Introduction
The modern world is constantly changing and extremely quick: amounts and information flows are significant and continually increase. Increasing the information and its unification is globalization: it leads to the interference of various information flows and results in the modern global culture. Globalization breaks existing borders and creates new; this process is both connected with opportunities for progress and dangers of degradation. Cultural diversity results from globalization and the interconnection of various cultures and values: nations, religions, ideologies, races, sexual orientations. They all are involved in cultural exchange; its results may be good, such as the search for mutual understanding, and bad, such as segregation and violence.
The hotel industry is directly affected by globalization, and destination image and diversity maintenance are its important challenges. QT Hotels, a network of luxury hotels located in Australia and New Zealand, appreciated various tools to create a diverse space where everyone will feel themselves as themselves: safe and comfortable (Heney 2019). They are friendly to everyone, support LGBT+ culture and cultural exchange, and often host various events, from art performances to kinky parties (Junker 2016). In that way, the network creates a destination image where each of their clients obtains a good treatment for them personally and may feel themselves at home. QT Hotels maintains diversity, providing everyone to choose the experience they want and facilitating communication between various cultures and views (Lenoir-Jourdan 2021). However, wrong sides of globalization, diversity, and destination image are also present in the network’s activity; they will be discussed below.
Destination Image
This term describes a set of emotions, feelings, and other forms of experience that travelers may get when traveling to their destination place. It may be divided into a cognitive and affective image: the former is connected with thoughts and ideas inspired by the place, while the latter is about emotions and feelings (Woosnam, Stylidis, & Ivkov 2020). Cognitive image is, thus, the rational part of the destination image: it will be good if the place is safe, stable, and has a good reputation. Affective destination image is connected with the client’s emotions in the moment of staying (Huete Alcocer & López Ruiz 2019). Together, they create a complete image in the customer’s head, which defines whether the experience from the place will be positive or negative.
Positive Consequence: Increasing a Touristic Value and Loyalty
When working with destination image, one improves the quality of experience obtained by travelers in their destination place. Tourists will more likely choose those that feel familiar, trustworthy, and warm. Emotional closeness with the hotel, restaurant, or resort will make the stay there much more comfortable and inspiring for the customer, and they will be happy to stay there (Woosnam, Stylidis, & Ivkov 2020). When they feel stability, safety, relaxation, and positive while staying, they will probably be happy to pay even more just for additional stay; thus, making the hospitality business much more successful.
Hotels concerned by their destination image are usually more successful than those that ignore it. QT Hotels, for example, uses various elements for providing a unique experience for each of their clients: more than 100 different character-filled rooms are available for them, enabling them to choose the one most suitable (The Life Style Edit 2019). Its hotels are often located in specific heritage places, such as the Sydney hotel being among the State Theatre and the Gowings building (Junker 2016). Such elements facilitate a good experience for QT Hotels’ clients, which is one reason for the network’s success.
Negative Consequence: Bubble of Serenity
Destination image, while increasing the chances of good communication and decreasing xenophobia and hostility between representatives of various cultures, decreases sincerity as well. It leads to the situation when people leave behind their opinions and views, such as political and religious ones, to not abuse anyone by expressing them. QT Hotels network presents various entertaining, colorful, and exotic; even its staff members have many unique uniforms, and their work looks like performances (Junker 2016). However, it seems very playful and skin-deep; while it is suitable for relaxation and non-personal talks, deep, thoughtful conversations become harder in such conditions, as the playful environment is not conducive for them.
Positive Consequence: Increased Opportunities
Globalization means increasing the information flow: thus, opportunities are also increasing, intensifying the competition and creating all conditions for progress and success. It is the process of expanding the communication between various parts of the world: countries, regions, communities, corporations. It leads to an active exchange of knowledge, values, cultural heritages, breaking the borders between cultures and creating new ones. For businesses, it opens opportunities to scale their presence in the world, using open borders and new cultural ties (Lukianenko et al. 2019). QT Hotels successfully uses those opportunities, quickly scaling the network among Australia and New Zealandia’s cities.
