Enhancing Quality: A Management Report for Britannia Hotels

This report critically examines the quality management issues faced by Britannia Hotels, a hotel chain struggling with poor customer reviews and low satisfaction ratings. The report begins by defining quality management and its core concepts, emphasizing the importance of customer delight over mere satisfaction. It delves into the dimensions of service quality, including reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles, highlighting Britannia Hotels' failures in each area. The analysis then explores benchmarking as a tool for performance improvement, outlining its advantages and disadvantages in the context of the hospitality industry. Furthermore, the report recommends specific strategies for Britannia Hotels to enhance its quality standards, improve customer satisfaction, and regain market prominence. The report also discusses various quality management principles proposed by experts like Dr. Karou Ishikawa, Dr. Juran, Dr. Deming, Walter A Shewhart and Philip Crosby, and how these principles can be applied to solve the problems of Britannia Hotels. The challenges faced by the hotel chain are linked to poor management, untrained staff, and a lack of focus on customer needs, with a detailed assessment of the company's performance and recommendations for improvements.

Managing Quality in
Hospitality Tourism and
Events

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Quality management is defined as all those activities which are inhaled in an organisation
in order to attain excellence and assurance. This report consists of concepts of quality
management which are required to be undertaken by Britannia Hotels in order to enhance their
quality so as to provide satisfaction to their clients. Britannia Hotels is receiving various bad
reviews under which customers are not at satisfied by services which are provided Britannia
Hotels. So this report is emphasised on methods to overcome the same so by which the company
can enhance their market position. 1602677803

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................4
Concept of quality management..................................................................................................4
Dimension of service quality......................................................................................................5
Benchmarking.............................................................................................................................7
Impact of benchmarking in consistency and quality management.............................................8
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Quality management is categorised as assuring quality within an organisation, in
hospitality industry quality is the major aspect which is required to be held by the business so as
to give ultimate satisfaction to their clients and maintain market prominence as well. Quality
management is focused on achieving consistent quality so that business may grow and sustain in
the market (Lugosi and Jameson, 2017). This report is prepared on the basis of quality
management issues faced by Britannia Hotels and application of quality management tools which
can be used by the organisation for enhancing their quality measures and maintaining assurance
in marketplace.
MAIN BODY
Concept of quality management
Quality management is association of various activities which are undertaken by the
organisation in order to meet required quality standards and providing consistent services to their
customers. Quality management is the tool which is used for maintaining desired level of quality
in the organisation so that area of sustainability can be enhanced. In traditional quality
management functions focus was drawn on quality standards but in recent time evolution has
been seen in quality management as now it is focused on customer delight. As in current time
customer satisfaction is not only a single factor to attain customer loyalty as emotions of
customer are essential to be understood by the organisation (Ahrholdt, Gudergan and Ringle,
2017).
Concept of quality is regarded as quality planning, assurance and quality control. In the
context of Britannia Hotels they were not focused on these aspects and resultantly they face
unsatisfied customer and falling of quality of their services as well. Quality planning is defined
as identifying various factors which are essential for the project or organisation. In the context of
Britannia Hotels they are examining various factors and aspects which are playing significant
role in performing activities related to customer satisfaction and quality services. Assurance is
defined as the fixing of defects which has been identified during execution of services. This
aspect is directly linked with customers and in background of Britannia Hotels assurance is the
major constraints which is creating barrier for them in rendering appropriate quality to their
customers and resultantly poor management is emerged as prominent problem. Quality control

