India's hotel industry is growing at a fast pace because of a high economic growth coupled with an increased flow of international tourists. This calls for effective quality management and that can be done through an accurate measurement of services.
Effective quality management of hotel industry: -
1. Define the quality attributes and variables - Attributes denote qualitative data. They represent discrete values such as presence or absence of an escort to the room from the reception, etc. Variables denote quantitative data, which are continuous such as the price of staying in a room, etc.
2. Measure - The Critical To Quality (CTQ) characteristics of the process need to be identified. The factors that contribute to a good / bad service experience for the consumers need to be picked.
3. Analyze - The attributes and variables need to be measured to find any possible causes of defects / low quality service.
4. Improve - The influence of the causes of defects / low quality service need to be quantified, and the acceptable limits for the same should be defined.
5. Control - In the control step, the modified process should be made to stay within the acceptable limits and emergency handling mechanism should be in place.
Define
The key quality attributes in a hotel are: -
Attributes:
1. Arrangements for payment for room service
2. The presentation of the service in the guest room
3. Quality of the table-ware used in the provision of room service
4. Equipment used in providing room service
5. Quality of the food provided through room service
6. Size of food portions
7. The ability of the waiter to understand your specific needs in using room service
8. Service etiquette shown by room service staff
9. The ability of the waiter to instill confidence in the choices the guest has made
10. Quality of the beverages provided through room service
11. Appearance of the room service staff
12. The ability of the room service staff to answer general enquiries about, for example, places for entertainment
13. The ability of room service staff to handle guest complaints
14. The ability of room service staff to provide information on other services available from the hotel to guests
15. The skills in the performance of room service
16. The level of commitment that staff brings to room service
17. The attractiveness of the lay-out of the guest room
18. A sincere interest shown in solving any of the guest's problems
19. Friendly conversation between the guest and the room service staff
Variables:
1. Price
2. Time spent waiting to place an order
3. The time spent waiting between ordering and receiving service
4. Hours during which room service is available
5. Number of choices included in the menu
Measuring & Analyzing the Attributes & Variables
Attributes:
1. Arrangements for payment of room service: The attributes can be measured in terms of the following factors: -
• If arrangements are made to accept credit cards (for all types of cards including VISA, Mastercard, etc.)
• Is foreign currency accepted for international customers?
• No. of persons checking out / No. of POS (Point Of Sale) devices in the hotel
2. The presentation of the service in the guest room: -
• Did the waiter knock before entering the room
• Did the waiter show skill in serving the food, or in changing the bedsheets and towels
3. Quality of the table-ware used in the provision of room service: -
• Was the table-ware aesthetically appealing?
• Was the table-ware heavy?
4. Equipment used in providing room service: -
• Was the trolley clean?
• Was the trolley making any noise?
5. Quality of the food provided through room service: -
• Was the food tasty?
• Was the food the same as ordered by the customer?
6. Size of food portions: -
• Was the quantity of food served less than expected?
• Was the size of food portions too small or big?
7. The ability of the waiter to understand your specific needs in using room service: -
• Was the operator able to understand your needs?
• Was the waiter able to speak clearly?
8. Service etiquette shown by room service staff: -
• Did the staff smile at you?
• Did the staff show interest in serving you?
9. The ability of the waiter to instill confidence in the choices the guest has made: -
• Did the waiter display knowledge about the food choice that you made?
• Did the waiter know enough about the hotel and its facilities?
• Did the waiters show co-ordination among themselves?
10. Quality of the beverages provided through room service: -
• Was the quality of the beverages provided good?
11. Appearance of the room service staff
• Was the room service staff well dressed?
• Did the staff smile at the customers?
12. The ability of the room service staff to answer general enquiries about the place, like places of entertainment, etc.
13. The ability of room service staff to handle guest complaints: -
• Was the room service staff receptive or defensive about the complaint?
• Was the staff empathizing with your problem?
• Did the staff take corrective action and within an allowable time?
14. The ability of room service staff to provide information on other services available from the hotel to guests.
15. The attractiveness of the layout of the guest room.
16. A sincere interest shown in solving any of the guest's problems.
17. Friendly conversation between the guest and the room service staff.
Variables:
1. Price
2. Time spent waiting to place an order
3. The time spent waiting between ordering and receiving service
4. Hours during which room service is available
5. Number of choices included in the menu
Each attribute and variable can be given weights from 1-10 basing on their impact for making the service experience good or bad. Then, a check-sheet could be constructed to find the frequency of negative feedback received from the customer on each attribute / variable.