Negative Consequence: Disintegration and Cultural Loss
Rapid changes brought by globalization are often devastating for local cultures and even for ordinary people. Eventually, it leads to the weakening of cultural bonds, decreasing the importance of the family, and loss of values and ethics. If new values are not created, the culture may be doomed for decay and be consumed by quick changes made by globalization. New borders created by globalization are usually based on the unequal distribution of money and power; it leads to suppression, segregation, and violence. Not only are cultures vulnerable to globalization, but individuals too: they are in danger of losing their sense of life in the rapid flow of information. While providing various character-filled rooms and extraordinary stays, QT Hotels presents them as a game, not as an authentic cultural experience (The Life Style Edit 2019). While it is suitable for those who appreciate the global culture and feel good in its extreme information flow, it may be uncomfortable for people unfamiliar with them: their accustomed worldview will possibly be destroyed.
Diversity
The presence of various cultures in one place, intensifying various communications between them, and cultural exchange are inevitable subsequences of globalization. Communities become diverse, as multiple nations are brought together, attracted by similar views or expected benefits. Digital technologies are the strong driving force for expanding diversity, as they create connections between various parts of the world via the Internet (Shestakova & Polanski 2019). Diversity management means a set of measures directed at maintaining the balance and comfortable co-existing of all members in diverse communities; it is an essential element of modern hotel businesses.
Positive Consequence: Tolerance
More cultural representatives mean more intense communication between them and, thus, tolerance toward various cultural peculiarities. QT Hotels are open for LGBT people, representatives of all cultures, and often hosts various feasts, such as LGBT prides (Heney 2019). Its openness creates a comfortable and safe space, where violence is almost impossible, as everybody feels themselves happy. Thus, the network applies diversity management successfully, enabling representatives of various views and cultures find the place and entertainments personally for them
Negative Consequence: Unequal Distribution of Power
While diversity leads to increased tolerance, due to the constant presence of various cultures’ representatives, it also increases tensions in society. When those interested in cultural exchange are communicating, those interested in power use the situation to strengthen their power and control. QT Hotels are acting in the luxury segment of the hospitality industry; it means that their hotels are not available for those who do not have a high income or live in developing countries (Lenoir-Jourdan 2021). Such inequity leads to segregation: those who share QT Hotels’ values but cannot pay for them are not allowed to join their events and services.
Conclusion
Globalization, diversity, and destination images are modern processes that are necessary to be considered by the hotel business if it wants to be successful and widescale. Globalization creates opportunities, leading to rapid and intense information flows. Companies may catch them and use them to develop new and more attractive services, which will make their hotels unique and more valuable for customers. Diversity means the coexistence of various cultures, views, opinions, and values in one place; multiple reasons attract them due to open borders and globalization. Diversity management is essential for modern businesses, as they usually attract various people and their success depends on how well they deal with them. Lastly, destination image is the creation of a good experience for those who visit the hotel or resort, which is also an integral part of their success.
QT Hotels is widely using all benefits of globalization, culture diversification, and destination image, which may be seen on the company’s official website. Its hotels have various character-filled rooms: they unite various cultures and ideas into unique mixes, available for their customers. In that way, globalization benefits, such as cultural exchange and a big field of possibilities, are adapted by QT Hotels; the diversity, which is the consequence of globalization, is also highly appreciated. People of all cultures, orientations, races, and nations are welcome in QT Hotels. The only requirement is that they should have enough money to pay for the hotel’s service.
Reference List
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Junker, U 2016, How QT Hotels became Australia’s hippest hotel group, Traveller.
Lenoir-Jourdan, N 2021, QT hotels announce a new collection of extraordinary stays, First Class Magazine.
Lukianenko, D, Poruchnik, A, Stoliarchuk, Y & Liutak, O 2019, ‘Globalization of the tourism industry: scales, levels and institutional formats’, Problems and Perspectives in Management, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 563–574.
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Woosnam, KM, Stylidis, D & Ivkov, M 2020, ‘Explaining conative destination image through cognitive and affective destination image and emotional solidarity with residents’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 1–19.