Bridging the gap between providing hospitable services and ensuring safe and secure hotel operations : a case study

Abstract

Undoubtedly, high service quality affects positively the performance and, consequently, the competitive positioning of every service oriented organisation. It is also proven to be directly linked with customer satisfaction. In today’s highly competitive business environment, customers are the most important people for any organisation. In the hospitality industry, providing high service quality might turn one-time customer transactions into long-term relationships. For hotels, total customer satisfaction is the single most important issue that affects their success and ultimately their survival. However, they cannot achieve this unless they realise the opportunity of continuously enhancing their services. Fierce competition is indeed making hotels a more serious offer. In fact their very survival necessitates them to offer a more comprehensive end-to-end experience to their guests. Amidst all this, guests today expect superior hospitable services within a safe and secure environment. Actually, due to increased awareness and the current security situation, safety and security today are two factors highly affecting guests’ hotel choice. That said, hoteliers should constantly seek to address continuously emerging risks in order to safeguard their guests and properties. If guests experience a homely atmosphere combined with high service quality, they will have a positive experience which will increase their overall satisfaction. Purpose - With this in mind, this research tries to explore how in real life hoteliers bridge the gap between providing hospitable services to their guests whilst ensuring safe and secure hotel operations at the same time. Design and method – Based on a qualitative cross-case study, this research builds on existing knowledge in the field by comparing and contrasting it with the reality of four luxury hotels of the same brand through semi-structured interviews. Results and Findings – The analysis highlights the usefulness of applying risk management to achieve continuous service enhancement that is also safe and secure. Yet, it also identifies a gap in the literature and a consequent paucity in knowledge regarding how risk management is looked at. Though the interviews established that these luxury hotels implement risk management plans and procedures to ensure guests’ safety and security, the overall feeling is that these areas are still seen as a necessary evil. Recommendations – It is thus essential for hoteliers to realise that hospitality is not just about offering warm and luxurious services. Ensuring guests’ safety and security should also form part of such services. This necessitates the integration of risk management in their daily operations. Actually, hoteliers should look at risk management as an effective management tool that aims to raise the current quality standards. The research also suggests that in order to have harmonisation in this field a common framework ought to be established in which risk management will be implemented industry wide. This entails full commitment to risk management by all hotels. This research emphasises the need to consider safety and security risk management and a service quality as two sides of the same coin.