giuliano bianchi
The Bear, the Bull and the Wolf: a 2020 Economy Fairytale
Dr Giuliano Bianchi | March 11, 2020
As the impact of the global coronavirus outbreak ripples through markets, what's the outlook for tomorrow's economy? By Dr. Giuliano Bianchi Daughter: “Mom, can you tell me a bedtime story?” Mom: “Of course. Do you know the story of the people and their economy of the last two decades?” Daughter: “Is it scary?” Mom: “Quite!” Once upon a time, there was a recovering economy that was finally growing after the 2008 financial meltdown. But then, a scary virus jumped from exotic wild animals to human beings and spread over many continents. In this moment of fear, people reduced their level of consumption leading t...
Coronavirus: What Impact on the Swiss Hotel Industry
Dr Giuliano Bianchi | February 12, 2020
Following the outbreak of the coronavirus there will inevitably be a shutdown of Chinese tourists. How bad is this for the Swiss tourism industry? Forecasting the Effects of Coronavirus on the Swiss Hotel Industry A novel coronavirus (formally known as 2019-nCoV) has sprung up over the last few weeks, with its epidemic center in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province (China). Little is known about this virus, but we do know that has an incubation period of 2 to 14 days and a mortality rate of 2.07%, according to CNN. While urgent research is being carried out, authorities are taking steps to contain the spread of the virus by closing air traf...
The Need for Big Data and Quantitative Skills Training In Hospitality
Dr. Giuliano Bianchi | October 4, 2018
By Dr. Giuliano Bianchi & Dr. Isabella Blengini The hospitality industry is becoming increasingly complex, with financial engineering, corporate governance, and strategic interactions with other sectors now part and parcel of daily life. In addition, publicly-traded major hotel chains manage a portfolio of brands and deal with a range of other industries at the same time. Hotels can no longer rely on experience and 'savoir-faire' to get by, but need to hire staff who are comfortable with quantitative skills such as mathematics and statistics. This is why, as economists, we believe hospitality business schools that teach subjects suc...
Protecting the Hotel Brand by Providing ‘Reliable’ Information
Dr. Isabella Blengini | March 22, 2018
By Dr. Isabella Blengini and Dr. Giuliano Bianchi Elle Darby may not be a household name but this video blogger does have influence in social media circles with some 87,000 YouTube subscribers and 76,000 Instagram followers. According to media reports – some 114 articles in all across 20 countries -- she contacted the Charleville Lodge Hotel in Dublin, offering the owner exposure on her social media channels in exchange of a free stay for her and her boyfriend over the Valentine's Day weekend. The hotel owner declined, posting his reply online and publicly banning all social media influencers from his hotel. This provoked a series...
CEO Pay: Analysts’ Forecasts and Compensation
December 11, 2017
By Giuliano Bianchi CEO pay is a controversial topic as some executives have benefited massively from stock options even when their firms have not been performing well. Over the past three decades or so, firms have increasingly looked to stock options as an incentive for executives to make decisions which will enhance the performance of businesses. While there has been a great deal of adverse publicity and shareholders have expressed concerns about excessive pay, shareholders also want to make sure that the interests of management are aligned with their own. In a recent article in Applied Economics, I analyze the effect of share price t...
Changing the Rules of the Game for Hotel Bookings
October 20, 2017
By Giuliano Bianchi and Isabella Blengini Last month the Swiss Parliament ratified a decision to allow Swiss hotels operating on booking.com to offer rooms at lower prices directly to their customers. The digital platform opposed the decision, arguing that it would be the customers who would be hit hardest. Booking.com allows hotels to sell their rooms on the platform on a commission basis and customers have the convenience of being able to compare prices before booking a room. For hotels, the main advantage in using the site is that it can dramatically increase their visibility, so much so that some 72 percent of all hotel bookings in ...
