Improving Service Quality in Hotel and Resort

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The first chapter of describe pull up stakes explain the purpose of the storey and why this distinguish is important. In chapter 2, the proceeds spirit leave be identified. in that respect are two split in this chapter the first part leave behind discuss conceit and principle of the wait on prime(prenominal) and the following part will note the service quality models. Mainly the SERVQUAL model and the Total whole tone counseling (TQM) will be examined. Then in chapter 3, implementation, the chosen organisation which is the gild Mediterranean ( community Med) will be applied for the service quality model.The last chapter is conclusion of the report and the Appendices will be stated next to reference list. TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary .. 2p Chapter 1 Introduction 1. 1 Purpose of the Report . 4p Chapter 2 Service Quality 2. 1 Principles of Service Quality .. 5p 2. 2 Service Quality Models .. 6p Chapter 3 Implementation 3. 1 Background of the Club Med . 8p 3. 2 steps of Implementation . 9pChapter 4 Conclusion 12p Reference List .. 13p Appendices 15p CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 PURPOSE OF THE REPORT Service organizations exist as a r kayoedine of their customers service quality then, is the primary survival strategy (Schneider and Chung, 1993, p. 124). bangy (2003) note that the service quality is a subject that permeates every comp adeptnt of the tourism industry. Especi everyy in hotel and resort, the service quality is integral for considerable term survival.Therefore each confederation should take the service quality as serious management doctrine and progress to to adopt theories and models to identify gap between expectation and perception. CHAPTER 2 SERVICE QUALITY 2. 1 PRINCIPLES OF SERVICE QUALITY Service quality is defined as the degree of excellence intended that meets customer requirements (Wyckoff, 1992). However, Carey (2003) baksheeshs out the service quality, the result of a comparison between the expec tations of a customer and the actual service they received. Therefore, understanding gap between the expectation and the received service can be a key source of the service quality.According to Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons (2001), these expectations are ground on several sources, including word of mouth, personal needs, and past experience. Thus, people may have more expectation on the high-rated hotel. Usually, the five-star hotels are more expensive than the set down level so customers may expect to find serviced as much as they pay. In other word, the service quality can be a primary goal for hotels to gain more profits. To put simply, better quality means better profitability and market share and when higher quality and banging market share are both present, profitability is nearly guaranteed (Ross, 1993).According to Scheuing and Christopher (1993) the service quality is a powerful force that reshapes attitudes and actions toward creating customer satisfaction and loyalty, a nd thus, sustainable competitive advantage in an unstable environment of dynamic global competition. Accordingly, the managers who work in hospitality industry need to know not sole(prenominal) how to manage the organisation but also how to manage the service quality to provide customer satisfaction continuously. 2. SERVICE QUALITY MODELS Levitt (1972) argues that the theories and concepts of quality and its management have adopted slowly into the service industry from manufacturing. Rather than a paradigm shift taking place, the existing quality theories and models were held in their entirety by parts of the service sector and the paradigm shift occurred when difficulties were occurred in the sector, for example, the use of unless qualitative data analysis methods (Williams & Buswell, 2003).There are many service quality theories and concepts have been utilise such as the Statistical Process Control (SPC), Ten Benchmarks of Total Quality Control, and the 14-step Quality Improve ment Programme, However, in following paragraphs will discuss two service quality models which are SERVQUAL and Total Quality Management that is known as TQM. 2. 2. 1 SERVQUAL model SERVQUAL is a survey puppet that measures service quality.According to Saleh and Ryan (1991), it was initially devised for the assessment of services within the financial sector, and consists of a 22-item, seven-point Likert Scale but not all of the issues were directly applicable to a hotel. However Martin (1986) offers a 40-item scale in the assessment of service within restaurants, and from this a number of questions were picked and adapted for hotel and finally therefore, a 33-item and five-point Likert Scale instrument was developed.There are five dimensions of service quality reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles. In the leaf node survey, the customer will answer the questions which are based on the five dimensions. Fitzsimmons et al (2001) point out the multiple dimensio ns of service quality are captured in the SERVQUAL instrument, which is an effective tool for surveying customer satisfaction that is based on the service quality gap model. 