Associate Professor
Expertise
Biography
Dr Demian Hodari is Associate Professor of Strategic Management at EHL. He was previously a hotel general manager and the president of an independent hotel management and consulting company and has worked on four continents. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate level classes, Dr Hodari frequently provides consulting, executive education and strategic planning facilitation for international hotel companies, hotel owners, and individual properties.
He currently sits on the board of directors of several hotel companies. Dr Hodari regularly speaks at industry events and his research is published in the leading hospitality management journals. He has raised nearly 200,000 Swiss Francs in research funding from the private and public sectors and his research has been awarded prestiges prizes from numerous organisations. Dr Hodari holds a PhD from the University of Surrey, a Masters from Cornell University, and a B.A. from Georgetown University.
Awards
Education
Courses Taught
Teaching Location
Article
Settling for less : the institutionalization of the hotel feasibility study
Hotel feasibility studies play an important role in the hotel development process as hotel developers, lenders, and operators all require an analysis of a hotel's projected operating performance and the ensuing financial returns. Such studies are...
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Article
Who's in Charge Now ? : The decision autonomy of hotel general managers
The general manager (GM) is the key position in a hotel, but the changing structure of the industry has altered the scope of the GM’s decision-making autonomy. In many hotels, the GM is an employee of a hotel operating firm and is effectively an...
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Article
Strategy tools : contextual factors impacting use and usefulness
Strategy tools are a common element of tourism and hotel management courses, journal articles and textbooks. In this paper we explore why practitioners do not find tools useful and hence reject their use as a strategy practice. Drawing on a...
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Article
The matter of encumbrance : how management structure affects hotel value
Hotel owners have two fundamental concerns: the financial operating performance of their asset and its selling price. While they often contract a hotel management company to operate the hotel through a lease or management agreement, common industry...
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Article
How hotel owner-operator goal congruence and GM autonomy influence hotel performance
A principal-agent relationship exists between hotel owners and the management companies which often operate their hotels. In addition, they both act as principals to a mutual agent, the hotel's General Manager, who is tasked with trying to achieve...
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Article
Hotel property performance : the role of strategic management accounting
In the current study, we contend that to enhance their competitiveness and performance, hotel properties need to develop and implement internal policies and procedures such as strategic management accounting that are consistent with their business...
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Article
The role of hotel owners across different management and agency structures
This study examines the degree to which hotel owners influence the operation of their hotels in both single- and multiple-agency scenarios. Key findings from a survey of 499 general managers are that: (1) owners influence financial property-level...
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Article
The supply of soft brands is expected to grow as the industry has continued to see new soft brand launches by major hotel companies. But because the number of properties branded as soft brands is still relatively low, previous studies have not...
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Article
The impact of brand affiliation on asset values : the case of UK hotels
Using the hedonic pricing method, we study more than 400 hotel transactions in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2015 to determine the impact of brands on hotel market values. We initially find that hotel brands are negatively associated with...
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Article
The cruise industry workforce crunch – generational changes in work values of job seekers
Purpose: In the wake of COVID-19, the cruise industry is experiencing an unprecedented talent management challenge. Extant research suggests a broad range of work values that may attract job candidates to the cruise industry. The purpose of this...
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Article
While extensive research focuses on the relationship between chain-affiliation and hotel operating performance, these results are inconclusive. We suggest this is because previous studies have largely ignored whether affiliated hotels are operated...
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Cruz, M., Hodari, D., & Raub, S. (2024). The impact of management structure on guest satisfaction in chain-affiliated hotels and the moderating influence of chain scale. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 117, 103651
Raub, S., Cruz, M., Gorka, J., Hodari, D., & Saul, L. (2024). The cruise industry workforce crunch – generational changes in work values of job seekers. Tourism Review, 79(1), 38-53.
Aroul, R., Hodari. D., Bianchi, G. & Martignoni, G. (2023). The impact of brand affiliation on asset values: the case of UK hotels. Journal of Property Research, 40(2), 157-184.
Chan, E.K., Hodari, D., & Tizane, L. (2022). Soft brand or independent? Evidence from the first decade of the soft branding, strategy in the U.S. market. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 103, 103188.
Hodari, D., Turner, M.J., Sturman, M., & Nath, D. (2020). The role of hotel owners across different management and agency structures. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 21(1), 92-113.
Hodari, D., Balla, P.J., & Aroul, A.R. (2017). The Matter of Encumbrance: How Management Structure Affects Hotel Value. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 58(3), 293-311.
Hodari, D., Turner, M., & Sturman, M. (2017). How hotel owner-operator goal congruence and GM autonomy influence hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 61, 119-128.
Turner, M., Way, S., Hodari, D., & Witteman, W. (2017). Hotel Property Performance: The Role of Strategic Management Accounting. International journal of Hospitality Management, 63, 33-43.
Roper, A., & Hodari, D. (2015). Strategy Tools: Contextual Factors Impacting Use and Usefulness. Tourism Management, 51, 1-12.
Hodari, D., & Sturman, M. (2014). Who’s in Charge Now? The Decision Autonomy of Hotel General Managers, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 55(4), 433-447.
Hodari, D., & Samson, D. (2014). Settling for less: the institutionalization of the hotel feasibility study. The Journal of Hospitality Financial Management, 22(2), 97-110.
Hodari, D., Waldthausen, V., & Sturman, M. (2014). Outsourcing and Role Stress: An Empirical Study of Hotel Spa Managers. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 37, 190-199.