needs. Autonomy is comprised of the aspects ‘being in control’ and ‘having choice’. Both scored an average of 3.1.

The opinions regarding the fact whether the participants feel in control differ. Out of the 11 participants, four mention that they could decide whether to do a task or not, and that they could perform this task well. In addition to that, participant 7 says that “women show you what to do and nothing can go wrong”. However, not all participants experienced this control because the workshop was ‘unclear’ and ‘chaotic’. Participant 11 commented “Not really because I had no idea what was going on since there was no structure in the workshop, so we were very dependent on the women”. Equally important is the fact that, according to participant 9, there was little regulation about safety. Furthermore, the language barrier played a role in feeling less in control as well.

The ability to choose to do a task yes or no, to help others, to walk around and to say no are reasons why participants experienced freedom to make their own choices. On the other hand, participant 10 mentioned you were “bound to what the women wanted” and as participant 8 says, “they took over when you did not do something their way”. Furthermore, participant 2 thought it was difficult to know what was and what was not allowed because of possible cultural differences.

Entertainment

Table 9 Overview scores 'Entertainment'

The dimension ‘Entertainment’ involves both feeling entertained by the host as well as feeling joy within yourself. The aspect ‘entertainment’ scored an average of 3.0 and the aspect ‘joy’ scored a 3.6.

The words that were most frequent used to describe the entertainment was ‘friendliness’ and ‘nice atmosphere’. Furthermore, participants say that the women try to involve you and explain as much as possible. Yet, other participants did not experience this mostly because of the language barrier, and therefore a lack of contact. As participant 11 says “Right now not really, because it was all too much focused on preparing all the food and that’s it. There were no stories to be told, no other kind of information”.

Autonomy During my visit I feel in control 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 3.1

During my visit I experience freedom to make my own choices 4 3 2 4 3 3 5 3 2 2 3 3.1

Entertainment I feel entertained by the women of LAC during my visit 4 4 3 4 2 3 4 2 1 4 2 3.0

(23)

23 Most participants felt joy during the workshop due to the good atmosphere and the friendly women. However, they did mention that there were too many people for the space that was available, as participant 10 says “It was fun to do, but there were many people in small rooms”.

Efficiency

Table 10 Overview scores 'Efficiency'

The dimension ‘Efficiency’ has to do with whether the processes, procedures and service during the visit run smoothly so the visit is experienced as pleasant. The aspect regarding processes and procedures received an average score of 3.4 and the aspect about service a 3.5.

Even though participants did mention that everything was well prepared in advance and things were ready to be used, the most frequent used word to describe the processes and procedures was ‘chaotic’. Participant 11 also experienced both sides: “At the beginning they had everything ready for us, all the equipment and facilities were ready to be used. But because there were so many people and the communication was difficult, not everything went smoothly. There were misunderstandings and it was a bit chaotic since everything went through each other. It was missing structure”. Participant 6 agrees to this, saying that it took a long time before they received an explanation and there was no clear structure. Most participants were happy with the received service, since the women were helpful and showed initiative. Nevertheless, the food did not get served at the same time and participant 1 mentioned that “I do not speak Spanish so often I did not understand what was happening”. Participant 2 acknowledged that since it was the first workshop, it seemed like there was some stress sometimes.

Surprise

Table 11 Overview scores 'Surprise'

An element of hospitality is that the experience is more than the guest expected and that it sparked a special ‘wow’ feeling. The two aspects of the dimension ‘Surprise’ scored relatively low, with a 2.6 and a 2.9.

The positive surprise factors were that the women were well prepared and very friendly, and that the food tasted really good and is different than the Dutch cuisine. Participant 11 described the feeling of surprise as “they surprised me because even though we did not speak the same language, we still managed to connect”. However, six out of the eleven participants did not enjoy the workshop that much hence they were negatively surprised, or did not experience the feeling of surprise at all.

Regarding the aspect of ‘exceeding expectations’, participants were positive regarding the cooking skills of the women and the fact that everything was well prepared. Yet, many expected more regarding their own input during the workshop. According to participant 11, “The food was amazing, this was more than

Efficiency The processes and procedures during my visit run smoothly 3 3 2 3 3 2 4 5 5 4 3 3.4

The service of the women of LAC runs smoothly 3 5 2 3 2 2 4 5 5 4 4 3.5

Surprise The women of LAC surprised me 4 3 2 4 1 1 5 1 2 2 4 2.6

(24)

24 I expected. But the workshop did not, since it did not feel like a workshop for me (we didn’t learn anything). However, I did see a lot of potential, the beginning is there”.

Communication

Participants got asked the question “How did the level of English of the women affect your visit?” It resulted in two pages of answers, all mentioning that the women of La Alacena del Corralón are not able to speak any English, and that the level of Spanish from the participants is not enough to understand the women. It is important to note that language is not a dimension or aspect on its own, yet it influences other intangible hospitality dimensions.

