Importance of Customer Satisfaction: Britannia Hotels Research Report

This research proposal examines the critical role of customer satisfaction within the hospitality industry, specifically focusing on the Britannia Group of Hotels in the UK. The study aims to evaluate customer expectations, perceptions, and the overall quality of service provided by Britannia Hotels,...Read More

Research Proposal
“IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMERS’ SATISFACTION IN HOSPITALITY
INDUSTRY: CASE OF BRITANNIA GROUP OF HOTELS”
Introduction
This research proposal identifies the measures to evaluate and access the importance of customer
effectiveness and their satisfaction in the hospitality industry. The outcome of this research will
assist the decision making bodies of a hotel to ensure maximum customer value by identifying
best practices in the customer service design. This will help the hotels’ managers and owners to
gain a competitive advantage and improvement in the customers’ service.
The research study will analyze the service quality in terms of understanding how the customers
have expected the services and to what extent they have been satisfied. This study will highlight
the impediments to the service quality and suggest a way forward to mitigate such issues. So, it
will be a valuable research for the hospitality industry. This study is further more important for
the Britannia group that have 61 hotels across the UK (Kollewe, 2021).
The literature related to tourism and hospitality management widely acknowledge this fact that
keeping strong relations with old loyal customers and making new interactions with other
customers is considered to be the grand business strategy in this industry. (Piercy, 1955, p.22). If
customers are satisfied with company, they will give favorable review about their experience and
continue to avail the service. While, if they are not satisfied enough or disappointed with the
quality of service, then they are more likely to complain the management and switch to another
hotel. Therefore, the customers’ satisfaction is considered to be the most efficient and
economical way of promotion and advertisement.
The basic objective of conducting this research study is to evaluate the customer’s satisfaction in
the services provided by the Britannia Hotels. Moreover, this research will pinpoint the gaps
between the expectation and perceptions of the consumer. This study will be used as a
foundation to further investigate the internal and external challenges that are being experienced
by the Britannia Hotels. The outcome will be considered as an opportunity for the improvement
of hotels’ service. So that the customer’s expectations are met by the management accordingly.

Literature Review
The academic community as well as the industrial practitioners highlights that the essence of
hospitality or tourism industry is based on the experience and satisfaction of the consumer. Pine
and Gilmore (1999) emphasize on the ‘experience economy’ which means that the organization
should undergo such an efficient services that it becomes a good experience for the consumer. In
context of hospitality management, they should provide a memorable and unique hospitable
experiences that help them to gain the competitive edge.
According to Vavra (1997, p.2), customer satisfaction is the leading criteria to determine the
quality of service delivery and is essential for survival of corporate. He defines the customer
satisfaction as the feedback that comes after encountering the service. To assess the quality of
service, the only subjective criteria to follow up is the focus on the perceptions and attitudes of
the customer.
Reuland, Coudrey and Fagel (1985, p.142) explains that the services of hospitality consists of
three elements, firstly the attitude and behavior of employee who are hosting the guest, secondly
the material product which in case of hotel includes rooms, food and beverages. Lastly, the
environment of restaurant such as, the layout, furnishing, building, lighting and all other
elements.
Davis and Stone (1985, p.29) divides the service experience into two elements i.e., direct and
indirect services. The direct service includes the services like check-in or check-out process of a
hotel. Whereas, the indirect services include parking facilities, public telephones and other
related services.
Atkinson and Brown (2001, p.130) predicts that an organization which fails to provide the
services up to the customer’s expectations will sooner or later be out of the business. If the hotel
wants its business to survive, then it should follow proper standards to deal with the potential
customers and fulfil their needs according to their expectations
The hotels can measure the efficiency of their problem by comparing it to their competitors. This
will help them to identify the weaknesses and strengthen their position as best hotel in the
market. By using the conceptual process of benchmarking, the organizations can evaluate and
access their performance or improvements at interval of times. It will not only provide

comparative advantage but also assess the challenges faced by the organization. The application
of this benchmarking process is challenging in the service sector due to the subsequent lack of
universal standards and nature of service quality. In case of the hotel management, this
conceptual process gas been applied successfully. (Min, min and Chung, 2002, p.315)
Sunyoung Hlee, Hanna Lee and Chulmo Koo (2018, p.1141) recognizes the hospitality and
tourism online reviews as an influential tool for decision making of an organization. It helps the
hospitality industry to evaluate the perceptions and customers’ expectations about their service.
The customer satisfaction is the most essential feature to run the business smoothly. The increase
in such reviewing platforms can boost the hotel management and hospitality industry. It give a
paradigm framework for productive outcomes in the tourism industry.
According to Pizam and Ellis (1999. P.326-327), a customer satisfaction measure program must
be installed in corporate culture of an organization. It obtains the knowledge of customers’
requirements and expectations that will help facilitate the organization to work for development
of customer’s satisfaction. Their satisfaction is very important as it provides the commercial
organizations a chance to grow, and a word of mouth recommendations.
Primary Research Objectives
The primary research objective of this research are as follows:
i. To reach the customers satisfaction and expectation about the hotel.
ii. To position the Britannia Hotel Chain as the world class hotel service with excellent
quality.
iii. To identify the gap between customer’s expectation and perception and ways to mitigate
them
iv. To improve the number of returning customers to the hotel by satisfying them with their
visits
v. To increase the revenue for Britannia Hotels
Significance of Proposed Research
The importance of proposing this research is to explore the challenges faced by the Britannia
Group of hotels as its customer’s satisfaction has dropped in the last seven years. Also, the hotels

