Improving Service Quality: An Analysis Of The Current System Of A Hotel

The Servqual System Used by the Hotel

Question:

Discuss about the Conceptual Foundation for the Shannon-Weaver Model.

The system that is being currently used by the hotel is the Servqual system. The customers are given some feedback forms and are asked to rate the services as per their level of satisfaction (Refer to Appendice 1). There are mainly five elements of service quality that is included here.

Reliability- the customers are asked if they have received the exact service that was promised to them in an accurate and exact manner. The customers will have to say if they the hotel staffs provided them the service as was promised.

The customers will have to say if the behavior of the hotel staffs was polite.

If the customers were satisfied with the overall appearance that is the building, the equipment, websites and others

If the employees of the hotel were caring and affectionate towards the customers

Customers will have to say if the hotel staffs were quick and prompt in rendering their service.

1. Determine the gaps that currently exist in service quality in your hotel

There are mainly five gaps that exist in the current service quality of the hotel

Gap1- the hotel staffs do not know or at least seem to not know what the customers actually want. It is natural that the customers who are arriving at the hotel will always require for a good service. They will be looking for neat and tidy rooms. However one customer feedback said that there were dirty half eaten plates of food left under their bed. On complaining to the hotel staffs no proper steps were taken. They were given a very wrong and dissatisfied reply that all the cleaning and housekeeping staffs were busy that day as there was a large number of late checkout options.

Wrong service quality standards are another gap that is existing in the service quality of the hotel. If they are having a policy called the no pet policy then it is their duty to make sure that there are actually no pets being brought in the hotel. However there have been complaints that one of the customers had to suffer a lot as his wife suddenly fell seriously ill at night as she was highly allergic to pets. They selected this hotel as it had the no pet policy but it was not followed. This is understandable that it had really been very difficult for a guest to be troubled so much after having come to a spend a vacation in a hotel.

Service performance gap is a major drawback existing in the service quality of this hotel. The service given by the staffs is very unsatisfactory. They often charge heavy amounts for the services but do actually provide them.

one of the most significant gap that is existing in the service quality of this hotel is that promises made by the hotel do not really match the actual delivery. Many customer feedbacks say that there have been several instances where they did not receive the exact service that was actually allowed to them.

Identifying the Gaps in Service Quality

There is also a huge gap existing between the perception of the customers and the expectation.

1. Show how these gaps might be addressed for inclusion in the updated policy.

All the customer feedbacks have to be gathered and then there has to be a survey. Before making a new updated policy, it has to be made sure that all the complaints and the feedbacks from the customers are gathered and then the changes are made. One of the major gap that is existing in the service quality of this hotel is that the staffs do not stand out to the promises made by them. So, one of the most helpful ways in which this problem can be addressed in the new policy is by making a strict rule that if any such case happens or complaints arise from the customers then there will be a heavy fine imposed on the hotel staffs and they will

• Was the infrastructure (including the exteriors, interiors, hotel rooms, washrooms) satisfactory?

Agree, Disagree, Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree, Neutral

• Were the policies of the hotel strictly followed?

Agree , Disagree, Strongly Agree, Strongly Disagree, Neutral

• Was the room service quick and prompt?

Agree, Disagree, Strongly Agree, Strongly Disagree, Neutral

• Was the food served in the hotel up to the mark?

Agree, Disagree, Strongly Agree, Strongly Disagree, Neutral

1. Carry out some research into the customer service policies of other organisations/businesses within the services/hospitality sector. Using the key policy points noted for each organisation, develop a more comprehensive revised policy for your organisation, as an update to the existing policy. Your answer should show theeview process in terms of the key points added/taken away from your existing policy to develop a revised one.

• No pet Policy
• Pre Booking for availing the car parking facilities
• special request Policy

These are the most important points that must be included in the new revised customer service policy of the hotel. 

