A study on Hotel Front Office Practices and its

Impact on Guest Satisfaction with Reference to

the Vivanta by Taj Blue Diamond, Pune

Abstract The case study of Vivanta by Taj Blue Diamond, Pune focuses on
finding the innovative practices of the Front Office Department and measuring
their impact on guest satisfaction. Based on the findings it was observed that
there was a positive impact of innovative practices, service quality, courtesy,
competency and responsiveness (CCR) of staff on guest satisfaction level in the
hotel.

Keywords: Innovative Practices, Guest Satisfaction, Service Quality

Introduction

The hospitality industry is striving to evolve itself and enhance the guest
experience. The hotel front desk is a vital part of the Front Office operations
because it creates the guest’s first impression. In this era of competition the
hotels have adopted new practices to improve their level of performance and
at the same time delight the guest. Each guest is treated with utmost
consideration to make him feel special. As there is a lot of competition in the
market every hotel distinguishes itself by adopting innovative practices to help
attract more and more guests.

Vivanta by Taj Blue Diamond is the brand of Indian Hotels Company Limited
(IHCL) and was launched in the year 2010 to cater for the business
clientele.The hotel (Blue Diamond, the previous name) was established in Pune
in the year 1973 by the Kirloskars, was later taken over by the IHCL group and
renamed. Earlier Blue Diamond was the only 5 star hotel in Pune along with Le
Meridian

and Sun and Sand. Gradually the competition increased and more and more
hotels started coming up. It became necessary for the hotel to give the best
services and to do something new for their guest to keep them happy. The
guest had more options to choose from and it was important to retain the
guest and give them the lifetime experiences so that they became the loyal
customers. The guest’s frank opinions helped the hotel to change a few of their
practices and implement the new, cost-effective and innovative ones in the
industry.

According to a survey Wi-Fi technology, on line reservations and high speed

internet access are the leading technological facilities being provided to
customers by the hotels. (Hotel Industry Trends in Technology, Sustainability
survey, 2013).

Today’s customer wants quick service. The hotel offers flexible and simplified
procedure for check-in. It includes in- room check in where the guest doesnot
have to wait at the counter for his turn to come or do the check-in process.
The guest is escorted by the Guest Relation Executive and the rooming is done.
With the development in technology, the quick kiosk check- in concept was
initiated where the guest checks in himself. The Counter check- in system is
practised by the hotel as it is not possible to do in- room check- in for all the
guests. The group check in is done in the coach by the front office staff to save
on the time factor for the guests. The group members are given pre- assigned
rooms off the rooming list. The front desk staff interacts with the guests, is
attentive and strives to handle all customer complaints calmly.

The new practices implemented include digital boards usedby the drivers while
going for the guest pickup,

the travel desk executive sending the details about the chauffer prior to the
pickup,which helped the guest to track the chauffer easily, traditional
welcome with arti and tikka along with cold towels and some refreshment,
small mini bar facility provided to the guest to treat themselves in the car.

The staff members are trained to be familiar with the room styles, features and
locations throughout the hotel. The desk employees are trained to be familiar
with the local area and sightseeing spots. The guest satisfaction tracking
system helps the hoteliers to understand which facilities are more important
for the guests, leading to guest retention.

The new guest services are introduced to develop better relationships with the
guest. The hotel conducts weekend activities for the couples and children. Kids
are offered kids registration card at check in where they would write about
their favourite food and drink and those are served in the rooms for them as a
surprise. The guest are recognised on each of his/her visit and after completing
the 10th, 25th and 50th visit, the stay is celebrated with dinner in the hotel’s
restaurant along with a gift.

Objectives

1. To study the various current trends in the hotel front

office department.

2. To assess the guest satisfaction levels with respect tothe implementation

of the current trends at Vivanta by Taj Blue Diamond,Pune.

Significance of the Study:-The paper is a case analysis to understand the

current Front Office practices and the related guest satisfaction, an important
component for hotel chain like Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces to retain their
brand name and customer loyalty .It is essential that each property maintains
the standard of the group of company and brand .As different international
brands are entering the Indian market, the company needs to retain its
position in the ever growing competitive market. The findings of the study will
also assist in formulating an action plan for the future improvements in the
Front Office practices.

