Guest Services in The Ritz London

This assignment provides a detailed analysis of the guest services provided in The Ritz London, including multilingual staff, concierge services, Wi-Fi service, private chef and butler service, and more. It also discusses the quality management in the hotel, adaptation to changing consumer preferences, and the impact of these changes on guest service management. The assignment concludes with a summary of the findings.

Guest Services

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Discussion of services provided in the hotel................................................................................1
Quality management in hotel.......................................................................................................2
Adaptation to changing consumer preferences............................................................................3
Impact of changes on guest service management........................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Guest services are facilities and amenities which a hotel provides to its guests by
charging a particular fee (Biggs, Von Fumetti and Kelly-Quinn, 2017). These services can
include room service, concierge, currency exchange, Wi-Fi facility etc. The organisation selected
for this project is The Ritz London which is a Five Star Hotel in London, United Kingdom. In
this report, detailed analysis will be made on understanding of environment in market and their
impact on management of guest services. Systems of quality management will also be analysed
in the assignment.
MAIN BODY
Discussion of services provided in the hotel
The Ritz London is a posh five-star hotel which was founded in 1906. It is located in
Mayfair district. There are a wide range of services which are provided to guests in the hotel.
The details of services provided in The Ritz London are as follows-
Multilingual staff- The staff of The Ritz London is conversant in different languages
spoken in the world. This is to facilitate easy communication with the guests coming from all
over the globe. This allows the guests to communicate their problems and grievances to the staff.
Concierge services- These services are provided in The Ritz London so that the luggage
of guests can be kept safely and securely. Different layers of security are present which ensure
safety of luggage.
Wi-Fi service- It is provided to guests in their rooms, in the hotel lobby, dining area and
in other areas (DeMicco, 2016). This facilitates the clients to stay connected during the course of
their visit. The Ritz London provides these services to its guests.
Private chef and butler service- This is offered to premium guests in the hotel. The Ritz
London provides these services so that guests can have food of their own choice made by the
chef.
Currency exchange service- It is offered by The Ritz London to ease currency exchange
process for the guests. Currencies of different counties in the world are changed to British
Pounds.
Laundry service- It is offered to the guests by The Ritz London to help them manage
their laundry. Dry-cleaning facilities are also provided.
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Gym- Different fitness equipments along with trainers are present in the gyms of The
Ritz London. Guests can maintain their fitness using these machines and can also take the help of
experts.
Conference rooms- Conference rooms are provided for meetings by The Ritz London.
These are for business meetings and seminars organised by corporates, big companies.
Valet parking- Valet parking services are offered by The Ritz London to ensure smooth
experience for its clients. Safety and security of cars of customers is maintained in the hotel.
Restaurants- Restaurants having food of different cuisines in the world are present. The
Ritz London has various restaurants which cater to a wide range of cuisines needs to special
dietary requests of certain guests. Also, daily buffet service for breakfast is there for the guests.
This ensures a premium experience for them.
Guest relations assistants- Special designated guest relations assistants are there in The
Ritz London. They cater to special requests and also attend to their grievances and problems of
the clients. They also ensure that a solution is quickly found to the issues faced by the guests.
Quality management in hotel
Quality has to be ensured in the services provided to guests so that they don't have any
complaints (Farr, 2016). For this certain standards have to be set for performance and it has to
be seen that they are followed. Quality management in the context of The Ritz London is as
follows-
Multilingual staff- Quality management is ensured by proper training provided to the
staff of hotel. There is regular audit and inspection which ensures that staff is working properly.
Also, trainers are called for making the staff learn new languages depending upon the
requirements of the guests. Continuous improvement is done if guests face problems.
Concierge services- Quality is ensured in concierge by ensuring safety and security of
luggage of guests of hotel. Regular training is provided and inspections are done which ensures
prime security. Also monitoring is done using CCTV cameras. Improvement is made if there is
any issue of guests.
