Customer Service during COVID-19 in Tourism and Hospitality

This report provides a detailed examination of customer service management within the tourism and hospitality industry, specifically focusing on how hotels manage services, particularly wedding functions, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report covers various aspects, including the customer's service journey from arrival to attending ceremonies, the physical evidence of this journey, and the identification of "On Stage" and "Back Stage" interactions with team members. Support processes are also identified, and the knowledge is applied to a service blueprint diagram incorporating customer emotions, lines of interaction, visibility, and internal interaction, with a focus on the implementation of social distancing measures. The report uses the example of Hothorpe Venues to illustrate the concepts and concludes with a discussion of the key findings and implications for the hospitality sector. The report also includes an executive summary, introduction, table of contents, and references. This document is available on Desklib, a platform providing AI-based study tools for students.

Customer service management
for Tourism and Hospitality

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The below report is all about the customer service in hospitality during
the COVID -19 pandemic. In this situation how hotel manage all service of
wedding and other functions. There are various areas are covered in below
report for hospitality industry such as Hotels’s customer’s service journey
for the arrival as well attendance at wedding ceremony or reception.
Physical evidence of service journey. Identify “On Stage” interactions
(touchpoints) with the team members. Identify “Back Stage” interactions.
Identify support processes. Apply knowledge to the service blueprint
diagram as well include customer emotions, line of the interaction, line of
visibility or line of internal interaction where the social distancing measures
are implemented in the functions. All these are discussed in below.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................2
Examine a Hothorpe Venues customer’s service journey for arrival and attendance at the
wedding ceremony and reception...........................................................................................2
Describe the physical evidence of the service journey...........................................................2
Identify the “On Stage” interactions (touchpoints) with team members................................2
Identify the “Back Stage” interactions...................................................................................3
Identify the support processes................................................................................................4
Apply the knowledge to a service blueprint diagram and include customer emotions, the line
of interaction, the line of visibility and the line of internal interaction..................................4
Identify where the social distancing measures are implemented in the above.......................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Customer service management is a time period that refers to practices, strategies, and
technology that groups use to control and examine consumer interactions and facts at some stage
in the consumer lifecycle, with the intention of enhancing commercial enterprise relationships
with customers, helping in consumer retention, and using sales. It's a manner for groups to
control their relationships with customers. When a commercial enterprise has fast, smooth get
right of entry to to consumer information, it is able to higher strategize and manage its
interactions with them. This enables groups enhance consumer loyalty and retention via way of
means of exceeding consumer expectancies with first rate provider (Aakash, Tandon and Gupta
Aggarwal, 2021). The under record is primarily based totally at the Hothorpe venues Boasting an
idyllic rural setting, Hothorpe Hall and The Woodlands are nestled on a personal 12 acre
property among Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. Whatever your wedding ceremony day
desires are made of, we’re positive that one in every of our precise and contrasting wedding
ceremony venues let you understand your best day. A beautiful venue of wooden and glass,
surrounded via way of means of forest inn visitor accommodation, lawns for enjoyable
withinside the summer, a tipi for cosying up withinside the winter, an outside certified rite area
nestled withinside the woods and a swanky newlywed suite in The Treehouse. Weddings at
Hothorpe experience the historical past of a Georgian manor house.
Guests could be inspired via way of means of the placing structure as they input over the
farm animals grids and down the personal drive. Some of the maximum not unusualplace
consumer demographics for commercial enterprise functions consist of age, gender, geographical
location, training level, marital status, family income, profession and hobbies. Demographics are
one of the key factors of consumer segmentation. Smart hotels, sustainable hotels, robotic staff,
VR and AR, and precise logo reports are all massive traits proper now. The sharing economy,
OTAs, virtual visitor reports, international tourism, younger markets, and the energy of social
media are all traits that had staying energy.
Consumers realize what they need once they need it and the way they need it to be offered to
them. They might not honestly be given something simply due to the fact it's far at hand. They
need a positive first-class and might not accept less. And they're now no longer afraid to talk out
approximately it. In a hotel, visitors count on a snug bed, a great shower, easy rooms and
corridors, a dependable WiFi connection and complimentary toiletries. Specially in COVID state
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of affairs they're count on that the whole thing have to be hygiene and properly controlled with
the intention to keep away from any fitness issue.
MAIN BODY
Examine a Hothorpe Venues customer’s service journey for arrival and attendance at the
wedding ceremony and reception
The consumer adventure is the complete sum of evaluations that customers go through at
the same time as interacting collectively together with your employer and brand. Instead of
looking at surely a part of a transaction or experience, the client journey documents the complete
experience of being a client. client journey or large motel visitor's, this machine involves
charting and studying the severa degrees your site visitors go through making sure they may be
making an funding their coins withinside the right place. In context to the Hothorpe Venues, in
Covid pandemic taking and supplying protection measures is maximum critical element in order
that resort body of workers and clients can keep away from any fitness troubles be secure even as
in attending the bridal ceremony or receptions. At the time of visitor arrival resort body of
workers offer a few mask and sanitizers bottles so they can take a few protection measures. Hotel
body of workers take care approximately social distancing and conscious to every visitor
approximately the pandemic and social distancing so they each can control the marriage
capabilities in properly manner.
