Customer Service Experience at Holiday Inn UK: Research Proposal

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Research Proposal
An empirical analysis of customer service experience at
Holiday Inn, UK
Customer Service
Student Name:
Student ID:
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Abstract
The intent of the project is to shed light on the importance of the customer experiences in the
hotel industry. For this, quantitative analysis has been done in order to collect data from the
customers of Holiday Inn, UK. Along with this, the researcher has carried out secondary data
collection method for gathering more diversified knowledge and information on the subject.
Hospitality industry is primarily considered to be a service base sector; therefore,
management of hotel organisations should focus on enhancing customer satisfaction levels,
rather than just focusing on selling services. This way the hotel organisations can build its
brand name as well as ensure loyal customers.
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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................4
1.1 Background to the Study......................................................................................................4
1.2 Research Aim.......................................................................................................................4
1.3 Research Objectives.............................................................................................................4
1.4 Research Questions..............................................................................................................5
1.5 Rational of the Study............................................................................................................5
1.6 The Scope of the Study........................................................................................................6
1.7 Literature Review.................................................................................................................6
1.8 Research Methodology.........................................................................................................7
1.9 Project Planning...................................................................................................................8
1.10 Ethical Issues......................................................................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10
Appendix..................................................................................................................................11
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1.0 Introduction
Management of hospitality industries aim to offer the most pleasurable experiences to their
customers across all channels and not just aim to offer the best customer services. The most
influential aspect of the customer experience is that it aids in the development of relationship
between the company and the customers (Cetin and Walls, 2016). Customer experience
includes both functional as well as the emotional clues that are developed through different
points and factors. Therefore, this study brings with itself a detailing understanding about the
customer experience quality and its impact on the performance of the organisations. Most
importantly, it has been analysed that customer satisfaction influences both brand loyalty and
word of mouth publicity of an organisation (Kao et al., 2016).
1.1 Background to the Study
Holiday Inn is a part of the IHG group of hotels present in various locations across United
Kingdom. They are highly committed to deliver the best quality services to make sure that
every customer enjoys the most pleasurable moments at the organisation. The IHG hotels
were founded during 1970s, and since then have created several Hotel brands, Holiday Inn
belongs to one of them. Management of the company realises the fact that customer
experiences is a vital factor that influences the service brand of the hotel. Hospitality industry
is primarily considered to be a service based field, therefore, providing the best experiences
to the hotel guests is the most necessary aspect.
1.2 Research Aim
The primary aim of the study is to conduct an empirical analysis of the experiences that the
customers at Holiday Inn, UK, have to undergo in relation to the quality of customer service.
1.3 Research Objectives
The research objectives of the study are:
 To conduct a detailed analysis of the quality of customer service provided at Holiday
Inn, UK
 To analyse the importance customer service and its corresponding impact on the
performance of the Holiday Inn, UK
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 To evaluate the issues and challenges involved in the customer service department of
the Holiday Inn, UK
 To provide suitable recommendations in order to improve the quality of customer
service at Holiday Inn, UK
1.4 Research Questions
Research questions of the study are:
 What has been the quality of customer service provided at Holiday Inn, UK?
 What is the importance of customer service and its corresponding impact on the
performance of the Holiday Inn, UK?
 What are the issues and challenges concerning the customer service department of the
Holiday Inn, UK?
 What are the suitable recommendations for improving the quality of customer service
at Holiday Inn, UK?
1.5 Rational of the Study
What is the issue?
The major issue that the company is facing is related to the quality of the customer service, as
there have been several complaints and negative feedback provided by the customers of the
Holiday Inn, UK. This has eroded the trust that the customers had on the company.
Why is the issue?
The primary reason that has been identified behind the issue is the lack of proper training and
absence of performance evaluation system in the company. On analysis and findings, it was
confirmed by the authorities that the skill and efficiency of staff workers is much below the
set standards.
What is the issue now?
At present, the company is worried about the negative impacts of declining customer services
and the degree to which it will lead to pessimistic publicity of Holiday Inn, UK. The senior
management of the company is also concerned about sustaining the business at severe
competitive market conditions.
What light this project will shed upon?
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This project will shed light on factors associated with the customer experiences and their
corresponding impact on the performance of the company. It will also provide suggestions on
improving the overall procedures for ensuring pleasurable moments for hotel guests.
1.6 The Scope of the Study
The scope of the study is highly varied and includes diversified approach towards the analysis
of customer service experiences at Holiday Inn, UK. Although, several studies have already
been carried out in this aspect, however, this study aims to focus on new parameters and
factors associated with the hotel operations.
1.7 Literature Review
Customer experiences
At hotel industry, every guest experience is unique, therefore, it is evident to state that the
more tangible the service provided, the higher will be the chances of guests defining the
experience in a dissimilar way (Kandampully et al., 2015). Therefore, in simpler words, the
customer experience can be understood as sum of various services and products provided to
customers, service setting and system of delivery of services. In the entire hotel industry,
these three components are considered to be highly significant in determining the customer
experience while staying at the hotel (Khan et al., 2015).
Customer relationship management
This is an approach that every company strategically develops in the hotel industry in order to
integrate the customers and the company (Rahimi and Gunlu, 2016). This way the company’s
management can determine the process and techniques used for interaction with the hotel
guests. Specifically, every company develops a customer-oriented goal to strengthen its
relation with the different segments of customers (Rahimi et al., 2017). Through this
approach, the management also tries to identify the various channels such as, company’s
website, marketing materials, social media and few others to reach out to potential customers
(Alnawas and Hemsley-Brown, 2019).
Literature Gap
The details provided in the study have certain limitations, which includes the fact that it fails
to take into consideration the perception and understanding of customer experiences from a
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diversified point of view. The study is concentrated to the customers residing in the United
Kingdom.
