ISSN 0798 1015

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Vol. 40 (Number 20) Year 2019. Page 8

Strategic approaches to Quality Management in the sphere of hotel business

Enfoques estratégicos para la Gestión de la Calidad en el ámbito del negocio hotelero.

KARBETOVA, Sholpan 1; NURGALIYEVA, Almagul 2; ZHUMANAZAROV, Kassymkhan 3; YARDYAKOVA, Irina 4 & SYZDYKOVA, Kulyash 5

Received: 28/02/2019 • Approved: 05/06/2019 • Published 17/06/2019


Contents

1. Introduction

2. Methodology

3. Results

4. Discussion

5. Conclusion

Acknowledgement

Bibliographic references


ABSTRACT:

The issues of ensuring the proper quality of services were relevant at all times, but they acquired special acuteness in the period of the formation and active development of market relations. In recent years, the hotel market in Kazakhstan is characterized by an increase in supply, while a reduction in demand for accommodation services. The importance of this research in the field of quality management of hotel services is determined by the need in modern conditions to find the best management solutions for a quality management strategy in the hotel business industry. We conducted a study of the quality management system of hotel services, based on foreign and domestic experience: the relationship between the quality of services and the efficiency of the hotel business; influence of corporate culture on quality management of hotel services is investigated; studies are conducted to determine the customer satisfaction index; the market of hotel services is analyzed, the analysis of a price policy and the analysis of positive and negative factors of hotels-competitors is carried out; an image of the modern Kazakhstani hotel business was created on the basis of a sociological survey of respondents, which is characterized by positive and negative elements; an improved management model has been proposed, taking into account the peculiarities of corporate culture in the hospitality industry; - the mechanism of implementing incentive programs for a specific hotel has been developed, the specifics of which in comparison with other similar activities is to increase the involvement of employees, to motivate them to learn , to work effectively and improve team methods of work. Based on the results of the conducted research and studying foreign experiences in quality management of hotel services, the authors developed recommendations for the organizations of the hotel industry of the republic. The results of these studies, in our opinion, will significantly increase the level of motivation of the staff and, as a result, improve the quality of hotel services and increase the competitiveness of domestic hotels.
Keywords: Quality management, tourism, hotel business, hotels, customer service

RESUMEN:

Las cuestiones de garantizar la calidad adecuada de los servicios eran relevantes en todo momento, pero adquirieron especial agudeza en el período de formación y desarrollo activo de las relaciones de mercado. En los últimos años, el mercado hotelero en Kazajstán se caracteriza por un aumento en la oferta, mientras que una reducción en la demanda de servicios de alojamiento. La importancia de esta investigación en el campo de la gestión de la calidad de los servicios hoteleros está determinada por la necesidad en las condiciones modernas de encontrar las mejores soluciones de gestión para una estrategia de gestión de la calidad en la industria de la hostelería. Realizamos un estudio del sistema de gestión de la calidad de los servicios hoteleros, basado en la experiencia extranjera y nacional: la relación entre la calidad de los servicios y la eficiencia del negocio hotelero; Se investiga la influencia de la cultura corporativa en la gestión de la calidad de los servicios hoteleros. se realizan estudios para determinar el índice de satisfacción del cliente; se analiza el mercado de servicios hoteleros, se realiza el análisis de una política de precios y el análisis de los factores positivos y negativos de los hoteles competidores; se creó una imagen de la moderna empresa hotelera de Kazajstán sobre la base de una encuesta sociológica de los encuestados, que se caracteriza por elementos positivos y negativos; se ha propuesto un modelo de gestión mejorado, teniendo en cuenta las peculiaridades de la cultura corporativa en la industria de la hospitalidad; - se ha desarrollado el mecanismo de implementación de programas de incentivos para un hotel específico, cuyos aspectos específicos, en comparación con otras actividades similares, son aumentar la participación de los empleados, motivarlos a aprender, trabajar de manera efectiva y mejorar los métodos de trabajo en equipo. Sobre la base de los resultados de la investigación realizada y el estudio de experiencias extranjeras en la gestión de la calidad de los servicios hoteleros, los autores desarrollaron recomendaciones para las organizaciones de la industria hotelera de la República. Los resultados de estos estudios, en nuestra opinión, aumentarán significativamente el nivel de motivación del personal y, como resultado, mejorarán la calidad de los servicios hoteleros y aumentarán la competitividad de los hoteles nacionales.
Palabras clave: gestión de calidad, turismo, hotelería, hoteles, atención al cliente.

