Work Integrated Learning Report: Customer Experience at Shangri-La

This research report examines customer experiences at Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, focusing on the effectiveness of the organization in providing memorable experiences. The report begins with an introduction and provides background information on Shangri-La, followed by a literature review exploring relevant theories. Data was collected from Shangri-La's official website and various review platforms, including TripAdvisor. The collected data was analyzed to assess customer perceptions, identifying strengths like location and service, as well as areas for improvement such as styling and dining services. The discussion reflects on the findings and emphasizes the importance of customer experience in the digital age. Recommendations include providing personalized experiences and upgrading the hotel's styling and structure. The report concludes with a discussion on how Shangri-La can enhance its services to improve its brand image, with an ultimate goal of increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Enhancing customer experience 0
Enhancing Customer Experience
Student’s Name
3/30/2019

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Introduction
Delivering higher customer satisfaction helps the organization in sustaining its business and
achieving higher profits. The research report will cover the role of the digital technologies in
influencing be collected and analyzed to analyze the current performance of the hotel and the
level of satisfaction the customer achieves. The data will be collected through an authentic
website and the behavior of its customers and affecting the growth of the organization. It will
encompass the background of Shangri-La, the literature review and will provide insight into
the experience gained by the customers at Shangri-La. The review of the customer will be the
base on which the perception of the customers will be analyzed. The research report will also
throw light upon the recommendations that the hotel must consider in order to improve its
services and deliver a valuable experience to its customers. It will provide a deep discussion
of the analysis and the theories to enhance the customer experience (Hill, N. and Brierley, J.,
2017).
Background of Organization
Shangri-La hotels and resorts is a global hospitality corporation established by Robert Kuok
in 1971. Its headquarter is located in Hong Kong. It is reflected as the world’s finest hotel
companies and undertakes more than 100 hotels under the brand name Shangri-La. The
parent company, the Kuok group is established in the year 1949. The company has its room
inventory of over 40,000. Shangri-La comprises five-star deluxe properties presenting
widespread luxury amenities and services, which are located in Australia, Canada, China,
Maldives, United States, Singapore, and Turkey. The company currently operates 100 hotels
and uses the share service platforms to satisfy the current need and double the number. The
company applies finance shared service platforms to increase efficiency and achieve its

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objective within 5 years. The company is well recognized for its finest service delivery and
management practices. The group has invested in substantial projects to expand its operations
(Shangri-La hotel, 2019).
Literature Review
According to Mukherjee (2017), delivering personalized experience helps in attaining
customer loyalty and increases the sustainability of the business. To enhance the customer
experience the industry must focus on providing a personalised experience and satisfying the
fluctuating needs of the customers. The increasing competition among the hospitality industry
emerges the need to provide maximum satisfaction to achieve customer loyalty and sustain
the long term profitability of the business. It will help the hotel to increase its bookings and
shift the customer perception. It is evaluated that the customers are ready to pay more for a
good experience and are more loyal towards the brand.
In this competitive digital age, it has crucial for the hotel industry to stay ahead of the curve
and adopt the latest marketing strategies which will help the hotel to maintain a niche in the
competitive market. It has become essentially imperative to develop a positive brand image
on online platforms. Nowadays, apart from delivering the services at the hotel, the industry
needs to focus on developing a positive brand image at the digital platforms because these
platforms are gaining increasing importance for analyzing the perceptions of the customer
and majorly affects the demand of the company (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016).
According to McLean and Wilson (2016), the hospitality and the travel customers’ demands
for high quality and the personalised experience to achieve maximum satisfaction. In this
competitive world, the hotel can survive only if is able to satisfy the fluctuating needs of its
customer and deliver a valuable experience. However, the customers get highly influenced by
online reviews to select the location and achieve personalised experience.