1.8 Research Methodology
Research methodology is that part of the study, where a brief illustration about the different
methods and techniques are listed and explained. Along with this, the reason of selecting a
particular method has also been highlighted in the study.
Research Philosophy
Research philosophy is about the process that is followed for finding suitable sources of data
collection. In this research study, researcher will select positivism research philosophy so that
appropriate sources of data can be searched. Other advantage of using this method is that it
involves a scientific approach towards the process (Vaioleti, 2016).
Research design
Research design refers to the process that is used for collecting and analysing the various
aspects of the research problem. In this study, the researcher will follow an explanatory
research design, as this has been considered to be appropriate. According to this design, the
researcher can develop meaningful conclusions on the subject (Flick, 2015).
Research approach
Research approach is about the process that is used for developing hypothesis of the study. In
this study, the researcher will select the deductive approach, as it offers the researcher with
greater flexibility to develop hypothesis. Along with this, through this method, the researcher
can use existing models and theories (Fletcher, 2017).
Data collection technique
In this study, mixed data collection technique will be used, which comprises of both primary
and secondary.
Data analysis technique
In this study, researcher will make use of quantitative analysis technique, while, the
qualitative technique will not be used.
Sampling technique
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In this study, focus will be laid on choosing probability sampling technique. According to the
process, the researcher will randomly select 100 customers of Holiday Inn, UK for
conducting survey.
1.9 Project Planning
In this section of the study, focus has been laid on establishing a brief list of all the activities
that we will be carried out progressively while completion of the research objectives:
List of Activities 4th Feb-
13th Feb
14th
Feb 3th
Mar
4th
Mar-
25th
Mar
26th
Mar-
12th
Apr
13th
Apr-
18th
May
19th May-
24th May
Selection of topic will be done
Information will be collected
from relevant sources
Project layout will be created
Literature review
Structure of the project will be
framed
Different techniques will be
selected
Analysis of information will be
done
Meaningful conclusions will be
framed
Draft of the project will be
prepared
Final file will be submitted
Table 1: Gantt chart
(Source: Created by the learner)
1.10 Ethical Issues
The researcher will try his or her best to follow the guidelines and processes in an ethical
manner, as these aspects have large impact on the quality of the project. Data Protection Act,
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2018, will be strictly followed to ensure that incidents of leakage of confidential information
of participants, attending the survey, do not occur. Along with this, all the facts and
information provided in the study will be presented without any manipulation.
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References
Alnawas, I. and Hemsley-Brown, J., 2019. Examining the key dimensions of customer
experience quality in the hotel industry. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management,
pp.1-29.
Cetin, G. and Walls, A., 2016. Understanding the customer experiences from the perspective
of guests and hotel managers: Empirical findings from luxury hotels in Istanbul,
Turkey. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 25(4), pp.395-424.
Fletcher, A.J., 2017. Applying critical realism in qualitative research: methodology meets
method. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20(2), pp.181-194.
Flick, U., 2015. Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. Sage.
Kandampully, J., Zhang, T. and Bilgihan, A., 2015. Customer loyalty: a review and future
directions with a special focus on the hospitality industry. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3), pp.379-414.
Kao, C.Y., Tsaur, S.H. and Wu, T.C.E., 2016. Organizational culture on customer delight in
the hospitality industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 56, pp.98-108.
Khan, I., Garg, R.J. and Rahman, Z., 2015. Customer service experience in hotel operations:
An empirical analysis. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 189, pp.266-274.
Rahimi, R. and Gunlu, E., 2016. Implementing customer relationship management (CRM) in
hotel industry from organizational culture perspective: case of a chain hotel in the
UK. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(1), pp.89-112.
Rahimi, R., Köseoglu, M.A., Ersoy, A.B. and Okumus, F., 2017. Customer relationship
management research in tourism and hospitality: a state-of-the-art. Tourism review, 72(2),
pp.209-220.
Vaioleti, T.M., 2016. Talanoa research methodology: A developing position on Pacific
research. Waikato Journal of Education, 12(1).
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Appendix
Q1. What is your age?
 24 to 30 years
 31 to 35 years
 36 40 years
 Above 40 years
Q2. How will you rate the quality of customer services at Holiday Inn, UK?
 Excellent
 Good
 Satisfactory
 Poor
Q3. Which are the prominent factors of customer services at the Holiday Inn, UK that
impressed you?
 Efficiency of front desk staff
 Variety of services and amenities
 Friendliness of the staff
Q4. What were the factors of customer services at the Holiday Inn, UK that you
disliked?
 Behaviour of housekeeping staff
 Quality of the complimentary breakfast section
 Cleanliness of the room
 Dining facilities
Q5. How far do you agree that the customer services provided by the staff workers at
Holiday Inn, UK were able to meet your needs?
 Agree
 Strongly agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
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Q6. How are far do you agree that the quality of food and accommodation services were
as per your expectations?
 Agree
 Strongly agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
Q7. How far were you satisfied with the check-in process at the Holiday Inn, UK?
 Satisfied
 Highly satisfied
 Neutral
 Unsatisfied
 Highly unsatisfied
Q8. Based on your recent visit, how far were you satisfied with the public areas of the
Holiday Inn, UK?
 Satisfied
 Highly satisfied
 Neutral
 Unsatisfied
 Highly unsatisfied
Q9. Based on your recent visit, would you like to recommend about the hotel Holiday
Inn, UK to your friends and relatives?
 Yes
 No
Q10. Which are the additional services that you would like to experience in future?
 Rental clothing services
 Luggage forwarding
 Robotics and cognitive technologies
 Smart rooms
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