Most participants experienced confusion and misunderstandings because of this language barrier, and only a few mentioned that when they tried very hard and used a lot of gestures that they managed to understand each other. According to participant 11, “Everything took longer because we didn’t speak the same language. It was difficult to even try and ask to pass ingredients over for example. I had the feeling that some people were not completely open for this experience, and they started to feel irritated because of the language barrier. I also saw it with a few women happening from time to time. I think because of this language barrier we were missing out on the content of the workshop”. Participant 23 mentioned that “the women talk to each other a lot without us understanding, so they could be talking about anything. When the staff would learn English and didn’t speak as much to each other I would be more comfortable”.

4.2 Tangible services

Exterior design

Table 12 Overview scores 'Exterior design'

The exterior design of an organization plays a role in the hospitality performance as well. As illustrated in the table above, the aspects of exterior design are whether the organization is accessible for everyone (3.9), if it is easily located (3.6) and whether the surrounding environment makes visitors feel at ease (3.9).

Most participants mentioned that the Corralón is accessible and that there is enough space to move around, unless the group is too big. However, as participant 19 mentioned, La Alacena del Corralón is “Easy accessible by foot, but not wheelchair accessible”.

All participants agreed that La Alacena del Corralón is easy to find when using Google Maps. What participants did notice was that there was no sign of the association outside of the building. As participant 12 sums it up, “Not clear on signs, it is with google maps”.

In addition to that, most participants are very fond of the surrounding environment of the Corralón. Participant 12 described it as a “nice and homey atmosphere” and participant 19 explains “the environment looks very good, especially the courtyard with all the plants”. Other participants also

Dimension Question 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Average

Exterior design LAC is accessible 4 5 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 2 5 4 3.9

LAC is easy to find 4 5 3 5 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 2 4 4 3.6

(25)

25 mentioned the pleasant atmosphere. However, participants 17 and 23 did mention they did not feel completely at ease in the neighbourhood.

Interior design

Table 13 Overview scores 'Interior design'

Aspects of interior design that can improve the hospitality performance are for example whether furniture is experienced as comfortable (3.3), the décor fits the concept of the organization (4.2) and if all the facilities are present (3.8) and easy to find (3.7).

In detail, the first aspect received a 3.3 because the furniture was experienced as fine but not that modern. Participant 23 mentions “It is fine and there is enough space. However it isn’t luxurious or it gives a wow factor”.

Participants liked the décor of the room, since, as participant 14 said, “It fits very well to the culture” and participant 23 mentioned “it is in a Spanish style and the whole garden inside matches the concept”. According to participant 25, “inside everything looks very authentic, nice paintings. Outside is beautiful, the garden with all the colours and flowers. Only the table cloth could be looking nicer, it’s white paper”. Most participants concluded that everything that was needed, was present. However, some participants did miss facilities. A first aid kit, including bandages, is missing as well as enough sinks. The facilities were easy to find because of the “very easy lay-out” and since everything was in sight. According to participant 25, the “main areas are easy to find, but we did have to ask where the toilet is since there are no signs”.

Equipment

Table 14 Overview scores 'Equipment'

It is important for the guests that all the equipment what would be needed is present, and that it is easy to use. These two aspects scored an average of 3.9 and 4.2.

Almost all participants agreed on the fact that the necessary equipment was present and mentioned that, according to participant 23 “every needed products were ready and could be used immediately”. Only participant 13 and 18 said that not everything was present, however did not give an explanation what exactly was not present. In addition to that, participants agreed that the equipment was easy to use since it is the same as they are used to at home.

Interior design The furniture in the room is comfortable 4 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 5 2 3 3 4 3.3

The décor of the room fits the concept 5 3 3 4 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 5 4 4.2

All the necessary facilities are present 3 2 4 4 5 2 3 5 3 5 5 4 5 3 3.8

The facilities are easy to find 4 4 3 4 2 3 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 3.7

Equipment All the necessary equipment are present 4 2 4 5 4 2 5 4 4 3 5 5 3.9

(26)

26 Cleanliness

Table 15 Overview scores 'Cleanliness'

In order to have a high level of hospitality performance, it is necessary to have a proper standard of cleanliness. Participants scored the cleanliness of facilities with a 3.2 and of the equipment a 3.5. The question whether there was enough availability to wash hands, received a score of 3.2.

Most participants agreed that the facilities were clean, however some did give a lower score because of the general hygiene. In addition to that, participant 23 and 24 said that sometimes they noticed people smoking inside.

Out of the 14 participants, 11 gave the remark that the equipment was clean and got washed on the spot.

