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Service marketing Project on-

Physical evidence of Radisson Hotel

SEC-C

GROUP-1 PGDM (2008-10)

Submitted By: Submitted To:

Deepshikha Mahajan (FT-08-642) Dr. Deepankar Mukherjee

Kanika Anand (FT-08-667)

Kumari Sweta (FT-08-674)

Sukalpa Datta (FT-08-)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With profound sense of gratitude and regard, we express our sincere thanks to our guide and mentor Dr. DEEPANKAR MUKHERJEE for his valuable guidance and the confidence he instilled in us, that helped us in the successful completion of this project report. Without his help, this project would have been a distant affair.

His thorough understanding of the subject and professional guidance was indeed of immense help to us.

Also, this acknowledgement would remain incomplete without thanking all the respondents at Radisson Hotel for their valuable time and excellent hospitality. Without their co-operation this endeavour would not have been possible.

We are also greatly thankful to Mr. Ajay Gupta whose acquaintances in Radisson Hotel helped us in getting all the required information without much hassle.

Mutual understanding between the group members is highly appreciated.

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Index

Topic Page-no.

1. Executive summary 4

2. Physical evidence- meaning 5

3. Physical environment of a Hotel 6

4. Introduction to Radisson Hotels & Resorts 8

5. Physical evidence of :Reception 9

6. Rooms 11

7. Restaurants 14

8. Gym 17

9. Parking 19

10. Conclusion 20

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project on the given topic under ‘SERVICE MARKETING’ was a learning experience. We had visited RADISSON HOTEL-NOIDA to understand the physical evidence of its rooms, restaurants, reception, gyms and parking. The reason for selecting this hotel were the following-

Proximity to our workplace

Some acquaintances in Radisson

Accessibility

World class repute of the Hotel

This project covers the basic definition of physical evidence to give a better understanding of the topic. Also the various elements in the physical environment of a Hotel are described. A brief introduction to Radisson Hotels & Resorts has been given. Later the perceived physical evidences of the different areas have been discussed in detail.

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Physical evidence

Physical evidence is the ability and environment in which the service is delivered. Both tangible goods that help to communicate and perform the service, and the intangible experience of the existing customers and the ability of the business to relay that customer satisfaction to potential customers.

Physical evidence is the element of the service mix which allows the customer again to make judgments on the organization. Consumers will make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision which will have an impact on the organizations perceptual plan of the service.

For e.g. If one moves into a restaurant his expectations are of a clean, friendly environment, besides high quality food which is the core service of the restaurant.

On an aircraft if he travels he expects enough room to be able to lie down.

Some points stating the importance of physical evidence in service marketing are-

Physical evidence is ‘packaging’ for services, therefore creation of service environment should not be left to chance.

Customer judges the service quality through the process of deduction.

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Physical evidences both- dominant and peripheral should be co-ordinated to achieve uniformity in its projected service image.

Peripheral evidences are small and trivial but have impact on customer perception about services and are real source of competitive differentiation.

It makes the intangible service apparent.

Physical Environment of a Hotel

Location

- What kind of customers prefer a city centre?- What kind of customers prefer a hotel at

seaside?

Signs and logos

Many hotels belong to chains and their signs and logos are well known.

Different chains help hotels to profitable business.

Competition is very hard nowadays. Good reputation and recommendations help very much a hotel to get new customers and also make them to come again.

Style, furniture, colours, lighting

Clean air

Some customers want luxury, and they are ready to pay for it. Other customers are satisfied with a little lower level.

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Reception What is good customer service at the reception?

Office, information, customer service

Is it easy to reserve a room? What is the easiest way to reserve a room today?

Good customer service is very important in the competition today.

A hotel roomWhat does a customer want from a good hotel room?

The room itself and the bath room must be clean and the bed must be comfortable. Something extra provided that a customer has not expected gives a good feeling.

Restaurant- heart of the Hotel

The restaurant and its kitchen create the heart of a hotel. At a big hotel there can be many different types of restaurants.