The study will help those aspiring to join the hotel industry to understand the
kind of practices existing in the Hotel Front Office, the guest expectations and
their preferences. The study will help the researcher in better understanding
about the concept of guest satisfaction and guest retention. It will also lead to
a lot of learning about the Front Office Practices in the hotel.

Literature Review

The literature review for the study was done from various

theses, trade journals, various books and internet.

Riza Munira Binti Shamsudin, 2012, the research states that Guest satisfaction
is a differentiator and a critical success factor for the hotel. It shows the results
of the study of performance management of Front Office department and
guest satisfaction. The hotel performance is impacted because of the attitude
and the motivational levels of the employees.

Asad Mohsin, 2010, the study aims to assess the service quality perception of
customers of the hotels and helps the management to identify areas that need
attention to meet and exceed customer expectations.The results indicate that
there is significant difference between expectations of the guests and the
actual experiences.

Melia, 2010, the study suggests the satisfaction of the guest as important
success factor for for the hotel’s survival. Guest satisfaction plays important
role and it helps hotel to improve their standards as well as imparts knowledge
about the competitors.

Alin Sriyam, 2010, the study suggest that if the front office staff is efficient and
cooperative it will lead to customer satisfaction in the hotel.

Kong Hai -Yan, 2006, the study focuses on the Front Office staff in the four and
five star hotels in China. The findings suggest that work in this department of
hotel is challenging, demanding and communication is an important skill for
the staff. It also says that high‐quality human resources are lacking in the
hospitality sector and emphasises on professional development and training in
order to improve the skills of staff in the front office.

Minghetti Valeria, 2003 , the article suggest that to increase the occupancy
levels, consecutively the revenue levels and the guest experience, the hoteliers
must understand the needs of the guest, their preferences in the hotel. It
states that it will create value for the customers and help in the retention of
the guests. The study has developed methodological framework to analyze the
guest-hotel relationship.

Tom Baum, 2001, the researcher emphasises on the changing functions of the
front office operations. It includes the role the personnel, multi skilling,
balancing between technologic advancement and delivering of quality
customer care, expectation of faster response to more complex methods of
communication, bench marks for various services. It gives an insight into the
various changes in the front office practices and how technology is working as
an enabling force and not replacing the traditional roles. It also addresses
the importance of educating and training the employees for better
performance.

Judy Siguaw, 1999 discusses about implementing outstanding or best practices

to improve operations. When effective practices were implemented in the
front office especially check-in and check-out, the was an increase in the guest
and employee satisfaction, along with considerable profit improvements. The
practices include sharing with employees the savings from revised work
practices, particularly those that prescribe standard times for each activity.

Hernon has defined customer satisfaction as a measure of how the customer

perceives service delivery. It suggests that satisfaction of the customer is a
function of service performance and is related to the customer expectation.
The service performance needs to exceed customer’s expectations and then
the customer will be satisfied. On the other hand, customers are more likely to
be dissatisfied if the service performance is less than what they have expected.

Kotler defined that satisfaction is a person’s feelings of pleasure or

disappointment resulting from comparing a product’s perceived performance
in relation to customer’s expectation.

Research Methodology-

1. Research Design- The research will be descrip- tive and explanatory

regarding the various services of the Front Office Department and the
satisfaction levels of the guests .
 (a) Primary data- Itwas collected through theguest on- line feedback forms
(Guest Satisfaction Tracking System) of Vivanta by Taj Blue
Diamond,Pune.

(b) Secondary data-The secondary data was collected through books, trade
journals, published papers and internet.

2. Sample Size- The respondents for the study were 84 guests who stayed at
the Vivanta by Taj Blue Dioamond, Pune between 1 st June 2015 and 30th
June 2015.The guests were randomly picked and they responded to the
online feedback form.

3. Research Instrument- The guest feedback survey was used as an

instrument for data collection. The questionnaire included factors of
service quality re- lated to the front office department of the hotel.

The questionnaire had various levels of degree of satisfaction related to the

Front Office practices and services, which range from 0 to 10 (10 is for the
highest satisfaction, whereas, 0 is forthe lowest satisfaction).

The guest also recommended certain improvements in the services and the
practices that existed in the hotel. They were also asked about how well the
staff handled the various situations and complaints related to the operations.

