The Ritz-Carlton: A Snapshot

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel confederacy is a management company that develops and operates luxury hotels for W. B. Johnson Properties, also found in Atlanta. In 1983, W. B. Johnson acquired exclusive U. S. rights to the Ritz-Carlton trademark, a name associated with luxury hotels for 100 years. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel political party operates 23 business and resort hotels in the United States and two hotels in Australia. It also has nine international sales offices and employs 11,500 people. Two subsidiary products, restaurants and banquets, be marketed heavily to local residents.The company claims distinctive facilities and environments, highly personalized overhaul, and majestic food and beverages. Gold Standards Quality planning begins with President and Chief operational Officer Horst Schulze and the otherwise 13 senior executives who make up the embodied steering committee. This group, which doubles as the senior quality management team up, meets hebdomadal to review the qua lity of products and services, guest satisfaction, market growth and development, organizational indicators, profits, and agonistic status. distributively year, executives devote about one-fourth of their metre to quality-related matters. The companys business plan demonstrates the survey it places on goals for quality products and services. Quality goals draw heavily on consumer requirements derived from spacious research by the travel industry and the companys customer reaction info, focalization groups, and surveys. The plan relies upon a management clay designed to avoid the disagreement of service delivery traditionally associated with hotels.Uniform processes be well defined and documented at all aims of the company. Key product and service requirements of the travel consumer endure been translated into Ritz-Carlton Gold Standards, which include a credo, motto, three steps of service, and 20 Ritz-Carlton Basics. Each employee is expected to understand and adhere t o these standards, which describe processes for solving hassles guests may engender as well as detailed grooming, housekeeping, and safety and efficiency standards.Company studies recruit that this emphasis is on the mark, paying dividends to customers and, ultimately, to Ritz-Carlton. The bodied motto is ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. To leave superior service, Ritz-Carlton trains employees with a thorough orientation, followed by on-the- capriole training, then job certification. Ritz-Carlton values are reinforced continuously by daily grapevine ups, frequent recognition for extraordinary achievement, and a performance appraisal based on expectations explained during the orientation, training, and certification processes.To ensure problems are resolved quickly, role players are needful to act at first notice regardless of the type of problem or customer complaint. All employees are empowered to do any(prenominal) it takes to provide instant pacificati on. No matter what their normal duties are, other employees essential assist if aid is requested by a fellow take to the woodser who is responding to a guests complaint or wish. Much of the responsibility for ensuring high-quality guest services and accommodations rests with employees.Surveyed annually to ascertain their levels of satisfaction and understanding of quality standards, workers are keenly aware that excellence in guest services is a swipe hotel and personal priority. A full 96 pct of all employees surveyed in 1991 singled out this priority even though the company had added 3,000 new employees in the previous 3 years. Detailed Planning At each level of the company from corporate leaders to managers and employees in individual work areas teams are charged with setting objectives and devising action plans, which are reviewed by the corporate steering committee.In addition, each hotel has a quality leader, who serves as a resource and advocate as teams and workers d evelop and implement their quality plans. Teams and other mechanisms check employee commitment. For example, each work area is covered by three teams responsible for setting quality-certification standards for each position, problem solving, and strategic planning. The benefits of detailed planning and the hands-on involvement of executives are evident during the 7 days leading up to the opening of a new hotel.Rather than opening a hotel in phases, as is the practice in the industry, Ritz-Carlton aims to have everything right when the door opens to the first customer. A 7-day countdown control plan synchronizes all steps leading to the opening. The company chairman and other senior leaders personally instruct new employees on the Gold Standards and quality management during a 2-day orientation, and a specially selected start-up team composed of staff from other hotels around the country ensures all work areas, processes, and equipment are ready.Quality Data Daily quality producti on reports, derived from data submitted from each of the 720 work areas in the hotel system, serve as an early warning system for identifying problems that can impede progress toward meeting quality and customer-satisfaction goals. Coupled with every quarter summaries of guest and meeting planner reactions. the combined data are compared with shape customer expectations to improve services.Among the data gathered and tracked over time are guest room preventive maintenance cycles per year, percentage of check-ins with no queuing, time spent to achieve industry-best clean room appearance, and time to service an occupied guest room. From automated building and safety systems to computerized reservation systems, Ritz-Carlton uses advance(a) technology to full advantage. For example, each employee is trained to note guest likes and dislikes. These data are entered in a computerized guest history profile that provides tuition on the preferences of 240,000 repeat Ritz-Carlton guests, re sulting in more personalized service.The aim of these and other customer-focused measures is not simply to meet the expectations of guests but to provide them with a unforgettable visit. According to surveys conducted for Ritz-Carlton by an independent research firm, 92 to 97 percent of the companys guests leave with that impression. Evidence of the effectiveness of the companys efforts also includes the 121 quality-related awards received in 1991 and industry-best rankings by all three major hotel-rating organizations.