An Investigation into the Extent to Which Guest Knowledge and Familiarity of the Marriott Brand Differs From Their Experiences in A London Hotel.

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the extent to which guest knowledge and familiarity of the Marriott brand differs from their perceptions in regards to their experiences, in order to identify whether any service gaps are present. Consideration is made as to whether there are any evident causes of gaps between guest expectations and guest perceptions.

The objectives of the paper are to explore the perception values UK guests hold in relation to their knowledge of the Marriott hotel brand and to determine the degree of service quality experienced by UK guests at a central London Marriott hotel. The paper offers recommendations for the chosen Marriott Hotel on how to manage the two methods, as well as recommendations for those who wish to further pursue the paper’s conclusions with regards to the possibilities of how the paper could reap different results.

The literature review begins by discussing standardisation and the Marriott brand with reference to a case study by Sandoff (2005). The review discusses Marriott’s service quality concept where Brown and Bond (1995) suggest that it is possible to manage the diagnostic power of the gap between expectations and perceived delivery while demonstrating some empirical stability and reliability. Also included is literature on customer’s expectations of the provision and delivery of service and how success in this area is attainable. Lastly, discussed are ways in which Marriott measure their service qualities.  

The paper gathers primary research of a quantitative nature utilising a detailed questionnaire, over a period of one week. This strategy was chosen in order to obtain a ‘snap shot’ of descriptive data to provide indicative evidence and exploratory findings (Pope & Mays, 1996). One hundred and fifty questionnaires were issued to all UK national guests that stayed overnight at the London Marriott Hotel over a one week period between 14^th and 18^th February 2011. The expectations and perceptions sections included 22 statements and questions which covered the five service quality dimensions. The questionnaire was developed using the SERVQUAL model with the inclusion within the research instrument of the Marriott’s ‘Spirit to Serve’ 2010 version of the philosophy.

The data collected is presented in a table format using an average score for both the expectations and the perceptions. Following the individual analysis of each dimension, comparisons to other dimensions are made.

The paper comes to the conclusion that from the information gathered within the study, it is apparent that UK National guests regarded the chosen London Marriott Hotel as offering a medium level of quality and consistency to both tangible and intangible attributes. There are however inconsistencies within the Marriott brand with regards to what was expected and what the guests were actually delivered which needs to be addressed. Although it is noted that complete standardisation is impossible to achieve in a highly service oriented business, it does reiterate that organisations that have a large portfolio need to be aware of the changing needs and expectations of their guests.

To improve the validity and depth to the findings, additional studies could be considered using other locations with larger and more varied samples. It therefore only provides a preliminary insight into the topic and serves as a basis for future research.

1.1 Key Words

Guest Perception, Guest Expectation, SERVQUAL, Service Gap, Standardisation