Analyzing Service Quality at Sunderland International Hotel Report

This report critically examines the service quality issues faced by The Sunderland International Hotel, situated in East London, following its renovation. It explores the importance of managing and measuring service quality, recommending the adoption of appropriate service quality management methods such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and the SERVQUAL model. The report analyzes the current delivery practices of the hotel, assessing their impact on front-line employees, their engagement, and managerial implications. Furthermore, it proposes the development of a customer feedback system to monitor and improve service quality. The report highlights the significance of consistency, consumer satisfaction, and competitive advantage in the hospitality industry, emphasizing the need for proactive measures to address customer complaints and enhance overall service delivery.

Service Quality

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
1. Justify the importance of managing and measuring service quality, recommending the
adoption of appropriate service quality management methods...................................................3
2) Current Delivery Practises of The Sunderland International Hotel and the Impact on Front
Line Employees, their Engagement and Managerial Implications.............................................8
3) Producing Customer Feedback System for Monitoring and Improving Service Quality of
The Sunderland International Hotel..........................................................................................10
CONLCUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Service Quality in the Hospitality Industry is one of the most important factors for
gaining sustainable competitive advantage for any company. Service Quality can be defined as
the extent to which the services provided by a company to fulfil the needs or expectations of the
customers or the overall impression of customers on the organisation's services whether good or
bad as regards of the services (Service Quality: Definition & Dimensions. 2019). The following
report is based upon The Sunderland International Hotel, situated in the East London, which is
facing issues in the qualities provided to their customers by the staff of the Hotel. After the
renovation, the Hotel is facing negative results in their services (Al-Borie and Sheikh
Damanhouri, 2013). The report will provide the ways by which the Hotel can make improvement
in their services by making use of different techniques and approaches to service quality
management. Due to delay in the services provided by Hotel, the clients are also dissatisfied so
the report will also provide the ways by which the company can make make use of feedbacks
provided by the consumers and make improvement in their services as per the need and
expectations of the customers. In addition to this, the impact of the current methods used by the
Hotel for providing their services on the front-line employees, on their engagement and also their
implications on the managerial decisions are discussed.
MAIN BODY
1. Justify the importance of managing and measuring service quality, recommending the
adoption of appropriate service quality management methods
Service quality refers to the process under which measurement of quality is done whether
it is delivered according to consumer's perception or not. When service provided by organisation
is beyond the expectation of consumer then this is considered as high quality service. In service
sector, quality aspect is one of the major component which has to be considered by managers to
make long term, relations with consumers and achieve competitive advantage. In case of
Sunderland international hotel there is increment in revenues because they have good open
banquet suits, meeting hall, etc. so it is easy to host big meetings at this place (Amin and Zahora
Nasharuddin, 2013). They have good facility for gym, swimming pool and spa which makes
consumer satisfied. These days, there are many changes which are taking place in external

environment, so it is responsibility of Canary Wharf Hotel's managers to analyse and implement
changes accordingly.
With improving services for consumers in the form of different facilities such as formal
dining area at Brasserie and Norman bar and restaurant for breakfast, lunch, etc. But as number
of consumers increases, there is increment in their issues and negative feedback also. Many
consumers post feedback such as good facility but poor quality, long waiting time, irresponsible
management, etc. These comments are posted on online sites and website of Sunderland
international hotel as well. Manager of Sunderland international hotel also check such comment
once in month and ask employees to resolve issue to make consumer satisfied. But as number of
consumers are more, so there is lack of time for taking corrective measures to resolve such
issues. This makes reduction in quality of services served by Sunderland international hotel.
There is no responsible person who undertakes actions for improving quality of services because
around 60% of workforce at Sunderland international hotel is part time on the behalf of
contractor (Bansal and Taylor, 2015). Hence employee turnover is also major issue with which
Sunderland international hotel is dealing. These are the factors which affects quality of services
served to consumers.
In order to make long term existence in industry and make consumers to regular visit and
stay at Sunderland international hotel, then quality is the prime aspect which has to be
considered by managers of Sunderland international hotel. There is important role of managing
service quality to improve performance and achieve long term sustainability of industry.
Importance of managing service quality
Consistency in products and increment in efficiency- With managing quality of product
and services, there is good image of Sunderland international hotel in industry and people will
prefer to avail services from this organisation. Hence with managing quality, improvements are
possible and it is easy to compete with other organisation by providing satisfactory services to
consumers.
Greater consumer satisfaction- With proper planning and managing quality of services,
it is easy for Sunderland international hotel to satisfy consumers. When managers of Hotel
manage quality, then it is easy to make improvement and provide services according to
requirement of consumers.