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INTRODUCTION

Radisson hotels & resorts, one of the world’s leading, full- service global hotel companies, operates, manages and franchises more than 400 hotels and resorts in 66 countries. Radisson is focused on being the hotel of choice for today’s independent- minded frequent business and leisure travellers who want more control over their hotel experience.

Vision:

A global hotel company distinguished by great places in great places, a recognized and trusted brand, building valuable relationships with the guests it serves and achieving superior returns for owners and invertors.

Mission:

To provide warm and engaging hospitality at every point of guest contact.

Radisson Hotel Noida

The Radisson Hotel Noida is centrally located in the business and leisure district of the National Capital Region of Delhi. With contemporary architecture, warm hospitality and a convenient location, this hotel is surely a pleasure to both business and leisure travellers. As the first and only five-

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star hotel in Noida, this hotel is a cut above the rest and features services and amenities that sets it apart from other hotels in the region.

Radisson hotel, Noida is the first five star deluxe hotel in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Strategically located in Noida’s upscale sector- 18 shopping district.

Radisson hotel is 35 minutes from Domestic Airport and 45 minutes from International Airport.

The Hotel is 20 minutes drive from Connaught Place, the central business district of Delhi.

15 minutes from Pragati Maidan exhibition grounds and India Expo Mart.

Close proximity to Delhi’s key industrial estates: Greater Noida, Faridabad.

Reception A hotel receptionist's job is to make guests feel welcome, to check them in and out efficiently, and to deal professionally with enquiries, face to face and by phone, fax or email. When guests call at a hotel to make a booking, the receptionist is the first person they speak to and may also be the first person whom they meet at arrival. The receptionist in short represents the “entire hotel” in front of the customer.

RADISSON provides a 24 hour reception service

At Radisson there was an array of experienced and qualified

receptionist to handle the customers. They worked in a batch of three

that is at any time there were three receptionists in the front office for

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the convenience of the customers. They also changed the shifts to

ensure the best service possible.

Dressed in “pink”, the receptionists act as a guide, a friend, a

counselor to the customer.

They used laptops and telephones to manage the accounts and to

handle the queries or to provide service to the customer.

The front office plays the most important part in hospitality industry.

Welcoming the customer with a smile, making them feel important is

the valuable job of the receptionist.

Receptionists at Radisson provided extra services such as calling the

in house porter to carry the luggage, arranging for conveyance for

sightseeing or official visits, booking flight or rail tickets and arranging

parties.

Receptionist looked after the customer’s personal taste such as his

menu, movies and music and proper functioning of equipments in his

room.

The receptionist also allotted time for visits to the spa and fixed

appointments with doctors.

At the reception there was an adjoining waiting lounge. A number of

magazines and newspapers were kept there to enable the customer

to utilize his time.

The reception was decorated with beautiful paintings. Soft lightening

made the ambience even more relaxing and comforting for the

customers.

Instead of using artificial fresheners, fresh flowers were kept at the

reception to refresh the mood of the visitor.

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The floor and the furniture had good finishing. The furniture was

stylish and well furnished.

The quality services provided by the receptionist at Radisson made

the customers feel at peace. The customer knows that there

is always someone to look into his needs. This aspect of

service in Radisson accounts for the high satisfaction among its

customers.

Rooms at Radisson

There were 115 accommodation rooms for visitors in Radisson. All of them were spacious and attractively decorated. The rooms were differentiated on two major criteria’s.

Space Facilities provided

The rooms were categorized as follows: superior, deluxe, club, crescent, terrace, executive and presidential suite. However the superior, deluxe and club rooms were the same in area, the visitors of the presidential suite were provided superior services and the most spacious rooms. The services provided inside the rooms were as follows:

Mini bar: with an array of cocktails like Bacardi, Gilbeys, Smirnoff etc.

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Coffee and tea maker to provide the ease of making it according to

their own preference.

Hairdryer.

Iron and an ironing board.

