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ABSTRACT
‘Location, location, location’ are treated as three sacred words in the lodging industry because location plays a significant role in the industry’s success. However, little attention has been paid to understanding hotel locations in regional contexts. The purpose of this study was to investigate spatial clustering patterns of hotels over time in relation to hotel locations and regions in the U.S. The Smith Travel Research (STR) Hotel Census Data from 1985 to 2017 were used for the study, and a series of statistical analyses was carried out to examine the relationships among the identified patterns. The results indicated that hotel locations and development were concentrated in specific geographical regions during the study periods. The implications of the study are discussed.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Young-Rae Kim
Young-Rae Kim is a chair of Department of Tourism Management in Mongolia International University, Mongolia. His research interests are tourism and hospitality industry analytics, tourism development & policy, and sustainable and resilient destination management.
Jin-Won Kim
Jin-Won Kim is an assistant professor in Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management at the University of Florida, USA. His research interests are applications of GIS and spatial technologies in tourism & recreation planning, development and management, water-based recreation and tourism planning and development, and public health and policy.
Chang Huh
Chang Huh is a professor in College of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Niagara University, USA. His research interests include hospitality marketing strategy and hotel market analytical methods.