is defined as using of set of processes which are ensuring customer satisfaction in proper manner.
For Britannia Hotels as the hotel is facing problem of improper management and bad reviews
due to high customer dissatisfaction that means quality control measures are not appropriately
used within the organisation.
According to quality Gurus there are various obligations which are required to be
fulfilled by an organisation in order to sustain and manage their quality standards as well. Some
of the major principles are described as under:
 Dr. Karou Ishikawa has propounded concept of company wide quality control under
which bottoms up approach is being given by them through which problems occurring in
an organisation can be solved in prompt manner. In this regard Britannia Hotels is facing
major problem of quality and performance so this tool is useful for them to solve problem
by including members within all the departments (Carnerud, 2018).
 Dr. Juran has given various approaches of quality improvements which are majorly
emphasised on training and reviewing the organisation so as to create awareness
regarding quality improvement.
 Dr. Deming has given 14 obligations which are requisite to be followed by top
management in order to inhale quality management in their organisation. These fourteen
principles are focused on improving processes and breaking barriers.
 Walter A Shewhart propounded PDCA cycle chart in which causes of variation within a
project can be recorded and classified. These chart are known as Shewhart and these
charts are helpful in improving quality of overall process which are used in businesses.
By using this chart Britannia Hotels can estimate those areas in which quality variations
are seen.
 Philip Crosby has developed 14 steps of quality improvement by which quality crisis
within a company can be minimised. Steps of quality improvement by Philip Crosby is
called Vaccine in which future performance of process quality can be judged. In context
of Britannia Hotels these steps can be helpful for them in order to attain customer
satisfaction and prominent quality.
Dimension of service quality
Britannia Hotels is facing issues in their customer satisfaction as the hotel is being rated
as worst hotel chain in UK for 7th year in a row according to annual satisfaction survey. On the

other hand company is discharging numerous employees as due to COVID-19 outbreak business
requirement has decreased and obligation of employees has been minimised. For Britannia
Hotels customer are giving poor reviews on Trustpilot or TripAdvisor as company is not focused
on providing satisfaction to customer by enhancing quality rather than this they are focused on
enhancing their occupancy by providing rooms at cheap rates. On the other hand customers are
complaining regarding brutal management system of the organisation which means that they are
required to raise quality standard within their services. In order to determine quality standards
Britannia Hotels is examining dimensions of service quality dimensions of service quality which
is explained as under:
Reliability: Reliability is defined as performance of promised services in accurate and
dependable manner. In the context of Britannia Hotels they are not providing promised services
to their clients and due to this adverse feedbacks are received by them which is hampering their
overall business in negative manner. This dimension is playing essential role in quality
management as reliability is the concept which is able to catch more customers and attain
prominent objective of customer satisfaction as well (Tešić, 2020).
Management of Britannia Hotel failed to sustain over customer expectation as promises
were given by the hotel regarding prominent quality and customer service but customer are not al
satisfied within these two aspects. The rooms were dirty which hampered reliability of
customers.
Responsiveness: Responsiveness is defined as promptness in helping customers and providing
them desired services as well. In this context Britannia Hotels is not at all gaining limelight as
major concern of customer is related with restraining services and unhealthy management. So
this dimension is is not meeting requirement of service quality. On the other hand responsiveness
is determined by prompt actions taken by the organisation in order to meet customer expectations
which enables them to perform in prominent manner.
Britannia Hotels is having non experienced staff so they are not responding to customer
grievances in appropriate manner. Customers are facing terrible issues regarding cleanliness and
hygiene in rooms and other areas and these issues were complained by customer on regular basis
but management of the hotel is not giving any emphasise.
Assurance: This is defined as the ability of employees to convey trust and confidence to their
customers. This dimension is basically rendering high edge to the company in context of quality

