Handling Customer Complaints in the Hospitality Industry

Abstract

Drawing on associated literature and empirical research, this paper examines the engagement and expertise of hotels in handling customer complaints. This is of considerable interest to practitioners and academics within the field of hospitality management. The study explores hotel management’s attitudes and practices toward handling customer complaints within the hospitality industry in Scotland. In this paper, the authors analyze case study interviews with four and five star hotel managers in Scotland. The findings reveal that encouraging customer complaints and feedback should be seen as a way in which to develop a better relationship with and retain customers. The results also confirm the importance of having employee training in the area of customer complaints, recommending that employees handle complaints themselves. Furthermore, the study suggests that hotels must be well equipped for logging, processing and analyzing complaints. Management implications and areas for further research are also discussed.