Enhancing Customer Experience At Shangri-La Hotels And Resorts

The Role of Digital Technologies in Influencing Customer Satisfaction

Delivering higher customer satisfaction helps the organization in sustaining its business and achieving higher profits. The research report will cover the role of the digital technologies in influencing be collected and analyzed to analyze the current performance of the hotel and the level of satisfaction the customer achieves. The data will be collected through an authentic website and the behavior of its customers and affecting the growth of the organization. It will encompass the background of Shangri-La, the literature review and will provide insight into the experience gained by the customers at Shangri-La. The review of the customer will be the base on which the perception of the customers will be analyzed. The research report will also throw light upon the recommendations that the hotel must consider in order to improve its services and deliver a valuable experience to its customers. It will provide a deep discussion of the analysis and the theories to enhance the customer experience (Hill, N. and Brierley, J., 2017). 

Shangri-La hotels and resorts is a global hospitality corporation established by Robert Kuok in 1971. Its headquarter is located in Hong Kong. It is reflected as the world’s finest hotel companies and undertakes more than 100 hotels under the brand name Shangri-La. The parent company, the Kuok group is established in the year 1949. The company has its room inventory of over 40,000. Shangri-La comprises five-star deluxe properties presenting widespread luxury amenities and services, which are located in Australia, Canada, China, Maldives, United States, Singapore, and Turkey. The company currently operates 100 hotels and uses the share service platforms to satisfy the current need and double the number. The company applies finance shared service platforms to increase efficiency and achieve its objective within 5 years. The company is well recognized for its finest service delivery and management practices. The group has invested in substantial projects to expand its operations (Shangri-La hotel, 2019).

According to Mukherjee (2017), delivering personalized experience helps in attaining customer loyalty and increases the sustainability of the business. To enhance the customer experience the industry must focus on providing a personalised experience and satisfying the fluctuating needs of the customers. The increasing competition among the hospitality industry emerges the need to provide maximum satisfaction to achieve customer loyalty and sustain the long term profitability of the business. It will help the hotel to increase its bookings and shift the customer perception. It is evaluated that the customers are ready to pay more for a good experience and are more loyal towards the brand. 

Background of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts

In this competitive digital age, it has crucial for the hotel industry to stay ahead of the curve and adopt the latest marketing strategies which will help the hotel to maintain a niche in the competitive market. It has become essentially imperative to develop a positive brand image on online platforms. Nowadays, apart from delivering the services at the hotel, the industry needs to focus on developing a positive brand image at the digital platforms because these platforms are gaining increasing importance for analyzing the perceptions of the customer and majorly affects the demand of the company (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016).

According to McLean and Wilson (2016), the hospitality and the travel customers’ demands for high quality and the personalised experience to achieve maximum satisfaction. In this competitive world, the hotel can survive only if is able to satisfy the fluctuating needs of its customer and deliver a valuable experience. However, the customers get highly influenced by online reviews to select the location and achieve personalised experience.

According to Dietz (2018), the traditional methods of increasing sales have terminated. Earlier the industries use to market its product and service which leads to an increase in sales but nowadays the attention of the customer is changing towards the buying experience and the way the customers feel while attaining the service. Customer experience is becoming so powerful that it draws the attention of the big organizations. It is analyzed that the organizations that are able to skilfully manage the customer experience are able to reap higher rewards and profits. Such organizations are able to sustain their business for a longer time and attain a strong brand position. 

The customer experience is becoming so powerful because the consumers make the purchasing decisions based upon the emotions and the experience they received. The positive experiences appeal more to the emotions rather than a product or service. By providing the good experience the industry can motivate and turn its customers into loyal ones. The people covet towards the experience rather than the product or the service. This shift towards customer experience has evolved from millenials because the millenials believe in attaining memorable experience rather than asking for products or services. The experiences are more relatable and sharable. To sustain the competitive advantage the businesses must focus on delivering a valuable experience that will automatically sell the products of the organizations (Ren et al, 2016).