Wi-Fi service- Quality of internet services provided in the hotel using Wi-Fi are
inspected regularly (Gummerus, von Koskull and Kowalkowski, 2017). It is done to ensure that
the guests don't face speed and connectivity issues. Improvement is made if connectivity issues
are there.
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Private chef and butler service- Quality of food served by private chefs and butlers to
customers are inspected during audits. If any issues are faced by guests of hotel they are taken
with immediate priority. Improvement is made if food quality is not up to the mark.
Currency exchange service- Quality check is done to ensure that the right rates are set
for currencies in the hotel. Rates offered to the guests have to match with the actual rate
prevailing in the market. Improvement is made if there has been an error or mistake while
exchanging currency of guest.
Laundry service- Quality of laundry services is monitored using different parameters
and standards. It is ensured that these standards are met in the hotel. Improvement is made if
standards are not being followed.
Gym- Quality of machines and equipments used in the gym is monitored regularly. If
there is any problem with the equipments used in the gym of hotel it is replaced quickly.
Improvement is made if there are issues faced by guests in operating the machines and
equipments.
Conference rooms- Quality of equipments, cleanliness of conference rooms is ensured in
the hotel. Improvement is made if complaints are made regarding the working of systems of
conference rooms.
Adaptation to changing consumer preferences
The preferences of consumers are ever-changing according to a change in the market (He
and et.al., 2016). Similarly, changes are also made in hotels so that best services can be provided
to the guests. The ways by which The Ritz London has adapted to the changing requirements of
its guests are-
Personalisation- Nowadays, guests want personalisation in the services of hotel ranging
from their rooms to other services (Trends of changes in Hospitality Industry, 2017). Therefore,
The Ritz London is catering to this new demand of its clients by understanding what they want
and providing personalised services according to their requirements. Additional fees is charged
by the hotel for personalisation purposes which also enhances its profitability level.
Loyalty schemes- Premium and luxury hotels have loyalty schemes for their regular
customers (Luo and Qu, 2016). The Ritz London also has loyalty schemes ranging from
discount and complimentary offers, bonus facilities etc. It is ensured that the loyalty programme
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members get the best deal related to rates which helps the hotel in making repeated sales and
attracting new customers through references.
Marketing and promotion- A lot has changed for the hotels in their marketing and
promotion strategy. The Ritz London uses traditional as well as modern methods and techniques
of marketing. It has increased its social media presence which enables it to communicate
effectively with customers and take their feedback for services. Also, it has made its website's
interface look more attractive and appealing to customers.
Change in expectations- The customers are expecting high standards for the services
being provided to them (Murroni and et.al., 2018). The Ritz London is ensuring that there is no
negligence in its services for its clients. This will enable them to give a positive feedback and
review which will enhance the goodwill and brand image of the hotel.
Online services- It has become must for five star and luxury hotels to provide a range of
services related to the hotel including booking and reservations online. The Ritz London ensures
that it provides reservation of rooms and suites on its website and also other services of the hotel
online.
Catering to generational divide- The young generation is preferring to use online
booking method for reservation. While the old generation still prefers the old method for
bookings. The Ritz London has made specific strategies to cater to new as well as old generation.
It ensures that the needs and demands of both are catered by the hotel and there are no issues or
problems for them.
Use of data- Data regarding change in consumer behaviour is available on different
portals. This data can be used by The Ritz London for analysis purposes to see the impact of
change changing dynamics of market will bring to its business. It will also help it in making
strategy for adapting to needs and demands of its clients which will ensure that it stays ahead of
the competition in the market. This is essential for a smooth transition and proper
implementation of the changes.
Impact of changes on guest service management
The changes caused by consumer behaviour and dynamics of business environment of the
hospitality industry creates an impact on guest service management (Sikorska, Kocziszky and
Pererva, 2017). The relation of these changes with guest service management of The Ritz
London is as follows-
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Use of Instant messaging- Hotels are now resorting to the use of instant messaging to
cater to problems and issues faced by guests. The Ritz London attends to grievances of guests by
instant messaging service provided to guests in the smartphones available in their rooms. This
ensures a quick resolution to their problems.
