Analysis of Poor Guest Satisfaction at Imperial Hotel

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Introduction to Management BUS020C414H
A case study of Imperial Hotel
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Problem analysis..............................................................................................................................4
Causes of poor guest satisfaction.....................................................................................................5
Poor guest satisfaction is linked with other problems.....................................................................6
3-point plan for resolving issue.......................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10
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Introduction
Increased competition in the business world has enchanted the significance of effective
management. Effective management requires concern with human resource and other resources.
This report will throw light on the management of the Imperial hotel by analysing issues about
its management. For this report, poor guest satisfaction will analyse, including its causes,
connectivity to other problems and 3-point plan for resolving the issue. This report will realise
the concept of effective management using some theories and principles. Imperial hotel needs to
analyse not only internal management but also its competitors for developing strategies. The
selected issue indicates that the hotel has received the lowest ratings for guest satisfaction as per
Guest Satisfaction Survey. The leading causes of poor guest satisfaction may be lack of training
to the front of house staff and their behaviour towards guests handling.
The quality of hotel rooms has been declined due to non-sufficient training to the front-line staff.
The hotel needs to analyse this situation using customer satisfaction theory that includes the
utilisation of performance indicator as customer satisfaction. It clearly shows how much
satisfaction has gained by customers through the products or services. Customer satisfaction is
measured by analysing customer expectations according to management theorists. The Imperial
Hotel must resolve this issue without any delay for surviving the highly competitive hotel
industry of UK industry. For this, a 3-point plan will provide to support the Imperial hotel for
converting negative ratings into positive perceptions. And it is vital for the hotel to effectively
manage the issue from hotel staff and guests’ point of view.
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Problem analysis
As per the Guest Satisfaction Survey in the UK industry, the Imperial hotel was graded with
lowest rates due to regular complaints from guests. In the competitive era where guest
satisfaction should be one of the highest priorities, the Imperial hotel failed to attain even the
average ratings in the whole Star chain. Guests were dissatisfied mainly regarding staff quality,
hotel room quality and check in-check out facility (Ngelambong et al., 2016). Rude behaviour of
staff, incorrect billing, long waiting for the check-in and check out, ignorance of customer
complaints and unsatisfied physical condition of hotel rooms contributed mostly to this issue. It
seems the hotel failed to understand how much significant is the guest satisfaction for the hotel.
For the analysis of this situation, the most appropriate theory for Imperial hotel will be customer
satisfaction theory by Philip Kotler. As per Philip Kotler, customer satisfaction refers to an
individual’s pleasure or disappointment gained by undertaking a comparison between his
expectations and the product's perceived outcome after consumption (Rouf et al., 2019). He
viewed customer satisfaction as the function of product expectations and perceived outcome.
According to him, perceived performance attained by customers impacts by the experience of
using product or service itself. He suggested a few factors that affect the customer’s
expectations:
 References or word of mouth
 A promise made by own marketers
 Past performance of product or service
 Competitors’ views regarding products or services
 Reviews by customers already experienced product or service
In the case of the Imperial Hotel, guests set some expectations and goals before attaining services
of the hotel. The guests have positive perceptions regarding the hotel since it has been serving
people from the last 100 years. This hotel generated an adequate trust level among the people by
its services but lost this trust after ineffective management issues aroused (Abo-Murad et al.,
2019). This theory is highly suitable for the Imperial hotel since guest satisfaction has faded due
to different causes. The hotel failed to perceive customer satisfaction in a positive light.
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In the words of Paul Farris, customer satisfaction indicates the total number or percentage of
customers whose satisfaction goals were exceeded by the real-time experience of a specific
product or service. This definition provides two essential implications for companies or hotels to
attain higher-level customer satisfaction.
 Firstly, customer satisfaction is a measurable term which can analyse either in numbers or
percentage.
 Secondly, the companies or hotels itself that define the customers’ satisfaction goals and
this resulted in variations in satisfaction goals depends on the type of product or service
(Zainol et al., 2016).
From the perspective of customer satisfaction theory, it can be said that the Imperial hotel failed
to provide adequate quality services to guests. It resulted in the poor guest ratings that affected
the hotel’s image adversely in the UK hotel industry (Hosseini and Fakour, 2016). Using
customer loyalty and buying intentions, customer satisfaction level can analyse by the hotels,
including the Imperial hotel.
Causes of poor guest satisfaction
One of the most significant issues in the Imperial hotel is poor guest satisfaction from the last
few months. This issue has been aroused due to some factors which need immediate
identification for resolving the problem effectively. It has been identified that a lack of training
in front of house staff is the leading cause for such higher guest dissatisfaction. Following are the
causes identified for poor guest satisfaction in Imperial hotel:
 Lack of adequate training: The front of house staff did not provide with sufficient
training that can consider as one of the significant causes for lower guest satisfaction (Yu,
2017). The staff was not aware of how to attend guests, how to operate IT systems such
as billing system and check in-check out system; and how to handle customer complaints.
 No efforts from staff’s part: The hotel staff was not making efforts for handling
situations that got worst while facing guest complaints. The staff was ignoring problems
being faced by guests, which degraded the hotel’s service level.
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 Lack of focus on the guest experience: The hotel staff namely front of house staff, was
avoiding the guest-related problems (Yilmaz, 2018). They were not focused on providing
good services to guests and making their experience good with this hotel.
 Negative working culture: The issues of Imperial hotel created a negative working
environment for hotel staff. The direct impact of these issues and negative working
culture had reflected on service quality provided to guests.
