Providing First-Class Service to the Hotel's Guests Using the Grand Budapest Hotel - Case Study Example

FILM ANALYSIS By Name Course Instructor Institution City/State Date Exploring the Aspect of Providing First-Class Service to the Hotel's Guests Using the Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) TV Series Introduction In the hospitality industry, excellent customer service is very important because it is the initial point of contact, between the employees and clients. Customer service offers the hotel an opportunity to establish a lasting impression. It is the duty of the service provider in the hospitality industry to sustain customer satisfaction as well as happiness. In the hospitality industry, customers are placed at the forefront of the company’s operation in order to get loyal customers that will help keep the business afloat. Undoubtedly, customers are the lifeblood of all businesses; therefore, they should be the business’ priority. Any company in the hospitality industry should regularly surpass the customers’ expectations and boost their retention and satisfaction. When a hotel exceeds the expectations of the customers, it is inclined to boost its reputation; thus, resulting in referrals. It is imperative for a hotel to distinguish itself from the competitors and this can be achieved by establishing what is needed by the customers. Most people desire for an enhanced personal service and regular updates. The objective of this piece is to explore the aspect of providing first-class service to the hotel's guests using the Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) TV series. The Grand Budapest Hotel narrates the quests of Gustave H, a well-known concierge at a renowned hotel in Europe between the wars. Background Hospitality can be defined as a process through which the guests are received and treated in a friendly manner. It can also be described as the disposition or quality of receiving as well as treating clients generously, friendly, and warmly. According to Calahan (2014), people working in the hospitality industry normally work in convention centres, restaurants, or hotels. The workers are trained to continually create a satisfying customer service and have a hospitable feeling handling the clients. They work together with the management to ensure that the clients feel comfortable and welcomed. More importantly, the hospitality industry is associated closely with customer service since offering improved customer service is a must in this industry. Certainly, the hospitality involves a set of ideal behaviours as well as attitudes. As pointed out by Kattara et al. (2015) there are different types of employees' behaviours that could happen in the hospitality industry. Employees' behaviours can be described as different series of actions conducted by the employees in the workplace. The behaviours can be considered positive if the employees act in the best interests of the customers, other employees and organisation. The behaviours could also be negative if the conduct of employees destroys the productive work environment. Negative behaviours could result in stress and poor productivity. As pointed out by Kuo and Hsiao (2013), the success of a company depends on the employees’ ability to display friendly and cheerful emotions when they are interacting with customers. In the hospitality industry, the employees are expected to be friendly to the customers and show a positive attitude. The hospitality industry is a bustling industry where the customer service is the main factor that unifies all industry’s segments. As a multi-billion-dollar industry, the industry depends heavily on the accessibility of leisure time as well as disposable income. The industry is important because it is a major employer and includes different service sectors such as food service and tourism. As pointed out by EconomyWatch (2010), the hospitality industry is typified by a huge number of workers, both blue collar and white collar employees. The success of businesses in this industry relies enormously on customer service efficiency. Commercial hospitality is concerned with offering an experience rather than a mere service. Osman et al. (2014) assert that commercial hospitality’s main objective is to provide the clients with a valuable experience. In the commercial hospitality, businesses focus on providing broader experiences to the customers. The experiences are multidimensional and involve different places, people, actions, organisations, objects as well as technologies. Mansour and Ariffin (2017) posits that clients in the hospitality industry are inclined to assess their experiences based on the feelings created when they encounter the individuals involved in their experiences such as managers and frontline staff. Hospitableness is fundamentally emotional since it needs involved parties to abandon or suspend rational judgment while creating pleasure or enjoyment. Commercial hospitality can be considered as delivery of employee affection, which involves expressing emotions that are socially desired while interacting with the clients. Commercial hospitality is positively associated with the experience quality. The idea of hospitality being an experience is associated with the Grand Budapest Hotel movie since Gustave H, the concierge is not only overtly romantic but understands the essentials of delivering exceptional service. He demonstrates ways of catering all the needs of the guests. After the death of M Gustave, the hotel started declining but its reputation as a luxurious hotel still remained. Its reputation is based on the quality experience it offered its customers. The movie creates travel dreams for scores of tourists as well as adventurers across the globe. The selected movie is the Grand Budapest Hotel, which is a film that offers an ideal example of how the hotel’s success is branded through the service provided by the staff. In the movie, a young lobby boy established that all guests had unique requests and needs and that the main focus should always be the customer. For that reason, he tries to do everything to make the clients happy and ensured that he fulfilled the requests made by the customers. The hotel offers an attractive as well as exclusive experience for guests; thus, being able to differentiate itself from the competitors. Link: Hospitality in movies/TV episodes has inspired many people individuals, especially those who have decided to choose the hospitality education and career paths. Most of the movies show a trend amongst hotels, which are yet to be explored in completely in academia. The movies can enable the business owners in the hospitality industry to learn ways of differentiating themselves in the market. Most of the movies have stressed on the essence of service quality in the hospitality industry considering