Career Opportunities in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry

Career Opportunities in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Introduction Given the continued volatility within the UK job market, the opportunities for a university graduate continue to evolve. Ultimately, the nature of the marketplace will continue to rise to meet social and economic challenges, thereby mandating that participants are aptly suited for the responsibilities of the future. Lau and Schaffer (1999) recognised that success in a career of choice offers personal needs fulfilment through long term evolution of workplace achievements and accomplishments, ultimately culminating in power acquisition for the properly situated professional. My long term objectives is to frame my career around such variables, supporting my professional goals and principles while at the same time ensuring that substantial growth and opportunity evolve through my career choice. The following five positions represent key industries within the current UK market, each challenging the participant to invoke a broad skill set to enhance their long term career objectives. Hotel Manager Given the variability within the hotel industry and the season-specific integration of tourism into an operating scheme, the potential for gaining logistical experience and expanding my management skill set within this environment is exemplary. The completion of my degree is an essential part of job acquisition within the hotel industry, and although the management position might not immediately avail itself to me, the long term goal of achieving this notorious job title will present motivational encouragement and strategy in my daily operations. As recognised by MacCannell (2002), the prevalence of tourist egoism in the hotel environment is one which challenges staff to bolster and support such powerful internal demand structures, aligning with tourist expectations to prospect for repeat business. As a hotel manager, my duties would include a coordination of all staff members affiliated with our guests, and therefore, exemplary service levels would need to be evolved from my directi on. The potential for substantial tourism growth considering the coming 2012 Olympic games offers opportunity for positioning within an expanding industry, one which would support my long term career objectives. Aligning my skills with an industry with such broad opportunities would also ensure that as alternate positions across the globe arise that I would be uniquely suited for that market by virtue of experience. Tourism Officer Perhaps the most widely sought opportunity for graduates and professionals of these five, this position entails an integration of a wide number of skill sets and strategic methods. Within the community, the tourism officer plays an essential role in guiding the expansion of tourist commerce and supporting local businesses and facilities through attractive event and festivals. In a recent study Desforges (2001) noted that financial reward is an extremely important variable within tourist endeavours, oftentimes relying on strategic politics to evolve into a socially beneficial medium. Optioning the personnel management abilities which I have learned over my brief, but well experienced positions in the UK work force, the officer position would require staff management, budget alignment, and full spectrum training programmes. This challenging, yet rewarding occupation would integrate my written abilities, planning foresight, and organisational skills to prepare and guide the tourist prog rammes of a particular local authority. The highly competitive nature of this position challenges me to fully develop my expectations and long term strategy prior to offering my CV for review. Ultimately, I believe that my creativity, local knowledge and interest, and resourcefulness will be assets in acquiring such a position. Over the course of the coming months at the university, it would be wise to participate in community events and begin to source industry relationships in order to ensure that opportunities arise upon graduation. Outdoor Pursuits Manager Perhaps the most interesting and personally rewarding position within this grouping is the one which would take me into the outdoors and fulfil my passion for adventurous activity. Requiring technical skill sets including budgeting, people management, and leadership, my commitment to these duties would be more than just job specific. In fact, assuming such a role, the physical challenges alone would encourage me to devise new methods of exercise and diet in order to maintain appropriate energy and stamina. Public speaking would become an inherent participle in this role, challenging me to step outside of my comfort zone and encourage participation through vocal support and direction. Forsyth (1997) recognised that sustainable tourism and environmental responsibility are essential factors in the new realm of eco-tourism. Through my role in outdoor pursuits, whether team building for groups or comporting a family reunion on a sightseeing hike, the need for environmental awareness and e ducation would be a skill set that must be further developed. While there is limited opportunity within this position to surmount a corporate ladder, the potential for entrepreneurism in the long term would enable me to pursue an objective of business ownership and coordination. Travel Agency Manager Perhaps one of the more intriguing positions listed here, this opportunity would rely on my knowledge of both the UK travel sector but international destinations as well. Ensuring that my breadth of venue understanding was at par with industry standards, familiarisation visits to new destinations would assist in developing my knowledge set. This job would incorporate a broad range of my skills including organisation, sales abilities, and management of a sales team. As targets become an increasingly important qualifier within this industry, recognising the methods behind sales and tourism opportunities will continue to enable my management of a team of sales professionals. Destination sourcing offers a unique perspective of consumer motivations and would continue to enable my utilisation of personal interests and professional resources over the long term scope of my career. Recognised by Gille and Riain (2002) the nature of globalisation entails a reorganisation of self and community, expanding horizons and encouraging international participation. In this role, it would be my responsibility to ensure that these connections are deeply entwined in the personal objectives of my clientele. Public Relations Account Executive The final career opportunity, and perhaps divergent from the others in terms of sector, the role of P.R. account executive would offer substantial opportunity to utilize my personality, range of communication skills, and intense drive for success to develop and support public relations campaigns. In this role, business to business sales and networking would become extremely important facets of my daily routine, encouraging a working understanding of purchasing motivations and the key challenges which face each industry in our society. Managing events and press conferences in addition to location coordination for photo shoots or media programmes would also integrate my organisational skill set as well as enhance my understanding of the workings of public scenarios. Hiring staff and event for these events would also challenge my human resource skill set and enable an organisational perspective which could translate into further career evolutions. Buck et al. (2003) challenge that the e mployment philosophy of a firm or corporation is â€Å"embedded within its organisational blueprint† thereby entailing a focus on strategy, media expectations, and client perspective when aligning staff with PR activities (p. 532). The public focus of this position is an exciting offering which would continue to involve my evolution as both speaker and participant within the scope of media relations and operations. This position would be both challenging and rewarding as the broad spectrum of daily operations would enable my participation in highly social and publicly visible events. Conclusion Each of these opportunities presents a substantially different perspective of how my post-university career could evolve. The nature of the UK job market is constant evolution; therefore, over the coming several months, there are many new positions which may develop and with them, the opportunity to enter at the cutting edge of industry. Regardless of destination, my path must be one which is both personally and professionally rewarding. From this expectation, I will carefully make my decision according to the merits of each position and their support of my goals. As long term career development is also an essential part of the reward spectrum, I must align myself with a strong industry in which I can continue to develop my professional skills. Networking and social development will further assist in identifying key participants who can offer sustainable choices in future career developments. While all five of these positions offer well suited principles for my inherent skill set, se veral such as hotel manager and travel agency manager and PR account executive are substantially more attractive due to their public focus and wide sphere of influence. While my future may remain uncertain, the opportunities afforded by my university graduation are not, and I look forward to their realisation over the coming year. References Buck, T; Filatotchev, I; Demina, N; Wright, M. (2003) â€Å"Insider Ownership, Human Resource Strategies and Performance in a Transition Economy.† Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 34, No. 6, pp. 530-549 Desforges, Luke. (2001) â€Å"Tourism Consumption and the Imagination of Money.† Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 353-364. Gille, Z; Riain, S.O. (2002) â€Å"Global Ethnography.† Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 28, pp. 271-295. Lau, V; Shaffer, M. (1999) â€Å"Career Success and the Effects of Personality.† Career Development International, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 225-231. MacCannell, D. (2002) â€Å"The Ego Factor in Tourism.† The Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, June.