Low risk- With management of quality of services in Hotel, there is low risk of failure in
industry (Bernardo, Marimon and del Mar Alonso-Almeida, 2012). As in case of Sunderland
international hotel, guests are making complaints on online sites and official social media place
of Sunderland international hotel, this damages the brand image of hotel and people does not
prefer to avail services from hotel. This can be reduced with proper management of service
quality.
Competitive advantage- Competition is more in hotel industry at UK, so with managing
service quality, it is easy for Sunderland international hotel to compete with other brands and
retain consumers for longer time (Zavareh and et. al., 2012). There is more labour turnover in
Sunderland international hotel when quality is core competent, then some rights and
responsibilities are given to employees to make them comfortable at work force. When workers
have responsibilities, then they feel responsible and perform activities in relevant manner
because they are responsible for outcome.
Importance of measuring service quality
There are many hotels which are working in UK industry, so it is important and relevant
to measure quality of services offered by Sunderland international hotel. As per case study of
Sunderland international hotel, there are many issues which affects performance of Sunderland
international hotel and no person is responsible for taking this in their hand. This makes
consumer dissatisfied and they prefer to avail services from other brand. In order to reduce
number of negative feedbacks from consumers, it is important and significant to measure quality
of services on regular basis (Bhattacharya, Gulla and Gupta, 2012). There are different methods
through which measurement of quality is possible. Some of the methods are taking feedback
from consumers, regular market analysis, knowledge about competitor’s policies, follow up from
consumers, social media comments, etc. This helps in providing satisfactory services to
consumers as they have faith in the brand.
With measuring quality of services managers of Sunderland international hotel can easily
make changes in their product and services to make long term relations with consumers. These
days there is difference in demand of consumers according to requirement, so it is easy for
managers to plan services when they regularly measure quality. This helps to manage cost
because possibilities of wastage of resources is less which is significant for performance of

Sunderland international hotel. Consumer base gets increased because there is improvement in
quality of services, so brand loyalty can be achieved (Browning, So and Sparks, 2013).
There are different theories and principles which are used to measure quality of service
provided by Sunderland international hotel. With the help of these principles and theories, it is
easy to perform measurement activities and provide best quality services to consumers. As per
change in consumer demand or external market, hotel has to alter their working style and then
actions must be taken to analyse quality of products and services. Some of the theories for
managing quality services are discussed as under-
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Total quality management refers to extensive and structured form for managing approach
for focusing improvement in quality and regularly taking feedback from consumers
(Büyüközkan and Çifçi, 2012). Total quality management is contentious process for detecting
and reducing number of errors occurring in manufacturing of services. There is proper supply of
raw material which helps to perform operations according to consumer demand. With
implementing total quality principle to Sunderland international hotel, then there is improvement
in consumer satisfaction because managers keep eyes on quality of services served. As per this
approach, Sunderland international hotel can use internal resources to provide satisfaction to
consumers. When this is implemented to organisation, then proper planning related to resources
are done which is significant for getting good quality services.
As these days, consumers are more quality conscious, so with this principle it is easy to
provide goods and services according to consumer demand. Total quality management is the
principle which is mainly based on consumer focused process. In case study of Sunderland
international hotel, there is requirement of change in product and services which is significant
for making alterations in business operations (Wu and Ko, 2013). Total quality management has
some principles such as employee involvement, process centred, decision making,
communication, integrated system, strategic systematic approach, etc. which can help managers
of Sunderland international hotel to provide best services and reduce number of complaints by
considering it.
SERVQUAL MODEL
This model is known as empirically tested method which is used to measure and control
subjective elements to maintain quality of services. This is one of the important aspect which as

