Faculty & Research
Cornell Study Shows Most Restaurant Patrons Willing to Dine Off-Peak if the Price is Right
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Joe Strodel, Jr., 607-255-4646, js343@cornell.edu
Ithaca, N.Y., April 26, 2004 - In an article published in the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, (CQ) Cornell Professor Alex Susskind asked customers for their reactions to specific demand-shifting tactics based on revenue management, in a restaurant in Ithaca, New York. The customers indicated that they generally would be willing to shift their dining time to off-peak hours in exchange for discounts on menu items. The respondents completed questionnaires while they were in the dinner queue at a popular, casual-dining restaurant, which does not take reservations. Better than three-quarters of the 367 respondents agreed that they would accept an incentive for dining at an off-peak time. Moreover, two out of three respondents said that they, in fact, had the flexibility to change their dining time and an interest in doing so.
Young respondents were more likely than old respondents to be willing to accept price-related incentives to change their dining time, while those who were planning to spend an above-average amount and those dining for a special occasion looked favorably on special service or product offerings as enticements to change dining times. Another group of respondents who were interested in discounted menus comprised those who were not willing to wait a long time for a table. Overall, respondents gave 30 minutes as the median length of time that they'd be willing to wait for a table, with a mean just under 39 minutes. However, the maximum waiting time for busy periods at this restaurant stretches to an hour.
Now in its 44th year of publication, the Cornell HRA Quarterly is considered the premier journal of applied research serving the hospitality industry. Its audience is hospitality practitioners as well as scholars. The award-winning CQ is published by the School of Hotel Administration's Center for Hospitality Research. Ranked #1 according to the 2001 Management Journal Content Guide for "practical implications in the hospitality and tourism industry," the CQ has also won a coveted Emerald Golden Page Award for 2002 in the category of Practical Usability of Research. For more information on the CQ, see: http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/quarterly.
About the Center for Hospitality Research
A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors groundbreaking research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. Under the lead of CHR's 34 corporate supporters, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operational issues. To learn more about CHR and its projects, visit http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr.
The Center's supporters are leading organizations in the hospitality industry. Partners & Sponsors - AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., Bartech Systems International, Cendant Corporation, Cornell Hotel Society Foundation, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Kohinoor Group, Marsh's Hospitality Practice, Nestlé, Willowbend Golf Management, and Wyndham International; Friends - ARAMARK Corporation, D.K. Shifflet and Associates, Ltd., ehotelier.com, Global Hospitality Resources, Inc., Hsyndicate, Hospitalitynet.org, Hospitality World, Hotel Asia Pacific, Hotel China, Hotel Interactive, Inc., Hotel Resource, International CHRIE, Lodging Magazine, Lodging Hospitality, National Hotel Executive Magazine, Resort+Recreation, RestaurantEdge.com, Shibata Publishing Co., Ltd., Smith Travel Research, The Hospitality Research Group of PKF Consulting, The Lodging Conference, TravelCLICK, UniFocus, and WiredHotelier.com.