How Hospitality Experience Happens - Aesthetics of Built Environment and Customer Character - Essay Example

HOW HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE HAPPENS by Student’s Name Code + Course Name Professor University City/State Date Introduction The hospitality industry has been among the major revenue generating businesses in many countries, which have made people attain their dreams of visiting places they have previously fantasized or dreamt about. The hospitality experience encompasses a variety of input, efforts, and activities of various team players to make it happen. It incorporates management operations, aesthetics of built environment, customer character, and other environmental factors. This discussion will focus on aesthetics of built environment and customer character as the elements of customer experience in a hospitality organization. Hospitality is a service industry that seeks to make customers, tourists, and guests at home, while making a fortune out of it. Chan (2009, p. 11) defines it as showing kindness in taking care of clients or strangers, majorly by catering for their food, accommodation, and upkeep. A hospitality industry is a company or business that provides the above, offer comfort to clients, and makes them feel at home, even when they are miles away from home. However, this is done at a fee, which varies depending with the affordability and locality of the company. Different stakeholders feel hospitality experience differently. The experience is dependent on how well the hospitality industry’s characteristics are well understood and defined. According to Hemmington (2007, p.6), customers want to have a great experience besides the usual services; hence, they can do what it takes to experience it, even if it means spending extra money. They are interested in buying memories and experiences in terms of food provided. This shows how important a good experience is. These characteristics include the maintenance of a two-way flow of communication from clients to company and vice versa, having a product-service mix, relationship building between stakeholders, understanding of cultural diversity, and understanding the intensity of the labor required. Once all stakeholders are aware of the characteristics and works towards attaining and improving them, the success story becomes a lifetime experience to the customers and a good fortune to the company. Therefore, hospitality experience should be made continuous and long-term to both the clients and industry. Ford, Sturman and Leaton (2012, p. 299) state that hospitality experience involves everything from food, surroundings, information provided, personnel, and the system that is offering the services to the clients. Aesthetics of Built Environment When it comes to the aesthetics on the built environment, it is almost obvious that beauty is captivating. For a hospitality experience to remain on the mind of the customer or tourist, the place that he or she has visited has to be beautifully made and captivating in order for the experience to stick on their mind for the longest time possible, and make them desire to pay another visit. Aesthetics integrates aspect of user-friendly furnishing with accessories, sense of space in terms of customs, manners and conventions, commodity aesthetics, in terms of sensory quality, shape, feel, and the sense of overall value. Regarding furnishing, a hospitality industry offering accommodation for example a hotel, there should be proper bedding which should be comfortable, availability of water, instant shower, spaced room with strategically located windows and a clean bathroom. The furnishings that can make a client take the place as home offer a real-time accommodation experience (Ford, Sturman and Leaton 2012, p. 299). In cases of offering hospitality services in terms of offering conference rooms, a well-furnished and arranged conference room with proper sitting arrangement, a good theme color of the tables’ covers, provision of conference material and projection materials goes a long way to make the place comfortable. The furnishings should be user friendly. If the hotel is providing accommodation for example in a very cold place, the room should be kept warm. Heat regulators should be enough with clear and simple instructions that the clients can use them without necessarily having to seek help. The rooms should be accommodative of even the people living with disabilities who can also be customers to the utility. In terms of space, the hospitality industry should always look into the space consideration of the tourists or clients. This entails physical space, which should be characterized by good arrangement and non-intrusiveness. For example, some people prefer rooms with free spaces and non-crowded. This should be provided for. The structuring of building itself can offer space. For examples, hotel rooms with large windows and light colors appear as being spacious. This also applies to conference services (Chan 2009, p.13). Occupants need to feel a sense of even but reasonable spacing. The hospitality industry is expected to abide by proper customs, manners, and conventions in handling its clients. Certain customers visit a place just because of the existing customs. An example is whereby a tourist will visit a joint that has a custom of making dishes of a certain culture of people. This prompts the client to go for a feel of the food that makes the business famous over the years. The historical service offered attracts a specific customer. Overall value is applicable in either way. It entails perception of economic value, philosophical or religious beliefs, customs, and previous hospitality