In this stage, the service characteristics are developed.
The key question in this step is “how,” in
a measurable sense, the hotel would be able to
deliver the required services to its guests. For a production
firm, it is easier to define these technical
requirements based on the company’s operational
or managerial resource allocation plans. Miyoung
and Haemoon (1998) considered hotel processes
in their HoQ, but did not include the human factors
and tangible representation of the hotel. In
this research, “hotel processes,” “hotel staff,” and
“hotel system/environment” are used to define the
service characteristics at an aggregate level. These
requirements were then modified based on the hotel
and hospitality expert opinions. The more specific
the characteristics, the easier it is to measure them.
That is, when characteristics are aggregated, their
true impact is confounded, and it is very difficult
to discern the difference between each dimension.
Among these service characteristics, there are some
statutory obligations where, in some cases such as
food and water safety/hygiene and financial fraud,
the relevant standard of quality must be met in a
five-star hotel. The hotel provides healthy and pure
water suitable for drinking and also an extensive
choice of nourishing foods in the restaurant and
room services. In addition, the hotel provides tight
security against credit card fraud in the hotel. Also,
there is potential fraud at ATM machines. In fact, the
hotel accepts full responsibility over the safety and
security of aforementioned cases in the hotel. Besides