Customer Satisfaction: Hotel Industry

node Satisfaction Hotel IndustryThe Hotel Industry had a prominent pickup in early 1980s, at that time hotel businesses all over the globe tried their best to grew up to international direct, opposite mergers and new Continental hotels group came into existence in late 1980s. As research figures indicate tourism and hotel industries have turned into one of the some profitable sources of income through kayoed the human existences especially in last dickens decades.In 1990s Electronic businesses had approach hotel industriousness very quickly where that became a milestone for the said industry that was beginning of this realistic approach to be followed up by hotel industry.Capital expands from rich countries to least developed countries and than the life standard of the people changed on the global very quickly, more wellbeing requisites introduced to suffer human inevitably in the shape of technology, more comfort necessities became familiarized and if we could try to po rtray the self-confidenceworthy picture of the world we could think hotel industry affected directly in this take care, hotel industry is responsible for the fulfillment of the human desire up to maximum level. It is an mind of human nature to be creative all the time, quantity once level of triumph in hotel industry is quite difficult but at that place ar obvious rules which can be followed to find the level of nodes satisfaction attainment in the hotel industry, Express by Holiday Inn GSTS system has undischarged responsibility to examine all guests issues and tell true pictures of the tend levels of the hotel.AbstractThe study mainly reviews and discusses the topic of customer satisfaction and its application to the Hospitality industries. Defines the archetype and analyzes its importance to answers and its importance to serves in general and to hospitality / tourism services in originateicular. Following a discussion on the dimensions and attributes of sat isfaction, lists the main methods of bill satisfaction and concludes with a review of global and cross-cultural issues that affect satisfaction in hotel industry.consequently this research aims to investigate the customer satisfaction level in Express by Holiday Inn hotel, London City (Firoka Group of companies UK Ltd), to apply a tool of SERVQUAL model in Express by holiday Inn hotel, London City. Study has also enlisted descriptive survey, feedbacks, trends, approaches research collection questionnaire the research questionnaire selective information contain 25 questions.We discussed approaches toward integration and comprehensive model of satisfaction and loyalty,The quality of the RelationCustomer OrientationThe competitive AdvantageWe go forth focus on rational questionsWhy should we poster customer satisfaction and who should be pertain?What will be the procedure involve?Where Do I Start?How Do I measure Satisfaction?How can I countenance insight from the result?How do I communicate and action the results and then what?The analyzed obtained data revealed that guests perceptual experiences of the offered services were below than expected average level of an power indicating, which gives us an idea that service level non at optimal level.The overall services quality standards deals to be calculated in terms of satisfaction to encounter the differential rift of optimization.List of TablesList of FiguresDeclarationChapter 11.0 IntroductionLiving in competitive world today wasnt being quarreld ever before, Economic, Socio Cultural environmental effects ar deciding future of the world businesses today, this era is more complex due to its immense finance destinys, much competitive tools have been evolved to satisfy human needs, Presently Service industry prevailing great deal of challenges where Every customer has high demands on last prices, Life standards are annexd with the passage of time so as expectations and it is very important for one business to calculate its expectation level towards its customers and judge where it is standing in the markets, In the Hotel industry the trust of the customer is very much fragile, It is almost necessary for all hotel businesses to keep themselves well updated close customers needs and market demands,To count prompt responses of the hotel customers there are m whatsoever systems are being utilizing by the hotel industry, Express by holiday Inn is a enfranchisement hotel of InterContinental hotel group, IHG Group has centralized reservation department which looking after all customers issues, They also responsible to prepare procedure report of an individual consort franchise hotel world wide on monthly basis, the report GSTS encounter all areas which need to be focus in terms of customers satisfaction, later we will discusses in details all main areas of that report.Customer satisfaction is the wind instrumenting decisive factor for determining the quality and standard wh ich is actually delivered to the customer through the product, service or by the accompanying servicing. (Vavra, 1997) Its simply stated, Customer satisfaction is essential for corporate survivalSeveral studies have found that it costs about five times as much in time, money and resources to attract a new customer as it does to retain an existing customer (von Neumann, 1995). This creates the challenge of maintaining high levels of service, awareness of customer expectations and improvement in services and product.Hayes states that Knowledge of customer expectations and requirements is essential for two reasons it generates understanding of how the customer defines quality of services and products, and facilitates the tuition of a customer satisfaction questionnaire (Hayes, 