Enhancing Customer Experience Through Technology in the Hotel Industry

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TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
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TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Abstract
It can be seen that that there is a change in the global economy and society due to the infusion of
technology. The hotel industry is no exception from it and the service offering is changing quiet
drastically which is leading to greater developments. This is having a positive impact, which is
increasing the demand of various services that they are offering. This research is focusing on
such things through which deployment of IT in hospitality industry may add to improvement of
the service quality drastically.
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Table of Contents
Background......................................................................................................................................5
Research questions...........................................................................................................................6
Review of literature.........................................................................................................................7
Introduction..................................................................................................................................7
Overview of the technology used in the hospitality sector..........................................................7
Types of tools used for measuring customer satisfaction............................................................9
Challenges regarding the use of technological tools for measuring customer satisfaction.......11
Methodology..................................................................................................................................12
Interview....................................................................................................................................12
Questionnaire.............................................................................................................................13
Survey........................................................................................................................................13
Focus groups..............................................................................................................................13
Case studies...............................................................................................................................14
Chosen methodology.....................................................................................................................14
Interview....................................................................................................................................14
Survey........................................................................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
Project plan....................................................................................................................................15
Ethical issues.................................................................................................................................15
Pilot interview and survey questions.............................................................................................15
References......................................................................................................................................16
Appendix........................................................................................................................................18
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TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Background
It can be seen that rapid globalization has helped in extension of technology in many sectors and
hence the hospitality sector is not an exemption from it. This has helped in the increase of
communication and has provided significant growth of surveillance in terms of customer service.
The increase of technological advancement is increasing interest to provide higher customer
service which would higher quality service is growing among them significantly. This is mainly
because of increased economic activity that hotel industry is providing. According to
Kandampully, Bilgihan and Zhang, (2016) which states that transactions driven by self service
technology is increasing and is becoming more and more common in the hotel service. It is
allowing engaging in the creation and delivery of high quality service without the direct
involvement of the hotel staffs. Thus, the business process is changing in the hotel industry. In
the words of Lee, (2016) which states traditional process of creating and delivering of hotel
service tends to create dissatisfaction among the visitors and they tend to encounter variety of
problems. The skills of the employees were not up to the mark and inexperience of the
employees made the customers to wait for long time in terms of availing service. Therefore,
upgrading the IT sector of the hotels has helped in overcoming this problem and is helping them
to offer greater services which would increase their experience.
According to Kansakar, Munir and Shabani, (2019) one of the major changes that technology has
brought in hotel industry is the availability of the self-service. These type of services ranges from
telephone-based technologies or interactive voice response systems; technologies based on
Internet connection; interactive kiosks; and image (video)-based technologies. Therefore, the
main aim of the technology interferences is to help customers complete their transactions and
gain a good experience in terms of hotel service. This is being further backed by Melián-
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González and Bulchand-Gidumal, (2016) which states that hotels provide a high quality
hospitality service for providing accommodations and high quality service will allow them to
increase their options and choose the best hotel which is providing the best service.
Further, Kansakar, Munir and Shabani, (2019) states about the fact that improvement in the
technology of providing service is helping engage more directly with the management of the
hotels and have better service experience. This would help in saving cost and reduce the service
timings with a better control for helping customers enjoy a more customized service. This is
mainly because of the fact that improvement in the technology of hotel service can bring benefits
for both the hotels and guests so that challenges can be overcome easily. Further, it helps the
hotels to overcome shortage of skilled labors and experienced staffs for handling guests and
allows a direct engagement of customers. This engagement shall allow the hotels to meet the
expectations of the customers and increase the standards of customer service so as to satisfy their
needs. Thus, technology is helping in a better sustainable development and to earn more profits
through which unnecessary costs could be eradicated easily and bring a favorable condition
within the hotels.
Research questions
1. What are the benefits of technology in hotel industry?
2. How customers are satisfied through improvement of service quality through deployment of
IT in hospitality sector?
3. What are the economic benefits that technology is providing through increased service quality
in the hospitality sector?
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TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Review of literature
Introduction
It has been seen that the advancement of the digital technology have helped in the development
of the many aspects in the different businesses. In the hospitality industry, the customer
satisfaction is the only thing that should be developed for the betterment of the business. The
advancement in the digital technology has helped the industry to develop their customer
satisfaction and at the same time, it can be stated that in order to measure the customer
satisfaction, technological advancement can also help. Here, the use of the technological tools
and techniques used in the hospitality business for measuring the customer satisfaction has been
discussed.