Describe the physical evidence of the service journey
Customers regularly rely upon tangible cues, or bodily proof, to assess the provider
earlier than its buy and to evaluate their pride with the provider at some stage in and after
consumption. Physical proof influences provider fine expectancies and perceptions. Physical
proof is the surroundings wherein the provider is brought and wherein the company and the
client have interaction and any tangible commodities that facilitate overall performance or verbal
exchange of the provider (Budur and Poturak, 2021). It's the the front of the motel that the visitor
sees; so ought to be designed in any such way that it – sells the motel to the capability client.
This consists of the space, colour, light & such different element; as those have an effect on
visitor affect approximately the hotel.
Identify the “On Stage” interactions (touchpoints) with team members
Pre-arrival
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Any touch the visitor has together along with your resort earlier than coming into via its doors. It
stretches as a long way again because the dream word and studies to anticipation on tour to the
resort. they can also additionally or might not immediately speak with the visitor earlier than
their arrival, however they'll take into account the affirmation reserving e mail and any pre-live
reminders because the resort’s verbal exchange with them.
Arrival will begin on the airport if the visitor is being picked up through the resort
offerings, otherwise, the advent typically begins offevolved because the visitor first see the
outdoors of the resort. This is accompanied through the welcome on the resort through the
doorman and/or the the front workplace crew members. The check-in enjoy is a totally critical
possibility to make a exquisite first affect at the visitor so they can sense comfortable, safe, and
understand that they are able to depend upon you.
Stay During the live the visitor is possibly to apply a number of the resort amenities, be it the
restaurants, gym, pool, concierge offerings or assembly centers if they're a enterprise visitor. The
touchpoints inside this a part of the live will extremely rely upon the visitor, their want and the
reason in their live (Fernandes and Oliveira, 2021). This is normally the biggest chew in their
live timewise, however despite the fact that the live changed into unsatisfactory, the resort
remains capin a position to noticeably enhance the general affect at departure.
Departure The maximum critical touchpoint withinside the Guest Experience Journey is
Departure. If you had one extra threat to enhance a visitor’s live, why now no longer make the
maximum of it? You can deal with all their concerns, make certain yet again which you are
truthful and assist them with their onward journey. This is the affect they'll take domestic with
them, so ensure it counts.
Post-live Don’t suppose that once the visitor leaves the resort, that they're not your visitor.
Systems regularly mechanically ship delight surveys to visitors an afternoon after check-out.
That is you speaking with them, so ensure to reply to their feedback and attain out to them if
needed.
Identify the “Back Stage” interactions
When humans have interaction in returned degree behavior, they're freed from the
expectancies and norms that dictate the front degree behavior. When humans are returned
degree, they regularly rehearse positive behaviors or interactions and in any other case put
together for upcoming the front degree performances. In the backstage, movements aren't to
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delight every person however the self. Back degree is wherein performers are gift however target
target market is not, for this reason the performers can step out of individual with out worry of
disrupting the overall performance. It is wherein diverse sorts of casual movements, or statistics
suppressed withinside the the front degree, can also additionally appear. When humans are
returned degree, they regularly rehearse positive behaviors or interactions and in any other case
put together for upcoming the front degree performances. They may exercise their smile or
handshake, rehearse a presentation or conversation, or prep themselves to appearance a positive
manner as soon as in public again (Le and Phi, 2021). In Covid pandemic groom and bride plan
for degree overall performance for his or her unique day however because of covid they have got
take more protection measures and contend with social distancing so that you can keep away
from any Covid issue.
Identify the support processes
Support centers, additionally known as value centers, consist of the housekeeping,
accounting, engineering and maintenance, and human sources divisions. These divisions do now
no longer generate direct sales, however offer vital help for the resort's sales centers. Hotels
make up an vital a part of the hospitality and tourism industry. As such, the real feature of a
resort lies now no longer simplest in presenting an area for human beings to live however
growing an fun enjoy for visitors and seeing to all their desires and needs.
Apply the knowledge to a service blueprint diagram and include customer emotions, the line of
interaction, the line of visibility and the line of internal interaction
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As per above blueprint diagram, the physical evidence includes the exterior design,
websites, lobby or check in desk, uniform of workforce, interior of rooms and etc these are
attract to the customers to taking their services and accommodations . next is the customer
actions which includes the check in process, get key, go to the their room, get bags and etc.
onstage contact consider the greeting and taking customer’s bags so that they impress towards
their services. Backstage contact actions includes the makes a reservation of the customers and at
the end of point support process consider the process reservation and process registration.
