Improving Service Effectiveness in the High-Class Hotels in Varna (Bulgaria)

Abstract

Goal and objectives of the dissertationGoalTo provide theoretical foundations and carry out empirical research on service in high-class hotels in Varna, in order to identify key opportunities for improving its effectiveness.Objectivesu To define the delivery of hotel serviceu To analyse its specific characteristics and mechanismsu To define the effectiveness of the service delivery systemu To develop a conceptual model and methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of the hotel service delivery systemu To investigate consumer satisfaction with service in the high-class hotels in Varnau To investigate the managers' assessment of service delivery systems in high-class hotels in Varnau To identify issues and proposals to improve service effectiveness in the city's high-class hotelsMethodologyThis dissertation employs a variety of research methods: analysis and synthesis; observation, survey questionnaire and in-depth interview; comparative analysis; and descriptive, statistical and mathematical methods. Empirical data have been collected through the questionnaire surveys, and the relevant responses have been processed using SPSS software. The purpose of the questionnaire survey method is to evaluate the service delivery system from both the customer' and the managers' point of view.Service effectiveness in the hotel sector is assessed via a concept model, based on the systems approach. Hotel service is represented as a system with input values, procedures and final results. The assessment of service effectiveness is made through a selection of criteria, taking into consideration the special features of hotel operations, as well as the providers and recipients of the service operation. There is a double assessment of benefits and effects - both for the hotel organization and for its customers.ResultsThe situational analysis of the city's hotel sector shows a steady downward trend in the number of hotels in Varna municipality due to oversaturation; there is also a decrease in the relative role of hotels in the accommodation structure of the municipality. Nevertheless, hotels provide the largest percentage of the total accommodation capacity (number of beds) and they are the preferred accommodation establishments on the territory of the municipality, with three- and four-star hotels having the largest market share. Small and medium-sized independent hotels predominate and only two international chains have properties in Varna.The analysis of high-class hotels in Varna shows that all 16 hotels from the surveyed group have a central or near central location; the hotel room rates are generally directly proportional to their star rating; in terms of the type structure, the hotels in the target group fall into three groups: 1. boutique hotels; 2. business hotels; 3. classic town hotels.Based on the results of the managers' survey, we can make the following conclusions:u Hotel managers value quite highly the role of the internet as a source of information, as an opportunity for advertising and as a convenience for potential customers;u Hotel service in welcoming and checking in the guest is effective and its strengths are associated with the personal qualities of service employees and the physical environment;u Hotel management considers as most important guests' first and last contact with the hotel, and therefore, it is the operations at those two times that are given the greatest weight in the assessments.Weaknesses occur in the following areas and it is these areas that offer opportunities for development in the future:u Lack of a clear and precise understanding on the part of management of all the opportunities that are available;u Ability of hotel staffto sell available services;u Checking guests into their rooms;u Quality of the physical environment;u Maintaining ongoing relationships with the guestsThe main conclusions from the customers' satisfaction and assessment survey are as follows:u Most reliable information source, according to tourists, is word of mouth from friends and acquaintances, as well as reviews by other tourists found on social network sites and internet forums. …