Tourism Services: Employee Performance, Service Concept, Value Chain Analysis

This article explores the contribution of intercontinental hotels versus the Accor group in tourism, approaches to progress the performance of workforces and job satisfaction, service concept and target customers, value chain analysis, and more in the hotel industry.

Tourism services

Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Employee performance and Job satisfaction................................................................................................3
Service concept and target customers..........................................................................................................5
Value chain analysis....................................................................................................................................7
Service quality and customer satisfaction....................................................................................................9
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................10
Reference...................................................................................................................................................11

Introduction
In the world, the UK is one of the best tourist destinations with approx. 40 million visitors in a
year. Tourism is the fastest-growing economic sector which helps in bringing foreign exchange
earnings and creates more jobs. In the UK, jobs are created not only in the tourism sector but also
in some related industries like construction. It is essential to manage the process in the hotel
industry to provide the best services to tourists in the UK. We will study the contribution of
intercontinental hotels versus the Accor group in tourism. Different approaches will be discussed
which are used to progress the performance of workforces and job satisfaction. To achieve
corporate strategy in the hotel sector, companies have to understand the service concept and
target customers for their satisfaction. To deliver the services in the hotel industry, it is necessary
for them to use the effective value chain to achieve the objectives. Various recommendations
will be provided for measuring service quality and satisfaction of customers..

Employee performance and Job satisfaction
Intercontinental hotel or IHG is a Britain multinational hospitality company in the UK with
having across 5656 hotels and 35,330 employees in almost 100 countries and Accor group hotels
in a French multinational company that operates in the hospitality industry in more than 100
countries with almost 4200 hotels and 250,000 employees. In the hospitality sector, it is
necessary to motivate and satisfy the employees to provide the best services to customers who
visit or stay in hotels. In the hotel industry, the profits and growth are linked with the satisfaction
of customers and satisfaction is influenced by the value of services that are created by satisfied
and productive employees. It is examined that job satisfaction and employee performance plays a
vital role in improving the tourism industry (Awadh, et al., 2013). To develop the employee
performance and provide the job satisfaction, companies have to adopt the different approaches
to satisfy and motivate them to perform in a better way as the employees have to directly interact
with the tourists and employee of hotel industry satisfy the performance. In the hotel industry, it
is necessary to provide systematic training to perform their role in satisfying the performance.
Training will help the employees in improving their skills and knowledge to perform effectively
(Kirkpatrick, 2006).
It is necessary to set clear expectations and communicate the goals and strategies to employees to
perform better at the workplace. Employees will be motivated in the hotel industry if career
development, job security, effective workplace, and environment and compensation will be
provided to them. For the fulfillment of employees at work, career development is a critical
determinant for employee performance and job satisfaction. At the workplace, the factors which
determine the job satisfaction of employees are salaries, working conditions, advancements,
opportunities, and workgroup (Ryu, et al., 2012).
To develop the performance of employees in the hotel industry, the power must be given to them
to perform their jobs well as empowering employees is crucial to perform the task. It is necessary
to give authority to employees for making the critical decision for their success. employees need
the motivation to improve their performance as job satisfaction is the affecting feeling an
employee gas towards their job (Cascio, 2015).
Job satisfaction theories

