Service Desk Implementation Analysis for SHUTEL Hotels Case Study

This case study analyzes the service desk implementation for SHUTEL Hotels, a small UK-based hotel chain facing customer dissatisfaction due to check-out delays. The study explores various elements of service desk implementation, including defining goals, software selection, configuration, testing, user training, pilot projects, and continuous improvement. It recommends a service desk system to integrate IT infrastructure, manage check-out processes, and enhance customer satisfaction. The analysis links the service desk to ITIL areas such as event, incident, problem, and access management, emphasizing their importance in resolving service-related issues. The implementation of a service desk system is crucial for SHUTEL to streamline operations, improve customer experience, and leverage technology for efficient service delivery. The study concludes that technology plays a vital role in handling hospitality operations and service desk implementation helps managers to integrate wide range of services and IT infrastructure to improve overall efficiency of hospitality operations.

Case study

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
SERVICE DESK IMPLEMENTATIONS .....................................................................................3
SHUTEL Service Desk Implementation Recommendation........................................................5
SERVICE DESK LINKS TO ITIL AREAS....................................................................................6
Event Management
......................................................................................................................................................6
Incident Management
......................................................................................................................................................6
Problem Management
......................................................................................................................................................7
Access Management....................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCE ..................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Service management is one the most important aspect of hospitality management. This
approach has direct impact on satisfaction level of consumers along with the performance of
hospitality organization. In this process, management develops various strategies and procedures
for attainment of corporate objectives in the from of improvement in service quality, handling of
service rendering system etc (McNaughton, Ray and Lewis, 2012). As per the current market
trends, the management has to consider various unique and creative tools through which
organization is able to improve quality of services. In this process, application of latest
technology plays important role to enhance efficiency of service rendering process.
The present research is going to analysis different aspects of service management with
reference to case study of SHUTEL which is a small chain of 3-star and 4-star hotels based in the
northern part of
the UK. Company is facing dissatisfaction among consumers due to delay occurred in check out
process. Therefore, the present study is going to discuss different elements of service desk
implementation in order to resolve of services related issues of SHUTEL.
SERVICE DESK IMPLEMENTATIONS
In general, service desk implementation is identified as a most important concept in order
to resolve different issues associated with service management in hospitality sector. In this
regard, it has been analysed that technology plays important role to drive efficiency of every
organization in the present business environment. By using latest technology, the management of
business entity is able to enhance efficiency of services. Apart from that it has been evaluated
that the approach of services desk implementation has found very effective for handling of
different tasks associated with services management (Chen, Kazman and Perry, 2012). A
proficient service desk provides active assistance to avoid wastage of time during management
of different services. Some important elements related to service desk implementation are
explained below: Defining the key goals and metrics: In this section, management of hospitality firm is
able to target a particular services. This section determines the goals and objectives of
service desk implementation process through which business entity is able to enhance
efficiency and quality of services along with satisfaction of consumers.
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 Selection of the Software: The selection of software for ITSM and Service Desk is
considered as many crucial element of business management. In this regard, various
options are available in the market from ready-made software to custom build open
source software as per the requirement of business. Preparation of Requirements for Software Configuration: In this section, business entity
carries out initial configuration after acquisition of software as per the requirement of
business (Marler, Fisher and Ke, 2009). A clear understanding of SLA (Service Level
Agreement) and OLA (Operational Level Agreement) is carried out with different team
meetings and proper planning. Implementation and Testing of the Software: After the ITSM and Service Desk software
is installed. Wide range of data is being configured associated with the end-users,
responsible experts, support units, SLA times, configuration units, etc. After all
installation and configuration activities, the process of system testing is carried as per the
objectives of services desk implementation (Jäntti, Cater-Steel and Shrestha, 2010). The
best way is to define special group of employees whose real incidents will registered in
service desk operations and support system so as the management of business is able to
assess the appropriate information about operational testing. In this process, A Project
Management team is comprised of personal from different department in order to manage
service desk implemention process. User Training: In this stage, management of organization arranges trainings for service
desk operators and users of new system. This specialized training is paying extra
attention on Customer Service, Service Desk and Incident Resolution information
(Crawley, 2012). This stage also enhances understanding of new system related to service
management as per the current business requirement. Realization of Pilot Project: After the all parties are involved, trained as well as software
is properly configured and tested, the management of hospitality firm start a pilot project
with an aim to make final assessment of company employees and the system itself (IT
Service Management (ITSM) and Service Desk Implementation, 2012). In order to
enhance understanding of new system, organization establishs live sessions and real-time
working models with the help of an observation team that contains technical &
management team members to monitor changes in the process.