1997, p7). Furthermore, customer satisfaction is recognized as of great importance to all commercial firms because of its influence on resort purchases and word of mouth recommendations (Berkman and Gilson, 1 986). The researcher interest group is to carryout a study of customer satisfaction at Express by Holiday Inn, London.1.1 AimsObjectives of the StudyThe main accusatory is to conduct the customer satisfaction and its measurement in the hotel industry with special reference to Express by Holiday Inn Hotel, London.Subsidiary ObjectivesAnalyses of costs demonstrating that customer conkings is substantially less expensive than customer acquisition.Customer behaviorists in the area of lodging, restaurant, food services and tourism.Customer satisfaction is a psychological concept.Customer purchase goods and service with pre purchase expectations about anticipated performance. judicial decision of satisfaction is made during the service delivery process.Satisfaction is not a universal phenomenon and everyone is not getting the same satisfaction out of the same hospitality reckon.Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy and Tangibles.Research ProblemCustomer satisfaction researc h is not an end into itself. The purpose, of course, in measuring customer satisfaction is to see where a company stands in this regard in the eyes of its customers, thereby enabling service and product improvements which will get hold of to higher satisfaction level. Satisfaction is not a universal phenomenon and not everyone gets the same satisfaction out of the same hospitality experience. The reason is that customers have different needs, objectives and past experiences that influence their expectation. The results of a customer satisfaction survey need to be evaluated to determine what needs to be improved. Goals should be as specific as possible. Hotels are often challenged on how to best increase guest satisfaction, and how to optimize both price and occupancy. Employee satisfaction, guestroom cleanliness, amenities, appearance, food and services all contribute to customer satisfaction, and increase customer satisfaction is a proven driver of guest retention and higher occup ancy rates. Understanding customer experience through research is astray recognized as a key factor in improving long-term business performance. Express by Holiday Inn Hotel had a requirement to obtain daily feedback at an individual level by rooms/reception questionnaire in general for its GSTS (Guest satisfaction tracking system). It has to introduce web establish questionnaire survey to create an opportunity to built feedback interface for general public to get provided a cost-effective and practical methodology so hotel future guest see the reviews in term of past feedbacks.In the customer arena, we believe that regular, quantitative measurement of customer satisfaction provides a much violate lead indicator of future systemal health than profitability of market share change (Tom Peters, Management guru)Significance of StudyCustomer Satisfaction measurement (CSM) consists of on two major rolesProviding InformationEnabling Communication with CustomersThe initial or primary rea son for taking the time to measure customer satisfaction is establish on to collect the information. It means that what customers say that need to be done differently or on the other hand to assess how well an organization is currently meeting its customer needs or requirements. But the secondary is not less important function of CSM in hospitality industry that by surveying customers. An organization is emphasis its interest in communicating with its customers. In hotel industry, its always finding out customers needs, pleasures, displeasures and overall well being. Though it is impossible to measure the satisfaction of every single customer needs. The customer satisfaction may different from organization to organization or hotel to hotel. Here we would like to quote Neumann (1995) five objectives suggestions as followsTo get close to the customerMeasure continuous improvementTo achieve customer driven improvementTo measure competitive strengths and weaknessesTo link up Customer S atisfaction Measurement (CSM) data to internal systems hypothesisCustomer Satisfaction is a psychological concept.Customer purchase goods and services with pre purchase expectations.Assessment of satisfaction is made during the service delivery process.Satisfaction is not Universal phenomenon.Recognition of the employees who contribute to the Customers satisfactionCustomer found improvement goalsPlans for improving operational variablesIncorporation of customer satisfaction skills into employees training scheduleMeasurement and plan for improvement of employee satisfactionImportance of my StudyTo satisfy each and every customer or to meet his / her expectation every time is not an easy task especially in hotel industry. This work is to investigate and examine the psychology of the customer, their expectations and behaviour.Tools of data CollectionThe data collection would include the use of questionnaire, scheduled interviews, guest feedback, and oversight feedback, guest servi ces track system (GSTS), guest survey, and personal experience along with personal observation. In the questionnaire design, I will use the respondent completes short closed ended questions and long open ended questions. In the interview design, I would like to use personal forms, sharing their experience and work directly with the respondent. In the guest feedback, I would like to get the guest feedback time they are checking out from the hotel, compare their past and current experience. In the focus feedback, I would like to get the information from management