Task Summary

This assessment task requires you to write a 2,500-word report based on the provided case study on a hotel guest experience. As the case study changes each term your hotel type, category and location will change accordingly.  This assessment tasks requires you to provide:

• A critical analysis of the concept of guest experience in the academic literature
• An application of these theories in the hotel context through the analysis of the guest experience created at the case study hotel.
• The creation of visual elements (infographics, mood boards etc.) that summarise the analysis of the case study.

Please refer to the “Context” section for further explanations and to the “Task Instructions” section for details on how to complete this task.

Context

Hospitality is nearly as old as humanity. From providing a basic hospitable environment and simple amenities to guests, hotels are now aiming at staging memorable experiences. Due to the continuous shift in guest expectations, hotels are constantly evolving. The hotel industry has moved from meeting the need for a clean room and quality service, to now staging personalized, unique and authentic experiences that engage the guests in a personal way. Experiences are now used by hotel providers as a key competitive differentiator. For this reason staging, co-creating and managing guest experiences is a business imperative for hoteliers (Gilmore & Pine, 2002).

This assessment allows future hospitality professionals to explore the guest experience from the perspective of both guests and hosts. Firstly, it encourages you to reflect on the complex and multidimensional concept of guest experience. Secondly, it allows you to analyse the guest journey holistically and the various operational levels embedded in each experience touch point. Lastly, the case study allows you to critically reflect on the crucial role hotel operators have in staging, managing and co- creating quality experiences with their guests, and the challenges entrenched in this process. The purpose of this assessment is to also allow you to improve your academic writing skill set and become more familiar with visual communication tools, important skills in a business environment.

Please refer to the case study provided to you at the beginning of term for additional insights into your assessment context.

Task Instructions

This assessment task requires you to write a 2,500-words case study analysis report on the guest experience at a hotel selected by your lecturer. The written part of your report should follow the structure of a case study and should be written in third person.

In your case study report you will provide a critical analysis of the main guest experience concepts and theories, their application in the case study and a reflection on the strategies used by the case hotel to stage manage and co-create positive experiences. To do so you must frame your analysis around research from academic literature and industry publications. You should read widely and incorporate this reading into your discussion. As a place to start you should include in your report the readings provided throughout the unit, however additional research is expected for this assessment. You can also find useful readings and resources at the end of this assessment brief to utilise in your reflection.

You are expected to refer, in text, to a minimum of ten (10) academic sources, plus others as required in order to show competency in the assessment. Up to three of these can be academic textbooks, with a minimum of seven (7) academic journal articles. Blogs and other unverifiable sources will not count as academic references but can still be used to support your writing.

To help you better understand how to integrate research in the case analysis please follow the below report structure.

Suggested Report Structure:

• TUA Individual Assessment Coversheet
• Executive Summary (approx. 250 words)
  • Purpose
  • Outline of the analytical process (how did you analyse the case study)
  • Main findings summarised

• Table of Contents

• Introduction (approx. 200 words)
  • Background information on the topic and case study
  • Purpose
  • Thesis statement
  • Overview ofreport
  Main Body
  
• The concept of guest experience and its application (approx. 900 words)

In this section you are required to provide an analysis of the concept of guest experience and its application in the case study. Your analysis should focus on breaking down the experience the guests had at the hotel, identifying all the elements that contribute to determining their experience. This section should contain the following elements and answer the following questions

• How is guest experience defined in the academic literature? Critically evaluate 3 selected definitions and, utilising the case study as a reference, provide examples of their application in a hotel context.

Tip 1: Avoid copying and pasting definitions from academic articles and text books. Instead, select and interpret in your own words the key theories and their applications in the hotel context.

• Applying Walls et al. (2011) model of luxury hotel experience, identify and analyse all the elements that, in the case study, have contributed to create the guest experience? For this section you are required to use at least two (2) visuals (e.g. customer persona; mood boards etc.) that support your analysis of the case study.

Tip 2: When asked to illustrate a particular theoretical model, don’t limit your analysis to that model only. Demonstrate your understanding and your analysis and synthesis skills by integrating other sources that support that model. Your topic 2, 3, 4 and 5 have an array of resources you can use to strengthen your analysis.

Managing the hotel experience (approx. 900 words)

• In this section you will present your evaluation of the role that the staff has in managing the guest experience. To help you frame your case study report this section should address the following points:
• Reflect on the role that staff (both front stage and back stage) have in creating positive guest experience. Provide examples from the case study to support your analysis.
• What competencies do staff require to deliver memorable experiences to their guests? How can they acquire them? Utilise the Hospitality intelligence framework proposed by Bharwani and Juanhari (2013) to frame your evaluation. Use examples from the case study to support.
• Based on the case study, evaluate what are the most impactful challenges the staff at the case study hotel experience on a daily basis in staging and managing their guests’ experiences. How do they overcome them?
• Reflection and conclusion (approx. 500 words)
• Create and present one (1) visual representation of the case study total guest experience and its management in the form of a service blueprint. Service blueprints are customer-focused tools mapping guests’ touchpoints throughout their experience. They also highlight the service process at each touchpoint, breaking it down into physical evidences, on/off-stage staff and activities and supporting processes fundamental to drive customer-focused service delivery (Bitner, Ostrom & Morgan 2008). Instructions on how to compile a service blueprint will be provided in class.
• Provide a final and summarised reflection on the case study in relation to how the contemporary hotel scape has evolved as a result of changed consumers’ needs and how guest experiences need to be staged and managed by professional, motivated and competent staff. Provide key learnings and explain how the report has achieved its original aim