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1. Introduction

The role and importance of quality constantly increases under the influence of the development of technology and human needs. The main distinguishing feature of the services lies in their intangibility. This is the main problem. Therefore, the main task of organizations providing services is to give consumers the tangible evidence of high quality and advantages of this service, as well as the benefits that the consumer will receive if they use it. The quality management system in the hotel includes (Ivanov, 2009):

Orientation of hotel corporations on customer satisfaction has led to the introduction of a system of Total Quality Management (TQM) which has become part of corporate culture (Lapidus, 2000). Hotel business for quality assurance according to the international standard ISO 9000 is required:

enterprise in general and quality management (Spitsnadel, 2000).

The first two factors determine the necessary basis for the provision of high-quality services and is regarded as the foundation or the basis of quality. The third necessary factor of quality - organization and management of the enterprise complementing this foundation and allows to realize the opportunities that are created by the material base and the human factor. You cannot provide services with only equipment, materials and people. It is necessary to organize the work, i.e. create the necessary structures and establish management. Thus, the quality of hotel services depends to a great extent on the high qualifications and interest of human capital, on its creativity, the ability to master new technologies and on the use of new organizational processes and forms of material resources used to serve customers.

Consideration of ways to manage the quality of hotel services is aimed at improving the level of services, the efficiency of production of hotel services and the need to improve management (Kobyak, 2010). The development of market relations causes the emergence of new tasks, so the strategic goal of hotel managers should be a continuous the improvement in quality of service management, a huge attention to the expansion, reconstruction of premises, the introduction of new technologies, etc.

One of the main directions of strategic competitive advantages in Hotel business is the provision of services of higher quality in comparison with competing analogues. On this basis, consumers choose the service provider and compare their perception of the service with their expectations. If the idea of ​​the provided service does not meet their expectations, customers lose the interest in its service, if they meet or exceed their expectations, they can again turn to such a service producer. At the same time, the client always strives for a certain conformity of the price of the service with its quality.

The purpose of our study was to consider and study the problems of quality management of hotel services and their improvement. The study of this problem was carried out on the example of the activity of one of the most famous hotels of the city Astana - "Duman".

In accordance with the stated goal, the following tasks are solved in the present paper:

hospitality;

Hotel Duman;

services on the example of the Duman Hotel.

The ability to communicate with customers in the hotel "Duman" is given special attention. Therefore, the detailed instructions are separately developed for each category of personnel with the description of their work step by step. The hotel has a system for assessing customer satisfaction. Customer complaints are carefully processed and appropriate measures are taken to improve the service accordingly to the degree of customer satisfaction. In general, the quality management system in Hotel Duman is at a high level and cannot stop at what has been achieved.

2. Methodology

 When studying specific problems of the quality management strategy of hotel services, a set of the following methods of economic research was used: monographic, program-target, abstract-logical, expert assessments. Such theoretical methods of research as comparisons and generalizations, scientific abstraction and synthesis were also used in the work (Lesnik and Smirnova, 2002).  When analyzing the current trends in the development of the hotel business in Kazakhstan, quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied. During the development of the quality assurance program and the introduction of increased requirements to the customer satisfaction measure, methods of economic and statistical analysis were used: analysis of the dynamics series, absolute and relative differences, index method, organizational experiment method and sociological survey (Dobrenkov and Kravchenko, 2009).

The practical value of this study is due to the fact that the theoretical provisions and recommendations contained in the work can be used to study problems in the field of quality management strategy for hotel services. The material of the study was the results of the analysis of personnel, resource support, as well as the sociological survey of hotel staff, the study of the dynamics of the current state of the hotel business, the structure of the hotel market in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the scientific justification for organizational and economic mechanisms for determining the consumer satisfaction index.

3. Results

On the basis of a franchise, the principal feature of hotel operation in Kazakhstan is that they are managed with strict observance of the corporate standard used in a particular hotel chain. For hoteliers going to a franchise, there is no choice to apply or not to apply for the standard of service. They can choose a hotel corporation that agrees to manage their hotel facility or transfer service technology based on their corporate standard. The standard of service, as well as, the description of the technological processes of providing services which provides it with competitive advantages and a corresponding share in the international hotel services market, in one or another hotel chains (Gareev, 2013; Lockwood and Medlik, 2001).  For hoteliers going to a franchise, there is no choice to apply or not apply a standard of care. They can choose a hotel corporation that agrees to manage their hotel facility or transfer service technology based on their corporate standard. The standard of service, as well as the description of the technological processes of providing services, is the know-how of each hotel operator, which provides it with competitive advantages and a corresponding share in the international market of hotel services (Molz and Gibson, 2007).