• Safety must be the first and foremost concern of the hotel. As per the feedback given by one customer, the hotel did not stay true to the No Pet Policy.
• The hotel staffs must always be at the side of the customers. In other words, they must make sure that the customers always get the hotel staffs by their side whenever necessary. They must work on their behavior and must make sure that they never appear rude to the customers.
• It must the prior duty of the hotel staffs to make sure that they are polite and friendly with the all the customers. There must not be any such complaints against the staffs that they have been subjected to the rude and harsh behavior of the staffs. The staffs will have to keep in mind that the guests are coming to their hotel by spending a good amount of money and they naturally expect good facilities. One of the most important ways in which the guests can be treated well is by giving them a very good and a very polite behavior.
• Car parking facilities must be allowed to all the customers without pre booking. This will reduce the headache of the visitors. They can easily book this hotel and come there with there with their cars.
• Special request policy for any wedding or anniversary special meal must be provided by the hotel staffs promptly and with care.
• The hotel must arrange their check in and checkout time in such a way that the guests do not have to face any difficulties while entering or while leaving the hotels.
• There must also be proper medical facilities available to the visitors. It is the duty of the hotel staffs to make sure that none of the visitors have to ruin their holiday just by running after a good medical facility.
• The hotel staffs must also assure that the quality of food that is being served by them is of best quality and the customers are getting the exact interest

All the staffs will have to be given proper training for the overall satisfaction of the consumers. They will have to be given training on proper time management skills.

• To provide timely cleaning service in the room
• To make sure that none of the luggage of the previous guests are left in the room after they have checked out
• They must make sure that the guests who are checking in the hotel are not kept waiting for long.
• They will also have to develop themselves on the housekeeping area. In other words, they will have to make sure that the rooms are cleaned up properly.

Training on maintaining of the policies of the hotel

• It is the duty of the hotel staffs to make sure that the No pet policy is maintained properly. They must not allow the entrance of any hairy animals in the hotels or it will harm the guests who are allergic to animals.

1. g. Identify the methods that could be used to collect quantitative and qualitative forms of customer research data.

 Quantitative form of customer research data can be collected by seeing the customer feedback sheets or the questionnaires that have been filled by them. The questionnaires or the feedback forms directly filled in by the customers can be the source of quantitative form of research data and the qualitative form of research data is the interviews that will be conducted face to face with the managers and the hotel staffs. In this face to face interview the managers associated with the hotels will be directly questioned about the quality of the service that is being rendered by the staffs of this hotel. They will also be asked about any negative feedbacks that have been

One of the other ways in which the customer satisfaction can be measured b y this hotel is Social Media Monitoring. Social media is one of the most widely used platforms by any business and their customers in the modern day scenario. II is needless to say that in the modern day scenario this social media platform is largely used by the hospitality sector as well for many purposes. It is a known to all the people use the social media platform like the Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and many other such sites to share with their friends about their feelings and their experiences of visiting any new places or any particular hotels. So, it is really a very good place where the hotel can keep a track of the opinions that their customers are sharing about their stay in the hotel. They can keep an eye upon what their customers are talking about the kinds of service that they received at the hotel. The hotel can get both the positive and the negative feedbacks that the customers are sharing. Some other useful apps can be TripAdvisor, Yelp, Quora and many others such apps. Some other important tools can be Google alerts, which will help the hotel to get notified when it gets highlighted on some prominent places.

Strategies to Improve Customer Satisfaction

Another such app is the mention app, which gives a notification or a heads up to the hotel when the brand of the hotel is mentioned on the internet. It is particularly very helpful for tracking the popularity of the hotel in the social media. Another very useful app is the social mention app. It not only notifies the hotel when it gets forecasted on the web but also shows the ratio and the percentage of the positive and negative comments that has been received by the Hotel. It notifies the hotel when its brand gets repeatedly mentioned on any particular website.

1. Produce a text table to identify different communication types, the quality criteria for each type (for example writes legibly, or speaks clearly) and the benefit of using these effectively; remember to include technology tools (EPOS, touch screen systems pagers, message boards).

COMMUNICATION TYPE	QUALITY CRITERIA	BENEFITS
speaking	Touch screen page savers	This helps the in both the level
writing	Message boards	Helps in writing about the information of the guests and about the different records of the guests.

 b. Devise a self-assessment questionnaire to be used by staff during training to establish how customer perception is influenced by the way that staff put the customer in a central role, anticipate and respond to their needs, recognising the need for repeat business.