Lastly, participants did not feel like there was enough availability to wash their hands. According to participant 25, “there is only 1 sink. They also don’t require us to wash our hands”. This was experienced by other participants as well, since there was only one sink available in the kitchen. Participant 2 mentioned that “I heard that we could wash our hands but that it was not mandatory, I think this is part of hygiene. Also when you use materials like meat and vegetables. Perhaps this is in their culture different?”

Ambient conditions

Table 16 Overview scores 'Ambient conditions'

The right ambient conditions of a room are essential for a guest to feel comfortable. Aspects of ambient conditions are music, type (1.0) and volume (1.0), temperature (3.7), scent (4.0) and overall lighting (3.9). Since there was no music playing during the workshop, all participants scored the first two aspects with a 1.

Nearly all participants described the temperature as “very pleasant” and according to participant 23 “the windows are open so there is fresh air in all the rooms”. Participant 25 agreed to this, but did question whether there is air conditioning for in the summer, and perhaps some sun umbrellas for when the guests eat outside.

The scent of the room was experienced as very pleasant since it smells like “delicious food”, as seven participants all mentioned.

Regarding the overall lighting, participants agreed that there were enough lights to work properly, however participant 22 did notice that there was no ambient lighting to create a cosy atmosphere.

Cleanliness The facilities are clean 4 2 3 1 3 3 2 5 3 5 2 4 5 3.2

The equipment is clean 4 2 2 3 2 2 4 3 4 5 4 5 5 3.5

There is enough availability to wash my hands 3 1 5 4 2 2 2 3 5 2 5 5 2 3.2

Ambient conditions The type of music fits the concept 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.0

The volume of the music is appropriate 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.0

The temperature in the room is pleasant 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 3.7

The scent in the room is pleasant 5 3 4 4 2 4 3 5 5 4 4 5 4.0

(27)

27 Employees’ dresscode

Table 17 Overview scores 'Employees dresscode'

It is important for the employees to look representable for the guests. The professionalism of the uniform scored a 3.8, and whether it fits to the concept received a 4.4. Participants gave the score of 3.9 to the aspect whether the outer appearance of the employees is representative.

Many participants described the uniform as casual and simple, since the women wore the same t-shirt and an apron. Where most agreed that it was professional enough, some participants did not agree, saying it is a bit too simple.

However, all participants commented that it fits to the concept of a cooking workshop. For instance, participant 23 says “It is simple and homey, which fits within the concept”.

Out of the 14 participants, 13 agreed that the outer appearance of the employees is representative, since the women’s hair is tied up and, as participant 12 comments, “they dress as they are which is good”.

4.3 Conclusion

The research has revealed various relevant insights and relations regarding the hospitality performance during the workshop of La Alacena del Corralón.

The natural talents of the women – being friendly and genuine – as well as their cooking expertise, were experienced as highly positive by the participants. Specifically, this relates back to the high scores of the aspects ‘Inviting’, ‘Friendly’, ‘Support’ and ‘Helpful’. Furthermore, the aspect of being genuine was also showing in the uniform of the women, which participants also liked, as they stayed true to themselves. In addition, the cooking skills and experience were the main reasons why the participants felt safe among the women as well as trusted them. This was also one of the big positive surprise factors.

One aspect that did arise from the research, however was not selected upfront, was ‘Involvement’ (Empathy). This aspect was used to describe both positive and less positive elements of the workshop. Participants commented that the women tried their best to involve the whole group and stimulate everyone to participate. However, the participants also experienced that they were not completely involved in the process of cooking, as most women preferred doing it themselves. Since the workshop should be an interactive tourism activity, it is important to pay attention to this involvement.

Within the dimension ‘Empathy’, there was a contrast between the aspects ‘understanding needs’ and ‘support’. The aspect ‘support’ received a high score because when the participants asked something to the women, they were very helpful and friendly. Nevertheless, because of the language barrier, the participants did not feel like their needs were understood by the women.

This language barrier was a present factor that influenced various dimensions of the intangible hospitality. Participants mentioned that they did not feel completely at home, since they did not know what the women were talking about in Spanish. Furthermore, there was a perceived lack of interest from

Employees dresscode The uniform of the employees is professional 4 5 2 5 3 3 4 4 3 4 4 3 5 4 3.8

The uniform of the employees fits the concept 4 5 3 5 5 4 4 3 5 5 5 5 4 4.4

(28)

28 the women to the participants, as well as a perceived lack of understanding. The participants also felt less in control, as they often did not understand what was going to happen and they could not express themselves clearly. The language barrier had a considerable influence on the efficiency of the workshop’s processes, procedures and services, since it resulted in many misunderstandings and chaos.

