I will be describing the different types of hospitality providers and the products and services they offer to meet differing customers expectations
Different types of hospitality
Hospitality = the friendly and generous reception and entertainment towards others
Hotel Provider - Hilton Hotels
Families – will want plenty of entertainment for the children and something for the adults to do in the evening/ somewhere to unwind and wine and dine. Solo traveller – need a smallest room as possible as there is only one of them and only need either a single or double bed.
Hospitality = the friendly and generous reception and entertainment towards others
- Hotels - give customers a welcoming attitude and are always providing a high standard of service throughout the customers stay
- Guest Houses - give a personal touch of service as they are independent and are not meeting targets/goals, focus more on each customer and not see them as more ways to make money
- Restaurants - give customers a pleasant attitude when taking and delivering drink and food orders.
- Holiday Centres - give customers a pleasant experience even when the customer is on a lower budget
- Camp Sites - by allowing the customers to be independent and offering them a different experience of being independent
- Caravan Parks - offer activities for families and for people certain ages
- Airlines - always offering high levels of service before, during and after the flight has taken place
- Conferences and Exhibitions - showing the people around the even or simply helping with questions
- Attractions - point people in the right direction, make suggestions on what to go on and where to go next.
Customer Expectations
- Level of service - customers compare previous experiences. Adequate service: a level the customers will accept. Desired service: level of service customers would like to receive
- Range of products and services - customers expect the people selling to have great knowledge about the product/ service and helps the customer to be enticed and creates a positive attitude when purchasing
- Location - customers expect the location of the hospitality provider to be easy to get to and in a suitable place, for example a theme park would be in a large open space and not close to a town where traffic would be a problem.
- Accessibility - the hospitality provider will have to be easy for people to get there, via: public transport, car or arranged coach.
- Availability - if there is no availability for customers to book, it is good for the provider as they will be gaining lots of income, it is annoying for the customers as they have to work out when they can next book it.
- Quality - Expect high quality and throughout the whole experience. There should also be the same level of quality in the same organisations. Example: Airlines
- Speed of service - expect high speeds to meet customer expectations, if there is a low speed of service it puts customers off coming back.
- Level of hygiene - the hospitality provider needs to be cleaned at least every hour to meet customers expectations. Hygiene levels need to be high at all times.
- Value for money - if something is very expensive. The overall experience should be worth the value. A five star hotel should be amazing and be worthy for the cost.
- Classification - tourist boards grade tourist attractions. UK hotels get graded by the AA and posh restaurants get graded by Michelin stars
- Family – a group who are related and there are all various ages (various generations)
- Solo travellers - people who are going are travelling on their own and not meeting with anyone.
- Corporate - travelling for business purposes only
- Special needs - a group of people with disabilities (organised trip) or a member of the group may have a disability and requires extra attention
- Groups - could be an age specific holiday (18-30) or just a large mass of people all going to the same destination.
Hotel Provider - Hilton Hotels
Families – will want plenty of entertainment for the children and something for the adults to do in the evening/ somewhere to unwind and wine and dine. Solo traveller – need a smallest room as possible as there is only one of them and only need either a single or double bed.
Corporate – may need room service as they may be working in the evening and not have time for dinner to order food to their room so they can eat and work. They can also request breakfast to se sent to the room if they are in a rush or do not want to go down to the restaurant and eat alone.
Special needs – need a room on a lower ground room, a door wide enough to fit a wheelchair through and a wet room if they can not climb into the shower/ bath
Groups – work out how many people can fit into one room, in a triple room there can be three people so a lot of rooms need to be booked if it is a large party.
Drink – there will always be a bar attached to the restaurant and at some locations there will be a little coffee bar.
Food - All of the hotels have a restaurant in them and they have a separate vegetarian menu which people are able to download online or request to view the menu when in the restaurant .
Accommodation – there is three types of rooms and you can either have a double or a triple room
Children’s menu - There is also a children's menu available when families go to eat dinner and ask to see the menu.