Herzberg's two-factor theory- In Herzberg theory, it is determined that what employee wants in
their jobs. The performance of the employees is affected by two factors, hygiene and motivator
factors. Hygiene factor includes the basic features of the work environment that are required for
employees to perform their job and in motivator factors; an individual must grow at the
workplace (Mensah, 2004). Job satisfaction includes the advancement, recognition, the work
itself, growth and achievement. Job satisfaction is a very significant aspect as it affects
employees as well as the organization.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
The hotel industry can follow Maslow's hierarchy of needs for job satisfaction. As the human
needs involve five-level hierarchy consisting of physiological needs, safety, belongingness,
esteem, and self-actualization.
Tuckman’s teamwork theory includes the 4 stages of the team working. The four stages are
forming, storming, norming and performing. At the initial stage, it is necessary to have a team as
every individual has to take their place in the team (Hameed and Waheed, 2011). It is necessary
to size with each other in the team. In the storming stage, people come in a team and challenge
each other and the leader of a team helps the team in understanding their task and analyze the
things which must be done. Norming is the phase in teamwork in which the team starts their
work by developing process, making ground rules, clarifying the work and way of doing the
things. It is a sense of togetherness. At the final stage of theory, it is necessary to focus on the
task as well as on team relationships as the combination of both provides the synergy (Song, et
al., 2013). When the people work together an effective performance is delivered at the
workplace. The employees of the hotel work in the team will help in delivering the services to
the customer for their satisfaction. In a team, different problems can be resolved easily at
different stages for development and growth.
Service concept and target customers
In the hotel sector, it is necessary to attract the customers and satisfy them with the services. It
plays a crucial role and its purpose is to serve in the tourism industry. The hotel sector includes
service, quality, satisfaction, loyalty, support, communication, feedback, and trust (Pizam and
Ellis, 2009). In the intercontinental hotel, special services are provided to customers to attract

and satisfy them. IHG has developed the rules and strategies for providing services to customers.
They had also developed technology management to satisfy target customers. IHG adopt the
latest technology in a competitive environment and became one of the leading hotel chains. The
main factor of IHG's success is the increase in the application of technology. In gaining customer
satisfaction, technology played a crucial role and fulfilled the needs of all the customers. They
provide on-time services to customers as it is the key to success and giving the priority to every
customer who takes the service from them. In the hotel sector, Services are designed in a way to
need the needs and expectations of customers who visits the tourist place and book the hotel to
stay. It is necessary to attract customers with its services (Holcomb, et al., 2007). The service
concept in the hotel industry is the services which are intangible and requires the consumers to
experience the service. Customers experience the services which are provided to them by the
management of hotels. In the hotel industry, IHG and Accor group provide the service based on
four attributes i.e. facilitating and physical goods like food, utensils satisfy the customers with
the best quality (Smith, et al., 2014). To provide the best quality IHG includes the various food
items on their menu. Supporting facilities which are provided to customers are a hotel, dining
room, etc. these facilities attract the customers as the time of booking. Sensual benefits and
explicit services provided by hotels are taste, structural atmosphere, aroma, and social and
implicit and psychological services are the comfort, status and reassurance services (Jones, et al.,
2014).
The hotel industry must maintain service quality as it is the most essential factors for gaining a
competitive advantage and customer confidence in the highly competitive marketplace. The
service concept is a critical success factor in the hospitality industry. Intercontinental hotels have
coverage all around the world. For the success of hotels, they have to deliver excellent services
to customers and the life of the hotel is considered with service quality. Service attracts
customers to consume service and take the benefits of facilities that are provided to them.
Competition in the hotel industry is high as every hotel wants to satisfy the customers. In the
hotel industry, services are the level of assistance which is provided by the hotel staff for
facilitating the purchase by the customers (Nariri and Tanova, 2010). Customer experience can
be negative, positive or indifferent and every industry. Services can be provided according to the
taste and preferences of customers. To improve the customer’s mood it is necessary to provide
the personable services. Accor group can improve customer loyalty as the satisfied customers are

loyal. In the hospitality industry, customers are a vital part of the business and accor group can
target the customers who prefer luxury stay as accor provide the best luxury services to
customers. It is essential to target customers for the growth of the business. They can adopt the
target market segmentation approach in which they can divide potential guests into a group
which is based on the characteristics. The set of characteristics can be age, income, and general
personality traits are considered while doing the segmentation. The hotel can adopt the methods
to analyze the target customer's reviews (Han, et al., 2011). The survey can be conducted to
customers as feedback will helps in getting the information about customer preference and tastes.
The online survey helps the management in getting information about the customers. Feedback
from customers will help in improving the performance and providing the facilities to customers.
Pleasure activities can be adopted by the management of hotels to attract customers (Tigu and
Călăreţu, 2013).
Corporate strategies which are designed in hospitality are the satisfaction of customers and
employees and improving the performance for future growth and development. In hospitality,
employees can speak directly to customers to make the customers aware of the facilities. It will
help in attracting and converting high-quality leads as it will help in targeting the right people
(Xu, and Gursoy, 2015). In Hospitality, the competition level is high in providing the best
services to customers as they have to differentiate their brand from competitors to attract and
satisfy customers with their services. It is vital to focus and adopt the best techniques and
technology in the market which are preferred by customers. They can adopt the focused
approach as it will help in fully optimizing resources, time and budget. Updated technology can
help the company in achieving its corporate strategy (Raziq, 2015). Implementation of an
information system will help in managing the information and make it easy for customers to
boom the hotels online and can communicate with the staff easily. It is necessary to retain the
quality in the hotel industry as it is the delivery of services by meeting the set standard of an
organization.