Television facility with 36 domestic channels and 8 international

channels.

DVD players and a variety of video tapes were provided for

entertainment and relaxation purposes in the executive and

presidential suites.

High speed internet facility was provided.

Telephone with speaker facility.

LG refrigerator.

Smoke detector.

Hitachi split air conditioners were provided: the number of AC’s

depended on the size of the room.

Two newspapers- Times of India and Economic Times were catered

to all the rooms. Apart from this some magazines were also there for

spare time.

Convenient and adequate plug points were there in the room.

Electronic safe and door locks for ensuring the safety of the visitor.

Bathrobes and slippers were provided for the visitors.

User friendly bathroom fittings.

Jacuzzi.

Apart from all these services cleanliness and the maintenance of the

room was the most prominent feature.

The room could accommodate around six people.

The room was decorated with antique pieces and scenic paintings.

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The position of the rooms was such that it allowed sufficient sunshine

to come in.

The wall colour as well as the colour of the bed sheets were

complementary to each other and were such that it provided solace to

the visitor.

The floor of the room as well as the bathroom was clean and

completely dry to make sure that it was not slippery.

The temperature of the room could be attuned according to the

individual needs of the guest.

The cupboards provided were broad and had ample space in them

so that all the belongings could be kept inside safely.

For ensuring the health of the customer flower pots were kept at each

table.

The bed and the beddings provided were comfortable enough.

The glasses kept on the sides of the beds were free from any stains

and fingerprints.

Last but not the least, there were special rooms and facilities for

handicapped and unprivileged people.

Shortcomings noticed: The complementary mineral water bottle supposed to be there in the

room was missing.

There was a fruit basket in every room but it was surprising to see that

the fruits kept in it were not fresh and partly rotten.

Hot water promised to be available 24 hours a day was not provided.

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Restaurant

Human aspect of a service sector industry sets it apart from the production sector. The inherent quality of a product and also its physical outlook attracts the customers towards it. But when it comes to service the approach is totally different. Through its service, i.e. the quality of service provided, an industry in the service sector, tends to retain as well as create a customer. The service has to be made tangible in this fashion.

This is the gist of our experience from entry to exit at RADISSON’s restaurant. The whole experience of our group there has been discussed below

The entrance made us forget that we were there with the sole

purpose of completing an assignment. It made us feel that it is surely

going to be a memorable experience. The entrance finished in glass

and wood wore the majestic look. The warm welcome by the man at

the gate made us feel comfortable and wanted.

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One look and we all had the same opinion “it was the beginning of a

new experience and delight”. The overall ambience increased our

curiosity. Had not the waiter approached all of us would have been

still admiring the creation in that awestruck fashion.

It was our luck that we got a table in the corner. To begin the

experience, let us talk about the lighting. The whole area was dimly lit

with a royal look, but bright enough for everyone to see properly. The

positioning of the bulbs was strategically planned. The bulbs were

placed in such a manner that it reflected the light shades of the walls.

The hanging lights illuminated the entire ceiling. All this illuminated

the physical objects around in such a manner that it kept everything

alive.

Our eyes began to feast upon the furniture laid around. The chairs

and table had wooden finish. The tables were arranged to cater to the

customers’ needs i.e. buffet and sitting arrangement. The buffet had a

long table with expensive copper, steel and glass cutlery. The sitting

arrangement was planned judiciously keeping in mind the customers

comfort as well as taking care of the economic aspect of space

utilization. The furniture was elegant and highly comfortable. The

chairs had soft cushions and there was arrangement for two persons,

four and a group. If any table was booked for the day, it was clearly

mentioned to avoid confusion.

Soft carpet was laid on the floor of maroon color. The windows were

richly draped with sophisticated and expensive curtains. On our day

of visit the colors of the curtains were of very light yellow shade with

beautiful laces.

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The most attractive and significant part was the attitude and

professionalism of the waiters. They were dressed in black and white.