Chatbots- Online website of hotels are using chatbots which eases the experience of
customers on the website (Zhang and Cole, 2016). The Ritz London is using chatbots on its
website as well as the smartphones in the rooms which resolve the common questions guests
have. This helps it in better management of services.
Translations- The hotels are now using translation tools to effectively communicate with
guests speaking different languages. The Ritz London uses translation tools which helps it in
providing better services to its clients and ensures that language doesn't become a barrier in
communication. This enhances guest services management.
Better efficiency- The changes caused by changing consumer behaviour has allowed for
better efficiency of staff of the hotel. The Ritz London's staff is now well-trained to deal with
issues and grievances of clients quickly.
Better productivity- The changing dynamics have made sure that staff of the hotels
display better productivity which helps in achieving effectiveness in operations. The Ritz
London has held special training sessions for its staff to help them improve their productivity in
providing services to guests. This ensures that guest service management in the hotel is done on
a priority basis.
Decision-making- The changes have ensured that decision-making is done quickly in
hotels to frame strategies to adapt to dynamics. The Ritz London's management has been taking
quick decisions to ensure that the hotel meets the needs of clients and best guest service
management is done so that customers don't face issues.
Thus, it can be concluded that changes brought by the dynamic forces of internal and
external business environment create an impact on guest service management (Vogel-Heuser
and Hess, 2016). The Ritz London has implemented the changes and improved the overall
efficiency and effectiveness of its services. This has allowed it to provide best standards to its
clients for the price which they are paying. It has enhanced the staff of hotel to quickly address
the grievances of guests so that they don't face issues.
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CONCLUSION
From the above assignment, it can be concluded that a wide variety of guest services are
provided in hotels to cater to needs and demands of clients. They determine the ratings, reviews
and feedback of guests. Different type of services provided in hotels, monitoring of quality of
facilities and improvements, adaptation of hospitality industry to changing business environment
has been covered. Additionally, analysis of impact of changes on guest service management has
been discussed.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Biggs, J., Von Fumetti, S. and Kelly-Quinn, M., 2017. The importance of small waterbodies for
biodiversity and ecosystem services: implications for policy makers. Hydrobiologia.
793(1). pp.3-39.
DeMicco, F. J., 2016. A Disney strategic approach to patient/guest services in Hospitality
Bridging Healthcare (H2H) and medical tourism and wellness. The Routledge
Handbook of Health Tourism. pp.289-298.
Farr, M., 2016. Co-production and value co-creation in outcome-based contracting in public
services. Public Management Review. 18(5). pp.654-672.
Gummerus, J., von Koskull, C. and Kowalkowski, C., 2017. Guest editorial: relationship
marketing–past, present and future. Journal of Services Marketing.
He, W. and et.al., 2016. Guest editorial: Special issue on cyber-physical systems and services.
IEEE Transactions on Services Computing. 9(2). pp.172-173.
Luo, Z. and Qu, H., 2016. Guest-defined hotel service quality and its impacts on guest loyalty.
Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism. 17(3). pp.311-332.
Murroni, M. and et.al., 2018. Guest editorial special issue on quality of experience for advanced
broadcast services. IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting. 64(2). pp.335-340.
Sikorska, M., Kocziszky, G. and Pererva, P. G., 2017. Compliance service at guest services
enterprises. (Doctoral dissertation, Полтавський університет економіки і торгівлі).
Vogel-Heuser, B. and Hess, D., 2016. Guest editorial industry 4.0–prerequisites and visions.
IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering. 13(2). pp.411-413.
Zhang, Y. and Cole, S. T., 2016. Dimensions of lodging guest satisfaction among guests with
mobility challenges: A mixed-method analysis of web-based texts. Tourism
Management. 53. pp.13-27.
Online
Trends of changes in Hospitality Industry. 2017. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4082246.html>
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