Value chain analysis
For achieving success in providing services to customers, hotels can adopt the various
approaches and strategies. Service delivery is a main feature of the hotel industry. Operations
and tasks are involved in the delivery of services that are needed to meet the requirements of
customers and satisfy them. Delivery of good services to consumers is the main aim which every
business strives to accomplish in the market. A service supplier can deliver the quality in service
as it is considered as an essential strategy for success. The use of effective value chain analysis
helps in achieving success in service delivery. The value chain includes the stages in the business
process. To achieve the competitive advantage an organization has to deliver the value to
customers and the manager has to understand the activities which are important in delivering
services (Caruana, 2002). Value chain analysis includes the activities of inbound logistics,
operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, services. Analysis of value chain in the
hospitality industry includes the activity analysis where all the services and activities which are
to be delivered are analyzed. Activity analysis is the step of value chain analysis which includes
the collection of information which is involved in the business are guests, suppliers, employees,
business partners, agents and tour operator. It also includes the way of recruitment done by HR
to recruit the right people with the right skills so that will help in delivering the right service to
customers. KPI systems are introduced for the company to controlling the standards of
performance which will help in getting feedback from customers to enhance the guest
engagement (Brunetto, et al., 2012).
Value analysis
After the identification of activities, value factors are done to know about the way for conducting
activities for the customers. It is necessary to provide the correct solution, deliver professional
services, and analyze the different alternatives for effective service delivery. Ideas will be
generated for increasing the value for delivering the services to customers (Elnaga and Imran,
2013).
Value chain analyses include the primary activity which is inbound logistics as in hotel industry
management has to make contracts with suppliers to deliver the food and beverages and
providing so many activities to deliver to customers. In operations, all the processes and
procedures are included which are supported by advanced equipment and tools as well as helps

in introducing the services to customers (Saleem, 2015). Outbound logistics includes the way by
which hotels provide the services and goods to customers and distribute the products and
services in different locations to different guests. Activities which are included in marketing and
sales are done to attract customers and make them interested in hotel rooms, restaurants and
includes all the promotional activities by considering the advertisement and competitors' pricing.
Delivery of services is crucial for success in the hotel industry. Training services can be provided
to employees to make the customers happy. Better services to customers help in enhancing the
value of products and it is crucial also for the customers as the customers have so many options
to choose for stay (Cronin, et al., 2000). When a customer experiences good quality services,
they should recommend to others to experience the same.
In hospitality, Support activities like procurement are the facilities that are offered to customers
are the equipment and ambiance which supports to make the operations easy and smooth the
services. Technology development is also very essential to make the constant growth and
technologies can be adopted for saving time and work in smart way. Hotels can consider the
propriety management system as it will be essential to take into consideration as it is software
which is used to manage the operation and helps in sharing the information with all the
department of hotels in real-time.to develop the hotel industry, innovation and technology will
help make managerial decisions.
Service problems that are faced in the hotel industry are to provide the services on time to
customers. It is necessary to provide things at the time of demand. To deal with the problems, an
organization can follow the process and procedure to meet the need and make the corrective
decisions for solving the problems (Judge, et al., 2001). Safety and security are beneficial for
service quality provided to customers. In the hotel sector, the success of the business is measured
by its ability to assuring a safe environment for the customers. The factors like perception of
customers, safety and overall quality in service are the essential aspects for the competitive
performance in the market and these may affect negatively the performance of hotels.