Most aspects within the tangible hospitality were scored relatively high, as the participants were very positive about the design of Corralón Santa Sofia, and most facilities and equipment were present. The interior and exterior design, in combination with pleasant ambient conditions such as scent and lighting, created a comfortable atmosphere for the participants.

In contrast, the dimension ‘Cleanliness’ scored lower due to the general hygiene that was missing. Participants did not experience that hygiene was regulated, as the women did not ask them to wash their hands beforehand. Moreover, during the preparation of the meals, all ingredients, varying from fish, meat and vegetables, got touched without washing hands in between. Additionally, there was only one sink available in the kitchen for 25 participants.

In the figure below, the adjusted conceptual framework is illustrated:

(29)

29

5 Discussion

The following paragraphs will dive into the reliability as well as the internal, external and construct validity.

5.1 Reliability

Verhoeven (2011) described the reliability of research as to what extent the research is free from random errors. If the study is replicable, and leads to similar results, the research is reliable. Multiple ways exist to increase the reliability of a study.

Firstly, a high inter subjectivity contributes to the reliability of the research. Inter subjectivity is a frequently used criterion in observational research, and means that a situation is being observed by multiple people. Within this research, there were 25 participants that observed the situation, thus the inter subjectivity can be considered high. In addition to that, the participants have observed hospitality performance before thus they were familiar with the terms which made random errors less possible. The terms were also explained once more on paper, which was attached to the observation sheet. Moreover, the participants were free to fill out their answers in their mother tongue, which is Dutch, in order to prevent wrongly translated words. Furthermore, when triangulation is applied to the research the reliability increases as well. This research started with literature research, and the observation sheet was a combination of both a quantitative and qualitative method, hence this positively influences the reliability of the research. Lastly, carefully written notes regarding the data collection have been made and stored, which can be used as a justification for the research actions.

However, there are also some factors that negatively influence the reliability of the research. Due to the relatively chaotic situation where the observation sheets were filled out, some participants did not fill in all scores which decreases the reliability of the study. Also, some participants did not give an explanation of their scores, which makes it less reliable since it is more complicated to get an understanding of why this score was given.

5.2 Validity

Validity relates to what extent the research has measured what was intended to be measured and to what extent the research is free of bias (Verhoeven, 2011). Both internal as well as external validity has to be considered in order to thoroughly determine the veracity of the research.

According to Verhoeven (2011), internally valid results mean that the right conclusions were able to be drawn. Part of the internal validity is the construct validity, which relates to the measurement instrument. As the measurement was standardized, by means of an observation sheet, and checked multiple times by professors and stakeholders involved in the project, the construct validity increased. During the data collection no changes have been made to the measurement method. Moreover, I was present during the data collection and thus was able to observe whether the observation sheet was used correctly. In addition, the content validity within the research is high due to exhaustive literature research resulting in the operationalization of the core concept. The operationalization was the base of the conceptual framework, which has been used extensively throughout the research and made the concept of hospitality performance more clear.

(30)

30 External validity “refers to how well the outcome of a study can be expected to apply to other settings” (Cuncic, 2019). This is also called the generalizability of the research. Population validity and the data numerical are often not the main goal of qualitative research, since generally speaking this type of research involves small groups and select samples (Verhoeven, 2011). If generalizability does play a part in qualitative research, it is mostly the generalizability with regards to content, which is the validity of results in similar situations. According to Baarda, de Goede and Teunissen (2011), the reality (situation that is being researched) should stay as intact as possible. Most aspects of the research were true to reality: the same location as always was being used; the same amount of people participated in the workshop; and all employees were present. However, since it was the pilot of the workshop, it might not be a total representation of reality. In addition to that, the external validity is lower because the participants of the research, the 25 students, do not completely represent the population, which is the customer of TUI.

Flavours of Málaga: Spicing up the guests’ experience

Flavours of Málaga:

Spicing up the guests’ experience

An explorative study about improving the hospitality performance

of the women of Trinidad-Perchel

Flavours of Málaga:

Spicing up the guests’ experience

Preface

Summary

Table of Contents

1 Introduction

1.1 Developments within the tourism industry

1.2 Description of the project and partners

1.3 Management problem

1.4 Objectives and research questions

1.4.1 Objective of the advice

1.4.2 Objective of the research

1.4.3 Research questions

1.5 Reading guide

2 Theoretical framework

2.1 Search methods

2.2 Defining hospitality

2.3 Tangible services

2.4 Intangible performance

2.5 Hospitality as a USP for tourism businesses

2.6 Conceptual framework

3 Methodology

3.1 Research methods

3.2 Methods of data collection

3.3 Selection of data sources

3.4 Methods of data analysis

4 Research results

4.1 Intangible performance

4.2 Tangible services

4.3 Conclusion

5 Discussion

5.1 Reliability

5.2 Validity