On the basis of the analysis of Kazakhstani market, a scheme of averaged data on hotels was formed, where the largest part of the revenues falls on the number of rooms.

The average yield of various types of hotel services (as a percentage of total revenue from all types of hotel services) looks like for an average comfortable hotel as follows:

- income from the sale of numbers - 50% (with a spread to minus and plus to 5-8%);

- income from food enterprises - 25% (plus / minus to 3-5%), additional income - 10% (plus / minus up to 3%);

- income from the lease of premises - 2% (plus / minus 5%).

To position the hotel in the market of services, it is necessary to conduct a detailed marketing analysis of competitors in the 4 * segment, with the ratings of the hotel i and the cost of accommodation, this analysis is given below, and the strengths and weaknesses of the competing hotels are determined (Janjugazova, 2005). This analysis is given below, and the strengths and weaknesses of competing hotels are identified (see Table 1,2).

Table 1
Analysis of pricing of hotels-competitors

Name

 

Rating in booking

Number of reviews in booking

Location

Rooms

The average price for a 2-bed room with 2 beds (tenge)

 

Hilton GardenInn

 

8,6

522

Kabambai Batyr avenue 15

248

68 000

 

Diplomat Hotel

 

8

 

502

 

Kunaev Street 29/1

 

77

48 000

 

Jumbaktas Astana

 

8,4

 

112

 

Karsakal Erimbet Street 65

 

61

36 000

King Hotel Astana

 

7,9

 

439

Valikhanov Street 7

 

176

26 080

 

 

Grand Park Esil

 

8,4

 

232

Beibitshylik Street 8

 

126

34 400

 

 

Comfort Hotel

 

8,5

 

167

 

Cosmonaut Street 60

 

105

30 000

 

 

Kazjall Astana

 

8,4

 

163

 

Balkantau avenue 213

 

119

28 000

 

ParkInn by Radisson

 

          7,9

69

Sary-arka Street 8 А

248

 42 700

-----

Table 2
Analysis of the positive and negative factors of the hotels-competitors

Name

Positive factors

Negative factors

Hilton Garden Inn

-location

-Exterior and interior design

-The highest rating on booking among 4-star hotels

-the highest occupancy among 4-star hotels

-narrow clients segment

-No pool

-food does not correspond to the level of the franchise

-the lack of room service in the evening and night

-size of the room does not meet the franchise standards in other countries

-the quality of cleaning in the rooms

- party claims to the work of staff

Diplomat Hotel

 

-location (the best hotel in Astana )                                       

-SPA-center

-Tasty breakfasts + business lunches (a lot of positive reviews)

-staff/ level of provided

services

- SPA center is located in another building

-No national cuisine

-Request restoration / renovation of rooms

Jumbaktas Astana

 

- External and internal design

-Effective staff

-Location (the center of the left bank)

-Spacious rooms

- Condition of plumbing in the rooms (negative reviews in booking)

- scant choice of dishes at breakfast

King Hotel Astana

 

-Price includes breakfast and dinner

-cleanliness of rooms

-staff

- location (on the left bank)

-SPA is not included

-cold in the rooms

-In one of the hotel blocks the windows overlook the courtyard

-weak sound insulation in rooms

Comfort Hotel

 

- SPA and fitness center are included in the room rate

-breakfast

- cozy design

- at rush hour, entry to the hotel can be restricted due to the narrow road

 - the size of the rooms

-furniture made of glass

-weak sound insulation in rooms

Kazjall Астана

 

- SPA and fitness center are included in the room rate

-choice of mattresses and pillows of different hardness

- tasty breakfast                              

-cleanliness of rooms

-staff

-location                       

- no currency exchange

ParkInn by Radisson

 

- condition of rooms and hotels (new)

-  location         

 - honesty on price for individuals and groups

 

-bright colors in the rooms

-No tea set

- no dressing gown and wardrobe (in standard rooms) - no swimming pool

-weak sound insulation in rooms

Note: Compiled by the authors based on Strategic plan of the Duman Hotel

We see (Table 2) that the positive qualities of the hotels- competitors on some parameters exceed the "Duman" hotel, in terms of negative factors, the hotels make every effort to improve the quality and format of the provided services. According to the price policy, hotels of this segment are quite loyal and contact. Thus, for group arrivals, the price gap between hotels is insignificant. The quality of service also have a great influence on customers' choice (Elkanova and Osipov, 2009).