A service blueprint is a diagram that visualizes the relationships among distinct carrier
components — people, props (bodily or virtual evidence), and processes — which might be at
once tied to touchpoints in a selected patron adventure. Think of carrier blueprints as a
component to patron adventure maps. Similar to patron-adventure maps, blueprints are
instrumental in complicated eventualities spanning many carrier-associated offerings.
Blueprinting is a really perfect method to reports which might be omnichannel, contain more
than one touchpoints, or require a crossfunctional effort (that is, coordination of more than one
departments). A blueprint corresponds to a selected patron adventure and the precise person
desires related to that adventure. This adventure can range in scope. Thus, for the identical
carrier, you could have more than one blueprints if there are numerous distinct eventualities that
it is able to accommodate. For example, with a eating place commercial enterprise, you could
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have separate carrier blueprints for the obligations of ordering meals for takeout as opposed to
eating withinside the eating place. Service blueprints need to continually align to a commercial
enterprise goal: lowering redundancies, enhancing the worker revel in, or converging siloed
processes. Service blueprints provide an organisation a complete expertise of its carrier and the
underlying assets and processes — visible and unseen to the person — that make it possible.
Focusing in this large expertise (along extra regular usability factors and person touchpoint
layout) presents strategic blessings for the commercial enterprise. Blueprints are treasure maps
that assist organizations find out weaknesses. Poor person reports are frequently because of an
inner organizational shortcoming — a susceptible hyperlink withinside the ecosystem. While we
will fast apprehend what can be incorrect in a person interface (awful layout or a damaged
button), figuring out the basis motive of a systemic issue (consisting of corrupted statistics or
lengthy wait times) is a great deal extra difficult. Blueprinting exposes the huge image and gives
a map of dependencies, consequently permitting a commercial enterprise to find out a susceptible
leak at its roots. In this identical way, blueprints assist become aware of possibilities for
optimization (Hyde and Bagdan, 2021). The visualization of relationships in blueprints uncovers
capacity upgrades and approaches to get rid of redundancy. For example, records amassed early
on withinside the patron’s adventure should in all likelihood be repurposed afterward backstage.
This method has 3 high quality effects:
(1) clients are extremely joyful whilst they're identified the second one time — the carrier feels
private and that they store effort and time;
(2) worker effort and time aren't wasted regathering records;
(3) no hazard of inconsistent statistics whilst the identical query isn’t requested twice.
Blueprinting is maximum beneficial whilst coordinating complicated offerings as it
bridges crossdepartment efforts. Often, a branch’s fulfillment is measured with the aid of using
the touchpoint it owns. However, customers stumble upon many touchpoints at some stage in
one adventure and don’t know (or care) which branch owns which touchpoint. While a branch
should meet its goal, the huge-image, organisation-degree targets might not be reached.
Blueprinting forces organizations to seize what happens internally at some stage in the totality of
the patron adventure — giving them perception to overlaps and dependencies that departments
on my own couldn't see. There might be no different enterprise that is predicated on patron
delight as a great deal because the hospitality enterprise. Many factors of the visitor revel in are
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timeless, as visitors continually search for a cushty bed, a great shower, a smooth and tidy room,
complimentary toiletries and a great net connection. The line of interplay depicts the direct
interactions among the patron and the organisation. The line of visibility separates all carrier
sports which might be seen to the patron from people who aren't seen. Excellent verbal exchange
abilities can decorate a visitors revel in because it indicates which you are paying attention to
them, valuing their remarks and conveying clean messages. This can cause patron loyalty,
elevated commercial enterprise and in the end the inn turning into extra successful. The line of
visibility separates all service which might be seen to the patron from people who aren't seen.
Everything frontstage (seen) seems above this line, at the same time as the entirety backstage
(now no longer seen) seems underneath this line. The line of inner interplay separates touch
personnel from people who do now no longer at once guide interactions with clients/customers
Identify where the social distancing measures are implemented in the above
A socially remote wedding ceremony is a rite and/or reception that follows the social
distancing measures installed location through kingdom and neighborhood governments to
mitigate the unfold of a contagious disease. Such measures may encompass a restrained visitor
matter and precise rules, along with no congregating and unique seating, to make certain that
visitors live six toes aside, at minimum. Hotel workforce attention on seating preparations along
with "For rite, circulate to gentle seating wherein households are on sofas and banquettes that
seat to 3 humans at a time, retaining the groupings socially distanced," she advises. "For the
reception, location families collectively without a extra than six humans at a table. This manner,
households are among their cherished ones and could experience extra cushty throughout the
festivities."