regarding the standard and complaint level of the guest activities in the hotel.1.2 Objectives1.3 Rationale1.4 Background of the Organisation1.5 Structure of the Dissertation1.5.1 Introduction1.5.2 lit Review1.5.3 Methodology1.5.4 Analysis Results1.5.5 Discussions1.5.6 Conclusion RecommendationsChapter 22.0 Literature Review2.1Customer SatisfactionCustomer satisfaction is an important topic for both researchers and man agers, because a highlevel of customer satisfaction leads to an increase in replicate patronage among currentcustomers and aids customer recruitment by enhancing an organizations marker reputation.Being able to successfully judge customers satisfaction levels and to apply that confine loveledge arecritical starting points to establishing and maintaining long term customer retention and longterm competitiveness (Yuksel Yuksel, 2002). Customer satisfaction brings many benefits.Satisfaction increases customer retention and customer retention is dependent on thesubstance of the relationship between parties which is also affected by the service delivered.Satisfaction is an overall customer attitude towards a service provider, or an emotionalreaction to the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive (Zineldin,2000), regarding the fulfillment of some need, goal or desire. For most products or services,aspects of performance can be objectively assessed. Although these attributes can beobjectively measured, customers assessments may not objectively reflect measuredperformance. Some clients may be taken to several(prenominal) homes that fit their criteria but areunsuitable to the clients personal taste which leads to the clients assessment of the service asbeing unpleasant because they did not see listings that they liked.Kano, Bentler and Li-tze (1984) developed a model to categorize the attributes of a product orservice based on how well they are able to satisfy customer needs. Considering Kanos model,one sees how it may not be enough to merely satisfy customers by meeting only their basic andperformance needs. In a highly competitive marketplace, organizations need to adopt strategiesand to create product attributes targeted specifically at exciting customers and over-satisfyingthem (Tan Pawitra, 2001). In real estate to excite or over satisfy customers, an agent wouldneed to have a thorough and vast cogniseledge of all listings in the local area.In essence, it is the experience and attitudes of the individuals in closest stir with customersthat are most likely to affect whether or not customers are at ease and willing to return to thecompany. It is also the people in direct fulfil with customers who determine who the retainedand satisfied customers are, and their experience determines how they treat the customers(Hansemark Albinsson, 2004) thus impacting on the service quality delivered.2-4-1-Customer satisfaction and measuring systemTo realize customer satisfaction, everyone in spite of appearance the organization should consider continuousimprovement as something normal.As part of this strategy it is important to define the product or service and the customers needs,making an size up of customers data and complaints, and selecting processes which causemost of these complaints. The central questions in this baptistry are which products or services dowe provide? Who are our customers? What do they want, wh at are their requirements? Is itmensurable? Which critical processes need improvement? By answering these questionscontinuously, the customer will be better understood, and the product or service will be better inand to create product attributes targeted specifically at exciting customers and over-satisfyingthem (Tan Pawitra, 2001). In real estate to excite or over satisfy customers, an agent wouldneed to have a thorough and vast knowledge of all listings in the local area.In essence, it is the experience and attitudes of the individuals in closest contact with customersthat are most likely to affect whether or not customers are satisfied and willing to return to thecompany. It is also the people in direct contact with customers who determine who the retaineand satisfied customers are, and their experience determines how they treat the customers(Hansemark Albinsson, 2004) thus impacting on the service quality delivered.To realize customer satisfaction, everyone deep d avouch the organization should consider continuousimprovement as something normal.As part of this strategy it is important to define the product or service and the customers needs,making an inventory of customers data and complaints, and selecting processes which causemost of these complaints. The central questions in this case are which products or services dowe provide? Who are our customers? What do they want, what are their requirements? Is itmeasurable? Which critical processes need improvement? By answering these questionscontinuously, the customer will be better understood, and the product or service will be better intune with the market demand.Which Products/ Services do we provide?First of all, define the most important product or services as concretely as possible. ThisDefinition must indicate what you are actually doing as a supplier. The more specific the definition,the better the customers need can be met.Who are our customers?It is important to understand the entire chain of cus tomers. This means that you should know allof your customers. The needs of each customer must be examined separately. Not only theexternal, but also the internal customers should be considered. In fact, if the company does notsatisfy the needs of the internal customers, how will it be able to comply with the needs of theexternal customer? All employees determine the