The ratio of waiters and table was 2:1, because of which customers

were always at ease and taken care of. The food for four or more was

brought in fashionable trolleys. Two captains took regular rounds to

see whether the customers are taken care of properly. All the

customers were escorted by separate men to their respective tables

and the waiters soon addressed them.

We took tea which was refreshing. The food which we did not taste of

course looked good and the guests seemed to enjoy it completely.

We came to know that RADISSON served 57 cuisines. It was not just

the food, but the entire experience and ambience which made the

customers seem satisfied.

When customers had finished with their food and paying the bill it was

not the end of service. They were escorted to the gate with due

respect wishing them a happy day as well a visit soon.

With this we also got a picture of how tough it is to satisfy a customer

in service sector especially in restaurants where the service delivered

should provide the maximum satisfaction- which itself differs from one

individual to another and how RADISSON has successfully catered to

this need. This is all about the richness of service at RADISSONS

RESTAURANT which we experienced. `

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Gym

The physical environment at the gym included the following:

Stairs- The gym was situated at the basement of the Hotel with approximately 25 stairs to climb.

Front door- The front door was made partially of glass and partially of wood. There was a guard at the entrance who checked the membership cards of each customer.

Smoothie bar Area- There was a bar area which included many drinks: energy and fruit drinks besides providing normal water.

Membership Card- All the customers were given membership cards

for easy recognition and catching the defaulters.

Appearance of Employee- All the employees had a dress code which

was similar to the other employees of the Hotel.

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Walls- The walls of the gymnasium were green and white in colour,

well decorated with posters suggesting health and gymming tips and

motivational phrases.

Lockers- There was locker facility for all customers to keep their

belongings safely.

Music- The gym has an in-house DJ who played Trans music.

Equipments- The gym had all equipments related to cardio and

weight training.

Light- The hall was well illuminated with focused lights.

Appearance of staff- The trainers and the supervisors were wearing

branded sportswear.

Towels- The towels were very clean and dirt free.

Hair Dryer- There was hair drying facility for customers.

Cleanliness- It was well maintained to keep the entire area spic and

span.

Floor- The floor was wooden.

Therapist- There was a therapist to look after any unexpected injury.

Temperature- The room was conducive for comfortable exercising.

Merchandise- If the customers intended to purchase any similar

health product, the same was made available.

Sauna and steam bath

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Jacuzzi

Parking

Radisson provides “valet parking” for its customers.

Valet parking is a service whereby a valet takes the car from the

customer and parks it in the parking lot. The customer is hence

spared of the hassles involved in car parking.

In most five star hotels the parking lot becomes jammed during peak

hours. Car parking by the valet proves beneficial for both customers

as well as the hotel officials. On one hand the customer does not

need to worry about the parking place; on the other hand the valet

has the car at his own disposal. This means that he can park the car

wherever he feels it convenient to do so.

The valet’s white colored dress showed that they are trustworthy and

loyal towards their job. This gave a sense of satisfaction to the

customers.

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This leads to better service of the customers as they can enjoy the

stay at the hotel without caring for maintenance of their vehicle.

Offering a valet to take care of the car adds luxury to the service

This is further increased by the valet bringing the car up to the main

entrance and holding the door opened to allow the customer to get in.

Radisson is a name which is known for its luxuries and acts like these

further bring a sense of pride and contentment in their customers.

Conclusion

“It’s not always words that impress”…. Truly, physical evidence in hotels and restaurants speak louder than words. It is through these evidences that the customer attaches himself. A hotel like “Radisson” is an abode of customer delight.

During this endeavour we learnt the importance of physical evidence in a service industry like “the hotel industry”. Physical evidence serves as an entire ‘package’ for a service industry. It holds the power to tangiblise the intangibles.

In the end we can conclude that the physical evidence of the services provided at Radisson was highly impressive and efficient. It made sure that the customer makes repeated visits. For a hotel industry viral marketing is the strongest advertising tool, hence all efforts should be made to make the customer satisfied.

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