It is safely to say that every international hotel brand has its own corporate standard which is strictly enforced and no matter in which country the hotel is located, whether there is a national hotel standard or a hotel classification system. A corporate or intra-firm standard is always associated with a brand that identifies a hotel facility and facilitates its effective positioning in the relevant market segment (Saak, 2007).

There are several approaches to understanding quality management in a hotel. A number of specialists believe that quality management is an action controlled by an organization that is aimed at ensuring compliance of quality with established standards. Other researchers argue that quality is determined by the market and consumers. They believe that the quality management of the hotel administration is the ability to satisfy or exceed the client's (Kuskov, 2009). There is also an opinion that the quality management in hotels from two stars to five is nothing but the correspondence of the level of this management to the corresponding category of classiness of the hotel itself.

In hotel practice, a five-step or conceptual model of quality is widely used to analyze the problem of the quality of service condition and to organize the management of this process. It determines the quality of service in terms of meeting customer expectations.

It is important to note that understanding the quality of services differs from understanding the quality of goods. In this regard, it is advisable to consider a five-stage model of the quality of hotel services, which was developed in the mid-1980s by the scientists of the Texas A & M University, where the quality of the service is indicated by the presence or absence of gaps at five levels in the organization.

Also of interest is the three-factor model of Y. Lehtinen J. Lehtinen, within the framework of which it is assumed that there are three main components that ensure the quality of the hotel service: material quality, interactive quality and corporate quality. Material quality includes such components as building, furniture, office equipment, etc. Interactive quality implies the level of customer service at the time of their direct interaction with contact persons, and corporate quality is associated with the image of the hotel company and its business history.

According to Novatorov E.V., it is necessary to carry out two main tasks for quality management of hotel services. First, it is the management analysis of the four levels in the organization, the gaps in which affect the appearance of a gap at the last fifth level. The second task is to measure, investigate and track changes in consumers' perception of the quality of service criteria. At the same time, the authors note the importance of the direct involvement of the consumers themselves in solving these problems, since if the first task can be solved, based more on analytical analysis, the second one presupposes conducting empirical studies, and therefore the indispensable participation of clients.

All services that the hotel company offers guests should be constantly monitored and monitored. A significant part of the time of middle managers in the hotel should go just to improve the quality of services, the formation of integrated packages and the search for new forms of promotion. In the case of the hotel business, the commercial effect can only be the result of the successful sale of quality services and depends entirely on the correctly established procedures for their provision.

Input quality control is very important which means to develop a working system  with suppliers of products and services for a hotel company. Output quality control provides for both establishing control over the quality of the services provided, and quality control of the marketing apparatus of the hotel enterprise.

Any hotel has its own standards for service personnel, determined by the class of the hotel, the segment of the market in which it operates, the range of additional services, the seasonal factor, competition, the personnel management system that not only recruits, but also the choice of the enterprise management model. simple and flexible, to ensure efficiency and competitiveness, to focus on the selection and placement of personnel, the development of the labor resources of the enterprise (Walker, 2006).

A good hotel is traditionally considered one where all the staff is united by one task - to please the guest. Therefore, the selection of employees in hotels are extremely responsible. The most important requirements for the personnel of non-contact services are the availability of special education and experience in this area.

Providing hotel services of high quality is an integral part of the constant attention of the hotel administration. Without quality service, the hotel company is not able to achieve its main goals. Before the hotel company is the task of providing and maintaining high quality of service, timely elimination of deficiencies in the provision of services, developing a strategy for improving service.

Studies show that the main reason for whether a customer honors his visit with a service enterprise once again or not is good or bad service provided to him. The first time you can attract a guest with good advertising, rich interior or a varied menu, but the second time it comes thanks to the professional work of the staff and the high quality of service received earlier.

The main source of the enterprise's existence is the successful implementation of a quality product to the consumer. Quality implies that the services provided meet the expected or established standards. Standards, their real form and content are a criterion of quality of service. The assessment of the level of quality will consist of the following operations: selection of a system of quality indicators; measurements, i.e., comparisons with known values ​​of a certain scale and obtaining numerical values; evaluation of the results obtained (Brymer, 2009).