degree of customer satisfaction. Employeesfrom within different departments must be considered customers of each other. By bringingindividual employees together as customers and suppliers, the traditional barriers betweendepartments will be broken. Each employee delivers something to a colleague, whereby oneunction as the internal supplier and the other as the internal customer.What do they want, what are their requirements?As a supplier, you should try to figure out what the customer needs and wants. Communicationis hereby very important. Talk to your customers and ask them what they think of your productor service. Try to figure out how they use it and what they very want. Listen especially to whatthey have to say and indicate which customer-supplier relationship needs improvements. Thecentral questions hereby are-Which needs and expectations do your customers have?-Which needs and expectations do you know?-To what extent do you comply with the needs and expectations of your customers?-If you do not satisfy their needs, what is the reason according to your customers?Making an inventory of customers data, customers complaints and benchmarking are importantopportunities to improve the customer orientation of the organization.Information about the opinion of the customer regarding a product or service is of essentialimportance, and can be obtained in several ways, such as customer surveys, phone interviews,and customer panel discussions. Customer surveys are a powerful tool to get information aboutwhat the customer thinks and expects. In general, questionnaires are used with differentquestions, whi ch may vary from organization to organization.Is it measurable?To comply with the needs of the customer, it is necessary to translate these into product specifications. Quality function deployment is a practical technique to do this. Usually, it is necessary to negotiate with the customer, which results in feasible and agreed on customers requirements, which are measurable and understood by all parties. All statements of thecustomer about qualitative aspects must be translated into quantitative specifications for thesupplier. Define clearly and explicitly what they are talking about.Customer Satisfaction quantity SystemA customer satisfaction measuring system is shown in Table (2-1), to illustrate the activitiesneeded to improve your customer satisfaction. Mark a opening in this checklist with a cross ateach question, and discuss the results of these measurements, and check why this customerMany of these recommendations also apply to your relationships with external suppliers. Trea tyour suppliers as though they are an integral part of your organization. Listen to their ideas onhow you can work closely and productively together, create joint improvement teams with them,invite suggestions from them, embolden them in improving their own processes, build mutual trustand respect, reward them if they achieve improvements, let them participate in the celebrationof success, involve them in the development of new products and processes, and become abetter customer yourself. Expanding your culture of continuous improvement to all yoursuppliers will ensure that the quality of your inputs is sufficient to meet your own improvementobjectives. If possible, minimize the number of suppliers go with the few best and improvementoriented suppliers with a demonstrated continuous improvement culture and effective leadingby top-management, based on a long term partnership contract. Table (2-1) Customer satisfaction measurementI customers1. Do you know who your customers are an d how many customers you have?2. Do you listen effectively to all your customers?3. Do you on a regular basis make up an inventory of all the needs and expectations of your customers?4. Did you segment your customers based on their needs?5. Do you routinely conduct surveys among your customers about your products and services?6. are all your employees informed about the results of these surveys?7. Are more than 75 part of your customers satisfied?8. Do you anticipate customer needs?9. Do you treat each customer as unique?10. Are complaints replied to whit in two days and solved within one week?11. Do you stimulate customers to register their complaints?12. Do you use e-business tools to communicate with customers?13. Do you have a customers help desk or a call center?14. Do you know which percentage of the customers who terminated their relationship with yourorganization did this out of dissatisfaction?15. Are complaints systematically registered and analyzed in your organization? 16. Did you establish complaints handling procedures and are these routinely used in yourorganization?17. Do you measure the degree of customer loyalty?18. Do you make recommendations to customers about the products or services that best suittheir needs?19. Do you know what the costs are when you lose a customer?20. Do you know what the costs are to gain a new customer?21. Do you know how much sales you lose due to unsatisfied customers?22. Do you regularly visit your customers?23. Do you regularly organize meetings with customers groups to learn about their needs,wants, ideas, and complaints?II. Leadership24. As a manager, do you know how many complaints are received periodical?25. is there commitment at top-management for customer orientation?26. Did you integrate customer satisfaction into the norms and values of the organization?27. Are these norms and values clearly communicated to all your customers?28. Does management recognize visible trends and do they anticipate these in a timely manner?29. Is management convinced of the importance of satisfied customers and do they act hence?30. Does management try to express the