to be considered by managers of Sunderland international hotel to provide best quality to
consumers. As per case study of Sunderland international hotel, there are many issues to
consumers because there is improper management of business operations which is significant for
providing better services to consumers. With implementing this model in case of Sunderland
international hotel, managers ask customers to rate quality of services out of their expectation.
SERVQUAL model can be understood with five components of maintaining quality. These five
elements are based on acronym “RATER”, which is discussed as under-
Reliability- As per this element, ability of organisation to fulfil their promises by
servicing appropriate services to consumers. This makes consumers to have faith in brand and
prefer to avail services from them. if the company applies this in their practise than the company
will be able to perform and provide services to the customers as they are promised in an accurate
and dependable way.
Assurance- According to this element, it is ability of workers of association to deal with
consumers, hence this includes knowledge of workers to inspire consumers. By applying this
element, the company will be able to gain the trust and confidence of their customers if they
behave in a knowledgeable and courteous way with the customers (Calabrese, 2012).
Tangibles- As per this element, there is discussion about equipments, website,
communication channel, etc. which helps to make interaction with consumers. Applying this
element in the working of the company, there is familiar environment within association, so
consumers can easily their views which helps to make changes in hotel services according to
their demand.
Empathy- Empathy refers to personal efforts of workers for consumers. This is the best
way to understand mind-set of consumers and their desire. If this theory is implemented, then in
this case, it is easy to perform operations according to requirement of consumers and they are
able to express themselves with personal attention of workers.
Responsiveness- Responsiveness is the action which is taken by firm to provide services
to consumers. This is the reaction of employees they are interacting with consumers. This helps
to provide satisfaction to consumers.
This model has shortcomings because this is used to expose gap between actual services
and expectations of consumer demand. In this model, every aspect is compared with consumer

perception, so this creates confusion among services because there is difference in perception of
consumers.
From the above discussed theories, Total Quality management is best because this suits
fit as per case of Sunderland international hotel, there is requirement of change in plans and
policies which is significant and relevant for handling quality of products and services in case of
large number of consumers (Theodorakis and et. al., 2013). When quality is the main motto for
Sunderland international hotel, then they perform operations in accordance to quality, hence
workers also perform operations in order to provide best quality product and services.
Sunderland international hotel has majority of employees on part time basis, so if quality is not
maintained, then it is easy for managers to replace them. In hospitality industry, consumers are
quality conscious more so by making improvement in the quality of services, the reduction in the
complaints of customers can be made.
2) Current Delivery Practises of The Sunderland International Hotel and the Impact on Front
Line Employees, their Engagement and Managerial Implications
Delivering Practises of any Hotel is not just limited to providing good service to the
customers. Further it must include the customer satisfaction by focusing on customer's needs and
allowing the hotel to achieve its financial goals. The current delivery practises of the Sunderland
International Hotel are not as good as it has to be because it is getting negative feedbacks from
the customers regularly regarding the services by them (Chu, Lee and Chao, 2012). The current
delivery practises of the Sunderland International Hotel are discussed as under:
 Service of the Hotel are not up-to the level to keep the customers satisfied.
 Another is the delay of time during the process of check in as the customers have to wait
around 1 hour.
 No criteria is set for the delay occurred in the process of check in such as refund of some
amount or any compensation to the customers.
 The employees were also not much trained so as to handle more number of people during
the wedding. The employees were also lacking behind in properly communicating with the customers.
Impact upon Front Line Employees-
Front Line Employees are those employees which directly come into contact with the
customers of an organisation. In the Sunderland International Hotel, people included in the list of

