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Airports are no longer merely transport infrastructures but have evolved into complex hospitality environments that shape how tourists experience mobility, destinations, and travel continuity (Wattanacharoensil et al., 2022). As gateways to regions and nations, airports influence not only operational efficiency but also destination attractiveness, airline choice, and outbound tourism behaviour (Prentice & Kadan, 2019). Tourists increasingly evaluate airports as experiential spaces where physical infrastructure, service encounters, and locally embedded hospitality practices interact to form expectations about places and journeys (Wattanacharoensil et al., 2017). In this context, online reviews function as behavioural signals through which tourists collectively assess and communicate the quality, legitimacy, and desirability of airport experiences. Yet, despite their growing importance for destination competitiveness and travel flows, airport research has largely prioritised economic efficiency, capacity, and commercial performance, paying comparatively little attention to how local culture, hospitality culture, and staff interactions operate as experienc escape componentsshaping tourist sentiment and loyalty behaviour (Pizam & Tasci, 2019; Wattanacharoensil et al., 2017). This study addresses this gap by examining how tourist sentiment expressed in online airport reviews translates into loyalty-related behaviour across culturally diverse regions and markets at different stages of maturity (Kumar et al., 2013; Tasci & Pizam, 2020). Airports are conceptualised as complex experiencescapes in which physical infrastructure, social interaction, and culturally embedded service practices jointly shape tourist behaviour. Building on servicescape and experiencescape research (Mossberg, 2007; Pizam & Tasci, 2019; Wattanacharoensil et al., 2022), the study positions hospitality culture and frontline staff behaviour as central but under‑researched components of the airport experience environment.

Empirically, the study analyses 258,754 online airport reviews collected from both specialist and generalist platforms across Europe, the United States, Africa, and a mixed global sample. Using sentiment analysis, thematic tagging of experience dimensions, and predictive modelling, the study examines how sentiment relates to loyalty indicators such as recommendation and high-rating behaviour. Comparative analyses reveal that while sentiment reliably predicts loyalty across all contexts, its intensity, polarity, and thematic grounding vary systematically by region and platform, reflecting culturally embedded norms of emotional expression and differing market conditions.

A key finding is that staff interactions and hospitality culture emerge as the dominant drivers of both positive and negative sentiment across all regions, regardless of market maturity or platform type. This indicates that even in highly infrastructural and time-pressured environments, tourist behaviour is disproportionately shaped by interpersonal treatment rather than by physical facilities alone. These findings align with prior research emphasising the role of emotional experience in shaping satisfaction and recommendation behaviour (Prayag et al., 2017) and extend airport studies that acknowledge service quality but rarely theorise its cultural and behavioural mechanisms (Bogicevic et al., 2013; Saut & Song, 2022; Wattanacharoensil et al., 2022).

By integrating cross-cultural comparison with differences in market maturity, this study contributes to tourism consumer behaviour and airport research by demonstrating that local culture and hospitality culture function as behavioural levers within airport experiencescapes (Tasci & Pizam, 2020). The findings suggest that airport competitiveness and destination connectivity increasingly depend on how terminals are designed not only for efficiency but also for culturally appropriate service interaction (Wattanacharoensil et al., 2022). For airports, destinations, and DMOs, the results highlight that investments in hospitality culture and frontline staff design are central to shaping tourist sentiment, loyalty signals, and digital reputation in platform-mediated travel markets.

References:

Bogicevic, V., Yang, W., Bilgihan, A., & Bujisic, M. (2013). Airport service quality drivers of passenger satisfaction. Tourism Review, 68(4), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-09-2013-0047

Kumar, V., Pozza, I. D., & Ganesh, J. (2013). Revisiting the satisfaction-loyalty relationship: Empirical generalizations and directions for future research. Journal of Retailing, 89(3), 246–262.

Mossberg, L. (2007). A Marketing Approach to the Tourist Experience. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 59–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250701231915

Pizam, A., & Tasci, A. D. A. (2019). Experienscape: expanding the concept of servicescape with a multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary approach (invited paper for ‘luminaries’ special issue of International Journal of Hospitality Management). International Journal of Hospitality Management, 76, 25–37.

Prayag, G., Hosany, S., Muskat, B., & Del Chiappa, G. (2017). Understanding the Relationships between Tourists’ Emotional Experiences, Perceived Overall Image, Satisfaction, and Intention to Recommend. Journal of Travel Research, 56(1), 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287515620567

Prentice, C., & Kadan, M. (2019). The role of airport service quality in airport and destination choice. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 47, 40–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.10.006

Saut, M., & Song, V. (2022). Influences of airport service quality, satisfaction, and image on behavioral intention towards destination visit. Urban, Planning and Transport Research, 10(1), 82–109.https://doi.org/10.1080/21650020.2022.2054857

Tasci, A. D. A., & Pizam, A. (2020). An expanded nomological network of experiencescape .International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(3), 999–1040.

Wattanacharoensil, W., Fakfare, P., & Graham, A. (2022). Airportscape and its effect on airport sense of place and destination image perception. Tourism Review, 77(2), 549–569.https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-01-2021-0036

Wattanacharoensil, W., Schuckert, M., Graham, A., & Dean, A. (2017). An analysis of the airport experience from an air traveler perspective. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 32, 124–135.

