The effectiveness of hospitality service operations: measurement and implementation concerns

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a systematic approach to measuring, tracking, monitoring and continuously improving service efficiency, availability and quality in hospitality operational settings. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed measure of service operational effectiveness (SOE) consists of three indicators. They include the availability indicator, the quality indicator, and the efficiency indicator. Findings – The paper finds that the proposed operational performance approach based on the SOE is consistent with the themes of performance measures and measurement reported in the literature. Research limitations/implications – In this paper, the proposed service operational effectiveness approach represents a serious attempt at quantifying the key facets of service effectiveness in hospitality operational settings. The validation of this performance assessment and measurement approach is worthy of future research. Practical implications – The paper sees that the approach advocated by the SOE has operational and strategic relevance to decision‐makers of hospitality organizations. Field interviews with hospitality operating managers in different operating base cultures confirmed this. Originality/value – This paper presents a practical, systematic approach to the problem of enhancing service operational effectiveness in hospitality organizations. Relevant implementation issues associated with the proposed approach are also addressed. Interviews with operational managers representing different types and sizes of hospitality organizations in different operational cultures were utilized to provide initial validation of the proposed approach and to shed some light on relevant practical implementation issues.