has been rated as the worst hotel chain of UK. So, this research is conducted for exploring the
way out for boosting up the performance of the Hotel Groups.
Research Methodology
The research process provides the framework and outline for conducting a research from the
initial stage of writing research proposal to a complete dissertation. In this case study research,
multiple methods of collecting evidence will be used, which will be both quantitative and
qualitative in nature. The process includes number of phases that can be applied to research
study:
 Review of Literature
 Formulate a Research Question
 Establishing the research methodology
 Collection of data or evidence
 Analyzing the data
 Drawing conclusions
 Suggestions and Recommendations
In case of the Britannia Hotel Chains, the research will be conducted through collection of data
and evidence from a particular branch. The customer’s satisfaction will be measured through a
brief questionnaire. While, the employees attitude and performance will be analyzed by the use
of interviewing technique. The other data collection methods that will be utilized in this research
are described below.
Data Collection methods:
To achieve the above mentioned research objectives, the collection of data will be done through
following methods:
Questionnaire: The questionnaire serves as the data collection method that consists of a list of
questions to obtain the response and perception of the participant. There are two approaches for
writing the questionnaire i.e., Structured and Unstructured Questions.

Interviews: the interview technique is an efficient way for gaining information in-person or by
other mediums. It give an analytical knowledge about past experience of the participant.
According to Cooper and Schindler (2006, p.208), interviews are of three types:
i. Structured interviews: the questions will be asked in a specific way followed by an
order. The questions remain open-ended
ii. Unstructured interviews: the interview will be customized for each participant. No
specific topic or order of questions will be followed.
iii. Semi-structured interviews: it generally begins with specified questions but later on
follows the tangents of individuals.
Observations:
The observation is a qualitative research technique. The researcher observes the behavior of
participants in natural situation. There are three types of observational research:
i. Controlled observation: these observations are structures and the questions are prepared
in the mind of researcher.
ii. Naturalistic observation: the researcher studies the participants’ behavior in natural
setup.
iii. Participant observation: the researcher will insert himself in the natural habitat of the
participant. (Cowie, 2009, p.167)
Template for Questionnaire:
1- Poor 2- Average 3-Good 4- Excellent
RECEPTION SERVICE:
Courtesy of
reception
1 2 3 4
Delivery of goods 1 2 3 4
Employees Behavior 1 2 3 4
Efficiency of check-
in
1 2 3 4

MEAL EXPERIENCE
Quality of meals 1 2 3 4
Menu variety 1 2 3 4
Room service 1 2 3 4
Freshness 1 2 3 4
ROOM EXPERIENCE
Interior deecor 1 2 3 4
Maintenance 1 2 3 4
Cleanliness 1 2 3 4
Attention to special
requests
1 2 3 4
Interview Questions for Employees at Britannia hotels:
As a part of research, following question will be asked to employees of hotel to explore the
challenges the organization is facing currently.
1. Does this hotel implements strategies focused on quality?
2. Do the manager plays an active role for continuous improvement of the organization?
3. Have the hotel developed an initiate to maintain friendly relations with its old and new
customers?
4. Do you get quality related training from any recognized hospitality firm?
5. How the customer’s satisfaction analysis is implemented in the hotel for betterment of its
service quality?

Data Requirement Table
Research Objectives Data Required Data Source
To reach the customers
satisfaction and expectation
about the hotel.
Regular feedback from the
customers checking-in the
hotels.
Questionnaire: set of written
questions are presented to
customers for evaluation of
service.
To position the Britannia
Hotel Chain as the world
class hotel service with
excellent quality.
Employees or staff behavior
Check on the service quality
of hotel
Cleanliness and maintenance
Complaints: The information
should be obtained if
customer complains about
service.
To identify the gap between
customer’s expectation and
perception and ways to
mitigate them
Evaluation of positive and
negative feedbacks
Employees awareness about
the service
Interviews: Information is
obtained from customers in
person or by telephone.
To improve the number of
returning customers to the
hotel by satisfying them with
their visits
Analyzing the promotional
strategies of hotels. I.e.
discounts or bundles offered.
Observations
Usage data
To increase the revenue for
Britannia Hotels
Comparing the revenues
records
Taking possible steps to
maximize revenue.
Document Records

References
1. Atkinson, H. & Brown, B. 2001. “Rethinking performance measures”: assessing progress
in Korean hotels”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,
14(3): 128-135.
2. Cooper, D.R. & Schindler, P.S. 2006. Business research methods. Boston: Mcgraw-Hill
3. Cowie, N., 2009. Observation. In Qualitative research in applied linguistics (pp. 165-
181). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
4. Davis, B. & Stone, S. 1985. Food and Beverage Management, 2 Ed. Butterworth
Heinemann, Oxford.
5. Hlee, S., Lee, H. and Koo, C., 2018. Hospitality and tourism online review research: A
systematic analysis and heuristic-systematic model. Sustainability, 10(4), p.1141.
6. Kollewe, J., 2021. Britannia Hotels rated sector's worst chain for seventh year in a row.
[online] the Guardian. Available at:
<https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/oct/28/britannia-hotels-rated-sectors-
worst-chain-seventh-year-in-a-row-which-survey#:~:text=Britannia%20Hotels%20has
%20been%20rated,mouldy%20bathrooms%20and%20peeling%20paintwork.>
[Accessed 10 April 2021].
7. Min, H. Min, H. & Chung, K. 2002. Dynamic benchmarking of hotel service quality:
Journal of Service Marketing, 14(4): 302-321
8. Piercy, N.F., 1995. Customer satisfaction and the internal market: marketing our
customers to our employees. Journal of Marketing practice: Applied marketing science.
p.22
9. Pine, B.J., Pine, J. and Gilmore, J.H., 1999. The experience economy: work is theatre &
every business a stage. Harvard Business Press.
10. Reuland, R., Choudry, J. and Fagel, A., 1985. Research in the field of
hospitality. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 4(4), pp.141-146.