Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in the Hospitality Industry

This report examines the literature review on service quality and customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry. It discusses the key dimensions of service quality, the impact of COVID-19 on service quality, and the importance of service quality in the hospitality industry. The report also includes a case study of Ledbury Company and evaluates service quality through online reviews.

Program: Consultancy for The Visitor Economy
Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
(1) Literature Review on Service Quality..............................................................................3
(2) Case Study........................................................................................................................6
(3) Ledbury's Online Presence...............................................................................................6
(4) Evaluation of Service Quality through online reviews.....................................................7
(5) Recommendation..............................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality and tourism play an enormous role in delivering business-related services.
The hospitality industry is one of the parts of the service industry. It provides essential services
for travellers, lodging services etc. The main aim is to attain customer satisfaction effectively.
Whereas Tourism sector is vital as it helps in boosting the economies by encouraging
employment, infrastructure development and maintaining local culture (Kant and Jaiswal, 2017).
Further the hotels, restaurants, theme parks and many come under the hospitality industry.
Tourism is another segment of the service industry and offers services for people who
want to travel to explore places for business or any other purposes. The sector is bifurcated into
further industry groups including food and beverage services, travel services, accommodation
and lodging etc. Hospitality and Tourism sector focuses on generating local economies which
ultimately stimulate the development of infrastructure and public amenities. This report
examines literature review in respect of service quality and customer satisfaction in the
hospitality industry. Also discusses how service quality can be measured through online services.
Ledbury Company is selected to effectively assess service quality and customer satisfaction.
MAIN BODY
(1) Literature Review of Service Quality
During the past year service quality has become a major goal which needs to be attained
in order to meet organisational objectives. As the pandemic year caused phenomenal changes in
the service industry. Numerous researchers analysed the term service quality and many formed
the instrument to measure service quality (Palese and Usai, 2018). There are multiple factors
affecting the service industry such as the mind-set of customers, demands, increased
competition.
The Objectives of Review are, firstly the key dimensions of service quality, secondly is
the service quality amid pandemic situation and lastly the importance of service quality in the
service industry of hospitality including restaurant services.
Gronoroos (1982) referred service quality as the perception of the customer in relation to
the expected service and service attained. On the other hand, Gefan (2002) addressed service
quality as the difference between what quality customers expect and what they actually receives.
High quality of services can be achieved by possessing proper knowledge of operational process

along with the effective way of addressing issues. Sometimes dissatisfied customers blame
themselves for attaining bad services. The organisation is required to identify and resolve the
issue which are not complaining so as to achieve customer satisfaction. Perceptions and
exception of customers play a vital role in the service industry. These two components help the
organisation to derive comparison between what they expect and what they actually provide.
Further help to make their actual service quality, effective by taking appropriate measure.
According to Lovelock and Wirtz (2011) the service industry derives a lot of employment
opportunities for new jobs. The competitive spirit among the companies led service quality as a
strategic tool and tactic to meet their objectives.
The review further specifies the dimensions which are required to understand in order to
achieve service qualification. The key dimensions are, Reliability refers as the expected result
derived by the firm. Responsiveness is the effective services offered by the employees.
Competence for service quality means key skills and knowledge to provide services.
Accessibility is another dimension which requires easy approach. Further communication skills
are required to properly understand and listen the customers (Lee and Cheng, 2018). Credibility
is also to be involved in order to gain customer loyalty and trust. Understanding is the customer
need is the base to prove high quality services. Also the tangible refers to the physical evidence
of the services offered.
The service quality was adversely affected during the course of COVID-19. The services
industry, especially the hospitality industry faced major challenges amid pandemic situations.
Despite the hindrances the industry is now maintaining its resources and devising its ways to a
board back efficiently. The Service quality needs to be determined keeping in view the changing
environment. Nowadays, e-quality services are becoming trendy. Maintaining e-services became
impatient with the pace of technology. The review addresses the challenges faced by the industry
in former years. Further describes what lessons are taken from the current scenario. The
continuous effect of pandemic is becoming a serious problem on tourism and hospitality in
United Kingdom (Prentice and Kadan, 2019). It is essential for the industry to develop
confidence among the travellers by addressing their needs in a pandemic situation. Hygiene and
cleanliness are considered as important in attaining high quality of services. Service Quality led
to customer satisfaction and thus, lack of quality influences the customer behaviour.