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 Continuous Improvement of Service Desk Functions: It is identified as a last section of
the process service desk implementation. Also after successful implementation, technical
team determines various metrics, service support functions that play important role to
improve efficiency of new system as per the business requirement. Continuous processes
and services improvement is also part of ITIL best practices through which management
implement continuous changes in service desk software as per the change in business
requirement and different problems which have been faced by business entity.
SHUTEL Service Desk Implementation Recommendation
As per the given case, it has found that the guests of SHUTEL are dissatisfied with
different services provided by SHUTEL that have led fluctuation in room occupancy rate. The
biggest area of dissatisfaction for
SHUTEL customers was the length of time it took to check-out - particularly at
busy times, such as 8-9am in the morning. Therefore, the management of SHUTEL should carry
out service desk implementation for managing check out in hotel so as management will able to
manage quick checkout that would influence satisfaction of consumers. As per the case, it has
evaluated that management SHUTEL has implemented an appropriate IT infrastructure for
different business operations (Buhalis and Law, 2008). In this context, it is evaluated that room
bookings system is linked with website of company so as hospitality firm and consumers can
easily view of current and
previous bookings, and future bookings and availability.
In addition to that organization has applied high tech room access system
in which receptionist allocates a key card to a room for the
duration of the stay, which is recorded in the Room Billing system. This system provides wide
range of information about the time duration.
In addition to that Room Billing system
of SHUTEL has found very effective in which all guest charges are recorded in the Room
Billing system. This system has found very effective for managing check in and check out
(Watson, Boudreau and Chen, 2010). This information plays important role to determine the
billing amount as per the stay duration along with services acquired by guests. Furthermore, it
evaluated that the Billing system of SHUTEL is integrated into the Accounting software through
which management is able to keep different kinds of data in different accounting statement
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without any extra efforts. On the basis of above assessment, it can be stated that the management
of SHUTEL has kept an efficient infrastructure of communication and record management
technologies (Piccoli, 2008). Therefore, the management of SHUTEL hotel group should
implement an appropriate service desk system for resolving different issues related to delay in
checkout process. This system will be found very effective in order to integrate all kinds of
service management and IT related infrastructure. Therefore, management can manage check out
procedures with the pre-planning by evaluating expected number of checkout in next day. This
approach will provide all kind of data associated with billing amount as well as information
which are required during checkout process (Wheelen and Hunger, 2010). Therefore,
management will be able to manage checkout process quickly and can disclose all kind of
information to consumers about stay duration and cost of different services. This system will
enhance satisfaction of consumers and management would generate new opportunities for future
sales.
SERVICE DESK LINKS TO ITIL AREAS
In the context of hospitality, service desk links to different ITIL areas as per different
business requirement. In this regards, some important elements related to service desk
implementation in different areas are explained below:
Event Management
In the context of ITIL, An event is determined that something is not functioning correctly
with in SHUTEL service management system. Event management is mainly based on
monitoring, but it is different. Event management generates and detects notifications but
monitoring checks the status of components. In the context of hospitality business, this supports
management in evaluation of upcoming checkouts therefore management of SHUTEL is able to
develop various strategies in order to control delay during checkout process (Yu, 2012). This
approach has very effective in facilitation of different services as per the predetermined
requirement of guests associated with different hospitality services.
Incident Management
As per case study, it is evaluated that management of SHUTEL is facing several
problems during check out process associated with delay in billing, network error etc. During the
rush hours, organization faces various adverse incidences such as server down and network
overload. In this regard, service desk system provides first level support in the from of logging
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the incidents in the tool, performing initial diagnosis and trouble-shooting, directing the incident
to next support level, regularly monitoring at higher level, tracking the incident and following up
with the concerned team as well as updating the incident log etc (ITIL Help Desk SMB White
Paper, 2015). In addition to that high level technical support is provided as per the distinct need
of services management process.