Service quality and customer satisfaction
Measuring service quality and customer satisfaction help in the growth of the business. Total
quality management is the approach for long term success through customer satisfaction. In this
approach, the employees of an organization participate in improving the process, products, and
services in their work. There are various elements in the TQM approach for customer satisfaction
(Islam, 2006). In business, it is necessary to focus on the customer and must involve the
employee in making decisions. It requires continuous improvement and must communicate
effectively by using integrated systems.
For measuring the quality of service, the RATER and six approaches can be adopted. To
measure excellence in service quality, it is necessary to make a consistent commitment to set
standards to fulfill specific customer desires. RATER model is used in the hospitality industry as
it helps in analyzing the places to provide the customer's services. It includes reliability,
assurance, tangibility, empathy, and responsiveness. RATER is also a quality management
framework as it is used in evaluating the quality in the service sector. Reliability is to provide the
service consistently, accurately and on time as promised to customers. Assurance is the
knowledge and skills which are required in employees and staff to attract the customer and build
confidence and trust in customers to use the services again in the future. Tangibles are the
physical evidence of the service provided to customers (Gustavo, 2013). In hospitality,
ambiance, employees, communication, and marketing material are tangibles. Empathy is to
maintain the relationship with employees and customers. It is an ability to provide a quick
response to customers and provide high-quality services to customers for satisfaction. The next
approach is the six sigma approach which is used in measuring the quality of service. And it aims
to improve the process and increase customer satisfaction which the facilities. Quality
improvement is the important factor for the success of business. Six sigma helps in adding the
value in the hospitality industry as it helps in enhancing the loyalty in customers and increases
productivity by reducing the system errors. For measuring consumer satisfaction, surveys can be
conducted to analyze the customer’s feedback. In the hospitality industry, complaint and
suggestion systems technology is used to measure customer satisfaction as it helps in resolving
the problems quickly and it provides the new ideas for improving the services as per the
requirements of customers (Markos and Sridevi, 2010). Six sigma in the hospitality industry
helps in improving the quality by defining, measuring, analyzing, improving and controlling the

work. In the hotel sector, highly satisfied customers help in serving several benefits in the
company. Prices do not vary much for the customers but satisfaction helps in keeping them for a
longer period. For measuring customer satisfaction an organization must monitor the
performance of their own and their competitor’s performance.
IHG operates its franchise operation with their brands and targets different markets. ING has
created its core proposition "Great hotels guests love". They had adopted their strategic growth
model with a commitment to do the business with responsibility. For improving and keeping the
reputation in the hotel sector, they have to make the commitment to protect the environment,
create more job opportunities and drive innovation in business. It is recommended to use the
RATER and six sigma approaches for measuring the service quality and satisfaction of
customers (Ittner and Larcker, 2003). Customer satisfaction and quality can be measured by
tracking the expectations of consumers. The company must satisfy the stakeholders, including
employees, dealers, suppliers, and stockholders along with the customers.
Conclusion
To conclude the report, it is analyzed that different approaches are adopted by a different
organization for improving the performance of employees and job satisfaction. It is necessary to
implement and consider the theories for job satisfaction and the theories are Maslow's theory,
Herzberg theory, and Tuckman's theory. To achieve the corporate strategy, it is essential to adopt

the service concept and analyze the target customer so that it will help in attaining the goals and
purposes of an organization. It is necessary to use the value chain analysis as it helps in
achieving and providing the services to the customer and satisfy them with the services. The
organization has to follow the process to deal with the problems as in the hotel industry,
management faces the issue and has to resolve it quickly as it may affect the brand and
reputation of the business. It is recommended to adopt the total quality management approach in
the hotel industry as it helps in analyzing and measuring the quality of service. For customer
satisfaction, SIGMA and RATER approach can help the business in meeting the needs of
customers and satisfying the employees and customers. In the hotel sector, it is recommended to
provide effective training to employees as they play a major role in dealing with the customer. It
is essential to provide the best services to customers as well as to employees also.
Reference
Awadh, A.M. and Alyahya, M.S., (2013) Impact of organizational culture on employee
performance. International review of management and business research, 2(1), p.168.