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According to Dietz (2018), the traditional methods of increasing sales have terminated.
Earlier the industries use to market its product and service which leads to an increase in sales
but nowadays the attention of the customer is changing towards the buying experience and
the way the customers feel while attaining the service. Customer experience is becoming so
powerful that it draws the attention of the big organizations. It is analyzed that the
organizations that are able to skilfully manage the customer experience are able to reap
higher rewards and profits. Such organizations are able to sustain their business for a longer
time and attain a strong brand position.
The customer experience is becoming so powerful because the consumers make the
purchasing decisions based upon the emotions and the experience they received. The positive
experiences appeal more to the emotions rather than a product or service. By providing the
good experience the industry can motivate and turn its customers into loyal ones. The people
covet towards the experience rather than the product or the service. This shift towards
customer experience has evolved from millenials because the millenials believe in attaining
memorable experience rather than asking for products or services. The experiences are more
relatable and sharable. To sustain the competitive advantage the businesses must focus on
delivering a valuable experience that will automatically sell the products of the organizations
(Ren et al, 2016).
Data Collection
The data has been collected from the official website of Shangri-La and the other trip advisor
websites. The experience of the customers is analyzed in the form of reviews from the trip
advisory websites. The quantitative data has been collected in the forms of reviews and the
comments of the customers. The websites include the telegraph, trip advisor, and traveller,
make my trip. The official website of the hotel also helped in collecting the reviews of the

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customers and the experience they gained from the hotel. The review and the comments
helped in analyzing the current positioning of the hotel and the areas where there is the scope
of improvement (McLean and Wilson, 2016). The trip advisory websites also provide a deep
insight into the current positioning of the hotel and helped in collecting the reviews of the
customers from all over the globe. The data collected from the online platforms are presented
below:
Website Ratings Comments
Shangri-La 4.3/5 The services are excellent
and the location is very
attractive and near to
shopping and tourist
attractions (Shangri-La hotel,
2019).
The Telegraph 8/10 The 36 horizon bar and the
holistic services distinguish
the hotel from other five star
chains (The Telegraph,
2019).
Trip advisor 4.5/5 The services and the location
of the hotel deliver great
customer experience (Trip
advisor, 2019).
Make my Trip 4.5/5 The rooms are spacious and
the customers experience the
beautiful view of the harbour
bridge and Sydney Opera
House.
Traveller 4.5/5 The customers experience the
beautiful view and they are
highly satisfied with the
services and the food of the
hotel (Traveller, 2019).

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Data Analysis
From the collection of data from various websites, it is analyzed that the customers get highly
influenced by the location. The location of the hotel perfectly positioned the Iconic Sydney
Opera House and Harbour Bridge. There are various shopping places and tourist attraction
spots near the hotel. It is evaluated that the employees are friendly and provide the best
experience to their customers. The rooms of the hotel are big and spacious and the services
provided by the employees are greater than the expectations. It is scrutinized from the
reviews and the comments that the customers have a good experience and the hotel is able to
establish its strong brand image (Kranzbuhler et al, 2018).
The similarity from all the websites was the ratings given by all the websites are almost
similar and the experience shared by the customers includes the same reviews. The holistic
treatment and the 36 horizon bar distinguish the hotel from the other five star chains. The
services include gym facility, spa, dining experience, 36 horizon bar and the other facilities
that deliver a memorable experience to its customers. The reviews given by the customers
develop the scope of improvement. It is analyzed that the styling and structure of the hotel
require renovation because it was established in accordance to the ninety’s fashion and the
dining services were not up to the mark. Various customers have complained about the
cleanliness and the service delivery at the dining areas. The hotel needs to make the
innovations to sustain its competitive advantage and deliver a memorable experience to its
customers (Melero et al, 2016).
Discussion
From the above analysis, it is scrutinized that the experience of the customers directly
impacts the brand image of the company. It reflects the current brand positioning and the
future sustainability of the business. In the era of the competitive digital age, it has become