Problem Management
While managing different business operations in the context of hospitality services, the
employees of SHUTEL use wide range of IT related tools for managing service delivery process.
In this process, different operations of hospitality organization are not affected by Incidents and
only a single employee is affected by situation or failure of system (Watson, Boudreau and Chen,
2010). But when another employee or a group of employees send requests about similar problem.
As per the ITIL, when the second incident have been raised than management is performed a
basic check with the knowledge base for matching incidents. If there are matching similar
individual incidents addressed as single point of failure. This might be classified as a problem
and this situation might have negative impact on service delivery process along with satisfaction
of consumers with in hospitality firm. The Support Staff must provide resolve the situation as per
the guidelines of service desk which linked to ITIL (Buhalis and Law, 2008. Therefore, the
management of SHUTEL will be able to manage different cases and problems that could be
occurred in different operations of hospitality organization.
Access Management
In the context of hospitality business, access management is identified as a most
important element of business operation. There are several employees performed different roles
and responsibilities with the help of different computer and software tools within hospitality
firm. This is because service desk is linked to different ITIL areas (Piccoli, 2008)). Therefore,
tool of access management provides authority to different staff member as per their job roles for
visiting the different kinds of personal information of guests along with business operations.
With the help of this approach, employees will have the access of only such tools which are
determined in their job roles and responsibilities in central communication system. This
approach has found very effective during confidentiality management within hospitality firm.
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CONCLUSION
On the basis of above assessment, it can be concluded that technology plays important
role for handling of various business operations and hospitality services as per the requirement
hospitality business. This report has addressed that service desk implementation helps managers
to integrate wide range of services and IT infrastructure to improve overall efficiency of
hospitality operations.
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REFERENCE
Books and Journals
Buhalis, D. and Law, R., 2008. Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20
years on and 10 years after the Internet—The state of eTourism research. Tourism
management. 29(4). 609-623.
Chen, H. M., Kazman, R. and Perry, O., 2010. From software architecture analysis to service
engineering: An empirical study of methodology development for enterprise soa
implementation. Services Computing, IEEE Transactions on. 3(2). pp.145-160.
Crawley, M. J., 2012. The R book. John Wiley & Sons.
Jäntti, M., Cater-Steel, A. and Shrestha, A., 2012. Towards an improved IT service desk system
and processes: a case study. International Journal on Advances in Systems and
Measurements. 5(3 & 4). pp.203-215.
Marler, J. H., Fisher, S. L. and Ke, W., 2009. Employee Self‐Service Technology Acceptance: A
Comparison Of Pre‐Implementation And Post‐Implementation Relationships. Personnel
Psychology. 62(2). pp.327-358.
McNaughton, B., Ray, P. and Lewis, L., 2010. Designing an evaluation framework for IT service
management. Information & Management. 47(4). pp.219-225.
Piccoli, G., 2008. Information Technology in Hotel Management A Framework for Evaluating
the Sustainability of IT-Dependent Competitive Advantage.Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.
49(3). pp.282-296.
Watson, R. T., Boudreau, M. C. and Chen, A. J., 2010. Information systems and environmentally
sustainable development: energy informatics and new directions for the IS
community. Management Information Systems Quarterly. 34(1). pp.4.
Wheelen, T. L. and Hunger, J. D., 2011. Concepts in strategic management and business policy.
Pearson Education India.
Yu, L., 2012. The international hospitality business: Management and operations. Routledge.
Online
IT Service Management (ITSM) and Service Desk Implementation. 2012. [Online]. Available
through:<http://www.codeproject.com/Tips/397533/IT-Service-Management-ITSM-and-
Service-Desk-Implem> [Accessed on 8th December 2015].
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ITIL Help Desk SMB White Paper. 2015. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.manageengine.com/products/service-desk/ITIL-help-desk-smb-
whitepaper.html> [Accessed on 8th December 2015].
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