 Poor physical conditions of hotel rooms: It has been seen that the rooms of the Imperial
Hotel were not of that quality as expected by guests before coming to this hotel. The
bathrooms were not cleaned, air conditioning was creating noise, showers were working
improperly, and other technologies were not operating (Mao et al., 2018). These
situations create problems for guests that made them provide negative ratings to Imperial
hotel.
 Staff dissatisfaction: It should not be forgotten that the hotel staff was dissatisfied with
hotel management. It stopped them from taking efforts towards providing good guest
experience. They were disappointed due to insufficient pay and training opportunities for
hotel staff and other reasons.
Poor guest satisfaction is linked with other problems
There are indeed different issues, prevalent in the Imperial hotel that is interlinked with each
other. Staff turnover has increased in the hotel with high rate due to several reasons out of which
insufficient training and promotion opportunities are significant. The hotel staff was not provided
with adequate training due to which the quality of guest services was declined. Also, there was a
shortage of skilled hotel staff following high staff turnover, and the remaining staff was unable to
fulfil the requirements of quality services to guests (Yeboah and Abdulai, 2016). The motivation
level of the hotel staff was declined since they were providing insufficient training, highly
competitive compensation packages in other hotels, and management avoidance towards them. It
caused a negative working environment within the hotel and enhanced absenteeism and
unproductiveness.
De-motivated employees never exhibit productive outcomes, and it has been evident in the case
of the Imperial hotel that it had reduced the guest satisfaction. Also, it would not be wrong to say
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that front of house staff lacked team working and utilised IT systems inefficiently increased
complaints from guests. They were unable to operate the Micros Fidelio reservation and Property
Management System (PMS) for providing real-time information about the guests including
check-in and check-out or billing system (Morsy et al., 2016) efficiently. It created chaos among
numerous departments such as kitchen, conferencing and restaurants and others. The inefficiency
of the front of house staff affected the performance of other departments and made them unable
to provide quality services.
Due to lack of training and high staff turnover, back of house staff was poorly implementing the
control and operating procedures as well as failed in meeting even necessary Standard Operating
Procedures. The in-house staffs were performed below the standard than the Spanish staffs, and
their performance was also getting worse day-by-day. The guests were dissatisfied with the
cleanliness of hotel bedrooms and bathrooms (Ruiz et al., 2017). It has been reported that
housekeeping staff was behaving badly and rudely with the guests. Hence, it can be said that all
these issues are interlinked with each other and required an immediate solution for the hotel
betterment.
3-point plan for resolving the issue
Poor guest satisfaction has been affecting the hotel’s image from which competitors are getting
benefits. It is necessary for a hotel to resolve this issue on a priority basis. The most significant
cause of poor guest satisfaction was identified as staff dissatisfaction. Therefore, it is vital to
strive for improved staff satisfaction and efforts in making guests happier. Following are the key
proposals for improving guest satisfaction in the Imperial hotel:
Staff motivation
The core issue prevailing in the Imperial hotel is evident as the dissatisfaction of staff regarding
their job. Therefore, enhancing employee motivation can inspire the hotel staff for performing
well and exhibiting loyalty towards the hotel. The hotel should provide monetary and non-
monetary benefits to staff, including mainly the training programs (Vetráková and Mazúchová,
2016). It would increase the efficiency of their working, and they would be able to provide
quality services. The motivated staff helps an organisation or hotel in surviving even during hard
times. Hence, the hotel needs to focus on generating staff satisfaction.
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An emotional connection with guests
Emotional connection with guests is necessary to be made for generating their satisfaction when
the hotel failed to provide quality services. Good behaviour of staff can anticipate this failure by
developing an emotional connection with guests. The reception staff should go beyond their desk
and motivate front of house staff to ask guests around public areas whether they are enjoying or
not (Umasuthan et al., 2017). The hotel staff should keep an eye on what their guests prefer and
fulfil their needs. Apart from this, the guests can provide with some chocolate or gift boxes for
special guests such as kids or newly wedded couples; stationery for business travellers; or some
goodie bags for family or other guests. It would make the guests feel special, and this would
show a sign that the hotel cares for their guests.
Keep track of competitors
This proposal states that the Imperial hotel should watch out its competitors closely for gaining
critical insights into their strategies. It considers as one of the crucial ways of achieving high
guest satisfaction. The hotel should analyse guest satisfaction strategies of competitor hotels as
what they are doing for attaining guest satisfaction and where are they wrong or right (Zervas et
al., 2017). It would be beneficial for the hotel to implement a competitor’s best services in a
unique way of generating improved guest satisfaction.
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Conclusion
This report has identified the relevance of effective management in the UK hotel industry. The
Imperial hotel has been dealing with several issues concerning mainly the staff and guest
dissatisfaction that developed high staff turnover and a negative working environment within the
hotel. The analysis of poor guest satisfaction issues in the Imperial hotel was conducted using
customer satisfaction theory developed by Philip Kotler. As per this theorist, customer
satisfaction deals with the exceeding customer experience than their expectations. It means that
positive outcomes can attain when customer experience is higher than the customer expectations
from that product or service, or otherwise, negative customer satisfaction is achieved. Lack of
training and motivation strategies are identified as the core cause of issues in this hotel and
established connectivity with each other. For resolving the problem of poor guest satisfaction,
some proposals are developed that are crucial for the Imperial hotel. The key proposals involve
implementation of motivation strategies for staff, establishing an emotional connection with
guests and analysing competitors' strategies for attaining guest satisfaction.
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References
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