The data has been collected from the official website of Shangri-La and the other trip advisor websites. The experience of the customers is analyzed in the form of reviews from the trip advisory websites. The quantitative data has been collected in the forms of reviews and the comments of the customers. The websites include the telegraph, trip advisor, and traveller, make my trip. The official website of the hotel also helped in collecting the reviews of the customers and the experience they gained from the hotel. The review and the comments helped in analyzing the current positioning of the hotel and the areas where there is the scope of improvement (McLean and Wilson, 2016). The trip advisory websites also provide a deep insight into the current positioning of the hotel and helped in collecting the reviews of the customers from all over the globe. The data collected from the online platforms are presented below:

Delivering a Personalised Experience to Enhance Customer Satisfaction

From the collection of data from various websites, it is analyzed that the customers get highly influenced by the location. The location of the hotel perfectly positioned the Iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. There are various shopping places and tourist attraction spots near the hotel. It is evaluated that the employees are friendly and provide the best experience to their customers. The rooms of the hotel are big and spacious and the services provided by the employees are greater than the expectations. It is scrutinized from the reviews and the comments that the customers have a good experience and the hotel is able to establish its strong brand image (Kranzbuhler et al, 2018).

The similarity from all the websites was the ratings given by all the websites are almost similar and the experience shared by the customers includes the same reviews. The holistic treatment and the 36 horizon bar distinguish the hotel from the other five star chains. The services include gym facility, spa, dining experience, 36 horizon bar and the other facilities that deliver a memorable experience to its customers. The reviews given by the customers develop the scope of improvement. It is analyzed that the styling and structure of the hotel require renovation because it was established in accordance to the ninety’s fashion and the dining services were not up to the mark. Various customers have complained about the cleanliness and the service delivery at the dining areas. The hotel needs to make the innovations to sustain its competitive advantage and deliver a memorable experience to its customers (Melero et al, 2016).

From the above analysis, it is scrutinized that the experience of the customers directly impacts the brand image of the company. It reflects the current brand positioning and the future sustainability of the business. In the era of the competitive digital age, it has become very crucial to delivering the best experience to the customers because the potential customers use the online platforms to book the hotels and get highly influenced from the reviews and comments of the customers. Shangri-La focuses on delivering a memorable experience to its customers and was able to sustain a positive brand image on the online platforms. It is evaluated from the ratings and the comments delivered by the customers. The hotel is very famous for its location and the beautiful view of the harbour bridge and the Opera House of Sydney. It also comprises of various shopping places and tourist attraction spots near the hotel. The hotel sustains its competitive advantage by delivering holistic services and its 36 horizon bar. The food and the gym facilities were the best it provides diversified culture food and the employees were very friendly and supportive (Kandampully et al, 2015).

The Power of Online Reviews in Influencing Customer Perception

The mission of Shangri-La is to delight the customers by creating engaging experience straight from the heart. It focuses on delivering the best experience rather than its products. The mission of the hotel is similar to changing trends faced in the economy. The millenials covet on the experience rather than the products. In today’s era, the customer experience has become so powerful that it defines the profitability of the business. From the data collection, we have analyzed that Shangri-La was successful in delivering a memorable experience to its customers and the trip advisory provide the ratings that were sufficient to target more potential customers (Cichosz et al, 2017).

The hotel was focussing on changing trends and demands of the customers and developed the innovative services to cater all the segments and sustain the long term profitability of the hotel. It delivers the rich combination of the remarkable outlook, perfectly presented, produce-driven cuisine, contented nostalgias and intimate dinner from charm bouche to Cheeseboard. From the reviews and the comments, it is analyzed that the hotel needs to focus on improving its style and structure and must develop innovative services according to the changing requirements of the customers. The designs of the room are also old structures so the renovations are required and the hotel must focus on the cleanliness of the hotel especially at the dining areas. The hotel must enhance its services to provide a memorable experience and enhance the positive brand image of the company. However, the degree of customer satisfaction will derive the brand image of the hotel (Homburg et al, 2017).

• Provide personalised experience

The hotel must focus on delivering the personalised experience to all its customers. It should not range from the services the customer has applied for and must provide the full attention to the needs of all the customers. The personalised service will help in retaining the interest of the customers and will enhance their experience. The hotel must use performance support technology to get full information about the customers and have a better understanding of the needs of the customers. 

• Upgrade the styling and structure  

From the comments of the customers, it is analyzed that the hotel needs to renovate its style and structure because the styling is done of the ninety’s and must be renovated according to the current needs of the customers. 

• Advancement of technology toolbox

It is analyzed that this is the era of digital technology and the customers get highly influenced from the online platforms and the hotel must focus on advancing its technology toolbox by adding software like a property management system to develop efficiency in the service delivery and improving the guest experience. This software will help in managing the check-in and check-outs, the responsibility of the staff and the easy evaluation of the financial reports. The advancement will deliver the improved experience and will increase the return on investment of the hotel. 

