Determinants of competitiveness in Kaunas city hotels

The target of the work: determinants of competitiveness. The problem of the work: what are determinants of competitiveness? The aim of the work: to estimate determinants of competitiveness in Kaunas city hotels. Objectives of the work: 1. To define the concept and importance of competitiveness of the hotels; 2. To highlight the most important determinants of competitiveness; 3. To ascertain the investigation of the competitiveness of the hotels; 4. To ascertain the key determinants of competitiveness in Kaunas city hotels; Methods of the work: analysis of scientific literature, questionnaire, formalized (structured) interview, statistical analysis of the data and qualitative content analysis. Conclusions: 1. Competitiveness is a complex concept. In hotels level it is understood as the ability to attract and retain customers, to sell services more efficiently than competitors do. The importance of competitiveness of the hotels is defined as the ability to create country, as a tourist destination, image. 2. Determinants of competitiveness of the enterprises are divided in two main groups: internal factors and external factors. It is find out, that internal factors determine competitiveness of enterprises much more than external factors. Internal factors are grouped into „soft“, „hard“ factors and the environment. 3. Competitiveness of the hotel is a relatively new area of research. It has been recently started to examine both theoretically and empirically. Published studies allow to understand the current situation of the competitiveness of hotels as well as to draw attention to the future direction of this field. 4. Competitiveness in Kaunas city hotels are mainly determined by geographical location and price corresponding to quality of service. A comparison of internal and external environmental factors revealed that internal environment factors have more significant impact on the competitiveness. Particularly, quality of service, quick response to customer needs and cost. As the most important competitive model was named cooperation and communication. Factors conditions have the most value in Kaunas city’s hotel