Specificities of Hotel Chains’ Internationalization Strategies Within Different Price Segments of a Market

In the globalized world of today the process of global integration of a company requires many decisions to take, and the choice of an entry strategy seems to be of crucial importance. Hotel chain owners are opened to a wide range of options to choose from, and the consideration of peculiarities of each of the entry modes is of significant importance, since the internationalization strategy directly affects the long-term success of a certain market penetration. Many scholars have addressed the problem throughout the last few decades, however, none of them seem to have focused on the role which a market segment plays in the choice of a certain internationalization strategy. The purpose of this study was to research whether if there is a possible correlation between chosen entry modes and the market segments hotel chains operate within, namely luxury, upper-upscale, upscale, upper-midscale, midscale and economy segments. The research was be based on data collected from Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, IHG and AccorHotels quarterly reports. The study came to a conclusion that the market segment indeed influences the entry mode choice: the higher the segment is, the less likely companies choose franchising as an internationalization strategy.