In order to quantify the level of satisfaction or disappointment, it is sufficient to use a score with plus or minus sign. The choice of the scale of assessments is decided by the enterprise itself in setting priority requirements in ensuring quality of service. Thus, the result of the overall perception and evaluation of the quality of the service received is an algebraic sum of partial results-the results of the perception of the quality of individual additive elements, taken with the correction for the action of the corresponding multiplicative elements.

A huge role in the hotel business is played by corporate culture, which means a system of values ​​and beliefs shared by all employees, the collective consciousness and mentality of the organization. It determines the behavior between hotel employees, their relationships with customers, management, intermediaries, suppliers, etc., gives employees a sense of purpose and forms loyalty to their organization.

The corporate culture of the hotel company directly affects the quality of service, competitiveness, accelerates and increases sales. This is a tool to achieve the strategic objectives of the hotel, focused on the future. It is important to have common values ​​among the hotel management who are transformed into norms of behavior that contribute to improving the quality of the services provided and joint efforts to solve current and long-term problems. Today, most practitioners share the view that the hotel company's strategy, its structure, the type of people making decisions, systems and management methods reflect the corporate culture of the hotel (Kurmankulova, Karbetova and Berikrikara, 2018).

The main objective of the standards is to ensure that all employees of the hotel occupying the same position perform their duties in the same way. The constant attention is paid to the duties of the personnel and the way of behavior in this or that situation. Literally on the items it is prescribed what to do, what to see, what to look for, how to answer by phone, etc.

Providing services of higher quality in comparison with competitors is one of the main directions in the formation of the corporate culture of the hospitality industry. The provision of hotel services should satisfy and even exceed the expectations of the guests. Expectations are formed on the basis of the experience already available to clients, as well as information obtained through personal or mass channels. If the idea of ​​the service received does not meet expectations, guests lose interest in a particular hotel, and if they meet or exceed, they can choose it again. Therefore, for the hospitality industry it is important not only to make a good "first impression", but also to anticipate the desires of the guests, showing a sincere interest in their problems (Nikolaeva, Bogoliubova and Shirin, 2015).

The corporate culture of the hotel company will ensure its success and help to become more competitive and efficient. In the hospitality industry it is necessary to take care of its employees - the conductors of services. The guest's opinion about the hotel depends primarily on the effectiveness of their work, which is directly related to their mood. To maintain the necessary organization of working mood, it is necessary to constantly conduct various trainings, introduce and consolidate standards, constantly train staff, and develop new systems of motivation. It is also important for hotel employees to feel the team's solidarity, teamwork and see the result of such activities (Nesteruk, 2006).

4. Discussion

We conducted a study of the quality management system of hotel services, based on foreign and domestic experience (Bardi, 2003; Skobkin, 2010).

Analysis of publications on the hotel business allows us to conclude that the Kazakhstani specialists in the sphere of tourism and hotel activities are not developed, in practice the marketing model of the hotel service is not used. Unlike the service marketing models developed by foreign experts, in the structure of the hotel service model, in our opinion it is necessary to include the characteristics peculiar to the hotel service (Hudson, 2008; Kotler, 2007).

The main indicators of Hotel Duman show that the volume of sales in 2017 increased by 122.5%. The activity of Hotel Duman in 2017 was more successful than in 2016, almost in all indicators (Annual report of the financial and economic activities of Hotel "Duman", 2016; 2017).

Based on the data of the sociological survey, the quality of the service was assessed in Hotel Duman.

The study revealed that about 21% of the respondents were dissatisfied with the quality of the service. (Score - 3 points and below) It can be said that overall customer satisfaction is quite high, but it needs to be increased based on the expansion of the range of services offered and improving the quality of customer service.

The reasons why clients will again contact the services of the Duman Hotel are revealed (Figure 1).

Figure 1
The reasons why customers will again
apply to the services of Hotel "Duman"

Note: Based on data from a sociological survey

Of those customers who were satisfied with the quality of service at the Duman Hotel, 69% will again apply to its services, as they are satisfied with an acceptable level of prices for hotel services, 52% - convenience of rooms and 43% -qualified staff.