Communication is key—specifically while encouraging visitors to take precise precautions along
with sporting a masks and sanitizing their hands (Kuppelwieser and Klaus, 2021). While
speaking every one take take care of social distancing. Just as it is critical to recommend visitors
of any advised protection measures, it is critical to offer them room to heed your advice. “Get
innovative and definitely outline secure areas for all of your visitors," Butler continues. "At a
latest event, we employed a chalk artist to create floral markers six toes aside to designate
wherein visitors may want to correctly stand.” The manner dinner is served can make
contributions to the general surroundings and pacing on the reception, and it could additionally
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be adjusted to steer the conduct of visitors. “Plated food are the most effective and handiest
manner to keep away from problems with regards to the marriage meal (Leem and Eum, 2021).
Many social distancing rules contain the congregation of visitors—and, well, it's precisely what
dance flooring are made for. As an opportunity to the culture gathering, Have the couple dance to
their tune after which allow the band throw a concert! Seat all people in businesses of to 4
strategically in the course of the space, then allow them to experience the display at the same
time as dancing of their seats or of their particular location like you will any concert.”
CONCLUSION
It is concluded the above report, Good customer support is one of the keys to
achievement in any enterprise, however is specifically critical withinside the inn industry,
wherein visitors are seeking to personnel to assist them make their live as enjoyable and cushty
as possible. In order for them to develop and survive, they should locate new approaches of
dealing with their clients. Every couple who's getting married desires to sense like their wedding
ceremony is critical to their supplier. So whilst having accurate customer support will depart you
in accurate stead, stepping it up a notch to provide your clients AMAZING carrier will assist you
marketplace your enterprise even further. Amazing customer support doesn’t simply start with
couples who've booked your offerings either. The apparent gain comes earlier than you’ve
booked a customer and are talking to them after an enquiry. The extra accurate customer support
you deliver to them, the much more likely they're to need you concerned of their wedding
ceremony day. Getting lower back to some quickly, being bendy round their instances in the
event that they need to fulfill with you, or contacting them withinside the equal medium they’ve
contacted you're all approaches you could display accurate customer support and convert extra
capability bookings. And while you are following up with couples, make certain you do it in a
manner this is open to communique approximately what they have got deliberate for his or her
day, in preference to sounding demanding. The ultimate element you need to do is have them
label you as a ‘spammy’ company, as referrals and phrase of mouth can nonetheless effect you
despite the fact that a pair hasn’t in reality booked.
Recommendations
Maintain as a minimum a 1-metre distance among your self and others to lessen your
danger of contamination once they cough, sneeze or speak. Maintain a fair more distance among
your self and others while indoors. The in addition away, the better. Physical distancing
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facilitates restriction the unfold of COVID-19 – this indicates we maintain a distance of as a
minimum 1m from every different and keep away from spending time in crowded locations or in
groups, eparticularly in wedding ceremony functions
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aakash, A., Tandon, A. and Gupta Aggarwal, A., 2021. How features embedded in eWOM
predict hotel guest satisfaction: an application of artificial neural networks. Journal of
Hospitality Marketing & Management, 30(4), pp.486-507.
Budur, T. and Poturak, M., 2021. Transformational leadership and its impact on customer
satisfaction. Measuring mediating effects of organisational citizenship
behaviours. Middle East Journal of Management, 8(1), pp.67-91.
Fernandes, T. and Oliveira, E., 2021. Understanding consumers’ acceptance of automated
technologies in service encounters: Drivers of digital voice assistants adoption. Journal
of Business Research, 122, pp.180-191.
Hyde, S.L. and Bagdan, P.J., 2021. Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency. In Operations
Management in the Hospitality Industry. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Kuppelwieser, V.G. and Klaus, P., 2021. Measuring customer experience quality: The EXQ
scale revisited. Journal of Business Research, 126, pp.624-633.
Larson, J., Jaworski, B.J. and Larson, J., 2021. Managing your most loyal customer
relationships. Business Horizons, 64(1), pp.141-147.
Lee, C.M.J., Che-Ha, N. and Alwi, S.F.S., 2021. Service customer orientation and social
sustainability: The case of small medium enterprises. Journal of Business Research, 122,
pp.751-760.
Leem, B.H. and Eum, S.W., 2021. Using text mining to measure mobile banking service
quality. Industrial Management & Data Systems.
Vashishth, A. and Jhamb, D., 2021. Why Should Employers Hire People with Disabilities?–A
Review of Benefits for the Hospitality Industry. Revista Turismo & Desenvolvimento,
(35), pp.9-21.
Yoo, M.M. and Yang, S., 2021. Forecasting Demand. In Operations Management in the
Hospitality Industry. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Online source available through https://www.nngroup.com/articles/service-blueprints-definition/
Online source available through https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-
staying-at-home-and-away-from-others/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-
from-others
Online source available through
https://www.ukhospitality.org.uk/page/UKHospitalityGuidanceforHospitality
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