front line employees are receptionists, managers, house keepers, waiters, etc. are included. The
impact of this kind of working on the front line employees are discusses as under:
Demotivation of Employees: The impact of poor working of the Hotel on the employees
is the demotivation which is the main reason for the failure of this Hotel. As there is no person to
make control and supervise the activities of the employees so their motivation level is also going
down which also affects the performance of employees (Sultan and Yin Wong, 2012). This will
also create effect on the level of engagement of the employees in their work as they will no
longer have any interest in doing any work in the Hotel activities. This will also create a negative
effect on the working of the Hotel as with demotivated employees, it is not at all possible to
achieve the goals and objectives of the Hotel. So this demotivation will create effect on the
working, profitability and efficiency of the Hotel. The image of the Hotel in the market will also
start spoiling. For instance, employees are not provided wit proper working environment or the
facilities of the company are not good than it will result in the demotivation f employees as well.
Employee Turnover: It can be defined as the rate at which the employees are leaving an
organisation. This rate will also increase as the employees will no longer want to work and the
staff of the employees will be reduced. On employee’s engagement, it will also create a negative
impact upon them as continuous reduction in the number of employees of the Sunderland
International Hotel will feel insecure to work due to lack of growth and progression in career,
and due to less number of employees sometimes they also feel pressurised, so this is the cause of
labour turnover. (Dabholkar, 2015). Talking about the impact upon the Hotel, it will result in the
deficiency of the staff in the Hotel which will lead to the improper and more delay in the
working and accomplishing the tasks. This delay will further increase as the level of employee
turnover will increase more and it will not be possible for the existing workers to complete the
task in time and with required level of efficiency. For instance, in this industry employees do not
see proper chances of growth and progress than they start leaving and hence the employee
turnover rate increases.
Less Dedication to Work: The dedication level of the employees will decrease due to
improper guidance and less attention to work. The effect on the employees of this kind of
working style of the Hotel will reduce their dedication level towards the job. In addition to this,
it will decrease their efficiency in working and it will be difficult to achieve both the individual
and organisational objectives of the Hotel. On employees engagement, it will also create a

negative effect as their job satisfaction level, job performance level will go down and the
employee turnover, absenteeism of employees will also increase (Setó-Pamies, 2012). On the
Sunderland International Hotel, it will also create a negative effect as it will not be able to
complete their work on time and will not be able to achieve the objectives of the Hotel. For
instance, employees wants to be properly guided in doing work and if this doe no happen than it
also result in the demotivation of employees and also decreases their dedication of work.
Managerial Implications-
The managers of the Sunderland International Hotel can make improvement in its
condition in following ways which are discussed as under:
Training and Development- The employees of the Sunderland International Hotel can be
provided with training in order to enhance their skills and knowledge in their own particular field
of working. In addition to this, they can be provided with several development programs which
will increase their motivation level, job satisfaction, efficiencies in process etc. so as to treat well
and good with the customers. Further this will also help in reducing the rate of employee
turnover in the Hotel. For instance, providing proper training to employees will help in their
development which in result also contribute in increasing their skills and knowledge.
Rewards and Benefits- Another measure for making the improvement in the condition of
the Sunderland Hotel it can be done that the employees must be provided with other benefits
than compensation (Ryu, Lee and Gon Kim, 2012). These benefits can be in the form of
attendance appraisal, performance appraisal so as to increase the morale of employees and to
reduce the employee turnover rate in the Hotel. The benefit to the Hotel is the retention of the
employees and the satisfaction of the customers from the services provided by the Sunderland
International Hotel. Fir instance, employees can be provided with rewards and benefits based
upon their level of performance and this will help in increasing their morale level.
3) Producing Customer Feedback System for Monitoring and Improving Service Quality of the
Sunderland International Hotel
Customer Feedback System can be defined as the system through which the information
from the customers about the services provided by them can be directly collected about the
satisfaction and dissatisfaction from the services of the customers. The same is in case of The
Sunderland International Hotel, it is also facing the same situation, the customers of this Hotel
are not happy with the services provided by the Hotel. Most of the customers are facing issues

