Contemporary approaches to performance evaluation of international hotel groups in Portugal

Competition between hotel groups has become fierce over recent years because of the rise in the mobility of tourists and the rise in the number of hotel groups. One of the most important tools for measuring the competitiveness of hotel groups is their efficiency. This paper seeks to evaluate the efficiency of international hotel groups in Portugal by applying appropriate data envelopment analysis (DEA) panel data approaches (contemporaneous and intertemporal). The results of the panel data suggest that the efficiency of hotel groups differs significantly from group to group and within each group over time. These results have implications for hotel managers wanting to increase their global competitiveness and efficiency and are discussed in terms of factors affecting managerial decision-making abilities. Future research directions are also stated in the paper, as this is important for hotel marketers particularly those in international hotel groups.