that all guests desire for a high level of service quality. Some of the key themes in the movie that relate to the hospitality industry are where the aspect of loyalty manifests since Gustave values loyalty and is ready to do anything to get it. The movie shows that Gustave works hard to earn loyalty with his lobby boy Zero, his prisoner friends, patrons, servants of Madame D., and many others. Gustave puts loyalty first and is willing to please people around him for free. This demonstrates that creating high-class service to the customers is important for business owners in the hotel industry because it results in customer satisfaction and improved business reputation. Other movies that portray similar themes include Four Rooms (1995), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), Pretty Woman (1990), Gosford Park (2001), and (1980) Chef (2014) (Rose, 2016). Analysis As pointed out by Na (2010), the quality of service has become very demanding amongst the customers. Basically, quality depends on customer satisfaction. With regard to luxury, Lu et al. (2015) posit that customer satisfaction, service quality, as well as positive customer experiences are very crucial since when the customers experience positive experience they will desire to stay longer or return. Besides that, Social Media and the Internet has made it easier for customers to share and describe their experience with other potential customers; hence, influencing their decisions. For that reason, hotel operators should focus on the quality of all services that their guests encounter and the emotional judgments of customers regarding their hotel stays has turned out to be the basis for the hotel’s efforts to make themselves different from competitors as well as to realise competitive advantages. Minh et al. (2015) assert that the intensively competitive market has forced the hoteliers to renew as well as improve themselves continuously in order to attract customers. Gustave ensured that he satisfied his guests/customer demands by doing anything to make them loyal customers such as giving sexual favours. Gustave accepted sexual requests from the rich women who were frequenting the hotel with the goal of making them loyal customers. Gustave runs the hotel keenly by protecting it from the steady march of time. Gustave knows the name of all his guests and remembers them for many years. To satisfy his customers, he makes sure he understands what and when they want, even before the clients knowing what they want. Most of the guests, especially old women continually returned to the hotel with the aim of seeing Gustave. The department the movie relates to a luxury hotel Luxury, whereby the customers are not offered the predictability of big standards and brands, but a more unique, personalized and boutique style experience. As a luxurious hotel, the Grand Budapest Hotel tries to provide customers with high-class service and make them feel incredibly connected with the hotel. Some of the behaviours most prevalent in the clip include the sexual favours from Gustave to his clients in order to make them loyal customers. Concierge and customers share a strong bond, which consequently forms a camaraderie atmosphere. The customers’ requests are fulfilled and sometimes they are offered alternatives. The objective is to offer the guests some options and to ensure the conversation continues until the clients are satisfied. The moves demonstrate that when concierges create special bonds with the clients, the clients are inclined to come back. By focusing on the customers, Gustave made more customers satisfied and loyal. Gustave upholds trust and honour as evidenced by his desire to light a candle for the deceased guest. He kept his promise by delegating the task to the most trusted colleague and supervised to make sure that it was accomplished. Gustave did everything in his power to make sure that all customers were satisfied. Some personal examples that I have experienced that are associated with this movie are the ability to take pride in embodying the values of the organisation. In the most of the hotels I have visited, some employees behave like Gustave, they are proud of their job. They embody the spirit of the hospitality to the degree that they show the same graciousness, diligence and caring as Gustave does not conduct transactions, instead, he forges relationships. Conclusion and Recommendations In conclusion, this piece has explored the aspect of providing first-class service to the hotel's guests using the Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) TV series. As evidenced in the piece, the Grand Budapest Hotel, as well as Gustave, offers powerful lessons to the staff members that serve guests in various hotels across the globe. The film demonstrates the essence of improved customer service and how high-class service can result in loyal customers. The movie has demonstrated that customer service is not a simple task in the hospitality industry since most customers’ desire for quality experience. In recommendation, it is imperative for luxury hotels to provide quality service that can attract as many customers as possible. This can be achieved by recruiting skilled employees, adopting relevant technologies, and creating friendly environments. Reference List Calahan, M., 2014. What do the words hospitality and customer service mean to you? 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Lu, C., Berchoux, C., Marek, M.W. & Chen, B., 2015. Service quality and customer satisfaction: qualitative research implications for luxury hotels. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Res, vol. 9, no. 2, pp.168-82. Mansour, J.S.A. & Ariffin, A.A.M., 2017. The Effects of Local Hospitality, Commercial Hospitality and Experience Quality on Behavioral Intention in Cultural Heritage Tourism. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, vol. 18, no. 2, pp.149-72. Minh, N.H., Ha, N.T., Anh, P.C. & Matsui, Y., 2015. Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: A Case Study of Hotel Industry in Vietnam. Asian Social Science, vol. 11, no. 10, pp.73-85. Na, L., 2010. Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction In The Hotel Industry. Thesis. Como CO, Italy: Politecnico di Milano. Osman, H., Johns, N. & Lugosi, P., 2014. Commercial hospitality in destination experiences: McDonald’s and tourists’ consumption of space. Tourism Management, vol. 42, pp.238-47. Rose, A., 2016. Movies that show what it's really like to work in the hospitality industry. [Online] Available at: HYPERLINK "https://www.hcareers.com/article/career-advice/movies-that-show-what-its-really-like-to-work-in-the-hospitality-industry" https://www.hcareers.com/article/career-advice/movies-that-show-what-its-really-like-to-work-in-the-hospitality-industry [Accessed 31 August 2017]. Read More