• Targeting of the new market segment

The Importance of Customer Experience in the Hospitality Industry

It is analyzed that Shangri-La targets the premium segment of society and charges the premium prices for its service delivery. However, the hotel must target the middle-income group and must charge the affordable prices to attain higher profitability and ensure long term growth of the business. Targeting the different segments will provide more opportunities for the hotel and will help in increasing their market share. 

• Training must not be a one-time event

The hotel must focus on adopting the latest technology to provide consistent training to its employees. It must evolve the new methods and must remove traditional methods to train the employees of the hotel. The just in time training will provide advanced training in less time will improve the performance of the hotel. The performance support system helps in getting the profile of the guest and understanding the requirement in an easier manner. Such consistent training will help the staff to have a better understanding and improve the overall efficiency of the hotel.

Conclusion

From the above analysis, it is concluded that customers covet towards the experience rather than the products and the customer experience is becoming very powerful for sustaining the business for a longer time. It is analyzed that Shangri-La has developed the mission of enhancing the customer experience from all its heart. It delivers a remarkable experience to its customers by providing holistic services and catering to the changing needs of the customers. The hotel is focusing on developing a positive brand image on online platforms and satisfying the changing needs of its customers. The reviews and comments of the customers are positive towards the hotel and deliver a positive brand image of the hotel. The hotel must follow the recommendations suggested to improve the services and deliver a more valuable experience to its customers. It will help in upgrading its market share.

References

Cichosz, M., Goldsby, T.J., Knemeyer, A.M. and Taylor, D.F. (2017) Innovation in logistics outsourcing relationship-in the search of customer satisfaction. LogForum, 13(2), pp.209-219

Dietz, J. (2018) Customers buys experiences not products [Online]. Available from: https://blog.higherlogic.com/customers-buy-experiences-not-products [Accessed 30/03/2019]

Hill, N. and Brierley, J. (2017) How to measure customer satisfaction. London: Routledge

Homburg, C., Jozic, D. and Kuehnl, C. (2017) Customer experience management: toward implementing an evolving marketing concept. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45(3), pp.377-401

Kandampully, J., Zhang, T. and Bilgihan, A. (2015) Customer loyalty: a review and future directions with a special focus on the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3), pp.379-414

Kranzbuhler, A.M., Kleijnen, M.H., Morgan, R.E. and Teerling, M. (2018) The multilevel nature of customer experience research: an integrative review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(2), pp.433-456

Lemon, K.N. and Verhoef, P.C. (2016) Understanding customer experience throughout the customer journey. Journal of marketing, 80(6), pp.69-96

McLean, G. and Wilson, A. (2016) Evolving the online customer experience… is there a role for online customer support? Computers in Human Behavior, 60, pp.602-610

Melero, I., Sese, F.J. and Verhoef, P. (2016) Recasting the customer experience in today’s omni-channel environment. UCJC Business and Society Review, 50

Mukherjee, M. (2017) Importance of customer in the hotel industry [Online]. Available from: https://blog.survaider.com/importance-of-customer-experience-in-hotels-industry [Accessed 30/03/2019] 
Traveller. (2019) Shangri-La hotel, Sydney, review: Incomparable views [Online]. Available from: https://www.traveller.com.au/shangrila-hotel-sydney-review-incomparable-views-133xp5#ixzz5jcyuDBDx [Accessed 30/03/2019]

Ren, L., Qiu, H., Wang, P. and Lin, P.M. (2016) Exploring customer experience with budget hotels: Dimensionality and satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 52, pp.13-23

Shangri-La hotel. (2019) About us [Online]. Available from: https://www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila/about/ [Accessed 30/03/2019]

Shangri-La hotel. (2019) Guest reviews [Online]. Available from: https://www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila/guest-reviews/ [Accessed 30/03/2019]

The Telegraph. (2019) Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia [Online]. Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/oceania/australia/new-south-wales/sydney/hotels/shangri-la-hotel-sydney/ [Accessed 30/03/2019]

Trip advisor. (2019) Shangri-La hotel Sydney [Online]. Available from: https://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotel_Review-g255060-d256528-Reviews-Shangri_La_Hotel_Sydney-Sydney_New_South_Wales.html [Accessed 30/03/2019]

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