18-09-2012, 10:25 AM
Customer Satisfaction in the Hotel Industry: A Case Study from Sicily
1Customer Satisfaction i.pdf (Size: 108.98 KB / Downloads: 36)
Abstract
In order to be successful in the market it is not sufficient to attract new customers managers must concentrate on
retaining existing customers implementing effective policies of customer satisfaction and loyalty. In hotel
industry customer satisfaction is largely hooked upon quality of service. A management approach focused on
customer satisfaction can improve customer loyalty, thus increasing the positive image of the touristic
destination. Hence, exploring the importance for customers of hotel attributes in hotel selection is indispensable.
Research on the topic of guest satisfaction, which translates into the consideration of whether or not customers
will return to a hotel or advise it to other tourists, is pivotal to the success of the hospitality business. Neglecting
to pay attention to those hotel attributes considered most important by guests, may lead to negative evaluation of
the hotel, thus restricting the chance of repeat patronage. We perform a qualitative analysis of a large hotel in
Sicily (IT), the Sporting Club Hotel in the town Cefalù, using the Critical Incident Approach (Hayes, 2008).
Through the analysis of this case we evaluate the overall customer satisfaction level for the hotel and for each
service supplied. We conclude discussing the result and proposing improvement in customer satisfaction
management of the hotel.
Introduction
Customer satisfaction is a business philosophy which tends to the creation of value for customers, anticipating
and managing their expectations, and demonstrating ability and responsibility to satisfy their needs. Quality of
service and customer satisfaction are critical factors for success of any business (Gronoos, 1990; Parasuraman et
al., 1988). As Valdani (2009) points out: enterprises exist because they have a customer to serve. The key to
achieve sustainable advantage lies in delivering high quality service that results in satisfied customers (Shemwell
et al, 1998). Service quality and customer satisfaction are key factors in the battle to obtain competitive
advantage and customer retention. Customer satisfaction is the outcome of customer’s perception of the value
received in a transaction or relationship, where value equals perceived service quality, compared to the value
expected from transactions or relationships with competing vendors (Blanchard & Galloway, 1994; Heskett et al.,
1990; Zeithaml et al., 1990). In order to achieve customer satisfaction, it is important to recognize and to
anticipate customers' needs and to be able to satisfy them. Enterprises which are able to rapidly understand and
satisfy customers' needs, make greater profits than those which fail to understand and satisfy them (Barsky &
Nash, 2003). Since the cost of attracting new customers is higher than the cost of retaining the existing ones, in
order to be successful managers must concentrate on retaining existing customers implementing effective
policies of customer satisfaction and loyalty. This is especially true in the hotel industry.
Literature overview
In the past, tourism has been often considered as the natural outcome of environmental and cultural resources of
a specific territory. In this view, the role of hospitality enterprises cannot influence demand levels and is merely
limited to the supply of services to tourists. Le Blanc & Nguyen (1996) suggest that marketing efforts should be
directed to highlight the environmental characteristics of the location in order to attract new customers. The
constant increase of demand of touristic services, and the request for higher standards by the guests, has enforced
the competition among hospitality suppliers and highlighted how the attractivity of the touristic destination is
influenced by the standards of the services provided by the local hotels.
In this scenario, providing high quality services and improving customer satisfaction are widely recognized as
fundamental factors boosting the performances of companies in the hotel and tourism industry (Barsky &
Labagh, 1992; Le Blanc, 1992,; Le Blanc et al., 1996; Stevens et al., 1995, Opermann, 1998). Hotels with good
service quality will ultimately improve their profitability (Oh & Parks, 1997). In a competitive hospitality
industry which offers homogeneous services, individual hoteliers must be able to satisfy costumers better then
their counterparts (Choi & Chou, 2001).
Analysis and results
From the unstructured interviews administered to the management, it emerged that Sporting Club Hotel's target
are families. Families are considered by the hotel's management the ideal target because they are more sensitive
to customer loyalty policies. The hotel has a good repeated patronage rate with 20% of guests that have already
spent their holidays in the hotel in the past. The hotel works especially during summer and national holidays and
gives several possibilities of trips to visit the main touristic attractions in Sicily. In 2008 it had about 35.000
guests. Desk analysis shows that the corporate vision refers specifically to customer satisfaction.
Conclusions
Our qualitative analysis of the Sporting Hotel of Cefalù (IT) shows that the level of customer satisfaction is good
both considering the overall evaluation and the single services (6 out of 8 of the single aspects examined).
Human resource management in particular results to be specially effective in entertainment and restaurant
service.
By interviewing the hotel's management about the results, it emerged that they didn't have the perception of the
gaps we found in beach and room services. Though the latter service heavily depends on the quality of the hotel's
structure, a certain degree of improvement maybe obtain through a concrete effort towards their customization.
In general, the main factor which limits the Sporting Club Hotel's ability to achieve higher customer satisfaction
levels is the standardization of services that reduces the possibility to customize the offer for specific guest needs.
Indeed, from the unstructured interviews to the hotel's management it became apparent that the organizations
adopts a “push” marketing approach. The offer of touristic services is decided by the management and not in
collaboration with customers nor considering their specific needs. Moreover customer satisfaction is not used to
differentiate the services supplied.