Moreover, according to Wen and et. Al. (2020) good health will be considered as a key
component in the service industry after the recovery from COVID-19 as people will fear in
respect of diseases similar to the current pandemic. The outbreak of the pandemic situation
increased the customers demand for hotels, restaurants, cafe adhering the precautions and norms
to prevent the spread of the virus. Customer needs and lifestyles are updated in the last year.
They became more health conscious and thus, needs are to be personalised by the industry in
order to enhance customers by offering high quality services. Accordingly the industry is
required to update their strategies in order to sustain in the market. Strategies such as eco-
friendly concept accompanied by good service quality will help to attract customers during such
outbreak. The pandemic has adversely affected the survival of many hotels (Famiyeh, Asante-
Darko and Kwarteng, 2018).
Service Quality is now considered as a strategic tool which need to be adapted effectively
in order to gain sustainability and competitive advantage in the market. If this factor is adopted
effectively and efficiently by the industry it can create the advantage of differentiation among its
competitors. On providing high quality services along with customer satisfaction led to achieve
competitive advantage in the industry. Customer Service is one factor which is beneficial for
improving service quality. It is defined as ‘a support organisation provides to their customers,
both before and after buying products or services’. Such type of services helps customer to have
a valuable experience. The experiences and quality attained by the customers creates a major
imprint in their minds. Many researchers like Knuston and Nauman proved that the cheapest
source of marketing activity is the satisfaction of customers through quality service. Further, it is
of great help to the organisation in profits increment. According to the recent trend of rating
online as well as offline encourages to improve their service quality. Also the feedback helps
them to formulate new measures to achieve success and growth. Thus, service quality needs to
be entertained effectively by the organisation in order to meet its organisational goal of customer
satisfaction effectively (Arcand and et. al., 2017).
Hospitality industry generally uses the benchmarking strategies to achieve their goal of
customer satisfaction. This strategy helps in knowing the competitor's competitive advantage.
Many new strategies such as innovation are selected by the company to enhance competitive
advantage. The importance of service quality led to Customer Loyalty, the effective company is
the resultant of loyal and happy customers. Not only trends need to be updated, but also they

need to furnish effective quality services. Making special discounts to regular customers or
providing assistance services is some example of keeping track of customers. Customer
satisfaction can be achieved if the company provides positive ambience (Mugion and et. al.,
2018). Also service quality can be maintained by providing safety needs as the customers are
paying to be served properly. At last the customers must feel that they are receiving a valuable
experience in exchange of money. These include, vouchers, discounts, free refreshments etc.
(2) Case Study
The Ledbury Company is one of the examples of closed restaurants in London, which
failed to survive amid lockdown. Some of the reasons were company not able to adhere norms,
out of money and others. The company's business model is unviable to survive in the
marketplace. The GAP model of service quality is an effective framework in respect of customer
satisfaction (Kang, Sun and Cheng, 2018). Under this five model, the company is required to
evaluate.
 Gap 1: between what a customer expects and management process. The company can
conduct survey research in order track customers. Further the company can resume its
business through its survey research.
 Gap 2: between process of management and service quality perception of customer. The
company can improve its management and service quality in order to satisfy its
customers.
 Gap 3: between service quality perception of customer and delivery of service. The
company can opt fast delivery for its customers (Wong and Kuvaas, 2018). In a mid
COVID-19, the company can opt online services so as to regain its sustainability in the
market.
 Gap 4: between delivery of service and communication with customers. Better
communication channel with customers can help the company regain its business.
 Gap 5: between the expected service and experience of the customer. The company can
use transactional surveys in order to measure customer experience. Ratings are most
common. The former experiences of customers will be beneficial to fulfil the needs and
wants of its customers.

(3) Ledbury's Online Presence
It is important for business to have an online presence as it helps the company or
organisation to build its goodwill and image in the minds of segmented customers. It helps to
gain credibility in order to attract customers. Generally, those businesses who hold on verified
listings on Google imprints good impression in the minds of the customers who make use of
google frequently. Such reliable information will help to build trust and loyalty among
customers. The company can reach a large audience by listing its activities online such as
google, social sites etc. Hospitality sector allows their online presence so as to attract large
number of audience by providing them with discount rates, vouchers, free refreshment on first
bookings and others. The effective website accompanied by search engine optimization will lead
an increase in revenue. The online presence acts a marketing tool for the industry. As it will also
attract those customers who are unknown to their services. Internet sensation helps in generating
revenues of the industry.
Most common internet sources which can be used in the industry are Website, the
nowadays hospitality industry has their websites on which they regulate business activities.
These websites are considered as a path which led to bookings, customer reviews, and
effectiveness of business. Provides offers such as discount rates led to customer attraction.
Further the customers get satisfied and rely on the reviews and ratings given to the company.
Another is the Social Media Websites, the hospitality industry generally has a keen knowledge
in promoting their services via social media websites. Social media marketing is a trendy
marketing tool which the company needs to opt to survive in the competitive environment.
Nowadays all the customers and travellers use smart phones and thus, it is easy for them to book
just by one click accompanied by offers rather than waiting in a queue for hours (Al-Ababneh,
2017). They are recognised as a booking or reservation tool used to attract potential customers.
Further help in reducing cost related to human interaction and makes the transactions easier. For
example Easy to book affiliated with payment modes such as Google Pay.
The name of Ledbury Company was on verified listings viewed on Google. Provides
relevant information about the company such as address, their closing and opening hours, and a
link directing customers towards the company's official website where booking and other
activities can be done effectively. Also, it provides the information in respect of reviews
achieved by the company. The Google shows, 275 reviews in respect of Ledbury Company.