Limitations

1. The current study cannot claim to be wholly conclu- sive as it is limited to

a small sample size from only one city of India.

2. Not all parameters were rated by all the respondents

which limited the scope for detailing.

Results & Discussion- The primary data collected through the online guest
feedback (Guest satisfaction Tracking System) was analysed by the percentage
method and the representation was done in graphical form. The data was
analyzed as per the responses obtained from the respondents and interpreted
to draw the following conclusions.

The results obtained from the data collected through the

hotel guests are as follows-

Vivanta by Taj Blue Diamond, Puneis a 5 star, Business Hotel with an
inventoryof 110 rooms and is located in the downtown area of Koregaon Park.
The various parameters under the study include Front Office Practices like the
most important arrival and departure process, courtesy, competency and
responsiveness (CCR) of the reception staff, telephone operator, chauffer and
travel desk staff. It also considers the factorof airport transfer by the hotel and
meeting the personal preferences of the guest, especially the repeat
customers. When a guest checks in, the first point of contact for him is the
front office department in

the hotel. From the results it can be inferred that most of the guests were
satisfied with the services and practices of the Front Office department. Most
of them have marked it as excellent in the feedback.When the guests check in,
they have already judged the services and have made the impression about the
hotel. It was observed that the CCR of the front office staff was rated highest,
followed by the of airport transfer by the hotel and CCR of Chauffer. Some
respondents have rated the CCR of the Front desk staff low as the details
related to room reservation were incorrect, guest queries were not attended
to on time by the receptionist. Such observations were considered from the
special comments put up by the guests. The rating for the departure process is
better than the arrival but the percentages for these parameters should be
much higher for a star category hotel. Departure process was carried out
satisfactorily or as per guest perception. The percentage rating for CCR of
telephone operators and travel desk staff was satisfactory. Looking at the
number of respondents, it can be concluded that not many used the telephone
services because of the use of personal mobile phones.

Meeting the personal preferences or special requests of the guest was rated
excellent by some guests, but the some observations show that not all
requests and guest preferences were not taken care of, like certain requests
for special amenities were not attended to. As a brand the hotel considers only
those feedbacks rated as excellent, to be acceptable and all other parameters
are worked upon by making changes in the existing practices to be more
effective.

Conclusion
The most important elements in guest satisfaction leading to repeat customers
are standardized products, motivated and trained staff and quality
management. An overall view of the study shows that most of the guests are
satisfied with the overall services of the Front Office department. The Front
office department on the whole seems to be one area which is a key promoter
of the guest satisfaction. The motivational techniques used for the staff like the

Star-o-meter (earning star points for the quality services offered), Employee of
the Month Award, displaying such information on the display boards for
everyone to know are effective motivational tools. It can also be said that the
training practices as well as the recruitment policies for the hotel are effective.
The Front Offices practices followed during the departure like sending the bill a
night before the departure or slipping it early morning with the news paper for
the guest to check, offering goody bags and gifts while leaving the hotel,
catching such moments in the photos and mailing them to the guest,
answering the queries and effective handling of complaints have added to the
level of guest satisfaction. It gets reflected in the loyalty of the guests towards
the Taj brand of hotels.

Suggestions and Recommendations:-

1. Vivanta by Taj being a business hotel, the guest expects to have a free Wi-
Fi service as the global trend.

2. Emphasis should be given on selling of the hotel travel desk services,

chauffer services for airport pick up and local transport which will serve
as an additional revenue source for the hotel.

3. As a global trend the telephone operator services to be merged with the

front desk services.

4. To enhance the guest stay and overall experience employees to be made

more sensitive towards the needs and preferences of the guest through
briefing & training programs.

II. OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The basic aim of study is to find out the influence of service quality on customer
satisfaction. The sub objectives are:
 To examine the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in hotel industry
of India.
 To compare service quality measures adopted by major start hotels

 To find out the opportunities and future available for hotel industry in India.

III. LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Kandampully (2013) the poor state of quality in services has been
primarily due to lack of clarity and consensus on the issue of what it exactly means.
Quality is especially difficult to define, describe, and measure in services. While
quality and quality control measures have long existed for tangible goods, few such
measures have traditionally existed for services. In essence quality is determined by
imprecise individual factors

– perceptions, expectations, and experiences of customers and providers, and, in some

cases, additional parties such as public officials.