This study examines how outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism businesses in rural Sweden navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on the role of food in fostering resilience. Survey and interview data were combined to analyze how providers responded to crisis conditions and developed long-term strategies. Using the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities frameworks, findings show that businesses leveraged place-based assets to attract domestic visitors, redesign offerings for smaller groups, and integrate food and nature as educational tools. These adaptations were not only temporary fixes but became enduring shifts that strengthened social cohesion, reinforced local food systems, and contributed to rural development. Rather than "bouncing back," businesses exemplified "bouncing forward," transforming crisis into opportunities for innovation and community benefit.

Developing human capital can significantly improve the com-petitive position of businesses in the hospitality sector. Insights are generated through combing the Job embeddedness frame-work with the employee Value Proposition model to analyze 10 semi-structured interviews with restaurant owners/managers in the Netherlands to reveal best practices for building human capital through successful employee retention. The results from the study highlight that many restaurants engage in one or more practices for building human capital. The identified practices include payment of wages above market rates, development of a realistic work-life balance, and investment in engaging with employees and in developing a supportive organization culture. However, the research revealed that most of these practices are not part of an integral plan. Findings support the development of a more structurally planned and aligned approach to retaining and engaging employees, which may help restaurants to develop their human capital to build and maintain a competitive advantage.

During the past 2024 iAHFME Symposium, we initiated a brainstorming session to encourage an open and collaborative conversation among members. Our prompt focused on profit management in hospitality education; a topic we believe deserves more attention within the academic community. The session was designed as an informal space to share perspectives, raise questions, and explore possibilities. We warmly invite anyone who feels interested in or touched by the topic to join our working group and contribute to the development of course(s) and textbooks in this important area. We also propose brainstorming as a recurring feature at future symposia, with topics suggested by members to reflect shared interests and emerging challenges. If you have ideas for future prompts, feel free to share your thoughts as we begin planning for the 2025 symposium. This report offers our perspective on this issue, summarizes the key points raised during the discussion, and concludes with a few thoughts on where we might go from here.

This study analyzes how service-related experiences influence customer satisfaction and perceived value for money in the cruise industry. By integrating Service-Dominant Logic (S-D-L) and Experience Accounting (EA), it aims to support the development of customer-centric performance systems for managerial decision making in the all-inclusive hospitality sector. This is the first empirical study to merge data from three perspectives in service-for-service exchanges: customer review ratings from online platforms, ship-level operational characteristics, and financial metrics from corporate reports. This integrated approach allows for a holistic evaluation of the service ecosystem and cocreation of value onboard cruise ships. A quantitative analysis was conducted using a series of multivariate regressions, including a hybrid mediation model, to examine how service ratings influence other experience categories, and ultimately, customer satisfaction and value perceptions. The analysis is based on 9,753 online cruise reviews combined with data on ship characteristics and corporate financials. Service and dining emerged as the most important predictors of overall cruise satisfaction across all ship classes. Mediation analysis revealed that service not only directly and indirectly affects satisfaction positively but also shapes perceptions of ambiance, dining, and value for money. While the ship’s physical environment (operand resources) contributed to customer experiences, its impact varied depending on the combination of experiences driven by service and staff (operant resources). These findings highlight the dynamic interplay between the tangible and intangible elements of customer experience and position service as the central drivers of cocreated value within the cruise experience.

This study investigates the intricate relationships between overall cruise rating and various experience attributes by leveraging a comprehensive dataset of consumer reviews from two major online platforms. The analysis revealed that the core elements of hospitality, particularly dining and service, are critical for overall cruise satisfaction, perceived value, and ship quality perceptions. A major finding of this study is the critical role of perceived value for money in shaping the satisfaction narratives expressed by cruise patrons in online reviews in all market segments. The originality of this study lies in its examination of various market segments and review samples, which illuminate the complex and multidimensional aspects of customer satisfaction. The results indicate that hospitality strategies should vary significantly across segments, further emphasising the need for a nuanced approach because of the varied expectations across these markets. Furthermore, the study reveals a pattern suggesting that cost-cutting efforts, when involving food costs, result in lower satisfaction levels in dining and multiple categories, ultimately opposing potential savings. This insight emphasises the need for cruise lines to balance cost-cutting measures carefully while maintaining high-quality dining experiences to enhance overall customer satisfaction. These findings underscore the importance of utilising diverse review metrics to develop a multidimensional framework for customer-centric performance management across all hospitality sectors. 

This report explores the application of Experience Accounting (EA) to enhance strategic decision making in a rural resort, focusing on improving profitability through customer-centric financial management. This study addresses the challenges faced by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality industry, particularly the lack of tailored information systems for effective decision-making. By integrating the Resource-Based View (RBV) and the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) paradigm, EA aligns cost accounting with customer-perceived value, optimizing resource allocation to enhance customer experience and willingness to pay. The case study of a rural upmarket resort demonstrates the practical implementation of EA, revealing insights into resource consumption and customer value across various service components. The findings highlight the inefficiencies in the current service provision and suggest strategic reallocations to improve customer satisfaction and profitability. The results indicate that reallocating resources to enhance service quality rather than infrastructure can lead to greater customer satisfaction and profitability. The adaptability of the EA framework across different hospitality segments underscores its potential for widespread application, offering a valuable tool for the continuous optimization of expenditures and prices based on real-time customer feedback.