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[Abstract]As international trade and business expand， international connection becomes more important for the hotel industry. Inevitably， hotel investment outside one’s home country incurs high risks with a wide range of environmental influences affecting organisational strategies and performance. The international hotels tend to be localized which can meet the specific needs of local employees and worldwide customers. Cultural localization is the key to operating localization successfully. This essay focuses on some certain aspects of cultural localization in the international hotel industry and explains how may affect the internal operating environment of hotel companies. Then a case study of the Crowne Plaza Resort Xishuangbanna about some critical issues would be presented.
[Introduction]With the spread of globalization in the world， the hospitality industry has became a more important part of international business. Especially there are many famous western hotels which are part of international hotel chains that have been developing fast and investing in China. Take InterContinental Hotels Group as an example， it has nearly 676，000 rooms in over 4，600 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world （IHG 2013a）. As one of the largest international hotel group in China， it manages the most hotels in China except in UK which is its home country （Li 2011； Li 2012； Yan 2007）. Many of these international hotels not only bring their corporate culture but also perform a local style operation in China and even in some minority areas to fully make use of the local labour and explore market.
1. International hotel outside its home country
Inevitably， hotel investment outside one’s home country incurs high risks with a wide range of environmental influences affecting organisational strategies and performance. Those environmental factors include： political factors， such as foreign trade regulations， taxation policy； economic factors， such as business cycles and inflation； socio-cultural factors like social mobility and lifestyle changes； technological factors like new discoveries； environmental factors， such as environmental protection laws and legal factors， such as employment law， monopolies legislation and cultural factors （Chen， 2005）. All those factors are likely to impact on the internal operating environment of hotel companies in different extent. The impact of international organizational culture will be discussed in the following paragraghs. 2. Corporate culture of international hotel
The corporate culture is a system of beliefs， expectations， norms and values shared by majority of employees in a company. The corporate culture directs the behaviour of employees， who through adopted system of values， norms of behaviour keep the tradition and transmit it to new employees and contribute to the realization of the vision， mission and goals of the company （Cerovi? & Toma?evi? 2006）. Multinational corporations which have their offices worldwide， spread their corporate culture through behaviour， code dress， way of making business etc. It turns out， they reduce customers’ destination image in some extent.
The corporate culture is translated into practice largely as a result of actions taken by managers. Thus， the quality and style of managerial leadership is crucial in shaping perceptions that will support cultural values and hence， the organization’s strategy. Managers have been classified by their decision-making style： authoritarian， democratic （the leader actively involves subordinates in the decision-making process， sharing problems， soliciting input and sharing authority） and laissez-faire （Zhu & Lv 2011）. Sometimes， a hotel company operating around the whole world may focus on democratic management style rather than an authoritarian style since it has to relate to different employees from different cultures or social backgrounds.
3. Corporate cultural localization in international hotel
International hotel chains spread their corporate culture through manuals of adopted standards： the way of greetings， answering the phone， attitude etc.， but the local national culture is extremely important for determination of corporate culture in hotel companies regardless their size， type of affiliation or level and form of brand within their organizational structure （Cerovi? & Toma?evi? 2006）. Moreover， despite the increasing levels of globalisation， the management style in the hotel industry tends to be localized， which can meet the specific needs of local employees and customers’ needs. While labour supply is not a problem in most developing countries， skilled personnel are sometimes difficult to find， due to a shortage of training facilities and trainers. However， local labours usually have quite different needs from those of imported labourers or immigrants （Zhang 2005）. Facing such an issue， a multinational hotel company has to set up some new management approaches or adjust its management style. Nowadays， increasingly international hotel managers think promotions need adopting to fit nationalism and national traits， headquarters tend to impose standardized promotional campaigns. They develop a series of national campaigns that promote the identity of the host country. Hotels that recognize these nationalist tendencies are less likely to use standardized corporate identities. The analysis showed that the local national culture is reflected more in branded hotels than in non branded hotels （Cerovi? & Toma?evi?， 2006）. What’s more， the national culture does influence the corporate culture， but the strong corporate cultures can overwhelm outside effects of local national culture. It should be also said that in the hotels owned by foreigners， but not affiliated with any international hotel system， the national culture is stronger than the corporate culture （Rutherford 2002）.
Conclusion
In the 21st century， with the increasing levels of international hotels spreading in China， there is no other way to survive but to be localized. The only certainty about today’s hotel industry is that only those who plan for thinking globally and acting locally， and who are able and willing to adopt to fit nationalism and national traits， will reap the full rewards of success. Successful hotels will be those who are able to anticipate， determine and solve problems of a varied nature in the context of their organization’s goals and in the environment of an increasingly international and complex society.