Do I provide quick and prompt housekeeping service?

Agree, Disagree, Strongly Agree, Strongly Disagree, Neutral

  Do I clean the half eaten meal plates from the rooms just after the guests have checked out?

Agree, Disagree, Strongly Agree, Strongly Disagree, Neutral

Do I provide total restriction against the bringing of pets or other hairy animals within the hotel premises?

Agree, Disagree, Strongly Agree, Strongly Disagree, Neutral

Do I clean up the rooms for the new guests to check in right after the previous guests have checked out

Agree, Disagree, Strongly Agree, Strongly Disagree, Neutral

The growth of the hospitality industry is based on the quality of the services that are provided by the hotels and the resorts. The objective of the companies to achieve the customer satisfaction through the services that are provided by the same has resulted to the modifications in the structure and the functioning. The modification sin the principles and the policies of the organization have helped the same in bringing forth improvements in the situation. The report aims at understanding the various policies that are being planned by the organization based on the requirements of the customers. On the other hand, the report also examines the communication practices that are being undertaken by the concerned company for facilitating the complaints of the customers.

The key principles and the policies that are being utilized by the hotel are based on the requirement of the organization to sustain in the market through the satisfaction of the customers. This section of the report aims at understanding the various policies that are being considered by the hotel for upholding the integrity of the services that are being provided by the same.

Policies are being formed by the organizations for maintaining the standards of the services that are being provided by the same. The concerned company too has taken steps for upholding the policies in order to have a check on the services that are delivered based on the requirements of the clients. The assessment of the requirement of the clients is an important step that is being considered by the hotels in order to determine the favorable policies for supporting the satisfaction of the customers. This section of the  report aims at understanding the different policies that are being undertaken by the hotel in order to determine the needs of the organization to maintain its sustenance in the markets.

Staff Training

The tranquility policy of the hotel helps the same in providing hazard free services to the clients. Moreover, the major consideration of the company of providing a perfect environment to the clients is being facilitated by the Tranquility policy of the organization. The policy will be helping the organization in maintaining the standards of their services based on the requirements of the clients.

The non-smoking policy of the hotel is aimed at prohibiting smokers from smoking around the corridors and the public places of the hotel. The policy aims at understanding the health requirements of the people visiting the hotel. Smoking in the public places of the hotel might affect the wellbeing of the people who are suffering from breathing trouble or asthma. It will be helping the hotels in maintaining the perfect environment for the guests in the same.

The check in and the check out policy of the hotel has helped in ensuring the proper coordination of the functioning of the hotel. The policy has helped the organization in framing the rules for checking in for the valid identification proof for determining the age of their guests.

The valet parking policy of the organization facilitates the same in providing the free parking facility to the customers. It helps the organization in maintaining the equilibrium with the needs of the customers and the capabilities of the organization. It will be helping the organization in providing the best experience to the clients.

The special requests that are entertained by the organization are based on the individual requirement of the clients. Adhering to the individual additional requirement of the client helps the organization in retaining the customer loyalty. The quality of the services and the special treatments of the guests based on their requirements help the organization in making room for the improvements in the situation of the organization in the market.

The hotel industry has taken steps for developing the policy of providing guaranteed services to the clients. It is aimed at delivering the right kind off services after the determination of the requirement of the clients. The guaranteed room services and the behavior of the attendants help in ratifying the hotels in the industry. Therefore, it can be termed as the most useful aspect in supporting the progress and the growth of the organization in the competitive market situation.

The no-pet policy of the hotel industry is focused on understanding the variable aspects of the change that is being considered by the organization. The concerned hotel has the no-pet policy in order to facilitate the safety and to provide a healthy environment to the clients.

The most important principle of the hospitality industry is based on determining the emotional connection that it establishes with its clients. It helps in retaining the customer loyalty of the customers through their polished behavior (De Grosbois, 2012). The most important consideration that is being undertaken by the organization is based on the effectiveness of the services and the manner in which their behavior and service quality creates a long-lasting impression on the mind of the customer. It helps the organization in bringing in improvements in the brand equity of the same.