Google My Business further facilitates customer with the directions on google map. Further the
company has 2984 unbiased reviews on Pinterest. The images on google review helps the
customers to attract with beautiful ambience and food posts. Also, its online presence led the
customer know about its amenities and reviews. The social sites like Facebook helped the
company to attain its large targeted audience. The images and tags made by the customers
formed brand image of the restaurant which ultimately led to achieve the desired goals.
(4) Evaluation of Service Quality through online reviews
Online reviews led the customer know about the reputation of the company. This
provides a great help to the company in increasing its revenue. The unbiased reviews on the
company's sites creates golden opportunity to attract potential customers. These are considered
as motivating tool which motivates the customers to book quickly without any hesitation. It also
helps in securing returns for the business. Online review is a mouth promotion via digitally
which helps to build a positive image of the company. The youth generation relies on the
recommendation and reviews before taking any further step. Nowadays the search engine has a
history where customers search directly as “the hotel having excellent or best reviews” (Huang,
Lee and Chen, 2019). The industry focuses on gaining good online reviews.
These reviews help the customers in evaluating the quality of service provided by the
company. Such unbiased reviews cause both positive as well as negative impact on the company.
The positive impact increases the power of influencing potential customers, whereas negative
impact causes vice-versa effect. The online reviews cause a great impact on the customer's
decisions. Further the reviews are beneficial for the company in improving their strategies. The
negative review will help the company to update their strategies according to the customer needs
and wants. The online reviews are further updated from long lengthy reviews in the rating
system. This system allows the customers to rate without any delay of time. For example Ratings
1 to 5 includes a review from bad to excellent. Some online reviews also provide short surveys in
respect of service quality offered by the company.
The Ledbury company has its review on google which enable the users of google to
attract towards the restaurant. The reviews caused a positive image of the company. The experts
evaluated the quality of services offered by the company. Further, these reviews helped the
company to improve their services and other strategies. The ambiance review along with posts of
delicious food enable the customers to try the restaurant. The suggestions provide great help in

order to achieve the desired goals effectively and efficiently. The strong review caused strong
influence on the revenue of the company. During the outbreak of COVID-19, the customers gave
their feedback and suggestions to facilitate the services rather than closing (Eid and Abdelkader,
2017). Thus, the company is required to be updated with online reviews so that they can take
measures to meet its objectives along with new strategies according to trendy needs of the
customers.
(5) Recommendation
The recommendations in respect to improve service quality are discussed below:-
Effective Mission Statement
Once the mission is determined the company need to bifurcate its goals into short and
long term in order to implement its strategies effectively (Sipe and Testa, 2018). This will help
the company in reviewing their progress and also help to keep a track of its customers. The
company should state their mission and vision or their website link on social sites, such as Bio
Link on Instagram.
Open for Feedback
The feedback of customers are vital to achieve success and growth. The company should
devise innovative ways for its customers to deliver feedback and suggestions. Such can be done
by sending surveys on their mail addresses, giving stars. This approach will not only led to
customer satisfaction, but also improve the operations of the business.
Sharing of Experiences
The company shall provide the customers to share their experience on their social sites.
This will help the company attract potential customers. Customers tag the restaurant or cafe in
their photos. Thus, helps in promoting the brand. The company must share the stories of their
customers and memories on their website and even on social sites.
Offer value-add services
Every company recruits the customer service representatives to achieve its objective of
customer satisfaction effectively. They not only resolve the customer grievances, but also shares
the information in respect of services or new services, if evolved to them. The company takes the
help of social media or other internet sources to furnish relevant information to their clients.
Referral Strategy