such as in checking in time, check out time, poor services of the Hotel, etc. In order to overcome
these problems, the company can use different types of customer feedback systems which will
help the Hotel in improving and continuously monitoring on the quality of their services so as to
make them as per the needs and expectations of the customers (Elliot, Li and Choi, 2013). The
following are the ways by which the Hotel can make improvements in their services which are
discussed as under:
Comment Section-
For taking the feedbacks from the customers, The Sunderland International Hotel can
make use of comment section which will allow their customers for putting their comments in the
comment box. It will be helpful both for measuring and improving the quality of services
provided by The Sunderland International Hotel. The positive comments will be appreciable for
the Hotel and will also enhance the brand awareness in the market and also in the minds of
people. Like same, the negative comments will also prove helpful for the Hotel as it will provide
them the grounds for improvement so that they may make their services in accordance with the
needs and expectations of the customers.
Feedback Form-
Another way of getting feedback from the customers is the use of feedback forms. The
Hotel can make use of feedback forms while checking out of the customers from the Hotel. With
the help of these forms, it will be easy for the Hotel to get the feedbacks from them whether
positive or negative (Mohammad Mosadeghrad, 2013). Both types of feedback are important for
the Hotel as they both are a measure for the improvement in the services of the Hotel. In addition
to this, the Hotel can also make use of online feedback forms which it can send to the customer
in the form of e mails, messages, etc. so as to collect the feedback from the customers.
Gifts and Rewards System-
The Sunderland International Hotel can also provide monetary benefits to their customers
for getting their feedbacks about the quality of their services. It can be done by making use of
contests, gift wraps, coupons, discounts on future bookings, free samples etc. which will
encourage and motivate them to provide their feedbacks on the services of the Hotel. These type
of feedbacks should be taken as the time of checking out of the customers so that the overall
view of the quality of services for the checking in time to checking out time can be taken from
the customer.

Provide Live Chat Support-
According to a survey, approx 44 percent of the online users feel that the live chat is the
best feature which can be provided by any company, institution, or Hotel. The Sunderland
International Hotel can also make use of this way in order to improve the issues faced by their
customers by providing them at the same time instance (Ishaq, 2012). Through Live Chat, many
issues can be addressed such as the payment issue, availability of rooms, shipping, etc. so that
these type of small issues can be solved as the same time which saves both the time of customer
and the Hotel, which is enough to attract a customer.
Calling Customers Regularly-
This method will also be helpful for the Hotel for getting the feedbacks from the
customers by calling them. The best advantage of this method is that it provides the first hand
feedback in the own words of the customer, and this will also provide the level of satisfaction
that the customer got from the use of services of Sunderland International Hotel. Good handling
of customers will also help in strengthening the relationship between the hotel and the
customers.
Humanizing the Online Store-
In this way, the Hotel can give its website a personal human touch which makes it
different from that of others. Customers feel bored of using the websites in normal course. The
personality element in the website will attract the customers and also make them curious to use
the site and the services of Hotel. Most of the websites are not providing this feature, but this
Hotel can make this possible (Liang, Ma and Qi, 2013). It will improve the conversions, and also
the feedbacks from the customers as they will have a feeling of talking to a person not a website.
Displaying Positive Feedbacks-
Displaying the feedbacks provided by the customers has many advantages for the Hotel.
At the very first step, it encourages other customers who had used the services of the Hotel to
share their own experience with the others. Secondly, it serves as a motivation and recognition to
the customers who had shared their feedbacks and makes them more valued and also makes
easier for others to select the Hotel on the basis of comments provided on their websites. Like
same, the others who had also used the services of the Hotel, it also encourage others to act upon
the same, once they see others doing they will also act upon the same.
Monitor Feedbacks on Other Sites-