Service blueprint 4.0: a service design for hotels beyond COVID-19
Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes
ISSN: 1755-4217
Article publication date: 27 July 2021
Issue publication date: 11 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines changes in customer service encounter patterns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during stays at hotels. The study re-visits the hotel services delivery process and examines how the hotel service blueprint has been re-framed.
Design/methodology/approach
The study implemented an exploratory and qualitative research design to identify changes in customer service encounters and the hotel service delivery process. The research applied a cross-sectional survey-based design, which involved open-ended and closed interview questions with hoteliers in the Delhi/NCR region.
Findings
The study identified an increase in contactless service during the service delivery process and in customer service encounters while staying at hotels. In so doing, the various service touchpoints in hotels need to transition from personalized service to contactless service encounters such as at check-in and payment, contactless room key access with available and accessible hand sanitizers, masks, room purifiers, automated room cleaning machines and the deployment of other smart artificial intelligence-based technologies.
Practical implications
This paper profiles a revised service blueprint model for hotels, which could assist hotel service managers to address potential sources of customer dissatisfaction and service failure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originality/value
The paper explores ongoing changes in the hotel service delivery process during the COVID-19 situation and reveals ways in which the service blueprint has been re-framed.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The infrastructural support provided by the FORE School of Management, New Delhi in completing this paper is gratefully acknowledged. The authors also acknowledge the support provided by Amity University Gurugram, Haryana, in facilitating the development of this paper. The authors would also like to thank the editors and anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback.
Citation
Pandey, A. and Kulshrestha, R. (2021), "Service blueprint 4.0: a service design for hotels beyond COVID-19", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 610-621. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-05-2021-0076
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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