management. In the background of Britannia Hotels as per review generated by customer their
staffs are quite well managed and dedicated but at the same time management of the organisation
is poor. So as per this dimension company is not meeting standards of quality in proper manner.
In the situation of COVID-19, Britannia hotel is not maintaining any standards which is
being issued by government and this is creating hard times for the hotel as they are lacking
behind cleanliness and pathetic quality of services. Stains are found over bedsheets and stains
which gave negative impressions in the minds of customers in process of staying within hotels.
Empathy: Empathy is defined as care, attention and affection which is provided by the
organisation to their customer in order to retain them and make them comfortable as well. In the
context of Britannia Hotels the primal obligation of a hotel is to create an atmosphere full of
safety and healthy relationship between client and organisation. In this regard Britannia Hotels is
lacking behind as they are not even discussing needs and demands of their customer due to
which complaints are received by the hotel.
The Britannia Hotel has failed in satisfying food and comfort needs of customers.
Customers are reviewing regarding numerous issues which were faced by them during their stay
in hotel. Guests have described their stay as foul as pathetic services was provided by under
trained employees.
Tangibles: Tangibles are defined as physical facilities and equipments which are held by the
organisation and can be used by customers. Tangibles are drawing primary impression over
minds of customers and in the context of Britannia Hotels customers are not satisfied in this
regard. One of the review says that walls of rooms are dirty and containing holes which seems to
be pathetic. So in this regard Britannia Hotels is required to implement various improvements in
order to sustain.
The Britannia Hotel has failed in maintaining their infrastructural standards in which
guests are complaining regarding stained carpet, grubby dental kit and crayon painting on hotel
walls.
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is defined as comparison of processes and performance of two
organisation in which one organisation is leader of that particular industry. Benchmarking is used
in order to measure performance by using a particular performance indicator and metrics. This is
a process for identifying best practices for the business so as to grab higher attention of customer

by raising overall standards. Benchmarking is having role to evaluate current performance due to
which areas for performance improvement can be identified (Kasiri and et. al., 2017). In the
context of Britannia Hotels they are facing problem of underrated performance and customer
satisfaction so with the help of benchmarking they can evaluate their performance in context of
market leader in hospitality industry so as to recognise loop holes and ways by which these can
be filled. Benchmarking is associated with various advantages and disadvantages which are
enumerated as under:
Advantages
Lowering labour cost: The major advantage for benchmarking is to lower labour cost
for example By using methods and technology of other rival systems can be adopted by
Britannia Hotels in order to lower their cost and maintaining their business in appropriate
manner.
Improving service quality: Benchmarking is helpful for enhancing quality of rendered
services as under benchmarking competitors are analysed and their performance can be
compared from own performance. This is helpful for Britannia Hotels in order to enhance their
quality and meeting customer expectations in optimal manner.
Increasing customer footfall and level of satisfaction: Benchmarking is helpful in
meeting higher sales objectives in which customer footfall can be enhanced. Benchmarking is
putting efforts in making improvements in brochures which leads to bring higher efficacy in the
business. In the context of Britannia Hotels they are facing problem of low sales and low
customer satisfaction so with the help of benchmarking they can deal with this problem.
Disadvantages
Lack of understanding: In hospitality industry businesses are highly focused on
measuring competitor's performance rather than focusing on their own due to which they are not
clear about goals and objectives. In the context of Britannia Hotels by application of
benchmarking this may create confusion in goal attainment.
Increased dependency: Benchmarking is a tool to enhance performance, hard work is
another element which is required to inhale success and market image. After applying
benchmarking companies are required to establish their own network which is a critical task. In
the context of Britannia Hotels they are lacking behind focusing on their values and hard work
(Barrows and et. al., 2016)

Impact of benchmarking in consistency and quality management
Quality is defined as the characteristic by which suitability and intend of the business can
be identified in lieu of attaining customer satisfaction. In hospitality and tourism quality is
defined as the aspect which involves consistency in service delivery and fulfilment of guest
needs according to their requite standards. In the context of Britannia Hotels the management is
facing continuous problems in meeting their quality standards.
Benchmarking is known as an effective tool in order to examine own position in the
marketplace and within industry. With the help of benchmarking consistent values can be
rendered to customers which enable the company to enhance their performance and overall
standard as well. With the help of benchmarking quality management tools can easily established
as in benchmarking standard is already defined so just a follow is required which could lead in
bring consistency to the business processes. In the context of Britannia Hotels they are facing
prominent issues in managing their customer and quality services in their organisation. So by
adopting benchmarking they can initiate to attain customer satisfaction in optimal manner. On
the other hand by adopting benchmarking Britannia Hotels may deal with internal issues which
are faced by the business and these are giving adverse impact to their business as well (Hermans,
2018).
Recommendations
Britannia Hotels is facing prominent problem of unsatisfied customers and lesser quality
management as well. This is the major reason that company is not able to make profits and
sustain in the market. Britannia Hotels is receiving huge negative mouth publicity and reviews
due to which this is imperative that they are facing financial losses. In order to overcome these
problems Britannia Hotels is required to use various techniques and principles of TQM and these
are specifically handled by them so as to go ahead and attain sustainability and customer
satisfaction as well. Principles of TQM are highly beneficial for managing quality and objectives
in sufficient manner so due to which prominent target can be focused by the organisation.
Balanced scorecard can be used by Britannia Hotels in order to enhance organisational
performance. Balanced scorecard is termed as set of measures which are used by top level
management so as to comprehend business view. The balanced scorecard is associated with
financial measures along with operational measures in order to determine customer satisfaction
and other internal processes.