Nowadays company allows offer such as “refer the link app to others and win 100 points
in your account” such strategy helps the company to attract potential customers and thus,
motivates them to improve their quality services. As the number of attracted customers motivates
the company to provide high quality of services. Further service quality led customer satisfaction
and loyalty towards the company.
Effective customer service
Customer service plays a crucial role in maintaining the quality of the organisation. The
company should recruit effective employees for customer service. They must be consist the
values such as good patience level, satisfy customer and able to attract potential customers (Ju
and et. al., 2019). The customer service provider must review the feedback daily and respond
them accordingly.
Ethical Practice
The head of the company generally gives directions and approaches to team and
responsible for bad performance. The question raised on the quality of service need to be
answered by the head in an effective manner. The company should opt ethical practices and aim
not to deter local culture. This can be done by providing menu card of the restaurant online in
different languages. Another recommendation can be, train employees with different languages
and cultures.
Innovative ways to create an impression
The service quality is improved when a company tries innovative ways to create a good
impression on their customers. An innovative way favouring company can be organic packaging,
rooftop seating and free refreshing drinks. Even offering customers with occasional discount or
online discount. It is important for maintaining consistency in the hospitality industry.
Benchmarking Method
The approach helps the organisation to understand the changing environment and
competition. Further help to formulate strategies in accordance with it. The company can apply
effective KPI in order to reach potential customers. It can be beneficial for the company in its
sales growth in its casual dining segment. The company can offer ‘Happy Hours’ for its
customers in order to increase sales.

CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that the service industry not only focus to achieve
economy goals, but also aims to achieve customer satisfaction by providing effective quality of
service. The company meets its objectives effectively and efficiently by maintaining its service
quality. Service quality is treated as a strategic tool by many organisations. According they
formulate strategies in providing high quality of services. The last year made a caution for every
industry, especially the hospitality industry to deliver better quality of service. The above report
examined the importance of service quality and customer satisfaction in respect of the company.
Also the importance of the online presence of the service industry is discussed above to create
positive image of the company. Further the report evaluated the importance of online reviews to
attract potential customers. At last the report suggested the recommendations for the organisation
to improve service quality and customer satisfaction in the service industry. Thus, overall the
report was made to encourage the role of service quality and customer satisfaction in the
hospitality industry.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Al-Ababneh, M., 2017. Service quality in the hospitality industry. Available at SSRN 3633089.
Arcand, M., and et. al., 2017. Mobile banking service quality and customer
relationships. International Journal of Bank Marketing.
Eid, R. and Abdelkader, A.A., 2017. Muslim service quality dimensions in the tourism and
hospitality industry: construct development and measurement validation. International
Journal of Islamic Marketing and Branding. 2(3). pp.215-231.
Famiyeh, S., Asante-Darko, D. and Kwarteng, A., 2018. Service quality, customer satisfaction,
and loyalty in the banking sector. International Journal of Quality & Reliability
Management.
Huang, P.L., Lee, B.C. and Chen, C.C., 2019. The influence of service quality on customer
satisfaction and loyalty in B2B technology service industry. Total Quality Management
& Business Excellence. 30(13-14). pp.1449-1465.
Ju, Y., and et. al., 2019. Exploring Airbnb service quality attributes and their asymmetric effects
on customer satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 77. pp.342-
352.
Kang, F., Sun, L. and Cheng, X., 2018. An additive hazards model for clustered recurrent gap
times. Journal of Systems Science and Complexity. 31(5). pp.1377-1390.
Kant, R. and Jaiswal, D., 2017. The impact of perceived service quality dimensions on customer
satisfaction. International Journal of Bank Marketing.
Lee, W.H. and Cheng, C.C., 2018. Less is more: A new insight for measuring service quality of
green hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 68. pp.32-40.
Mugion, R.G., and et. al., 2018. Does the service quality of urban public transport enhance
sustainable mobility?. Journal of Cleaner Production. 174. pp.1566-1587.
Palese, B. and Usai, A., 2018. The relative importance of service quality dimensions in E-
commerce experiences. International Journal of Information Management. 40. pp.132-
140.
Prentice, C. and Kadan, M., 2019. The role of airport service quality in airport and destination
choice. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 47. pp.40-48.
Sipe, L.J. and Testa, M.R., 2018. From satisfied to memorable: An empirical study of service and
experience dimensions on guest outcomes in the hospitality industry. Journal of
Hospitality Marketing & Management. 27(2). pp.178-195.
Wong, S.I. and Kuvaas, B., 2018. The empowerment expectation–perception gap: An
examination of three alternative models. Human Resource Management Journal. 28(2).
pp.272-287.