| dc.description.abstract | A large proportion of any business’s value comprises intangible assets, and
for many businesses a considerable part of these assets' value is attributable
to brands with which businesses affiliate. In light of increasing affiliation of
hotel properties with hotel chains and the increasing importance of branding
in the hospitality industry, senior managers/owners should be aware of the
importance of concepts such as brand equity and brand value and, better yet,
incorporate them into their strategic decision-making processes. The extent to
which hotel management scholars and industry practitioners understand or
use the concept of brand value attributable to affiliation (BVAA) is, however,
limited.
The aim of this research project is to increase our understanding of the costs
and benefits connected with operating a hotel independently or as part of an
affiliation, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Such an
understanding could be used to spur further research but should also be
directly applicable by the practitioners.
The results of this research indicate that affiliating with a brand matters to
managers/owners in the hotel industry, but also that brand-related concepts
are used only to a limited extent. One of the studies comprising this
dissertation, which included 51,000 hotels in the U.S. during a full economic
cycle, suggests that affiliated hotels produced better financial performance
than unaffiliated hotels, especially during the global economic recession of
2007–2009. On the other hand, the results from a study of hotels and
organisations in Sweden suggest that brand value–related information
attributable to affiliation is not used to any large extent in the industry. In the
third study, a method for financially evaluating BVAA is developed, making
it possible not only to measure whether affiliating produces a positive
BVAA, but also to demonstrate a practical method for financially assessing a
current affiliation and the various affiliation options. Consequently, these
findings should contribute new ways of treating the strategic question of
affiliation. | sv |
