Service quality is always a winning strategy when it allows us to combine efforts to differentiate ourselves and reduce costs—in other words, to be more competitive. In the service industry—and especially in the hospitality sector—two or more hotels may offer the same services but at different levels of service quality. It is through service differentiation that we can create the competitive advantages that set us apart.
“With quality service, everyone wins. Consumers win. Employees win. Managers win. Shareholders win. The community wins. The country wins.” Parasuraman et al. (1990)
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What benefits does a quality management system bring to a hotel?
Having a quality system in place is one of the best guarantees a hotel can offer—and even more so if it is certified. It can be seen as a reason to improve quality and become more competitive. Since the 1990s, the international hotel industry has taken an interest in quality systems—both government-run and private—and in all cases, the goal is to define and meet a series of requirements that help maintain the management system and implement process improvements when necessary.
Objectives of Quality Management Systems
The objectives of implementing these quality systems are:
- Comply with quality and environmental regulations.
- Pursue continuous improvement by setting goals and objectives that ensure our service gets better every day.
- Provide guests with comfort and safety through our facilities, specifically by effectively managing material resources.
- The hotel’s staff adds tremendous value, which is why investing in training is also crucial when it comes to quality.
- Involve suppliers and customers, extending our commitment to quality beyond the hotel.
- Accessibility standards and social responsibility must be fully integrated into the project.
What does quality management aim to ensure?
Prestige, distinctiveness, reliability, rigor, and promotion are the core values that earn a hotel or tourism establishment recognition for quality. All of these recognized establishments have undergone strict audits that ensure their service delivery guarantees quality, safety, and professionalism—all to ensure that guests have the best possible travel experience.
The purpose of this study is to analyze whether quality management improves business performance in hotels. To this end, the hotels were first classified into two groups: those with a moderate commitment to quality management and those with a high commitment. Second, the study finds that hotels with a high level of commitment are the ones that achieve higher business performance. Therefore, a positive relationship is observed between commitment to quality management and performance in the hotel industry.
Increased global competition in the hotel industry and higher expectations among tourists have made quality management a key factor in the success of hotels.
What results does the quality management system produce?
Experience has shown that implementing a quality system leads to results such as:
- Increased customer satisfaction.
- Internal company operations.
- Increased productivity.
- Higher profits.
- Lower costs.
- Higher quality in hotel products.
Improved quality leads to lower costs and increased productivity, which in turn enables a company to gain a larger market share and enhance its competitiveness. Likewise, the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model illustrates the relationship between quality management factors and a company’s results.
A quality management system is constantly evolving; it is a living, dynamic system that ensures services are provided as intended. The main benefit for the customer is that what initially attracts them to the hotel is consistently delivered during all their visits, that their concerns are addressed, and that their expectations continue to grow.