In the year 2015, a study was conducted by Debasish & Dey on customer perception
about the service quality providedby the luxury hotel in Odisha. The main purpose of
was toanalyze the gap between the expectation and perception ofcustomers in the
selected hotels Odisha. In this study bothprimary and secondary data were used. The
questionnairewas based on SERVQUAL method. 8 luxury hotels (3 star,4 star and 5
star) were selected under the study. Total 194respondents were selected as sample on
the basis ofconvenience sampling. This was an empirical study. T-testand factor
analysis were used in the study. They found thatmanagers of the hotels

should know what customer want ifthey don‟t know then they can‟t meet and surpass
thecustomers‟ expectations.

In the year 2014, a work done by the Mazumder & Hasan on the topic of service
quality and customer satisfaction on the National Bangladeshi guest‟s and
international guest‟s. The main aim of the paper was to find out the difference
between perception and expectation of Bangladeshi guest‟s and international guests.
Service quality model SERVQUAL applied in the study. Both primary and secondary
data were used under the study. Questionnaire divided into four parts in the study first
part about the expectation of the guest, second part about the perception of guest, third
part about the service quality affects on customer satisfaction and four part about the
demographic and travelling characteristics of the customer‟s. Total hotel were 124
from big cities to small towns. Total 200respondents were selected as sample on the
basis ofsystematic random sampling. Mean, standard deviation andt-test were used to
analyze the data. They found thatBangladeshi customers give lowest score to
responsivenessand international customer give lowest score to assurance.Both
Bangladeshi and international customer give highestscore to the empathy dimension.
Perception and expectationof Bangladeshi customers were higher than the
internationalcustomers.

Borkar & Koranne (2014) studied the title “servicequality management in hotel
industry”. Descriptive cumexploratory research design were followed in the study.
Themain purpose of the paper was to find out the service qualityinfluence on customer
satisfaction. Both primary andsecondary data were used in the study. For the purpose
ofprimary data collection questionnaire and observationmethod were used. Hoteliers,
front office staff andmanagement executive was respondent. Total sample sizewas 30
selected from the purposive sampling method. Datawas presented in the forms of
tables. They found that everycustomer who visits to hotel was different so it was
difficultfor the hotel to measure customer perception Batra (2014) in his study
analyzed service quality of fivestar hotels in national capital region from
customerviewpoint conducted research on 3 five star hotels namedhotel park in New
Delhi, Country Inn in Ghaziabad, andLeela in Gurgaon. Total 600
customers were taken assample, 200 from each hotel. Sample was selected onrandom
basis. Service parameters in this study was servicebonding, service security, service
impressiveness, servicecustomization, service scape, service competence,
servicecommunication, service recovery, service standardization,service accessibility,
service competence, service timelinessetc. They found that service scape; service
impressivenessand service competence was able to satisfied theircustomers. Service
bonding, service timeliness, servicecommunication and service availability was not
able tosatisfied customers.

Shafiq, Shafiq, Din & Cheema (2014) studied about theservice quality impact on
customer satisfaction. This studywas performed in the Faisalabad, Pakistan. The main
aim ofthe paper was to find out the service quality impact oncustomer satisfaction.
They applied SERVERF model ofservice quality for the measurement and
questionnairedevelopment. The sample selection basis was nonprobabilityconvenience
method. Total sample size of therespondents was 100. Primary data collected
throughquestionnaire. Questionnaire was divided into two parts firstpart included
demographic information of the respondentsand second part included questions about
service quality andsatisfaction of customers. Likert scale (strongly disagree tostrongly
agree) were used. Descriptive statistics, standarddeviation and mean were used to
analyze the data. Theyfound that customers are dissatisfied with the empathy
andtangible factors. Customers are satisfied withresponsiveness, assurance and
reliability dimensions.

