Guests need more than just comfortable rooms

Sudibyo M. Wiradji and Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post/Contributor, Jakarta

At most star-rated hotels, the guests are considered kings who are highly valued, which means that customer satisfaction is the hotels' highest priority.

But guests' expectations in terms of services and facilities change from time to time, prompting hotels to continually update in order to meet customers' expectations.

In the past, these expectations were mostly confined to a comfortable room to sleep and delicious food to eat, according to hoteliers. But now they have higher expectations in line with the rapid development of Internet technology and other advances.

People who stay in Jakarta for business purposes, for instance, expect hotel staff at the front desk to be well- informed about the current business situation, such as the rupiah exchange rate. They also expect the hotel to provide in-room Internet access and Wi-Fi facilities.

"The change in guests' expectations prompts us to keep updating ourselves in terms of services and facilities to satisfy our guests," said Ratna Sjamsiar Idris, communications manager at the Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta, one of the many international hotel chains in Indonesia.

US-based hotel chain JW Marriott, Spain-based hotel chain Gran Melia, Hotel Borobudur Jakarta and Hotel Kebayoran -- to name but few -- are other hotels that keep updating themselves.

According to hoteliers, human resource development (HRD) in the hospitality industry is the key to successful customer satisfaction programs.

All employees, from bell boys and receptionists to managers, play an important role in satisfying customers. Commonly, hotel managements provide training courses for their employees.

As part of customer satisfaction programs, most of the star- rated hotels provide guests with a medium through which they can lodge a complaint in case they find any problems during their stays. Hotels use complaints or comments from guests to improve their services.

At Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta, for instance, the management conducts regular survey of guests who are checking out by asking them to fill out questionnaires related to their stays. The questions cover room service, facilities, whether the guests had any problems and how quickly staff responded to the problems.

To ensure the credibility of the survey, the hotel management involves an independent consultant appointed by Shangri-La International to deal with the surveys and announce the results.

Ratna said that the results of the survey, which are announced once every four months, help the management stay on top of guest expectations in terms of services and facilities.

"The result of the survey serve as a means of measuring customer satisfaction and also improving our services," Shangri- La Hotel Jakarta training manager Amalia R. Kandou said.

The hotel's management also shows its appreciation for guests who stay at the hotel for more than one month by inviting them to a cocktail party for long-stay guests.

The JW Marriott Hotel and the Gran Melia Hotel also accommodate complaints from guests as part of their customer satisfaction programs.

In addition to allowing guests to write down their thoughts about the hotel or complaints during their stay, guests can also speak directly to the duty manager or the concierge regarding any problems or concerns they may have.

"If a guest complains that the food in the hotel's restaurant is not good, the restaurant manager and the chef will be notified. They may ask the guest what he prefers and then individually prepare it for the guest," said JW Marriott Hotel public relations manager Mellani Solagratia.

Shortly after opening in Jakarta, the JW Marriott Hotel received complaints from guests about slow and inefficient problem solving, "but now we can solve problem efficiently and effectively thanks to the guests' complaints", she said.

At the Gran Melia Hotel, besides being asked to voluntarily provide input through surveys, guests are invited to attend the general manager's cocktail party every month.

"The party allows guests to informally share their experiences during their stay in the hotel. This has proven to be an effective medium to improve our service," said Gran Melia public relations executive Lina Afiati.

Besides good service, hotels should also have the location and facilities to meet the needs of their business customers.

The InterContinental MidPlaza hotel, for example, has 18 fully equipped multipurpose rooms with natural lighting, full sound and audio/visual facilities.

Its facilities also include video conferencing, which can accommodate 10 to 500 participants.

"The hotel also has Wi-Fi Internet access in all guest rooms, meeting rooms, lounges, food and beverage outlets and recreational areas of up to 22 Mbps speed, 24 hours a day with 512 Kbps bandwidth access," said Yudith Nurwulan, public relations manager of the InterContinental MidPlaza Jakarta.

Borobudur Hotel also has a number of multifunction rooms for business gatherings, business conventions or even trade exhibitions.

"Besides political parties and governmental institutions, multinational companies and business associations are also important clients," Grace Alviar, the hotel's director of communications, said.

The hotel's Flores Ballroom and Sumba Room have big promenade areas that can be used for exhibitions for everything from jewelry and medical equipment to fashion shows.

"The demand for function space is absolutely going to see robust growth this year. There has been a big shift in the exhibitors' venues recently and the trend is now moving from exhibition halls or shopping centers to hotels," she said.

In addition to function rooms, other areas of the Hotel Borobudur have also become preferred venues for gatherings. The hotel's beautiful lush gardens are used for wedding parties, corporate family gatherings and even for team-building purposes.

Its Olympic-size swimming pool and its surroundings has also been used for product launches with sit-down dinner arrangements around the swimming pool and a built-in stage above the pool.

The hotel's Singosari pool-side restaurant has also been the venue for unique corporate programs, with companies holding "relaxing meetings" with fashion shows, massages and other surprise events.

The JW Marriott Hotel has seven separate meeting rooms and a business center which provides fax, photocopying and Internet services.

"So there is no difficulty in getting those errands run during a meeting," said the hotel's public relations manager, Mellani Solagratia.