Development of a Framework for the Determination of Attributes used for Hotel Selection–-Indications from Focus Group and In-Depth Interviews

The aim of the research was to establish a framework of hotel attributes to be used in the design of a research instrument to question hotel managers and consumers in the United Kingdom. The starting point was a literature review to establish a foundation of hotel/service attributes identified by other researchers. The planning and operation of in-depth and focus group interviews is explained together with the basis of selection of the managers and consumers. The methodology for recording and analysing the results of the interviews is discussed, showing the steps of reducing the original attribute list to more manageable levels. The detailed results are presented as a basis for the design of quantitative surveys of hotel managers and guests. These surveys will determine the salient attributes employed when selecting a hotel; concluding with a comparison of the criteria used by UK hotel classification and grading schemes.