experiences. A customer will experience a sense of value depending on the treatment he/she receives and the manner he/she rates the services of the firm (Attensity, 2011, p. 4). If the reception is good, the attendants are friendly, the services provided are user friendly and readily available, then, the customer or client will feel valued, and the possibility of coming back in future is high. If a customer feels that he/she has received the value for their money on the service provided, the subjective evaluation builds a long lasting emotional experience that prompts continuous seeking of the service (Prideaux, Moscardo, & Laws 2006, p.118). Customer Character Williams and Uysal ( 2010, p. 24 ) expresses the idea that each client is always unique and has varied viewpoint, thoughts, values and background hence experience differs depending on expectation and what is really offered. This forms an integral part in customer hospitality experience as it determines the kind of service that a customer receives from the company, since different customers are treated differently to remain sensitive to their beliefs, cultures, religion and other personal matters. Customer character involves personal background (in terms of wealth, status,) and personal style (mood and well-being). A wealthy person is more likely to look for a place where there is high-class rating in terms of provision of the best services and without congestion. Hospitality industries like hotels should consider such clients and offer the best to them. A middle or low class person will seek services that befit him or her. The latter form the majority in the society. It is the responsibility of the industry members to package and repackage their services to attract customers from different classes so that every person can find a fitting place depending on their economic abilities. Customers have different perceptions in terms of the economic values offered by the services industry. It is important to consider their perception in order to provide standard services to them the services provided should at least be congruent with the amount the customer is being charged for those services. As Reid and Bojanic (2010, p.8) claim, the industry has become more competitive. Therefore, there is a need for the hospitality managers to tap into the market, but first through understanding the economic values of the target customers or market, without which it is hard to remain competitive. When it comes to personal styles, every customer has different expectations, which they hope that the expectations are compatible with their style. Depending on their psychological makeup, mood and well being, a customer can only be satisfied when he or she feels that the service provider understands what he needs or the situation he or she is in. A mentally troubled person will mostly seek solitude; some would prefer music while some would prefer drinking alcohol, while some would opt for swimming. Approaching such a person with a positive attitude, a smile and a friendly environment relaxes their minds and will make them resort more often to seeking ‘refuge’ from such places where they feel wanted and welcomed. Matilla (2000, p. 3) explains how customers’ mood affect their evaluations on services after they have been served, which could come because of the treatment they get from restaurant workers. A customer who feels that his or her well-being is assured is more likely to be a frequent client to such service providers. Hotels and restaurants with international certification of the kind of food offered is more likely to attract more customers who feel that the food they eat is safe. Conclusion Hospitality is about offering services to customers that make them feel as comfortable as possible, as appreciated and valued as possible. It incorporates hard work, monitoring market trends and customer surveys in order to offer up to date services, which are appealing to the consumers in the competitive market. It is not only about quantity but also quality, by considering customers’ interests, values, and expectations. When well-served, customers form a long lasting hospitality experience, prompting them to continually being loyal and market the services all over, which in turn marks an increase and growth in business. Reference List Attensity 2011, Hospitality industry report: Using text analysis to improve the hotel customer experience, Available at: http://www.attensity.com/wp-content/uploads/industry_report_hospitality.pdf. [Accessed 16 May. 2014]. Chan, B 2009, Introduction to hospitality, Available at: http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/kla/pshe/nss-curriculum/tourism-and-hospitality-studies/Hospitality_English_21_June.pdf [Accessed 16 May 2014]. Ford, C, Sturman, C.M & Heaton, P 2012, Managing Quality Service in Hospitality: How Organizations Achieve Excellence in Guest Experience, 299-300, Cengage Learning, Delmar Hemmington, N 2007, ‘From Service to Experience: Understanding and Defining the Hospitality Business’, The Service Industries Journal, vol. 27, no.6, pp.3-14. Matilla, A 2000, ‘When does mood matter: an examination of two types of hospitality service encounter’, Journal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing vol. 7, no.3, pp. 3-16. Prideaux, B., Moscardo, G & Laws, E 2006, Managing Tourism and Hositality Services Theory and International Applications, CAB International, Wallingford Reid, R. D & Bojanic, D. C 2010, Hospitality Marketing Management, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, N.J. Williams, A & Uysal, M 2010, Current Issues and Development in Hospitality and Tourism Satisfaction, Haworth Hospitality Press, New York Read More