References
Arndt， HW 1998， ‘Globalisation’， Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Quarterly Review， vol.51， no. 204， pp.73-89.
Cerovi?， Z & Toma?evi?， A 2006， ‘The impact of national culture on the corporate culture in global hotel companies’， Tourism and Hospitality Management， vol. 12， no. 2， pp.93-102.
[Introduction]With the spread of globalization in the world， the hospitality industry has became a more important part of international business. Especially there are many famous western hotels which are part of international hotel chains that have been developing fast and investing in China. Take InterContinental Hotels Group as an example， it has nearly 676，000 rooms in over 4，600 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world （IHG 2013a）. As one of the largest international hotel group in China， it manages the most hotels in China except in UK which is its home country （Li 2011； Li 2012； Yan 2007）. Many of these international hotels not only bring their corporate culture but also perform a local style operation in China and even in some minority areas to fully make use of the local labour and explore market.
1. International hotel outside its home country
Inevitably， hotel investment outside one’s home country incurs high risks with a wide range of environmental influences affecting organisational strategies and performance. Those environmental factors include： political factors， such as foreign trade regulations， taxation policy； economic factors， such as business cycles and inflation； socio-cultural factors like social mobility and lifestyle changes； technological factors like new discoveries； environmental factors， such as environmental protection laws and legal factors， such as employment law， monopolies legislation and cultural factors （Chen， 2005）. All those factors are likely to impact on the internal operating environment of hotel companies in different extent. The impact of international organizational culture will be discussed in the following paragraghs. 2. Corporate culture of international hotel
The corporate culture is a system of beliefs， expectations， norms and values shared by majority of employees in a company. The corporate culture directs the behaviour of employees， who through adopted system of values， norms of behaviour keep the tradition and transmit it to new employees and contribute to the realization of the vision， mission and goals of the company （Cerovi? & Toma?evi? 2006）. Multinational corporations which have their offices worldwide， spread their corporate culture through behaviour， code dress， way of making business etc. It turns out， they reduce customers’ destination image in some extent.
The corporate culture is translated into practice largely as a result of actions taken by managers. Thus， the quality and style of managerial leadership is crucial in shaping perceptions that will support cultural values and hence， the organization’s strategy. Managers have been classified by their decision-making style： authoritarian， democratic （the leader actively involves subordinates in the decision-making process， sharing problems， soliciting input and sharing authority） and laissez-faire （Zhu & Lv 2011）. Sometimes， a hotel company operating around the whole world may focus on democratic management style rather than an authoritarian style since it has to relate to different employees from different cultures or social backgrounds.
3. Corporate cultural localization in international hotel
International hotel chains spread their corporate culture through manuals of adopted standards： the way of greetings， answering the phone， attitude etc.， but the local national culture is extremely important for determination of corporate culture in hotel companies regardless their size， type of affiliation or level and form of brand within their organizational structure （Cerovi? & Toma?evi? 2006）. Moreover， despite the increasing levels of globalisation， the management style in the hotel industry tends to be localized， which can meet the specific needs of local employees and customers’ needs. While labour supply is not a problem in most developing countries， skilled personnel are sometimes difficult to find， due to a shortage of training facilities and trainers. However， local labours usually have quite different needs from those of imported labourers or immigrants （Zhang 2005）. Facing such an issue， a multinational hotel company has to set up some new management approaches or adjust its management style. Nowadays， increasingly international hotel managers think promotions need adopting to fit nationalism and national traits， headquarters tend to impose standardized promotional campaigns. They develop a series of national campaigns that promote the identity of the host country. Hotels that recognize these nationalist tendencies are less likely to use standardized corporate identities. The analysis showed that the local national culture is reflected more in branded hotels than in non branded hotels （Cerovi? & Toma?evi?， 2006）. What’s more， the national culture does influence the corporate culture， but the strong corporate cultures can overwhelm outside effects of local national culture. It should be also said that in the hotels owned by foreigners， but not affiliated with any international hotel system， the national culture is stronger than the corporate culture （Rutherford 2002）.
Conclusion
In the 21st century， with the increasing levels of international hotels spreading in China， there is no other way to survive but to be localized. The only certainty about today’s hotel industry is that only those who plan for thinking globally and acting locally， and who are able and willing to adopt to fit nationalism and national traits， will reap the full rewards of success. Successful hotels will be those who are able to anticipate， determine and solve problems of a varied nature in the context of their organization’s goals and in the environment of an increasingly international and complex society.
References
Arndt， HW 1998， ‘Globalisation’， Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Quarterly Review， vol.51， no. 204， pp.73-89.
Cerovi?， Z & Toma?evi?， A 2006， ‘The impact of national culture on the corporate culture in global hotel companies’， Tourism and Hospitality Management， vol. 12， no. 2， pp.93-102.