Abstract
As the service sector continues to expand in today' s economy, the hospitality
industry also experiences rapid growth accompanied by a heightened demand for
superior customer service and a stronger need for process optimization. This
benchmarking report offers insights and guiding practices for hotel managers
who seek to improve or redesign internal operations with the goal of gaining
and retaining customers; building a stable, service-oriented workforce; and
optimizing overall hotel profitability.
The hospitality industry is of central importance to the overall Caribbean
economy and the competition for tourism dollars among the islands is growing
intensively. This report outlines best practices, productivity measures and
lessons learned for managing hotel operations successfully while taking into
account unique attributes of the Caribbean economy and culture.
Chapters in the report highlight best practices and metrics for operational
performance; customer service excellence; personnel development; and marketing
excellence.
This best practice benchmarking study employed a two-pronged data gathering
approach. The field research team designed and conducted a performance
benchmark survey that gathered statistical insights from nine of the
participating hotels, representing a cross-section of the industry. The Best
Practices research team then conducted in-depth interviews with more than 15
key functional leaders at 10 participating hotels to harvest qualitative
insights, process excellence observations and managerial lessons learned.
The report evaluates multiple fronts of hotel operations that have greatest
impact on customer service excellence. Some areas are directly related, such
as training staff for attentiveness and courteousness in guest interactions,
and effectively managing complaints. Other areas are indirectly related, but
no less important. Incentives and recognition programs, for example, help
sustain staff energy and morale so that customer service levels are maintained
over the long-term.
Well-planned, yield-management systems help managers maximize profit in high
and low seasons, anticipate swings in business and plan for staff and
resources accordingly, so that the customer experience remains consistent.
Fully realized marketing plans help managers define the customer segments most
important to their financial and strategic goals and enable them to plan
accordingly.
While any one of these areas could be benchmarked fully in its own right, a
complete overview study seemed the most applicable way to suggest improvements
that would improve productivity overall.
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