Overview of the technology used in the hospitality sector
In the hospitality sectors, for promoting the business and the services to measure the customer
satisfaction, a number of technological aspects have been used. From service automation to the
guest applications, all of the aspects are the results of the advancements of technology. For the
betterment of the communication, technology can be used, as stated by Kim et al. (2015). On the
other hand, the emergence of the mobile technology have helped the hospitality sector in terms
of the online booking and measuring the consumer satisfaction.
The digital development has helped the industry to use the advantage of the Wi-Fi facilities to be
implemented in the hotel. Therefore, the safety of the hotels can be ensured by the installation of
the close circuit camera within the premises of the hotel. Moreover, the consumers can also be
satisfied with the service of the concerned organizations, if they find that CCTV has been
installed for the security purposes, as defined by Radojevic et al. (2015). Kandampully et al.
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(2015) commented that if the internet service can be provided to the consumers along with the
other services, the organizations could be able to increase their reputation and competitive
advantage in addition to the customer satisfaction.
On the other hand, the development of the digital technology can be able to increase the
communication in the context of the organizations in the hospitality industry. The digital
interaction among the guests and organizations can help regarding the customer management. If
the survey can be conducted among the guests of the hospitality industry regarding their
measurement of the consumer satisfaction, the aspect regarding the digital interaction would take
one of the first places.
The feedback of the consumers can be shared in to the social media, where the consumer can
share their experience regarding the industry and they can recommend other people a specific
hotel in the specific area. Thus, along with the customer satisfaction and customer retaining, the
industry can earn new customers as well. Not only the social media, Wu and Liao (2016) stated
that, also in order to book room in the hotels, the online portals such as MakeMyTrip have
become popular. It is seen that most of the millennial and the people that are comfortable with
technology, are using the online portals for the booking of rooms in the hotels. Therefore,
reviews regarding the booking and their experience of staying at the hotel can be shared in those
online portals. By analysing those reviews produced by the consumers, the customer satisfaction
in the organisation can be measured. According to the online portals such as TripAdvisor and
MakeMyTrip, the communication with the consumers and the Hotel owners can take place.
Therefore, the consumers can be able to connect with the hotel owners directly.
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Types of tools used for measuring customer satisfaction
In order to measure the satisfaction of the consumers, the organizations in the hospitality sectors
can use a number of techniques, both offline and online. In order to understand where the
consumer is satisfied or nor, the survey can be conducted. A number of Tools and techniques
hardware in order to measure the customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry. As in the
contemporary time, the hospitality industry has been shifted into a technology based services and
network, they also implemented the technological advancement for achieving the customer
satisfaction, as state by Pizam et al. (2016).
The survey for understanding the consumer satisfaction in the hospitality industry can be
conducted among the consumers in the hospitality industry. The survey can be conducted among
the customers, while they are staying at the hotel. The survey can be conducted in both online
and offline process. In fact, the consumers will be provided with the feedback form while
checking out from the hotel, so that they can rate the service provided to the customers.
The loyalty measurement of the consumers can be considered as one of the measurement tool for
customer satisfaction measurement in the hospitality industry. It is evident that the prediction
regarding the customer retention can be analysed through the customer loyalty measurement, as
Kasiri et al. (2017). Feedback form that has been provided to the customers should contain
specific column where the consumers will be asked whether they would recommend the hotel to
their friends or relatives. The positive answers can help to measure the rate of consumer retention
and consumer loyalty as well. The consumer satisfaction can also be availed through this
feedback.
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Direct marketing practices can also be used to measure the consumer satisfaction in the
hospitality industry. The organisations in the hospitality industry can take help from the in-house
call centres to communicate with customers and obtain their valuable feedbacks regarding their
experiences in the hotel. Apart from that, the complaint-handling department should also be
developed in the industry, rather according to the specific hotel, so that the hotel can take actions
regarding the problems generated for the customers as early as possible. Thus, the rate of
consumer satisfaction can be increased.
On the contrary, Järvinen and Karjaluoto, (2015) stated that the number of complaints received
through the online portals or the website of the organisation as well as the number of
appreciation letter can also be taken into consideration in order to measure the customer
satisfaction for the hospitality industry. It is evident that the customers can often post negative
reviews regarding the experience of their staying at the hotel. Therefore, according to the
measurements of the posted reviews by the customers, the customer satisfaction can be
measured.