Policy Revisions

The most important activity that is being undertaken by the hotels is based on the assessment of the requirements of the clients and thereby delivers the most required services. The understanding of the needs of the customers helps the organization in determining the right kind of services applicable for them.

The hotels in the industry must formulate strategies in order to maintain their capabilities for ensuring their sustainability in the market situation. Most of the companies formulate their policies in order to facilitate the needs of the customers and for maintaining the quality of the services that are being delivered by them. It helps the organizations in maintaining a competitive advantage in the market scenario.

The authenticity of the service that is being delivered by the organization also helps in determining the quality of the services. It helps the organization in monitoring over the services and alternatively it helps the organization in determining the needs and the requirements of the clients.  The clients do not accept the phony and rigid interactions. Therefore, the organization must take steps in order to develop their communication strategies in order to facilitate the emotional requirements of the clients.

The flexibility of the functioning of the hotels helps the organizations in adhering to the requirements of the clients. It helps the organization in modifying their services and their processes in order to understand and meet the requirements of the customers. The flexibility of the operations that are being undertaken by the organization helps in determining the range of the services and the quality of the same that is being provided by the same.  

The culture of the organization is an important aspect that affects the situation of the organization in the market. It helps in the understanding of the organizational training needs in order to make the employees aware of their functions and thereby adhere to the requests and the requirements of the clients. The proper dealing with the clients has helped in procuring a  positive  environment in the market. The great hotels train their staffs in a certain manner in order to retain the staff members, which act as a resource for the organizational growth. The customers who are familiar with the services that are provided by a member of the hotel come back to the same hotel for the second time in order to derive the same attention from the same person (Thorson  & Moore 2013). Therefore, in this case the loyalty of the staff members to the hotel is an important aspect that affects the position of the hotel. 

Lastly, the communication that is being undertaken by the hotels is an important function, which helps in the proper understanding of the requirements of the clients. Proper communication techniques help the hotel’s management team to convey the changes that are being undertaken by the organization to the employees. Proper communication channels also help the management in deriving the complaints and the feedbacks of the customers, which helps in the identification of the issues in the functioning of the organization.

Social Media Monitoring

The hotel has taken steps to improve the communication system in order to understand the requirements of the customers who visit the hotel.  The major aspect of the change that is being undertaken by the organization is based on the feedback that is retrieved from the customers after the services are delivered. According to Cornelissen and Cornelissen  (2017), the major aspects of the communication are based on the structure and the interpretation of the message. It helps in the understanding of the needs of the sender of the message. Coombs  (2014) pointed out that the usage of the proper channels of communication also helps in determining the effectiveness of the communication. The SMCR model of communication helps in the understanding of the importance of proper communication that is being undertaken by the hotel (Refer to Appendice 2). It helps in determining the various aspects of the change that is undertaken by the hotel in order to maintain the sustainability. Fan et al. (2013) believed that the implementation of the proper communication models and the modifications of the context of the message helps in determining the effectiveness of the communication. Alternatively, Macnamara and Zerfass  (2012) stated that the clarity and the brevity of the message helps in enhancing the communication systems of the organization. However, the concerned hotel has not taken any of the steps in order to adhere to the feedback that is given by the customer. The proper understanding of the requirement of the clients is not being adhered by the concerned hotel, which is clearly portrayed through the negative feedbacks of the customers. According to Bouhafs, Mackay and Merabti  (2012), the situation of the organization can be improved through the undertaking of a sound communication system. However, the concerned company has failed to adhere to the proper communication system and the implementation of the change based on the feedbacks of the customers. The communication strategy that is being used by the concerned hotel is outdated which has affected the internal decision making based on the requirements of the customers. Bi, Ho and Zhang (2015) stated that the healthy communication links the internal and the external attributes of the organization in order to conceive the suggested goal of the organization. Alternatively, Heath and Bryant  (2013) believed that the proper application of the channels of communication helps in facilitating the proper utilization of the resources in order to support the proper functioning of the organization in the market. However, the concerned organization did not take any step in order to enhance the communication systems.