Brunetto, Y., Teo, S.T., Shacklock, K. and Farr‐Wharton, R., (2012) Emotional intelligence, job
satisfaction, well‐being and engagement: explaining organisational commitment and turnover
intentions in policing. Human Resource Management Journal, 22(4), pp.428-441.
Caruana, A., (2002) Service loyalty: The effects of service quality and the mediating role of
customer satisfaction. European journal of marketing, 36(7/8), pp.811-828.
Cascio, W.F., (2015) Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill.
Cronin Jr, J.J., Brady, M.K. and Hult, G.T.M., (2000) Assessing the effects of quality, value, and
customer satisfaction on consumer behavioral intentions in service environments. Journal of
retailing, 76(2), pp.193-218.
Elnaga, A. and Imran, A., (2013) The effect of training on employee performance. European
Journal of Business and Management, 5(4), pp.137-147.
Gustavo, N., (2013) Marketing management trends in tourism and hospitality industry: facing the
21st century environment. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 5(3), p.13.
Hameed, A. and Waheed, A., (2011) Employee development and its affect on employee
performance a conceptual framework. International journal of business and social
science, 2(13).
Han, H., Kim, W. and Hyun, S.S., (2011) Switching intention model development: Role of
service performances, customer satisfaction, and switching barriers in the hotel
industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(3), pp.619-629.
Holcomb, J.L., Upchurch, R.S. and Okumus, F., (2007) Corporate social responsibility: what are
top hotel companies reporting?. International journal of contemporary hospitality
management, 19(6), pp.461-475.
Islam, R. and bin Mohd Rasad, S., (2006) Employee performance evaluation by the AHP: A case
study. Asia Pacific Management Review, 11(3), pp.163-176.
Ittner, C.D. and Larcker, D.F., (2003) Coming up short on nonfinancial performance
measurement. Harvard business review, 81(11), pp.88-95.

Jones, P., Hillier, D. and Comfort, D., (2014) Sustainability in the global hotel
industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 26(1), pp.5-17.
Judge, T.A., Thoresen, C.J., Bono, J.E. and Patton, G.K., (2001) The job satisfaction–job
performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological bulletin, 127(3),
p.376.
Kirkpatrick, D.L., (2006) Improving employee performance through appraisal and coaching.
Amacom.
Markos, S. and Sridevi, M.S., (2010) Employee engagement: The key to improving
performance. International journal of business and management, 5(12), p.89.
Mensah, I., 2004. Environmental management practices in US hotels. Retrieved November, 7,
p.2008.
Nadiri, H. and Tanova, C., (2010) An investigation of the role of justice in turnover intentions,
job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior in hospitality industry. International
journal of hospitality management, 29(1), pp.33-41.
Pizam, A. and Ellis, T., (2009) Customer satisfaction and its measurement in hospitality
enterprises. International journal of contemporary hospitality management, 11(7), pp.326-339.
Raziq, A. and Maulabakhsh, R., (2015) Impact of working environment on job
satisfaction. Procedia Economics and Finance, 23, pp.717-725.
Ryu, K., Lee, H.R. and Gon Kim, W., (2012) The influence of the quality of the physical
environment, food, and service on restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer
satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. International journal of contemporary hospitality
management, 24(2), pp.200-223.
Saleem, H., (2015) The impact of leadership styles on job satisfaction and mediating role of
perceived organizational politics. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 172, pp.563-569.

Smith, L., Maull, R. and CL Ng, I., (2014) Servitization and operations management: a service
dominant-logic approach. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, 34(2), pp.242-269.
Song, H., Liu, J. and Chen, G., (2013) Tourism value chain governance: Review and
prospects. Journal of Travel Research, 52(1), pp.15-28.
Ţigu, G. and Călăreţu, B., (2013) Supply chain management performance in tourism. Continental
hotels chain case. Amfiteatru Economic Journal, 15(33), pp.103-115.
Wong, C.A. and Laschinger, H.K., (2013) Authentic leadership, performance, and job
satisfaction: the mediating role of empowerment. Journal of advanced nursing, 69(4), pp.947-
959.
Xu, X. and Gursoy, D., (2015) Influence of sustainable hospitality supply chain management on
customers’ attitudes and behaviors. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 49,
pp.105-116.