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.
Table of Contents
1. Executive Overview and Introduction
- Project Background
- Study Methodology and Benchmark Class
- Report Structure and Organization
- Key Findings and Insights
- Path Forward
- Introduction
2. Operational Performance
- Overview
- Occupancy Rates and Revenue
- Balancing Employee Productivity and Service Excellence
3. Achieving Customer Service Excellence
- Overview
- Establishing Standards for Customer Service Experience
- Monitoring Customer Satisfaction
- Complaint Resolution
4. Personnel Development
- Overview
- Creating Staff Capabilities
- Structure and Design of Training Programs
- Managing Employee Performance
- Driving Staff Morale with Problem-Solving, Coaching, Incentives and Compensation
5. Marketing
- Best Practices in Marketing Manegement
List of Charts & Exhibits
The following is a list of data charts as they appear in the report:
- Analysis of Comment Cards (Identifies Areas for Training)
- Average Daily Room Rate
- Customer Satisfaction Metrics
- Customer Satisfaction Scores
- Decreases in RevPar and Room Rate
- Effectiveness of Non-Cash Incentives
- Employee Absent Rates (High Season)
- Employee Wage Rate - Overall Stats
- Excellence in Complaint Resolution
- External Employee Turnover Rates
- Finding an Optimal Training Mix
- High Season Staff Productivity
- Hiring Criteria
- Internal Review Process for Service Levels
- Key Hotel Performance Metrics
- Logging Customer Data: Memory Systems
- Low Season Staff Productivity
- Management Training
- Measuring Employee Satisfaction
- Qualifiers for Incentives and Rewards
- Quality Measurement Tools
- Seasonal Change in RevPar
- Seasonal Discount and Occupancy
- Seasonal Occupancy Rates
- The Importance of Training for Staff Morale and Motivation
- Three Steps of Service (Ritz Carlton' s Empowerment Process)
- Using the Right Cash Incentive