The product of the frequency and the weights would give the final score for each attribute / variable.
Effective quality management of hotel industry: -
1. Define the quality attributes and variables - Attributes denote qualitative data. They represent discrete values such as presence or absence of an escort to the room from the reception, etc. Variables denote quantitative data, which are continuous such as the price of staying in a room, etc.
2. Measure - The Critical To Quality (CTQ) characteristics of the process need to be identified. The factors that contribute to a good / bad service experience for the consumers need to be picked.
3. Analyze - The attributes and variables need to be measured to find any possible causes of defects / low quality service.
4. Improve - The influence of the causes of defects / low quality service need to be quantified, and the acceptable limits for the same should be defined.
5. Control - In the control step, the modified process should be made to stay within the acceptable limits and emergency handling mechanism should be in place.
Define
The key quality attributes in a hotel are: -
Attributes:
1. Arrangements for payment for room service
2. The presentation of the service in the guest room
3. Quality of the table-ware used in the provision of room service
4. Equipment used in providing room service
5. Quality of the food provided through room service
6. Size of food portions
7. The ability of the waiter to understand your specific needs in using room service
8. Service etiquette shown by room service staff
9. The ability of the waiter to instill confidence in the choices the guest has made
10. Quality of the beverages provided through room service
11. Appearance of the room service staff
12. The ability of the room service staff to answer general enquiries about, for example, places for entertainment
13. The ability of room service staff to handle guest complaints
14. The ability of room service staff to provide information on other services available from the hotel to guests
15. The skills in the performance of room service
16. The level of commitment that staff brings to room service
17. The attractiveness of the lay-out of the guest room
18. A sincere interest shown in solving any of the guest's problems
19. Friendly conversation between the guest and the room service staff
Variables:
1. Price
2. Time spent waiting to place an order
3. The time spent waiting between ordering and receiving service
4. Hours during which room service is available
5. Number of choices included in the menu
Measuring & Analyzing the Attributes & Variables
Attributes:
1. Arrangements for payment of room service: The attributes can be measured in terms of the following factors: -
• If arrangements are made to accept credit cards (for all types of cards including VISA, Mastercard, etc.)
• Is foreign currency accepted for international customers?
• No. of persons checking out / No. of POS (Point Of Sale) devices in the hotel
2. The presentation of the service in the guest room: -
• Did the waiter knock before entering the room
• Did the waiter show skill in serving the food, or in changing the bedsheets and towels
3. Quality of the table-ware used in the provision of room service: -
• Was the table-ware aesthetically appealing?
• Was the table-ware heavy?
4. Equipment used in providing room service: -
• Was the trolley clean?
• Was the trolley making any noise?
5. Quality of the food provided through room service: -
• Was the food tasty?
• Was the food the same as ordered by the customer?
6. Size of food portions: -
• Was the quantity of food served less than expected?
• Was the size of food portions too small or big?
7. The ability of the waiter to understand your specific needs in using room service: -
• Was the operator able to understand your needs?
• Was the waiter able to speak clearly?
8. Service etiquette shown by room service staff: -
• Did the staff smile at you?
• Did the staff show interest in serving you?
9. The ability of the waiter to instill confidence in the choices the guest has made: -
• Did the waiter display knowledge about the food choice that you made?
• Did the waiter know enough about the hotel and its facilities?
• Did the waiters show co-ordination among themselves?
10. Quality of the beverages provided through room service: -
• Was the quality of the beverages provided good?
11. Appearance of the room service staff
• Was the room service staff well dressed?
• Did the staff smile at the customers?
12. The ability of the room service staff to answer general enquiries about the place, like places of entertainment, etc.
13. The ability of room service staff to handle guest complaints: -
• Was the room service staff receptive or defensive about the complaint?
• Was the staff empathizing with your problem?
• Did the staff take corrective action and within an allowable time?
14. The ability of room service staff to provide information on other services available from the hotel to guests.
15. The attractiveness of the layout of the guest room.
16. A sincere interest shown in solving any of the guest's problems.
17. Friendly conversation between the guest and the room service staff.
Variables:
1. Price
2. Time spent waiting to place an order
3. The time spent waiting between ordering and receiving service
4. Hours during which room service is available
5. Number of choices included in the menu
Each attribute and variable can be given weights from 1-10 basing on their impact for making the service experience good or bad. Then, a check-sheet could be constructed to find the frequency of negative feedback received from the customer on each attribute / variable.
The product of the frequency and the weights would give the final score for each attribute / variable.