Service Marketing and Quality in Tourism and Hospitality

These flashcards review core concepts from the lecture on service marketing and quality in tourism and hospitality, including service culture, service characteristics, the service profit chain, measurement tools such as SERVQUAL and CRM, and capacity–demand management strategies.

What does a quality service culture ensure within tourism and hospitality companies?

It prescribes policies and processes that reduce difficulties for guests and align daily operations with the firm’s mission.

Why do firms with strong quality cultures survive longer in tourism and hospitality?

Because they consistently deliver valued, hassle-free guest experiences that build loyalty and revenue.

What makes marketing in tourism and hospitality different from marketing tangible goods?

It deals with services that possess traits like intangibility, inseparability, perishability and variability while relying on physical evidence.

In service marketing, what does intangibility mean?

Services cannot be seen, touched, smelled, tasted or heard before purchase, making evaluation harder for customers.

Give an example of how physical evidence can harm a hospitality business.

Faulty signage, burned-out light bulbs, dirty uniforms or outdated advertisements can create negative impressions.

What is inseparability in the context of hospitality services?

Production and consumption occur simultaneously, so staff and customers co-create the experience.

List two ways managers can reduce inseparability problems.

Ensure compatible customer segments, design appropriate booking policies, implement effective queue systems, and train staff well (any two).

What does perishability mean for hotel rooms or plane seats?

Unsold capacity cannot be stored and is lost forever once the time passes.

How should prices be set during peak demand to address perishability?

At levels that generate the highest possible return, while using promotions during low seasons.

Define variability in service delivery.

Service quality changes depending on who provides it, when, where and under what circumstances, making uniformity difficult.

What is the Service Profit Chain?

A model linking internal service quality to employee satisfaction, which drives productivity, leading to external service quality, customer satisfaction, loyalty, revenue growth and profitability.

According to the service profit chain, what does high employee satisfaction lead to?

Greater employee retention and productivity, which enhance external service quality and customer satisfaction.

How is quality defined in tourism and hospitality?

Reliable delivery of products and guest services that meet anticipated standards.

Name one trend increasing the importance of service quality management in tourism.

Globalization and rising competition, rapid industry growth, labor shortages, or growing safety concerns (any one).

What is SERVQUAL used for?

Comparing customer perceptions with expectations across five service dimensions to measure quality.

List the five SERVQUAL dimensions.

Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy, Responsiveness.

In SERVQUAL, what does Reliability mean?

Delivering promised service dependably and accurately every time.

In SERVQUAL, what does Assurance encompass?

Employees’ knowledge, courtesy, and ability to inspire trust and confidence.

Which SERVQUAL dimension focuses on caring individualized attention?

Empathy.

Define Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in hospitality.

Tools and practices used to select, maintain, and deepen relationships with customers to maximize their lifetime value.

Give two examples of CRM touch points in a hotel.

Website sign-up, reservation call, front-desk interaction, personalized welcome note, follow-up email, social media engagement (any two).

What is Mystery Shopping?

Hiring an undercover customer to evaluate service quality from a guest’s perspective.

How does a Post-Service Rating work?

Asking customers to rate the service immediately after it is delivered.

What advantage does a Follow-Up Survey have over a post-service rating?

It gives customers more time and space to provide comprehensive feedback via email or online forms.

Why is Social Media Monitoring important for service quality?

Guests often voice frustrations or praise online, providing real-time insights into service performance.

What does the metric 'First Response Time' measure?

How quickly a customer receives an initial reply to their inquiry.

How do you calculate First Contact Resolution Ratio?

Divide issues resolved with a single response by the total number requiring multiple responses.

What does a high 'Backlog Inflow/Outflow' ratio indicate?

More cases are arriving than being resolved, signaling capacity problems.

Which metric tracks customers who gave up waiting in a queue?

Queuing hang-ups.

Define Capacity Management in tourism.

Balancing customer demand with the provider’s ability to deliver quality services.

What is Demand Management?

Actively influencing overall demand through distribution channels, customer relationships, and revenue management.

What is meant by "chasing demand"?

Adjusting capacity (e.g., extend hours, hire part-timers) to match fluctuating demand.

Give three methods for chasing demand.

Lengthen opening hours, cross-train staff, outsource services, add facilities, encourage employees to work harder, recruit part-time workers, share equipment (any three).

What is "level capacity" strategy?

Altering demand patterns to fit existing capacity, such as manipulating price or changing the service offer.

Name two tactics for leveling capacity.

Offer off-peak pricing, provide mobile services, communicate timing options to customers, modify service packages (any two).

Why is employee training critical under the characteristic of inseparability?

Because employees are part of the product and their interactions directly affect customer satisfaction.

How can mismanaged physical evidence lead to customer miscommunication?

Poor physical cues such as clutter or broken lights convey negligence, causing guests to doubt service quality.

What does 'Minutes spent per call' reveal in service metrics?

Which operators are most efficient and how long they take to resolve customer issues.

Explain 'Customer Success Ratio'.

The proportion of customers who successfully find what they need, indicating the effectiveness of service beyond simple problem resolution.

What is the role of objective service metrics in quality management?

They provide quantitative data highlighting areas needing improvement and complement subjective feedback.