There were also revealed reasons why 35% of satisfied customers will not apply to the hotel services, despite the fact that they are generally satisfied with its services (Figure 2), which is due to the following reasons: 67% of clients do not plan to travel again in the near future, 39 % - would like to receive a wider range of services

Figure 2
Reasons why customers will again not apply to the services of
the hotel, despite the fact that they are satisfied with its services

Note: compiled from the data of a sociological survey

 

Analysis  of  21% of customers who are dissatisfied with the services of the hotel are shown in Fig.3, where 44% of expectations did not coincide with the received quality of service.

Figure 3
Reasons for customer dissatisfaction with hotel services

Note: Based on data from a sociological survey

Some clients encountered problems in interaction with staff - 21%, were dissatisfied with food - 24%, and also would like to get a wider range of services - 18%.

It should also be noted that some customers were unhappy with the rooms and location of the hotel, however, the decoration of the rooms was subjectively evaluated. However, to assess the location of the hotel, customers could advance in advance of the arrival in it, initially choosing a hotel in the city center. In addition, as it can be seen, customers also had problems with booking rooms.

The conducted research allows to give the following characteristic of the current situation in which the hotel business of Astana functions, including Hotel "Duman":

- the main risks are concentrated in the hotel business itself - increasing competition leads to the need to find ways to improve and expand the market players in their activities (expanding the range of additional services, increasing the attraction of customers, etc.);

- Increase in the requirements of customers leads to the need for a clear allocation of the target audience of hotels, while the wrongly chosen strategy segmentation and the development of an incorrect set of marketing activities can also lead to a decrease in competitiveness;

- Economic risks are currently high, as the economy of Kazakhstan is subject to the impact of the global crisis. In this situation, both Kazakhstani and foreign clients refuse to travel due to fear of spending money or fearing problems with the trip.

 Changes will affect both business and individual tourism:

- the growth of inbound tourism and promotion of the brand "Astana" may become an opportunity for further development of market participants;

- In a crisis, we can expect not only a decrease in the level of hotel loading, but also a shift in the demand of customers towards hotels with a lower star rating, which requires the development of measures to attract and retain customers in times of crisis.

Hotels that are competitors of Hotel "Duman" offer different conditions for their clients. We perform a comparative analysis based on the weighted average method using key success factors in the hotel market (Table 3). The evaluation was carried out on a 10-point scale.

Table 3
Comparative evaluation of
Hotel "Duman" with competitors

Assessment of criteria

Вес (Р)

Komfort

Alanda

Kaz Zhol

Duman

Q

Q*P

Q

Q*P

Q

Q*P

Q

Q*P

Qualification of staff

0,2

9

1,8

7

1,4

7

1,4

9

1,8

Quality of services

0,25

9

2,25

7

1,75

7

1,75

8

2

Prices

0,15

9

1,35

9

1,35

7

1,05

7

1,05

Advertising

0,1

5

0,5

5

0,5

7

0,7

7

0,7

Range of additional services

0,12

9

1,08

7

0,84

9

1,08

6

0,72

Reputation (clients review )

0,18

9

1,62

7

1,26

9

1,62

9

1,62

Total:

1

50

8,6

42

7,1

46

7,6

46

7,89

Note: Compiled on the basis of the strategic plan of  Duman Hotel

 From the comparative evaluation of the hotel "Duman" with competitors, its position is above average. Analysis of the hotel "Duman" shows that it is necessary to focus on improving the quality of service and improving the skills of personnel responsible for maintenance, as well as the introduction of a new automated management system (Agamirova, 2008).

 In addition, it is advisable to expand the range of additional services, which will increase customer satisfaction. Therefore, one of the important questions is how to measure the degree of customer satisfaction with a product or service, and what is the dependence of loyalty.

Figure 4 shows the level of customer satisfaction. Three of the eight divisions of the hotel have an average degree of customer satisfaction 4.5. Managers of these units divisions came to the conclusion that further financial investments will not contribute to an increase in the return on investment.

After that, managers analyze the unit with the lowest level of customer satisfaction - 2.7. This unit operates in a market with a high level of competition. After discussing the other 4 units, where consumers are satisfied in general, but not enthusiastic or neutral about the company. The level of their satisfaction varies from 3.5 to 4.5.

Interesting in this situation is that in many producing goods and service companies, managers adhere to the same position that was described in the situation above. The convictions of the managers of this company are formulated below:

First, they are convinced that it is very difficult to completely satisfy consumers, and if the level of satisfaction is not lower than 4, one can say that the company has strong enough relations with its customers.