The social media can be one of the tools to measure the customer satisfaction in the context of
the hospitality industry. The social media can be used for posting the reviews regarding their
experience of the hospitality industry by their customers. It is evident that the consumers can
post the positive and the negative reviews at the same time, as opined by Parise et al. (2016).
Moreover, the real time data regarding the services of the organization can be obtained through
the social media.
Another tool that can be used by the organizations through the technological advancement is the
Net Promoter Tool. A survey can be developed and conducted among the customers of the
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hospitality industry in order to define their stages of the customer satisfaction. The consistency
measurements in the customer loyalty can be developed through this tool and the customers have
to fill the survey forms to take part in the process.
Challenges regarding the use of technological tools for measuring customer satisfaction
Some challenges are there that can be identified regarding the implementation of the
technological tools for measuring the customer satisfaction. Those challenges should be
mitigated in order to ensure that the customer satisfaction would be apprehended in the industry
and help to develop the customer retention rate. Those challenges have been stated below:
Wrong implementation of the customer management services: It is evident that the wring
implementation of the customer services can be used in order to manage the customers in the
hospitality industry, as stated by Navimipour and Soltani, (2016). Due to the wrong
implementation, the customer satisfaction can be reduced from the organizational context.
Biasness in the customer feedback: Often it is seen that the information taken from the customer
feedback form are already exploited due to a number of reasons and the information that has
been provided in the form are biased to some extent. Therefore, the wrong concept and
information regarding the customer satisfaction can be generated by the organization. It is also
seen that the customer retention process can also be interrupted.
Not updating or tracking the social media pages: Most of the organizations in the hospitality
industry use the social media such as Facebook and YouTube for the promotion of their services.
Therefore, they need to post and check the contents of the pages on a regular basis. It is evident
from the pages of some renowned organization of the hospitality industry that some customers
can even post negative reviews regarding the services of the organization. Thus, the organization
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should regularly check the contents of their page. Therefore, at the same time, the organization
should concentrate over the fact that they should take the proper steps concerning the negative
contents posted on the page, as opined by (Nwankpa and Roumani, 2016.). Moreover, if the
other potential and existing customers witness that the companies are taking prompt action
towards the complaints, the customer satisfaction and the customer retention rate would be
increased.
Methodology
The methodology is a typical chapter that will be undertaken by the researcher for analyzing the
research topic in a detailed manner. This will allow them explain the concepts, approaches,
theories and facts in a detailed so that the quality of the research can be increased (Kumar, 2019).
Thus, it will help the researchers for undertaking appropriate methods and gather the required
data for the research. The approaches consist of different types of qualitative and quantitative
methods which questionnaires i.e. interview and survey questions. Thus, qualitative and
quantitative methodologies have their own benefits and drawbacks and hence it will be vital for
the researchers to select the appropriate method.
Interview
Interview is termed as the most common qualitative method which is being used to collect data
for completing the research. Interview is conducted between two persons for gathering additional
information. This has enabled participants to analyze the data in an in depth manner and the
questions are more open ended ones. There are different kinds of interviews which are
structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews. The major benefit is that it is very much
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flexible in nature which means that the interviewer can adjust the questions and ask additional
questions as the interview progresses. However, it can be very time consuming.
Questionnaire
Questionnaire is regarded as the research methodology which is useful for collecting research
data from a large group of respondents. The questions are pre-arranged and pre-determined for
quickly collecting the required data. The data can be collected without the presence of the
researcher. The major benefits’ is that it helps to quickly analyze the data and to reach a wider
base of the respondents. However, the answers may not be the true in sense and may be biased in
nature.
Survey
Surveys are another process used to collect the required data. This helps in statistical analysis
and to ask same questions to a large group of people (Flick, 2015). Therefore, survey is the most
commonly used method and acknowledged one as it can be easily distributed by using various
methods including internet also. The major benefits are that it can be used to gather information
from a large group of persons and get a better outcome which will have a comprehensive
conclusion. However, the major disadvantage is that, in depth analysis cannot be obtained as
quantity is preferred over quality.
Focus groups
This type of group is preferred under qualitative research and is also known as group interviews.
Here, each respondent is interviewed separately and is examined in a detailed manner. Group
discussion takes place which will allow the researcher to have an interaction session so that new
insights may be derived for the research topics which are not being explored earlier.
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