Vegetarian menu – at all restaurants there will be a separate menu that offers all meat free options or there will be a logo pointing out what vegetarians can eat.
family seating – in the restaurant, families can ask/ request a table big enough for the whole party. Also there will be a print out stating who is staying in the hotel
Adjoining rooms – they do not offer adjoining rooms however they do offer interconnecting rooms where you can go into another room through a door
Valet parking – at airport locations you can drop your car off and an attendant will put in a car park and meet you with the car at the end of the stay/ holiday (extra fee on top of parking price)
Level of service – high level of service expected at all locations throughout the world as it a high end hotel company as should treat all the guests the same and fairly.
Range of products and services – Most Hilton hotels offer the same products and services throughout the locations, however in each hotel, there is a stand containing leaflets with nearby entertainment/ tourist attractions.
Location – there are 530 hotels in 78 countries.
Accessibility – you can drive to some hotels or some are in the airports.
Availability – on the website you can request the date you want to stay at the hotel and for how long for, if the dates are not available there will be an option of 3 days before or after the date required.
Quality - high end quality before, after and throughout the stay not matter what the requirement is
Speed of service – high and fast speed of service, not just at the hotel
Level of hygiene – there are always cleaners and maids cleaning the rooms everyday, however if the room is not up to the customers standard they can always phone up housekeeping whenever they need to.
Value for money – even though it is more expensive than a Travelodge or a Premier Inn but it is defiantly value for money as you get a good quality bed and a more higher end room.
Classification – Hilton Hotels are graded by a star system.
Restaurant - Harvester
Families – there are kids menus as well as menus for older people so families can go out for a meal together
Solo travellers – you can request to sit at a table for one.
Corporate – request a large table if employees want to go out for dinner/ may get an allowance on how much they can spend on food and claim it in expenses for work.
Special needs – trained to help if any first aid is needed
Groups – there are large tables if there is a large group, if phoned up in advance many tables can be put together to meet the customers expectations
A restaurant offers a wide range of food from fish based dishes to grills, various starters to plenty of deserts to chose from.
There is also a separate drinks menu for the customers to order with the food or some restaurants also have a bar
Restaurants also have a children's menu for customers under a certain age (normally 12 or 10)
For vegetarians there will be a separate menu that offers all meat free options or there will be a logo pointing out what vegetarians can eat.
Family seating can be arranged before the dinner takes place, people can phone up and book a table or when at the restaurant you can request how many people will be in the party.
Level of service – medium level of service; only take the order, bring food out and bring the bill when requested
Range of products and services – there is a menu to chose from including starters, mains and desserts. There is also a separate menu for hot and cold drinks and a
children's menu.
Location – all around the country
Accessibility – drive to the restaurant
Availability – can walk in but on some occasions there maybe a wait or required to book a table.
Quality – high quality
Speed of service – medium, gets quiet busy so there is a lot of orders to prepare in the kitchen.
Level of hygiene – at some restaurants the toilets are not clean, so a medium level of hygiene
Value for money –a main, desert and a refillable drink for £10.
Classification – reviews.
Airline - Virgin Atlantic
Families – may get a deal, can book seats together so on the plane they are not separated
Solo travellers – only purchase one ticket and sit wherever you want
Corporate – can request to travel in business class and be in the business class lounges at the airports
Special needs – can request special assistance for help around the airport and onto the plane
Groups – can book seats so they are all next to each other, may get a group discount
On airlines you can either buy food or before the flight you can request a meal.
Some airlines offer complimentary drinks or have can order a drink from the menu.
They will have food options available for children, and they will also get their meals before the adults
They will also have few meals which are meat free to appeal to the vegetarians on-board the flight.
You can choose your seats when booking your flight so the whole family can sit next to each other for the journey
sometimes, as an extra you can book valet parking (at an airport car park) at a discounted rate as you are purchasing a flight.