2. 2. 2 Total Quality Management (TQM) Bardi (2007) states that preparation for adopting TQM is necessary to achieve success goal in hotel.Biech (1994) defined Total Quality Management (TQM) as a customer-foc employ, quality-centered, fact-based, team-driven, major(postnominal)-management-led process to achieve an organizations strategic imperative through continuous process improvement. In its simplest form, the TQM is a management ism which states that the whole organisation is working for meeting the customers need and expectation (Williams et al, 2003). The TQM has two major proceedings customer requirements and expectations determination and these requirements and expectations deliver organising (Ross, 1993).Ross (1993) points out that the measurement of success is customer satisfaction and the only way t o achieve the successive customer satisfaction is through continuous improvement by TQM. CHAPTER 3 IMPLEMENTATION 3. 1 BACKGROUND OF THE CLUB MED Club Mediterranean (Club Med) is an international hotel chain company operating worldwide resort villages. Club Med was founded in 1950 by Gerard Blitz who is the two time Olympic medalist champion while Blitz stayed at the Olympic Clubs tent village where he had the idea to combine his passion for humanitarian causes with athleticism.The initial concept of the Club Med was to offer people to enjoy sports holidays with reasonable price. The company expanded through the 1950s, sixties and 1970s, and during 1980s it continued to diversify and decentralize, becoming ever more international (International Journal of wellness Care Quality Assurance, 1994). Today, the Club Med is with over 80 villages crosswise 5 continents at beaches to mountain, ski resort, and even history-rich area and with its G. Os that are members of staff representing a round a hundred nationalities speaking over 30 languages and it continues to emphsise its multicultural aspect.Currently the company offers five styles of holiday, so that people can choose the village that best meets their holiday expectations. The Club Meds aim is to provide its customers with a holiday as close to perfection as possible by creating a unique atmosphere which engenders a sense of wellbeing, as well as by providing top-quality amenities, the company aims for total customer satisfaction (International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 1994). 3. 2 STEPS OF IMPLEMENTATION As the report discussed above, the Club Med can use whether SERVQUAL model or TQM method to improve the companys service quality.However if both two model used together, it will make synergy effect on the business. First, to adopt SERVQUAL model on the Club Med, quantitative research will be used and the data are from existing the companys record. Not only the quantitative data but also qualit ative research will be used to identify the service quality gaps which brought to inconsistency between the thickening expectations and the guest perceptions. The staffs of the Club Med can have in-depth and face-to-face interviews.The interviewees will be included the reception GOs, the sport activity GOs, the bar and restaurant GOs and whoever village GOs to identify the gap. This provided the researcher to recognize which department has the most contact with the GMs (gentle member that known as guest of the Club Med). Next step is for sampling procedures and in the process the reception desk or the front desk will allow information relate guest complaints. It is because of in many hotels, the front desk has high level of contact with guests and also the reception desk will receive the majority of guest complaints (Carey, 2003).The two survey populations will be the GMs and the GOs. In addition for the guests, the guest survey can be asked. For instance, the Likert Scale survey which is asking guests to rate each activity or department in a scale of 1 to 5 can be used. Currently, the Club Med is using customer satisfaction ratings virtually. According to Fitzsimmons et al (2001), the Club Med uses the questionnaire and it is mailed to all guests directly after their departure from a Club Med vacation to assess the quality of their experience in the village.The information from the survey completed by guest is used in several ways. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance (1994) points out that if there is a complaint about one of Club Meds villages, head office immediately reports back to the village manager. After all the interviewing and surveying, data collection and analysis by coding will be necessary to identify the service gaps. Through the coding analysis, finally the Club Med can find gaps in the service process. Therefore the Club Med an get a broad response and a better understanding of guest expectations and perceptions to improve their service quality. Next, to adopt the Total Quality Management (TQM) on the Club Med, as shown in the appendix 1, there are several steps for implementing TQM. The first step is defining the mission. According to the International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance (1994), the Club Meds aim is to provide its customers with a holiday as close to perfection as possible. Thus the companys mission is total customer satisfaction.The second step is for identifying system output and the third is for identifying customers. To use of demographic questionnaire can be useful not only to know the guests but to set a target markets so improve systems as their requirement. Then the next step is for negotiating customers requirements. From the bargain, developing a supplier spec that details customer requirements and expectations is the next. Finally, determining the necessary activities required to fulfill those requirements and expectation will be finished the implementing TQM.On the contrary, Dale (1994) notes that number of barriers to achieving TQM that shows in appendix 2. Accordingly, the company should avoid several components as lack of commitment from senior(a) management to service quality so the Club Meds head office essential focus on the service quality improvements continuously. The second component to avoid is fear of the changes to work patterns and processes. Thus the senior management should empower employees. Then lack of resources and no customer focus is following. To improve service quality and to adopt TQM, company has to keep focus on the customers requirements.For the last, without correct data collection and analysis, the Club Med can not meet improved service quality. CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSION The service quality will be a major component of the succeeding(a) hospitality industry continuously. Therefore hotels need to manage the service quality with various theories and methods. As discussed above, this report has applied SERVQUAL and T QM on the Club Med to identify the service gaps. Accordingly, if the Club Med uses the service quality, they can reduce gap and provide customer satisfaction. The any efforts from hotels marketing an not be stand on long term period solely. However, the quality of the interactive service between hotelier and the guest can be possibly long term and this can be why the improving service quality is important to hotel. Both service quality theories and models measurement is a customer satisfaction. Thus to improve a hotel or resorts service quality with customer satisfaction, the whole of departments should link and think about the service quality together so the all of employees and the senior mangers generate continuous improvements.REFERENCE LIST Bardi, J. A. , (2007). Hotel Front Office Management (4th ed. ). New Jersey John Wiley & Sons. Biech, E. (1994). TQM for Training. US McGraw-Hill. Carey, K. L. (2003). Improving service quality in small communities the Bahamas as a model. La s Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Club Med. (n. d. ). Retrieved September 21, 2007, from http//www. clubmed. com. us Dale, B. G. (1994). Managing Quality (2nd ed. ). Hemel Hempstead Prentice-Hall. Fitzsimmons, J. A. , & Fitzsimmons, M. J. (2001).Service Management operations, strategy, and information technology (3rd ed. ). New York McGraw-Hill. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance (1994). Sun, Sea, Sand and Service, 7(4), 18-19. Levitt, T. (1972). Production-line approach to service. Harvard Business Review. In C. Williams, J. Buswell, Service Quality in leisure time and Tourism. London CABU Publishing. Martin, W. B. (1986). Quality Service, The Restaurant handlers Bible. US Brodock Press. Saleh, F. , & Ryan, C. (1991). Analysing Service Quality in the Hospitality Industry Using the SERVQUAL Model.The Service Industry Journal, 11(3), 324-345. Schneider, B. , & Chung, B. (1993). Creating service climates for service quality. In E. Scheuing, W. Christopher (Eds. ), The Service Quality Handbook. New York American Management Association. Snow Japan. (n. d. ). Retrieved September 21, 2007, from http//www. snowjapan. com/e/services/club-med. html Ross, J. E. (1993). Total Quality Management text, cases, and readings. Florida St. Lucie Press. Williams, C. , & Buswell, J. (2003). Service Quality in Leisure and Tourism.London CABI Publishing. Wyckoff, D. D. (1992). New tools for achieving service quality. In C. H. Lovelock (Eds. ), Managing Services marketing, operations and human resources. Hemel Hempstead Prentice-Hall. APPENDICES Appendix 1 Implementing TQM by Defining the mission Identifying system output Identifying customers Negotiating customers requirements Developing a supplier specification that details customer requirements and expectations Determining the necessary activities required to fulfill those requirements and expectations. Source Ross, J. E. (1993). Implementing TQM. Total Quality Management text, cases, and readings. p . 2. Florida St. Lucie Press. ) Appendix 2 enumerate of barriers to achieving TQM Lack of commitment from senior management to service quality Fear of the changes to work patterns and processes Lack of resources No customer focus Poor data collection or analysis (Source Williams, C. , & Buswell, J. (2003). Number of Barriers to Achieving TQM. Service Quality in Leisure and Tourism. p. 22-23. London CABI Publishing. )