Working toward guests' satisfaction

Working toward guests' satisfaction

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.