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very crucial to delivering the best experience to the customers because the potential
customers use the online platforms to book the hotels and get highly influenced from the
reviews and comments of the customers. Shangri-La focuses on delivering a memorable
experience to its customers and was able to sustain a positive brand image on the online
platforms. It is evaluated from the ratings and the comments delivered by the customers. The
hotel is very famous for its location and the beautiful view of the harbour bridge and the
Opera House of Sydney. It also comprises of various shopping places and tourist attraction
spots near the hotel. The hotel sustains its competitive advantage by delivering holistic
services and its 36 horizon bar. The food and the gym facilities were the best it provides
diversified culture food and the employees were very friendly and supportive (Kandampully
et al, 2015).
The mission of Shangri-La is to delight the customers by creating engaging experience
straight from the heart. It focuses on delivering the best experience rather than its products.
The mission of the hotel is similar to changing trends faced in the economy. The millenials
covet on the experience rather than the products. In today’s era, the customer experience has
become so powerful that it defines the profitability of the business. From the data collection,
we have analyzed that Shangri-La was successful in delivering a memorable experience to its
customers and the trip advisory provide the ratings that were sufficient to target more
potential customers (Cichosz et al, 2017).
The hotel was focussing on changing trends and demands of the customers and developed the
innovative services to cater all the segments and sustain the long term profitability of the
hotel. It delivers the rich combination of the remarkable outlook, perfectly presented,
produce-driven cuisine, contented nostalgias and intimate dinner from charm bouche to
Cheeseboard. From the reviews and the comments, it is analyzed that the hotel needs to focus
on improving its style and structure and must develop innovative services according to the

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changing requirements of the customers. The designs of the room are also old structures so
the renovations are required and the hotel must focus on the cleanliness of the hotel
especially at the dining areas. The hotel must enhance its services to provide a memorable
experience and enhance the positive brand image of the company. However, the degree of
customer satisfaction will derive the brand image of the hotel (Homburg et al, 2017).
Recommendations
Provide personalised experience
The hotel must focus on delivering the personalised experience to all its customers. It should
not range from the services the customer has applied for and must provide the full attention to
the needs of all the customers. The personalised service will help in retaining the interest of
the customers and will enhance their experience. The hotel must use performance support
technology to get full information about the customers and have a better understanding of the
needs of the customers.
Upgrade the styling and structure
From the comments of the customers, it is analyzed that the hotel needs to renovate its style
and structure because the styling is done of the ninety’s and must be renovated according to
the current needs of the customers.
Advancement of technology toolbox
It is analyzed that this is the era of digital technology and the customers get highly influenced
from the online platforms and the hotel must focus on advancing its technology toolbox by
adding software like a property management system to develop efficiency in the service
delivery and improving the guest experience. This software will help in managing the check-

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in and check-outs, the responsibility of the staff and the easy evaluation of the financial
reports. The advancement will deliver the improved experience and will increase the return
on investment of the hotel.
Targeting of the new market segment
It is analyzed that Shangri-La targets the premium segment of society and charges the
premium prices for its service delivery. However, the hotel must target the middle-income
group and must charge the affordable prices to attain higher profitability and ensure long term
growth of the business. Targeting the different segments will provide more opportunities for
the hotel and will help in increasing their market share.
Training must not be a one-time event
The hotel must focus on adopting the latest technology to provide consistent training to its
employees. It must evolve the new methods and must remove traditional methods to train the
employees of the hotel. The just in time training will provide advanced training in less time
will improve the performance of the hotel. The performance support system helps in getting
the profile of the guest and understanding the requirement in an easier manner. Such
consistent training will help the staff to have a better understanding and improve the overall
efficiency of the hotel.
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it is concluded that customers covet towards the experience rather
than the products and the customer experience is becoming very powerful for sustaining the
business for a longer time. It is analyzed that Shangri-La has developed the mission of
enhancing the customer experience from all its heart. It delivers a remarkable experience to
its customers by providing holistic services and catering to the changing needs of the

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customers. The hotel is focusing on developing a positive brand image on online platforms
and satisfying the changing needs of its customers. The reviews and comments of the
customers are positive towards the hotel and deliver a positive brand image of the hotel. The
hotel must follow the recommendations suggested to improve the services and deliver a more
valuable experience to its customers. It will help in upgrading its market share.
References

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Cichosz, M., Goldsby, T.J., Knemeyer, A.M. and Taylor, D.F. (2017) Innovation in logistics
outsourcing relationship-in the search of customer satisfaction. LogForum, 13(2), pp.209-219
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Hill, N. and Brierley, J. (2017) How to measure customer satisfaction. London: Routledge
Homburg, C., Jozic, D. and Kuehnl, C. (2017) Customer experience management: toward
implementing an evolving marketing concept. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 45(3), pp.377-401
Kandampully, J., Zhang, T. and Bilgihan, A. (2015) Customer loyalty: a review and future
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