Consumers of the hospitality services are now equipped
with the new buzzwords such as ‘’guest satisfaction and service quality’’. With
these buzzwords, it indicates that the era where service providers get away
with poor services are fast becoming extinct as the times roll by.
With the growth in technology and particularly the use
of different social media blogs which has become the recent widespread trend,
the era where consumers of hotel services just do nothing about a poor hotel
services are over. With the use of these new social media, these consumers
apart from the use of word-of-mouth are prone to air their opinions on the
different blogs all over the place which in return have adverse effects on the
service providers.
Bearing these in mind and in a frantic bid to retain
as well as gain new customers, the serious minded service providers of the
hospitality organisations have also
armed themselves with buzzwords such as ‘’continuous improvement, good service
recovery and learning environment’’ hence daily strategising with ways to give
the customers satisfaction and excellent quality services.
One of such hospitality organisations is the Golden Tulip Hotel & Conference Centre (Festac Town, Lagos). In order to gain competitive edge over other
service providers in the industry, the management of the hotel have continuously
engaged in the restructuring and improvement of their organisation. From
inception, the design has always being to provide their guests with a variety
of business and leisure facilities one of which was the recent ground-breaking
of a proposed ultra-modern shopping mall right in front of the building thereby
expanding the entire facility further.
Also, a well equipped and classic night
club which is almost in conclusion with just a few finishing touches left is
part of the expansion process. According to the Corporate Affairs Manager, Mr
Emmanuel Ele ‘’our customers’ satisfaction is our watchword, we therefore make
sure that they encounter wonderful experiences within these facilities,
complimented by our international service standards and the west African
gracious hospitality without
compromising in any way on excellent quality so that they get value for their
money’’.
Accessibility is not a challenge as it is just a few minutes’
drive from the international airport to the hotel which is strategically
located in Festac within the heart of Lagos. From the drive up to the gate entrance, one is
greeted by a collection of well-dressed professional looking guards at the gate.
On entrance into the exquisite compound of the hotel is a parking lot with a capacity
for up to 400 cars. Anyone would be awed by the magnificent edifice of the
hotel and overwhelmed by the beautiful exterior landscape/design hence places
the customer in anxiety to see what the interior looks like. Without any
doubts, an impression of a world class environment is created as the hotel’s
exterior complements the interior which the visitor soon acknowledges as soon
as he/she steps into the hotel lobby signifying an environment with a superb,
clean and breathtaking services cape with an ambience that sticks to memory for
a long time.
The hotel does not only just provide the customer a
clean environment, but also boast of a services cape which includes proactive,
respectful and well trained staffs that are not only highly skilled but
passionate about their various tasks. Due to the reality that the ‘staff’ of
any organisation represents the organisation in itself, the management of
Golden Tulip hotel and conference centre hold nothing back in recruiting only
the best hands in the industry as well as a good welfare for them so that they
give their best on the jobs in return so that their customers are assured of
being handled by capable hands. It is an acknowledged fact that employees of
organisations with more focused recruitment, intensive training, and better
wages, are likely to be happier and provide higher-quality, customer-pleasing
service on their jobs.
Unlike many other hotels in the country, the hotel
offers as much as four hundred and fifty nine lovely guest rooms with different
styles to suit any customer’s needs and up to twelve suites with internet facilities
as well as laundry and a 24/7 room services which are all designed to provide
comfortable well being for all their customers. Other structures for
recreational facilities include two squash courts, two floodlit tennis courts,
adults and kids’ swimming pools, sauna and steam bath as well as a gym to keep
fit. Interestingly, in addition to keeping fit is the availability of a seven
hectares of exotic tropical garden for meditation or for an amazing jogging
experience all of which provide the perfect ambience and serene for a customer
who is staying either for business or leisure.
Speaking with a returning guest at the hotel premises,
he pointed out that one of the reasons why he remains a returning customer to
the hotel is that the rooms are ‘’spotlessly’’ kept clean at all times. In
2012, a research survey carried out by ‘yours truly’ *winks* using the
Northwest region in the UK as the sample population revealed that, 70% of
people who responded rated ‘clean environment’ as the first priority when
choosing a Hotel to stay. Other findings from the research also revealed that
tangible and intangible factors such as security, respectful staff, good food,
prompt service, quiet environment, career, age, family, purpose and lots more
influence the customers’ choice of hotel. Most of these factors are what inform
the practices at the Golden Tulip Hotel and Conference Centre. The guest also
went further by saying that “it feels like another world entirely whenever I’m
here in the hotel as it has everything that you need within the premises
therefore you don’t really need to go outside except you really have to go. As
for me, I can be in this hotel for a week without having to go out because most
of the time I stay here because I want to rest and give myself a little bit of
vacation”. Continuing, the guest went further to say “It is hotels such as
Golden Tulip that one can call a vacation spot as it has everything that one
thinks about when on holidays with friends or family; even for a business
man...”
It is common practice for organisations to hold
meetings within the premises of their offices or headquarters, however,
multinationals who want to deal with serious issues hold their meetings or
conferences outside their premises so as to concentrate properly on
matters-arising, hence would require a serene and business environment on such
occasions. The Golden Tulip hotel and conference centre as the name signifies,
offers one of the largest conference facilities which is made up of nine
equipped state-of-the-art Wi-Fi internet connected meeting rooms and conference
halls to suite needs from small seminars to large events. It also has an outdoor
functional space for up to six hundred and fifty guests for various kinds of
outdoor events.
The Food and Beverages facilities at the hotel include
two bars identified as, the Island Bar located at the pool area and the Rendez
Vous Bar which is located at the colourful lobby area, both offering guests a
selection of drinks and snacks all of which according to Mr Emmanuel Ele “is
second to none in the industry as it also in addition, daily offers
international breakfast and dinner buffets and theme nights fiestas to our
growing services consumers”.
In an effort to continually meet up with the dynamic
needs of their customers, as earlier mentioned, is the soon to be opened
in-house night club for some of their highly sociable, eccentric and effervescent
customers and even high net worth business persons who once in a while love a
bit of dancing and excitement. Additional existing facilities also include an
in-house clinic and ATM machines at the convenience of guests. The
aforementioned and many more are the selling points of Golden Tulip hotel and
conference centre.
Ultimately, it is no doubt that Golden Tulip hotel and
Conference is continuously looking for ways to improve in order to meet the
demands of its customer. It is always said that ‘life is in phases while men
are in sizes’, this could also be said about businesses being in sizes and
phases. Nevertheless, the quality of any business ultimately is an upshot of
how much smart work, quality of time as well as strategies has been put in it
despite the size. Therefore, because present day hospitality services consumers
now crave good service quality; no matter how small that business is, it is
essential that the aim and focus of any service provider in the hospitality
industry should be that of constant pursuit of excellent quality service at all
times. Peace!!
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