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Making friends with your neighbors? Agglomeration and tacit collusion in the lodging industry

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  • Li Gan
  • Manuel A. Hernandez

Abstract

Agglomeration is a location pattern frequently observed in service industries such as hotels. This paper empirically examines if agglomeration facilitates tacit collusion in the lodging industry using a quarterly dataset of hotels that operated in rural areas across Texas between 2003 and 2005. We jointly model a price and occupancy rate equation under a switching regression model to endogenously identify a collusive and non-collusive regime. The estimation results indicate that clustered hotels have a higher probability of being in the potential collusive regime than isolated properties in the same town. The identification of a collusive regime is also consistent with other factors considered to affect the sustainability of collusion like cluster size, seasonality and firm size, and the results are robust to alternative cluster definitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Li Gan & Manuel A. Hernandez, 2011. "Making friends with your neighbors? Agglomeration and tacit collusion in the lodging industry," NBER Working Papers 16739, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:16739
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Akio Kawasaki & Takao Ohkawa & Makoto Okamura, 2019. "Inter-group competition through joint marketing efforts and intra-group Cournot competition," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 203-224, December.
    4. Roberto Gabriele & Enrico Tundis, 2015. "Contesto regionale, struttura economica e impatto delle politiche regionali: il caso degli alberghi in Trentino," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(3 Suppl.), pages 37-59.
    5. Roberto Gabriele, & Enrico Tundis, & Enrico Zaninotto, 2015. "Public Subsidies and Development of Hotel Industry: Evidence from a Place-based Policy," DEM Discussion Papers 2015/10, Department of Economics and Management.
    6. Gan, Li & Hernandez, Manuel A. & Zhang, Shuoxun, 2021. "Insurance or deliberate use of the bankruptcy law for financial gain? Testing for heterogeneous filing behaviors in the United States," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    7. Cappenberg, Christina, 2013. "Staatliche Förderung regionaler Unternehmensnetzwerke: Legitimation nationaler Clusterpolitik," Arbeitspapiere 140, University of Münster, Institute for Cooperatives.
    8. Shohei Kurata & Yasuo Ohe, 2020. "Competitive Structure of Accommodations in a Traditional Japanese Hot Springs Tourism Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, April.
    9. Juan L Eugenio-Martin & José M Cazorla-Artiles & Christian González-Martel, 2019. "On the determinants of Airbnb location and its spatial distribution," Tourism Economics, , vol. 25(8), pages 1224-1244, December.
    10. Wyatt J. Brooks & Joseph P. Kaboski & Yao Amber Li, 2016. "Growth Policy, Agglomeration, and (the Lack of) Competition," NBER Working Papers 22947, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Diego Escobari & Manuel A. Hernandez, 2019. "Separating Between Unobserved Consumer Types: Evidence From Airlines," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(2), pages 1215-1230, April.
    12. Melis, Giuseppe & Piga, Claudio A, 2016. "Are all online hotel prices created dynamic? An empirical assessment," MPRA Paper 75896, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Xi Wu & Li Gan, 2013. "Multiple Dimensions of Private Information in Life Insurance Markets," NBER Working Papers 19629, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Beta Septi Iryani & Muhammad Halley Yudhistira & Khoirunurrofik Khoirunurrofik & Djoni Hartono, 2024. "Conformity or differentiation? The effect of competitive strategy on hotel performance," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(2), pages 522-538, March.
    15. Augusto Voltes-Dorta & Federico Inchausti-Sintes, 2021. "The spatial and quality dimensions of Airbnb markets," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(4), pages 688-702, June.
    16. Ibrahim Mohammed & Basak Denizci Guillet & Rob Law, 2019. "Modeling dynamic price dispersion of hotel rooms in a spatially agglomerated tourism city for weekend and midweek stays," Tourism Economics, , vol. 25(8), pages 1245-1264, December.
    17. Escobari, Diego & Serrano, Alejandro, 2015. "Reducing Asymmetric Information in Venture Capital Backed IPOs," MPRA Paper 68140, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Alemayehu, Fikru K. & Kumbhakar, Subal C. & Landazuri Tveteraas, Sigbjørn, 2022. "Estimation of staff use efficiency: Evidence from the hospitality industry," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    19. Douglas MacKinnon & Martin Pavlovič, 2023. "Proprietary Varieties’ Influence on Economics and Competitiveness in Land Use within the Hop Industry," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-12, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C3 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L4 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies

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