The issues that are being faced by the hotel based on the customer feedbacks are being discussed in this section of the report. The poor service quality of the hotel is evident through the feedbacks of the customers. The poor room service and the arrogant behavior of the employees have often created discontent among the customers of the organization. Alternatively, the proper understanding of the requirements of the customers is not adhered by the management of the hotel due to lack of proper communication systems. The special requests of the clients are also not adhered by the organization. On the other hand, the hotel has failed to adhere to the policies for prohibiting the entry of the pets in the hotel. The quality of the food and the services are equally ‘meager’ according to a customer review. This has affected the efficient functioning of the organization in the market.

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Data

The recommended actions that the company might undertake in order to bring in improvements are being discussed in this section of the report. It will help the organization in better understanding the flaws that affects the growth and the expansion of the same.  

The hotel must take steps to establish a sound communication system. It will help the organization in linking up with the requirements of the customers to the services that they are capable of providing. The proper Information system of the organization will help the same in keeping the customers informed of the facilities that will be provided in order to fulfill their requirements. On the other hand, the proper communication system of the hotel will also help the same in keeping the employees updated and aware of the policies of the organization. The communication system of the organization helps in integrating the workforce and keeps them motivated. It will also helps in determining the proper functioning of the organization in the market. The use of the Conceptual model of service quality or the Servqual model helps in determining the expectations of the customers and the functioning of the organization based on the capabilities of the organization (Refer to Appendice 1). It helps in linking up the capabilities of the organization and the expectations of the customers for determining the quality of the services and the situation of the hotel in the market.  

The analysis of the feedback of the customers helps the organization in undertaking the various aspects of the change that is required for the growth and the expansion of the business in the market. The individual requirements of the customers and the issues that are being faced by the same through the services that were offered by the hotel help in determining the different modifications that the hotel is required to undertake. There might be changes in the policies, functioning or the structure that the hotels are required to undertake and it is determined by the proper analysis of the feedbacks of the customers.

The hotel must provide proper training sessions in order to facilitate the efficient functioning of the employees. Moreover, the organization must take steps for providing vocational training to the employees in order to enhance the behavioral skills and imbibe the culture of the organization in the employees.

The hotel must take steps to bring in improvements in the quality of the services that are being provided by the organization. The improvement in the service quality and the cleaning services must be offered by the hotels in accordance to the feedbacks of the clients. It will be helping the organization in bringing forth improvements in the services that are being provided by the same.

The services that are being provided by the organization should be strictly monitored in order to check the quality of the services and the foods that are being delivered to the clients. Monitoring over the services that are being provided by the organization to the clients has helped in bringing in improvements in the structure and the situation of the organization in the market.

References

Al-Fedaghi, S. (2012). A Conceptual Foundation for the Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication. International Journal of Soft Computing, 7(1), 12-19.

Bi, S., Ho, C. K., & Zhang, R. (2015). Wireless powered communication: Opportunities and challenges. IEEE Communications Magazine, 53(4), 117-125.

Bouhafs, F., Mackay, M., & Merabti, M. (2012). Links to the future: Communication requirements and challenges in the smart grid. IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, 10(1), 24-32.

Coombs, W. T. (2014). Ongoing crisis communication: Planning, managing, and responding. Sage Publications.

Cornelissen, J., & Cornelissen, J. P. (2017). Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice. Sage.

De Grosbois, D. (2012). Corporate social responsibility reporting by the global hotel industry: Commitment, initiatives and performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(3), 896-905.

Fan, Z., Kulkarni, P., Gormus, S., Efthymiou, C., Kalogridis, G., Sooriyabandara, M., … & Chin, W. H. (2013). Smart grid communications: Overview of research challenges, solutions, and standardization activities. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 15(1), 21-38.

Heath, R. L., & Bryant, J. (2013). Human communication theory and research: Concepts, contexts, and challenges. Routledge.

Macnamara, J., & Zerfass, A. (2012). Social media communication in organizations: The challenges of balancing openness, strategy, and management. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 6(4), 287-308.

Thorson, E., & Moore, J. (Eds.). (2013). Integrated communication: Synergy of persuasive voices. Psychology Press.