Figure 4
Level of customer satisfaction

1 – totally unsatisfied; 2 – unsatisfied;
3 – neutral; 4 – satisfied; 5 – totally satisfied.
Note: compiled from the data of Hotel Duman

Secondly, financial investments in order to make of simply satisfied consumers completely satisfied are not the wisest use of resources. In some cases, you should not try to do this (the last 4 subdivisions of the company). Managers are sure that those units whose consumers are satisfied (on our scale - 3.5 - 4.5) should concentrate their efforts on those consumers who are not satisfied. After the causes of dissatisfaction are discovered, reasonable use of resources will concentrate efforts on satisfying precisely these categories of consumers.

After an intensive study of the dependence of the degree of customer satisfaction and loyalty, it can be assumed that these beliefs are deeply mistaken. Managers either ignore or do not give due importance to aspects of this relationship (Kulikova, 2007). The quality of products or services is very often not the main reason for the low degree of customer satisfaction. Most often, organizations are attracted to those consumers or not able to return the consumer after he has acquired negative experience from communicating with the company. Therefore, we can talk about two types of consumers: "right" or target, i.e. those whose needs the company should be able to meet with a positive financial result for itself and "wrong", i.e. those whose needs the company cannot meet with a profit for itself. The emergence of incorrect consumers in the consumer structure is the result of a poorly organized process of attracting new and retaining old customers. The conclusion is this: quickly detect "wrong" consumers and do not spend on them the labor and financial resources of the organization.

Different degrees of satisfaction are due to different reasons and require different methods of improvement. There are 4 main components of the impact on customer satisfaction:

- the main features of the product or service that consumers expect from all competitors;

- the main system of product maintenance and support;

- the company's ability to compensate for damage;

- the ability of the organization to satisfy the personal needs of consumers (or to differentiate the goods).

Although the results of research on the level of customer satisfaction are an important indicator, reliance mainly on them can be lethal to the organization. Such studies can provide the sea with useful information, but it is not enough to determine the organization's strategy or the process of innovation of new products. Therefore, companies should also use other methods to determine the needs of current, potential and former consumers. Below are some recommendations on how to listen to your consumers.

At the heart of any successful strategy to manage the satisfaction of needs is the ability to listen to consumers, which are presented below:

1. The study of the level of customer satisfaction provides managers with an understanding of the situation, what is the attitude of the consumer to the company in general and to the specific product in particular.

2. Comments of consumers, complaints, questions should be studied. Careful feedback analysis is very important for the company.

3. Need a market research

4. Employees who are directly in contact with consumers can be very useful as consumers' listeners.

5. Strategic actions are needed to involve consumers in many aspects of business.

  There must be a connection between the level of satisfaction and loyalty. High-quality products and related services created on the basis of consumer needs will contribute to a higher level of customer satisfaction. A high level of satisfaction will help increase the level of customer loyalty. Loyalty is the key determinant of the organization's long-term financial success. Conclusion: simply satisfied customers have a choice, that is, when the consumer is simply satisfied - this is not enough to make him become loyal. Only truly satisfied consumers can be called truly loyal consumers.

Information about the degree of customer satisfaction is an excellent indicator of how well or poorly the company meets the needs of its customers. This can also show what needs to be improved so that most customers become fully satisfied. Therefore, it is strategically important to correctly understand what different consumers are saying (Kaufmann, Lashley and Schreier, 2009).

The first step can be to control the level of satisfaction and loyalty - make sure that this process is unbiased, consistent and wide-scale. The indicator of the degree of subjectivity is very important, since there are always forces inside companies that try to influence the final result. The sequence allows to receive not fragmentary data, but a long-term situation and to build trends. Large scale allows you to compare the effectiveness of the use of limited resources of the company in a particular region, division or product.

The next step is to create your own curve based on information received from specific consumers. After this, it is necessary to understand what factors influence the bending of this curve. The third step will be to identify the most appropriate strategy for increasing customer satisfaction. The following are general recommendations for determining strategic actions (Table 4).

Table 4
Overview of recommendations
for defining strategic actions

 

Majority of responses

Strategic action

Situation 1

2-3

(unsatisfied)

Provision of basic (main) components of the product, i.e. What is expected from each competitor in the industry

Situation 2

3-4

(neutral)

Providing an appropriate level of related services, developing an active policy of compensation for damage in the event of problems

Situation3

4-5 (satisfied)

Understanding and satisfying the specific needs of the client are significant for him personally

Note: compiled from the data of Hotel Duman

All three of these situations can actually act as successive stages in the conquest and retention of consumer loyalty. This three-step process has a number of important observations.

