Assessing The Challenges Of The Hospitality And Tourism Industry In Nigeria

Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

The front office has traditionally been thought of as a check-in, check-out point by the guest. Secondly it is seen as a source of infinite information, and third, a problem-solving center. Working as a front line manager, situations developed which created a definite "gap" between management"s expectations when defining the role of the front office personnel and how the front office employees perceived these expectations as they were related to their guest service responsibilities. Management credit policy was a necessity in certain circumstances, the awkwardness of many situations could have been avoided by simply allowing the front office agent to assume some of the responsibility. By using his or her own judgment and utilizing management only when they felt uncomfortable, a friendly, compatible first impression would have been the result.

Customer expectationsare beliefs about service delivery that serve as standards or reference points against which performance is judged. Because customers compare their perceptions of performance with these reference points when evaluating service quality, thorough knowledge about customer expectations is critical to services marketers. Knowing what the customer expects is the first and possibly most critical step in delivering good quality service. Being wrong about what customers want can mean losing a customer"s business when another company hits the target exactly. Being wrong can also mean expending money, time and other resources on things that do not count to the customer. Being wrong can even mean not surviving in a fiercely competitive market.

Among the aspects of expectations that need to be explored and understood for successful services marketing are the following: what types of expectation standards do customers hold about services? What factors most influence the formation of these expectations? What role do these factors play in changing expectations? How can a service company meet or exceed customer expectations?
Therefore, it is in view of the above question that this research intends to get its basics.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Customer expectations play such a critical role in the management of front office in the hospitality industry. Customer evaluation of services, the management need and want to understand the factors that shape them. The front office manager would also like to have control over these factors as well, but many of the forces that influence customer expectations are uncontrollable. When consumers are interested in purchasing services, they are likely to seek or take in information from several different sources.

However, due to the increasing competition of service business and the high demand of the customers, the front office need to render quality service that will beat the customer expectations. Service quality is the fundamental factor to measure customers satisfaction at the hotel.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The objectives of this study are:

To assess customers& expectation and perception level towards service quality of the front office staff in five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy.

To analyze the discrepancy gap between customers& expectation and perception towards service quality of the front office staff.

1.4 Research Questions

What is the level of customers& expectation and perception towards service quality of the front office staff?

What is the discrepancy gap between customers& expectation and perception towards service quality of the front office staff?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study will be as a practical guideline for the hotel management, especially the front office department. The outcome of this study will develop the service quality of the front office staff in order to meet with the customers& needs and their satisfaction. If the result showed the high score, the hotel owner would be happy with the service. In contrast, if the result showed the low score, the hotel owner would improve the service and arrange training program.

1.6 Scope of the study

Customer satisfaction relied on customer expectation and customer perception towards 5 service quality dimensions of front office staff. The sampling group was 60 customers who stayed at the Grandus Hotel in Aba, Abia state between September 1-15, 2009.

1.7 Definition of Terms

Service Quality

Means the difference between the customer&s expectation of service and their perceived service. In this study, the assessment standards of Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Berry (1990) will be used, which consist of five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy.

Servqual

Is an instrument for measuring service quality, in terms of the discrepancy between customers& expectation regarding service offered and the perception of the service received; Respondents are required to answer questions about both their expectation and their perception.

Customer Expectation

Means uncontrollable factors including past experience, personal needs, word of mouth, and external communication about hotel service.

Customer Perception

Means customer"s feelings of pleasure / displeasure or the reaction of the customers in relation to the performance of the hotel staff in satisfying / dissatisfying the services.

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