In business various complexities is being handled by managers and balanced scorecard
works as a catalyst in order to navigate problem solving capabilities of the business. Detailed
explanation of balanced scorecard is elaborated as under:
Customer perspective: This aspect is defined as market image of the company in the minds of
customer. In the context of Britannia Hotels they are having very bad market image as they are
not keeping up expectations of their customer in effective manner. This is one of the essential
aspect of the business in which customers are triggered in such a way that it leads to higher
market image (Quesado, Aibar Guzmán and Lima Rodrigues, 2018).
Internal perspective: This aspect is defined as internal performance of working employees and
process. In this context Britannia Hotels is not up to the mark for their employees as their
employees are not trained and processes adopted by the hotel is obsolete. In order to upgrade
their services management of Britannia Hotels is required to call for various trainings sessions so
by which internal processes can be enhanced and customer satisfaction can be attained.

Innovation and learning perspective: This aspect is defined as adoption of innovation and new
technology in the business. In the context of Britannia Hotels they are not focusing over using
new and emerging technology in their business due to which they are lacking behind grabbing
customer satisfaction and their attention as well. In order to remain in the market Britannia
Hotels is required to adopt new technology in providing services so that they can deal with rivals
in prominent manner.
Financial perspective: This is defined as expectations of shareholders and profitability of the
organisation. In the context of Britannia Hotels the company is performing bad from 7 years in a
row which clearly denotes poor financial performance. In order to overcome from the same
Britannia Hotels is required to introduce effective services so that they can drag more customer
and enhance their market image and financial position as well (Banabakova and Georgiev,
2018).
CONCLUSION
From the above report this can be concluded that quality is the most essential aspect of
the business and managing quality leads to higher satisfaction of customer along with higher
retention. Quality control is defined as using those approaches which are helpful in managing
quality and quality standards within processes and activities of business. Benchmarking is
advantageous for the business in order to evaluate their own performance in comparison of
leading organisation in the marketplace. This enables the organisation to recognise those areas in
which change and modification are required to achieve ultimate goal of enhancement of quality.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Ahrholdt, D.C., Gudergan, S.P. and Ringle, C.M., 2017. Enhancing service loyalty: The roles of
delight, satisfaction, and service quality. Journal of Travel Research. 56(4). pp.436-450.
Banabakova, V. and Georgiev, M., 2018. The role of the Balanced Scorecard as a tool of
strategic management and control. IJASOS-International E-Journal of Advances in
Social Sciences. 4(10).
Barrows and et. al., 2016. Increasing the effectiveness of benchmarking in the restaurant
industry. International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking. 6(1). pp.79-
111.
Carnerud, D., 2018. 25 years of quality management research–outlines and trends. International
Journal of Quality & Reliability Management.
Hermans, E., 2018. Benchmarking in tourism research. In Handbook of Research Methods for
Tourism and Hospitality Management. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Kasiri and et. al., 2017. Integration of standardization and customization: Impact on service
quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,
35, pp.91-97.
Lugosi, P. and Jameson, S., 2017. Challenges in hospitality management education: Perspectives
from the United Kingdom. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management,31, pp.163-
172.
Quesado, P.R., Aibar Guzmán, B. and Lima Rodrigues, L., 2018. Advantages and contributions
in the balanced scorecard implementation. Intangible capital. 14(1). pp.186-201.
Tešić, D., 2020. Measuring dimensions of service quality. Strategic Management. 25(1). pp.12-
20.