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DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributorSchool of Hotel and Tourism Managementen_US
dc.creatorKua, Maria Teresa Barsebal-
dc.identifier.urihttps://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/6537-
dc.languageEnglishen_US
dc.publisherHong Kong Polytechnic University-
dc.rightsAll rights reserveden_US
dc.titleAn exploratory investigation of luxury hotels' e-mail responses towards customer enquiriesen_US
dcterms.abstractThis research explored the state of electronic information queries via e-mail sent to a sample of 722 leading international luxury hotels by e-mailing an accommodation enquiry using a mystery guest methodology approach. In addition to accommodation enquiries, the English e-mail message also included questions concerning other services and recommendations offered by the hotel. The main objectives of this research are twofold: Firstly, the study is to evaluate the extent of luxury hotels using e-mail for communication with potential customers. Secondly, the study is to investigate and compare China hotels and The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) by analyzing e-mail responsiveness and quality of responses to an e-mail query. In particular, response rate, response time and information quality of answers were studied. Two empirical studies were undertaken. First, five-star hotel in-house business travelers were personally interviewed with the aim of obtaining and developing e-mail responsiveness and quality variables. Second, e-mail enquiry messages was sent to luxury hotels using polite and impolite e-mail messages asking for the room availability and other information. The outcome of the study is highly important with the regards to the Internet's increasing significance. The study revealed that e-mail responses of luxury hotels in China outperformed LHW large and small hotel properties. Furthermore, the overall results revealed poor e-mail responsiveness and quality for many hotels due to inefficient knowledge of e-mail management. This study illustrates that the implementation of e-mail customer service policies and high quality of e-mail standard procedures would improve hotels' competitive advantage and customer relationship management. This research also develops a suggested e-mail model in replying to customer queries that will facilitate the improvement of hotel e-mail customer services.en_US
dcterms.extentxi, 174 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.en_US
dcterms.isPartOfPolyU Electronic Thesesen_US
dcterms.issued2008en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelAll Masteren_US
dcterms.educationalLevelM.Sc.en_US
dcterms.LCSHHotels -- Customer services.en_US
dcterms.LCSHCustomer services -- Technological innovations.en_US
dcterms.LCSHHong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertationsen_US
dcterms.accessRightsrestricted accessen_US

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/6537