Customer Experience Management in the Hotel Business

The present study is aimed at investigating the most essential questions concerning the usage of customer experience management (CEM) techniques in Russian hotel industry. The topicality caused by the necessity of gaining extra competitive advantage by hotel market players due to the current economic conditions in Russia. The ultimate goal of the paper is to develop the recommendations of increasing customer satisfaction by implementing customer experience management tools and instruments into the inn’s service process in the context of Russian hospitality business environment. The considered techniques for mapping CE includes the touch-point value, the customer journey, CE and blueprinting ones. Studies of CEM have been examined and have been adapted for practical purposes of such hospitality market player as “Couprino Bay”, a renowned Russian hotel located in at the Yaroslavl region. To achieve the aim settled there is a study conducted based on the visitors of the hotel “Couprino Bay”. The central research method is interviewing, which ten hotels customers were surveyed for. The ABC-XYZ analysis results demonstrate that there are two most perspective customer segments aged 18-29 and 40-49 and had diverse arrival goals (to spent time with friends and family), whose experience has been mapped in the project to identify the main CE features. The findings of the study obtained reveal the necessary actions of the hotel personnel in each touch-point of servicing to meet clients’ needs and increase their loyalty to the inn. The recommended hotel activities are intended to be used not only by the personnel who has eye-to-eye contact with the customer, but also for the supported hotel staff.