importance of satisfied customers to the organization at every occasion?31. Does management set a good example with regard to customer friendly behavior?32. Is management open to suggestions and ideas of customers?33. Does management personally reward those employees who deliver a valuable contribution to increased customers satisfaction?34. Are relationships with customers reasonably supported and stimulated by management?35. Is management at all times available to the customer?36. Does customer satisfaction also belong to the evaluation criteria of management?37. Are the customers wishes continuously taken into consideration when taking decisions?38. Does top management also personally handle complaints of customers?39. Do all members of management in the company have personal contact with externalcustomers at least once a week?III- Pol icy40. Is customer satisfaction part of your organizations vision?41. Did you formulate concrete goals regarding the degree of customer satisfaction?42. Have you developed e-business strategies for the next two years to increase customersatisfaction?43. Is the customer satisfaction policy continuously communicated to all employees?44. Do you have a partnership relation with all your customers based on mutual respect andtrust?45. Do you involve your customers in the development of promotional activities?46. Do you tell your customers a minimal service level and/or complete satisfaction?47. is there continuous benchmarking with regard to customer satisfaction?48. Do you involve your customers with the execution of improvement processes in yourcompany?49. Are more than 50 percent of your employees involved with the improvement of customerorientation?50. Do you have guidelines with regard to optimally satisfying the customer?51. Are all employees following these guidelines?52. Do you h ave an street smart databank in which all characteristics of your customers areregistered?IV- Products / services and process53. Are products delivered within the period expected by the customer?54. Have you fully integrated the telephone, fax, internet, and any other technology that thecustomer wants to use to do business?55. is the phone in you organization answered within three rings in more that 90 percent of thecases?56. Is every function and each process in your organization arranged to optimally comply withthe expectations of your customers?57. Do these expectations form the basis of internal performance indicators?58. Are these indicators continuously measured and analyzed?59. Do you use measured customer satisfaction as an indicator for process improvement?60. Did you appoint process owners for controlling processes?61. Do you involve your customers in the development of new products and processes?62. Do you measure the satisfaction of your internal customers?63. Do suppor ting departments within your organization guarantee quality of the work they deliver?V. Human resource management64. Does customer orientation belong to the profile of the desired employee?65. Do you have an introduction program in which new employees are also educatedconcerning the importance of satisfied customers?66. Are your employees who continuously perform in a customer-oriented manner rewarded?67. Is training obligatory for each employee in your organization?68. Are customer orientation and continuous work towards improvement criteria forpromotion?69. Do you regularly organize excursions for your employees and your important customers?70. Do your marketing employees receive a training of at least two weeks each year in customerorientation?71. Are your marketing employees unfreeze in taking decisions to satisfy customers?72. Are your marketing employees free to spend what is necessary to correct a mistake madewith a customer?73. Do you involve your employees in improvement projects about increasing customersatisfaction?74. Do you stimulate your employees to generate ideas about increasing customersatisfactions?75. Are the employees interest and the interest of the customer related?2-5. Service qualityThe concept of service quality as a whole construct is large and varied. The theory has been enlarge on by many researchers. Berry, Parasuraman and Zeithaml (1985) write servicequality as perceived by consumers stems from a comparison of what they feel service firmsshould offer (i.e. from their expectations) with their perception of the performance of the firmproviding the services. Perceived service quality is therefore viewed as the degree and directionof discrepancy between consumers perceptions and expectations. For example in real estate,this would be what the client is expecting from the agent in comparison to which is actuallydelivered by that agent.In real estate, that interaction occurs from the moment the client and agent s peak every verballyor electronically. It is evident that research on goods quality is inadequate in the service field,which has three inherent characteristics intangibility, heterogeneity and inseparability betweenproduction and consumption (Berry, Parasuraman and Zeithmal, 1985).2-5-1. The Customers Perspective of Service QualityService quality is usually expressed as a function of customers expectations of the service tobe provided (based upon their previous experience, the organizations image, the price of theservice for example) compared with their perceptions of the actual service experience(Gronroos, 1984 Berry et al, 1985 Johnston and Heineke, 1998). Perceptions are defined asthe consumers judgment of the service organizations performance. However, Parasuraman etal (1988) delve deeper and define the service performance gap as the discrepancy between thespecifications of service and the delivery (Chenet, Tynan Money, 2000).