Understanding European tour operators' control on accommodation companies: an empirical evidence

Abstract

Accomodation companies offer a product of strategic interest to tour operators insofar as it determines to a great extent the cost of a package vacation, while it also significantly influences the degree of satisfaction of the tourists who purchase such packages. That, together with the increasingly competitive rivalry among European tour operators, suggests how important it is for the tour operators to exercise some control over the accomodation companies with which they deal. This study describes the control that German and British tour operators exercise over the accomodation companies with whom they do business and the characteristics of the two types of companies that influence that control.