First, to increase the loyalty of consumers of a number of products with different ability to satisfy needs, different actions are required. Secondly, it is very important to perform the steps in the same sequence in which they are given above. Of course, you can make a breakthrough in technology, invent a completely new product, improve services. But, as practice shows, very few companies are successful in such breakthroughs.

Based on the results of the conducted research and study of foreign experience in quality management of hotel services, the following recommendations were developed:

1. Constantly improve knowledge on the theoretical aspects of quality management of hotel services associated with the methods of their evaluation in the hotel business.

2. Pay attention to the relationship between the quality of services and the efficiency of the hotel business.

3. Experience of the influence of corporate culture on the quality management of hotel services

4. Constantly conduct the research to determine the index of customer satisfaction.

 5. conduct 3-5 years of sociological research to identify the psychological climate in the hospitality industry, with the subsequent construction of incentive systems and stimulate quality of service in hotel enterprises (Dryakhlov and Kupriyanov, 2002).

6. use the complex questionnaire developed by the authors which is oriented to:

 - Obtaining objective socio-demographic information about employees in the service sector (length of service, specialty, gender, age, etc.);

 - Determination of the level of staff turnover and the establishment of reasons for wanting to change jobs, identifying the interests of employees remaining unmet;

- study of labor discipline and level of conflict;

- study of social satisfaction of the organization's staff: motivation (stimulation) of labor activity, development of the labor potential of the personnel in training, advanced training, retraining, assessment of the labor potential of personnel;

- Study the nature of the relationship in the team;

- identification of the importance of factors affecting the labor potential;

- an estimation of the potential of the employee on the basis of a comparison of the requirements for the position, etc.

7. Depending on the specifics of the activities of service sector employees, develop a Strategic Plan to stimulate and motivate their work and create the image of a modern Kazakhstan hotel industry.

5. Conclusion

The conducted research allows to draw the following conclusions:

1. The strategy of quality management of hotel services is one of the problems that have always been given great attention in the world practice. Therefore, in the formation of quality management systems of hotel services, it is necessary to use the experience already gained by the world practice.

2. The particularity of the formation of a quality management system for hotel services is the need to take into account the high requirements for knowledge and their constant updating, the increased requirements for the criterion of the degree of customer satisfaction.

3. According to analysts, the hotel services market is more developed only in Almaty and Astana. The structure of the hotel market in these cities is represented by both low-ranking local hotels and high-end international brands of business hotels, which leads to an unbalanced situation in this market.

4. The development of the hotel industry is inextricably linked with the construction complex of the republic. Integration of Kazakhstan on an equal footing into the world economy is possible only if international standards are used.

6. Domestic hotels should pay attention to the development of marketing programs to encourage regular guests and permanent partners - tour operators, corporate clients.

7. The weak side of the management of the hotel business in the Republic of Kazakhstan is the low quality of the services provided, staff turnover, lack of quality long-term programs and development strategies, and a lack of high corporate culture of the companies.

8. Only the use of innovations in the construction of hotels, can raise their level of comfort in a resource shortage. In the modern conditions of hotel business development, it is necessary to make extensive use of the latest technologies, both in the introduction of new hotel services, and new ways of promotion. The introduction of innovative computer systems in all areas of activity of the hotel company allows guests to receive services worthy of their attention.

9. The main activities of hotels should be the following ways to enhance the service:

- the interest of senior management in improving the professionalism of staff;

- involvement of the whole work collective in the process of improving the service;

- maintenance of qualitative service of functioning of control systems;

- development and implementation of plans and a long-term strategy for improving the culture and quality of service;

- Creating a system of incentives.

Acknowledgement

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the administration of Hotel Duman for the opportunity to conduct sociological research and provide economic data and a static plan for Hotel Duman.

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1. Caspian University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

2. Kazakh University of Technology and Business, Astana, Kazakhstan

3. Kazakh University of Technology and Business, Astana, Kazakhstan

4. Kazakh University of Technology and Business, Astana, Kazakhstan

5. Kainar University, Almaty, Kazakhstan


Revista ESPACIOS. ISSN 0798 1015
Vol. 40 (Nº 20) Year 2019

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