How to plan the service standards for a new hotel
Learn how to define clear, actionable service standards for a new hotel, ensuring consistent, high-quality guest experiences from its opening day.
DolceVita Team
To plan service standards for a new hotel, you must first define the hotel's core values and concept, then map out every guest experience touchpoint. Following this, translate guest expectations into measurable service behaviours, involve future department heads in the creation process, and plan for comprehensive staff training and ongoing monitoring of these standards. This structured approach ensures that your hotel delivers a consistent and high-quality guest experience from its very first day of operation.
Defining Your Hotel's Identity
Before you can set any service standards, you need a clear understanding of what your hotel represents. What are its core values? Is it luxury, boutique, family-friendly, or business-oriented? Your hotel's concept will dictate the tone and style of service you aim to provide. For example, a luxury hotel will focus on anticipatory service and personalised interactions, while a family-friendly hotel might prioritise efficiency and helpfulness for guests with children. This foundational step ensures that all subsequent decisions about service are aligned with the hotel's overall brand promise.
Mapping the Guest Experience
Once your hotel's identity is established, you should map out the entire guest experience. Consider every interaction a guest might have, from the moment they consider booking until after they have departed. This includes online interactions, phone calls, arrival at the property, check-in, dining, room service, using facilities, dealing with requests or complaints, check-out, and post-stay communication. For each touchpoint, think about what the guest sees, hears, feels, and does. Understanding these moments allows you to identify where service standards are most critical and where they can make the biggest impact on guest satisfaction.
Translating Expectations into Measurable Actions
With the guest experience mapped, the next step is to translate general guest expectations into specific, measurable service behaviours. For instance, instead of saying 'be friendly,' define what 'friendly' means in an operational context: 'Greet guests within ten seconds of their approach, making eye contact and smiling.' For check-in, a standard might be 'Complete check-in within two minutes, confirming all details clearly.' These are the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that guide staff. Each standard should be clear, actionable, and observable, allowing for consistent delivery and easy evaluation. The DolceVita SOP Library offers 200 hotel SOPs across fifteen departments, and bespoke procedures are available from €290.
Involving Future Leaders
It is important to involve future department heads in the standard creation process. They will be responsible for implementing and upholding these standards daily. Their practical insights into the operational realities of each department are invaluable. Involving them from the outset fosters a sense of ownership and ensures that the standards are realistic, practical, and effective. This collaborative approach also helps to build a unified understanding of service expectations across all departments, promoting teamwork and consistency.
Training and Monitoring
Once service standards are defined, thorough staff training is essential before opening. Every team member needs to understand what the standards are, why they are important, and how to execute them consistently. This training should be practical and hands-on, simulating real-life scenarios. DolceVita offers staff training at your hotel from €275 per person, or online for the whole team with the DolceVita Online Academy, starting at €1,250 a year for up to 25 people. After opening, ongoing monitoring and feedback mechanisms are necessary to ensure standards are maintained. This includes regular observations, guest feedback analysis, and refresher training. Service standards are not static; they should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect changes in guest expectations or operational procedures.
For hotels that are open or about to open, DolceVita Experience Design helps create the guest experience across the seven moments of the stay, making it operational through standards, procedures, and training. It starts with a free discovery session. Components include Standards Design (SOPs in Italian and English) at €290 per SOP, and on-site training from €275 per person.