Range of products and services – different classes to sit in the aeroplane (economy, premium economy, business and first class
Location –fly in and out of major airports
Accessibility – can book online, on the phone or in a travel agency
Availability – can often book a few weeks in advance, best to book months in advance and then you get a good deal
Quality – high quality, one of the best long haul flight operators
Speed of service – high, always bringing around unlimited refreshments and very attentive
Level of hygiene – always cleaning the plane when it has landed and try to clean whilst in the air
Value for money – high value of money, films, meals and drinks included for free.
Classification – customer rating and awards.
Visitor Attraction - Merlin Entertainment
Families – different areas in the attraction to please all, there will quite often be a children area/ can also buy a family ticket
Solo travellers – can go on rides as a single person and be paired up with single riders if there is a long queue
Corporate – can hire out the attraction for the day for team building or as an event for workers and their families
Special needs – some rides disabled people can ride on and there is a separate entrance making it easier for them
Groups – may get a group discount on tickets, can ride with various of people within their group
Throughout the visitor attraction there will be many points where people can buy food and drink.
There will be children food as they try to attract the younger age clients as they want to eat quite often
There will also be drink carts at various locations throughout the attraction to keep people
Some attractions offer accommodation off site for a discounted price or you can book before the trip and make a deal with the entry tickets.
There may be valet parking, if staying at the hotel the customers may get a discounted rate for parking at the attraction.
Level of service – medium, staff only give customers tickets, serve them food and drink and work the rides
Range of products and services –various levels of rides for people to go on as well as different kinds of food places
Location – there are merlin attractions all around the world
Accessibility – Can drive to them, get arranged coaches or get public transport
Availability – can go most days throughout the year (Halloween, fireworks night and before Christmas tickets are expensive) closed from around December to march
Quality – high quality as many people visit the attractions on a yearly basis
Speed of service – high, quiet often get seen at the ticket booths as quickly as they can
Level of hygiene – each attraction has a cleaning team to maintain the cleanness
Value for money – tickets are reasonably priced, also annual passes
Classification – by the tourist board.
Merit One
I will also compare how a certain two hospitality providers ( Hilton and Merlin Entertainment) meet the expectations of different types of customer through the provision of products and services
Similarities
- Head offices are both based in the UK
- Both are well known companies, generating a high annual income
- Always expanding the business and constantly thinking of new ideas t attract more clients
- Both a global company with locations worldwide
- Both companies can allow customer types to book through a website, at the location or on the phone
- Both offer a high level of service
- There is always staff around the location (whether at a hotel or in a theme park), to ask for help, guidance and resolve any problems if needed
Differences
- Hilton hotels: Hotel provider
- Have a private lounge for customers who are club members or have paid more for a club room
- Merlin Entertainment - Visitor Attraction
- Offer a yearly pass for all attractions and pay a lump sum and works outs cheaper if people go to merlin attractions a lot.
- Hilton hotels appeal to more corporate customers, adults and solo travellers whereas merlin entertainment appeals to families, groups and special needs
Distinction One
I will finally recommend new and enhanced products/services that could be provided to complement current provision
Merlin Entertainment
- Having a bar with themed cocktails named after the rides in the attraction, will entice a younger customer type to visit the attraction as it is a way of making people come to the theme park and still have fun, no matter the age of the visitor. If the attraction is an aquarium, all the drinks could have little fish figurines in the bottom. In the theme parks, the drinks can be brightly coloured and have various strengths of alcohol based on how scary and fast the ride is
- Extra hours to visit the park when staying in one of the hotels - this would make more people say in the attractions hotels, as it will make customers want to book the hotel, to go the attraction for a longer period of time and will make the tourist attraction less busy when only the hotel guest are there, making the guests feel special. It also makes the hotel package and price more reasonable, as sometimes the parks opening times are short and give more time for the guest to queue upon the rides they wanted to go on
- Offer a family only day where children go into the theme park and the parents stay at the hotels being pampered and to relax for the day away from their children this is a good idea because children get to go on the the rides and the things they want to do with our their parents (they will feel grown up and trusted) and meet new friends at the same time. Furthermore, the adults will have a day of pampering away from the children as some adults do not like rollercoasters/ any other kind of attraction and only goes to take their children.
