Service Quality in Hotel Industry - Case Study Example

Reflective Essay BX3042: Service Quality Management Date Throughout my coursework, I have realised that meeting the needs of the customers is very crucial in ensuring the success of any organisation. This is more so in the service industry where a service quality that that meets the needs of the customers is essential in encouraging them to use your service again, to earn their satisfaction as well as loyalty. However, it is also important the organisation will also ensure it remains economically competitive. Research has proved that service quality is considered as a precedent in satisfaction of customers (Crick & Spencer, 2011). One of the service industries that heavily rely on customer satisfaction for continued success is the hotel industry. I think the benefits of a good service quality about hotel industry include greater satisfaction of the customers and enhancement of the performance of employees. Researchers in this industry also defined service quality concerning the concept of the perceived quality of the consumers, which is influenced by the commitment of employees (Peter, & Nicole, 2006). In Australia, hotel industry is greatly influenced by tourism from both domestic and international travellers. This means that the hotels need to cater for varying needs of customers. I am going to study in Park Hyatt in Sydney in reflection of how service organisations deliver performance excellence. Park Hyatt Sydney is a five star hotel is one of the best 5-Star luxurious hotels in Australia. The hotel is strategically located at the coast with focus on tourist in order to utilise tourism that represents a large sector of the economy of Australia (Park Hyatt Sydney, 2012). Customers in 5-Star hotels expect the highest possible levels of quality service and competition in this industry is driven by strategies which lay much focus on the quality of service in order to add value rather than product differentiation. Service quality in Park Hyatt Sydney is enhanced by great satisfaction of its guests and the performance of employees. This hotel has been able to gain a competitive advantage in Australian hotel industry on basis of the dimensions of service quality and continuous innovation. The five dimensions include tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988). Based on tangibles, the hotels facilities and appearance provides newly designed rooms, residential in style which offers modern luxury as well as a harbour side living. This is a way of satisfying their target customers who are tourists on luxurious travel. The quality of their food is up to guest satisfaction as they are reflective of culture and class among others. In addition, the hotel has a professional program that is designed to improve the health of its customers. Based on reliability, its employees are well trained, culture diversity is observed, are experienced, and are willing to understand and solve the problems of the guest. The employees are also rewarded based on their performance as well as an increase in the profitability of the organisation. Concerning responsiveness, the personnel are committed and willing to help the gusts and provide them with prompt services when in need. In regard to assurance, the employees work in team in order to share knowledge giving the ability to convey confidence and trust. The feeling of a warm welcome is enhanced at the reception by employees who attend to all the demands of the guests by responding quickly through effective communication. Empathy is ensured by providing close connection with guests through increasing individual attention to understand their specific needs. This is enhanced by assigning employee to specific guest making them to feel the close connection between them and the organisation. Generally, the hotel ensure customer satisfaction by ensuring the least waiting time, providing reliable response at the promised time, warm welcome at the reception, consistency in provision of a luxurious stay at the same level to all customers (Five Star Alliance, 2012). In hotel industry where there are rapid changes due to improvement in technology and a taste of class. In this a luxurious, I think continuous innovation is very essential in customer satisfaction in order to maintain its class and remain competitiveness in future. The hotel is focusing on its future by dramatically transforming every aspect that has led to setting of a new benchmark concerning contemporary luxury. In addition, employees are involved in providing the best alternative based on their experience in customer interaction concerning products and services that required to be modified. In such a way, the employee is crucial in this hotel as they link the organisation and the customers. I think performance excellence is achieved by the organisation by focusing on service quality dimensions as well as continuous improvement. As a result, the Park Hyatt Sydney has gain its competitive advantage in Australian hotel industry by understanding the behaviour as well as the needs of its target customer (tourist) and being more innovative and economically competitive by retaining its class (luxury). It achieves its design quality by satisfying the demand of its customers (tourists) by including them it its design (luxurious hotel along the coast with a variety of attractions). Quality conformance is achieved by ensuring a continuous research, which leads to upgrading of its services by pursuing constant improvements concerning the growing demands of its customers (that is, redesigning structure to fit in modern luxury). In such a way, they improve quality, then the perceived value of their services become high, and then they provide their luxurious services at higher prices that lead to higher profitability and increasing its competitive advantage as well as creating more jobs. However, with increasing competition and emergence of more luxury international 5-Star hotels, I think Park Hyatt Sydney needs to improve quality outcomes to improve customer satisfaction as well as remain economically competitive. In order to improve outcomes, I suggest that the hotel should focus on quality consultancy and service failure control. Valuable consultation is essential before