Abstract
It could be said that all luxury properties offer their guests the same facilities and amenities; therefore, there has to be some other point of difference – their staff. This research paper focuses on staff and their importance for luxury properties. Luxury accommodation is certainly not a new concept as luxury has been closely associated with hospitality since ancient Greek and Roman times, but what guests now want from luxury properties is new – memorable luxury experiences. And it is up to the management and owners to make sure this happens. To date, there has been a lack of research conducted on the importance of staff in the luxury accommodation sector; this paper outlines their significance.
Highlights
The guest experience is becoming highly significant within the accommodation industry, and research has shown that the involvement of frontline employees is becoming more and more important to the guest experience (Lashley, 2008; OnsØyen et al, 2009)
Employees and guests all saw how important the staff are at the hotels and lodges, and that they play an important part in the creation of the luxury hotel and lodge experience
Managers Hotel managers explained that their staff play an important role in the luxury hotel experience, and that they feel that they have a great local team who focus on delivering personalised services to the guest
Summary
The guest experience is becoming highly significant within the accommodation industry, and research has shown that the involvement of frontline employees is becoming more and more important to the guest experience (Lashley, 2008; OnsØyen et al, 2009). Cetin and Dincer (2014) suggested that luxury hotels can give researchers more insight into guest experiences due to their demanding and experienced clientele, as well as to the importance that is given in these establishments to service and the product. Creating an experience requires engagement from, and some type of emotional – functional – involvement of, the guest. A number of hotels are channelling their efforts to provide holistic experiential service offerings that connect with guests individually on an emotional and personal level to create memorable experiences (Bharwani & Jauhari, 2013). In the process of co-creating these unique memorable experiences for hospitality guests, it has been suggested that it is important to train and develop hospitality professionals in order to be able to better anticipate and cater for the requirements and wants of the guest (Morgan, 2004, 2006). Lusch, Vargo and O’Brien (2007) suggest that using frontline employees as operant resources to co-create customer experiences will enable companies to gain a competitive advantage
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