Banga, Kumar & Goyal (2013) studied about thecustomer relationship management in
the hotel industry ofIndia. The main aim of the paper was to evaluate the
howcustomer relationship management in hotel industry affectscustomer satisfaction
and customer loyalty. All hotels inLudhiana were the population under the study.
Total 10hotels were selected 5 hotels were high/medium tariff and 5 hotels were low
tariff on the basis of random sampling. Therespondent in the study was managers of
the hotels.Structured, non-disguised questionnaire were used for thepurpose of data
collection. Percentage, mean and two meant-tests were used to analyze the collect
data. They found thatall managers know about the customer relationshipmanagement
and high/medium tariff hotel contributed a lotfor the satisfaction of the customers in
the other side lowtariff hotel contributed according to their convenience.
Theyconcluded that with customer relationship managementhotels can leads to
customer satisfaction. Customersatisfaction leads to customer‟s loyalty and retention.
Thisresults in high profit and large market share for the hotels.

Purohit & Purohit (2013) studied about the customersatisfaction to customer delight in
hotel industry. This papercovers how customer satisfaction concept changed in
thiscompetitive market due to globalization and becomescustomer delight. Customer
loyalty was vital for the everyorganization for success and customer loyalty can only
beachieved when the customer delight. Customer can bedelighted when they get something
extra what they expectedthen this will leads to the positivity of the hotel industry.

Abukhalifeh & Son (2012) studied about the servicequality management. This study was done on
food andbeverage (F&B) department of hotels. The main aim of thepaper was to review service
quality managementeffectiveness, service quality model and process forachieving customer
satisfaction. This paper was based onsecondary data. They concluded that when customers
aresatisfied with 5 dimension of service quality (tangibility,responsiveness, empathy, assurance and
reliability) thencustomers are satisfied and become loyal for the hotel.
IV. FINDINGS

Service quality in Indian hotel Industry

ITC HOTELS

At ITC, the management has identified „data capture vehicles‟ or „touch points‟
(as they call it) - like loyalty programs, reservation systems and call centers to
maintain a data bank of their customers and to access the information as and when
needed. This helps in providing quicker and more customized solution to queries
and complaints, if any and also helps in building a rapport between the hotel
executives and the customer which goes a long way in satisfying and retaining the
customers, building a superior brand image and turning them into loyal patrons.
Ultimately, this leads to measurable & substantial returns to the hotel.Other
benefits extended to the loyal clients of ITC include Welcome Award,
Welcomlink, Sheretonplus which are aimed at rewarding the regular clientele of
their patronage and building a better relationship with them. THE OBEROI

The brand value that The Oberoi has created for itself is a result of its consistent
delivery of exceptional services

to its customers. Traditionally, at The Oberoi, CRM and relationship management

has been considered to be a

single function, but to maintain its market share and fight the competitive situation,
the marketing department at
The Oberoi is now focusing on building co-operative and collaborative
relationships with the customers with the

result that they have a loyal patronage from their guests, and are, thus, able to
charge a premium for the value

given to the customers.The CRM programs at the Oberoi include The Oberoi Plus
for the customers and also for

the Bookers to motivate them.The Oberoi also organizes Food Festivals regularly
and sends invitations to its

regular clientele and the top CEOs, MDs and business people to further
enhance the CRM functions‟

effectiveness.

THE TAJ

The Taj Group is also investing heavily on CRM systems to maintain customer
databank with their profiles to give a quicker and personalized service to their
loyal clientele. The Taj gives high priority to guest satisfaction.They even have an
SMS service to keep track of lost/missed calls by the customers while they are
away.They have employed applications like PMS, CRS and CIS to keep track of
customers‟ profiles which includes information such as their spending patterns and
their special needs also. They employ data mining technique to get and act on data
and also give credit to the employees who get compliments from the guests.Other
reward programs include Taj Inner Circle and the Epicure plan to give the
customers a host of privileges as silver and gold card holders.
The challenge is to balance between the long-term goals and short-turn gains.
Some key learnings are :

 Long turn, profitable relationships can be built when both, the service provider
and the customer, rise above the 'transaction' approach, and work in an
atmosphere of mutuality and trust.

 Relationships, like real life, goes through ups and downs, and it takes a great
amount of maturity and courage to handle the 'lows'.

 Relationships provide 'security'. Strategic bundling of services is a useful

methodology in this context.

 Top management must be committed to the relationship, as their example is

followed throughout the organization.

 Cross functional teams are required to meet the goals, especially where
quick responses are required.