and after using the services of the hotel. This leads to provision of information by the customer in order to know what the customer likes or dislikes concerning guest experience (Ford and Heaton, 2001). Due to human nature, there are three categories of service failure that can be encountered in the hotel. These include service system failure such as slow service, failure in implicit or explicit requests from customer such as lost reservations, and unprompted as well as unsolicited actions of employees (Lee, & Sparks, 2007). I suggest that such difficulties could be addressed in order to improve outcomes using the following course of action: Increasing the knowledge of the customers in regard to the quality standards of the firm Encouraging the guests to voice their concerns Motivating customers to take involvement in quality control-function The hotel needs to make its guests very familiar with the quality standards concerning the service in order to ensure effective performance in quality-control function. The organisation has a role to play in assisting its customers in understanding their performance standards as well as relevant rules policies, regulations, and procedures. I suggest that this can be achieved through advertising as well as ensuring that the managers make table rounds to talk with guest as an opportunity to clarify issues. I also think that there naturally, there may be upset or dissatisfied guests who may quietly walk away. This can be inconvenient to the hotel not only due to loss of one of its customers but more customers about negative word-of-mouth communication. In this way, a firm may lose very valuable information in regard to service failure. The hotel must look for ways to prevent occurrence of such situation by clearly inviting their customers in order to express their opinion in regard to the quality of service experience, giving a ideas on how various complaints should be lounged as well as simplifying how to provide feedback. In regard to service failure, adequate recovery of services can be a good way of restoring the satisfaction of the customer, that is, addressing the complaint lounged by the customer. I think that a distinct issue may be that of involving the customer as a quality consultant. This hotel may advance the effectiveness of the process of consultation through collection of not just quantitative data, but also encouraging guests to provide feedback that is more detailed, for instance, including a section on comments card that will ask open questions. In such a way, the customer will be encourage to give an explanation of a certain incident either a good or a bad one, or mention certain employees and their actions that may have result to either pleasant or problematic service experience. I suggest that customers must always be involved in order to engage in performing the function of quality control. Given that not any guest within the organisation is willing to spend his or her time in answering open questions unless the customer expends some incentives. In order to involve these types of customers, the management may go further and make promises such as provision of free desserts if a guest is willing to be a consultant in a program meant for improving quality of the services. Though motivation of customers may be a complex issue due to the degree of involvement as well as a great variety of situations, I suggest several possible incentives for co-production. These include more discretion and opportunities for making choices, greater customization, shorter waiting times, and increase self-esteem due to increased control. From Park Hyatt Sydney, I have learned that the role of customers is special and is extended in service industry. Thus, based on the study of Park Hyatt Sydney, a customer has a great contribution in improvement of service quality. The commitment of the customer to quality control and assessment can greatly assist in deep understanding and achievement of the goals of the organisation as well as those of the customers. The learning has significant implications for shaping strategy for enhancing the contribution of the customer in improvement of service quality. The core of such strategy is continued by intensifying a two-way communication in regard to interaction between the customer and the organisation in service experience. From one side, transmission of information concerning the quality standards of the service industry may lead to elimination of possible confusion of the customer in relation to what the organisation has promised. On the other hand, the organisation has the responsibility of encouraging their customers in order to express their concerns, to lodge complaints where it is necessary, to give feedback, and to communicate suggestions and observations about the quality of service experiences. I have also learned that service quality in hotel industry is a category that is extremely subjective and is crucial to the satisfaction of the customers. It is therefore, very important for the management of service industries to assess the extent of the service quality in the organisation in order to ensure that the expectations of the guests are satisfied. In addition, service quality will ensure an economically competitive position in regard to global hospitality industry. References Crick, A. P., & Spencer, A. (2011). Hospitality quality: new directions and new challenges. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 23(4), 463-478. Five Star Alliance (2012). Park Hyatt Sydney: NSW, Australia, http://www.fivestaralliance.com/luxury-hotels/sydney/park-hyatt-sydney Ford, R.C., Heaton, C.P. (2001). Managing Your Guest as a Quasi-Employee, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly Lee, Y.L., Sparks, B. (2007). Appraising tourism and hospitality service failure events: A Chinese perspective”, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, no.31, 2007 Park Hyatt Sydney (2012). www.sydney.park.hyatt.com/ Peter, S. C., & Nicole, K. (2006). Swedish hotel service quality and loyality dimention. Advances in Hospitality and Leisure, 2, 123-157 Zeithaml, Berry, L., & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioural consequenses of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 60, 31-46 Read More