Strategia di destinazione e d’impresa nel comparto alberghiero: quali confini?

The present paper investigates the link existing between the destination positioning, commercial mix, seasonality and performance of hotel businesses, measured using daily values of occupancy and prices. The research issue in the paper reflects on the importance that city strategy plays in defining seasonality patterns. Firm strategy is expected to be more relevant in managing prices, but not occupancy. In other words, firm strategy is, on average, unable to change seasonality structure, which is defined more at destination level. To explore the development of occupancy and prices in relation to the seasonalities of the destination, the study has collected daily data on occupancy, average room rates and revenues per available rooms. The results confirm the lesser role played by firm strategy in modifying seasonalities during the high seasons, when firms focus more on price management. By contrast, during low seasonalities, the variability of occupancy in the sample is decidedly higher. The findings are also stable if we exclude firms (hotel units) with abnormal (positive and negative) returns, suggesting a relative stability of occupancy patterns regarding firms’ competitive advantage or disadvantage.