Demystifying Performance Measurement in Small and Medium-sized Independent Hotel Accommodation: A Phenomenological Approach

Abstract

Performance measurements are the set of measures used to determine how well an organisation is doing, giving direction for business improvement and growth. The study draws on existing literature on the adoption, approach and implementation of performance measurements systems within the small and medium-sized independent hotel accommodation. However, existing studies show a gap in understanding what constitutes business performance in SMEs despite its importance. To this end, this research, therefore, explores the perception of owners/ managers of PM concept, approaches and implementation to achieve the overall objective of an organisation. Four research objectives provided guidelines for this exploratory research, using a phenomenological research approach. The study has several conclusions based on documents analysis and 30 semi-structured interviews with owners and managers in the hotel accommodation sector. This research found that different definitions and approaches to performance measurement support the multi-dimensional aspect of performance measurement. The different dimensions of performance measurements were considered paramount to understanding the practicality of the concept. This study argued that small and medium-sized independent hotel accommodations adopt performance measurements in practice in different formats to enhance organisational performance. This research contributes theoretically by extending PM literature to understand the definition, designing and implementing performance measurement in small and medium independent hotels. Also, the phenomenological research method approach offers a key insight into the study through a life experience from owners and managers, providing valuable insight to the study. More so, for practical implication, this research identified and complied the performance indicators used in the industry. This information was used to develop a suitable framework for the small and medium-sized independent accommodations. The Performance Steering-Wheel and the Practical Performance Indicators would help accommodation owners/managers be consistent in their performance measurement approach.