Ethical Behavior and Machiavellianism Essay

The term ethical behavior is considered to be that behavior which is morally accepted. It is laid on the foundations of doing the right thing which is morally accepted. Machiavellianism is considered to be the behavior which is adopted to mislead and swindle others for personal benefits and profit. This paper seeks to analyze and evaluate the relationship between ethical behavior and Machiavellianism. Machiavellianism Machiavellianism is considered to be a widespread stereotype of ethical behavior. It is expected to be a supplementary construct that influences ethical behavior and ethical reasoning procedures. The concept was introduced by Niccolo Machiavelli who wrote ‘The Prince’ which is a guide for acquiring power and using it. The main method for attaining power which he suggested was using manipulation. Hence, Machiavellianism is tendency and inclination of an individual to do whatever he or she wants in order to get his or her way. Machiavellian Principles and Ethical Conduct According to Machiavellian principles, there is clear and well-defined difference between reality and ideas. For example, equality and equity are idealistic values but partiality and bias is found every where. Ethics can direct and manage the private sector but expediency governs the public life. Consequently, an individual can be good at home but has to survive in professional life (Nelson & Gilbertson, 2002). Furthermore, Machiavellian principles dictate individuals to understand that there are no absolutes in workplace but only restrictive constraints which are applied based on the situation. It also states that success is the factor which can determine right and wrong. Virtue which is a type of ethical behavior is equal to power and competence in reaching goals. It also states that a virtuous man should think about himself when it is essential. Literature Review Experiential work also indicates that Machiavellianism influences ethical behavior. Cable and Dangello have recognized and acknowledged Machiavellianism as a qualities and characteristics which were found in graduate business student’s ethics research. They also conducted a second research in Lebanon which indicated that Lebanese consumers who are residing in political turmoil and war are more Machiavellian and less humanistic (Cable and Dangello, 2000). Another research which was conducted by Christie and Geis demonstrated the relation between Machiavellianism and ethical behavior which suggested that individuals who are skeptical and doubting towards others are prone to behave unprofessionally. Machiavellianism is often associated with unconstructive and unhelpful behavior (Christie & Geis, 2002). According to Christie and Geis, Machiavellianism is considered to an unconstructive appellation which promotes an unprincipled and unethical method of influencing and controlling others in order to achieve one’s goals. Gable and Topol demonstrated in their studies that Machiavellian individuals exhibit calm and unruffled lack of involvement and indifference which makes them less emotionally concerned and occupied with others. Machiavellianism and ethical behavior were investigated in ethic studies which were conducted by Nelson and Gilbertson. It was found out that Machiavellianism and ethical behavior of an individual is the key towards ethical decision making(Gable & Topol, 2004). Similar studies conducted by Christie and Geis examined that ethical behavior and Machiavellianism are important and significant factors for determining ethical conduct (Christie & Geis, 2002). Machiavellianism and ethical behavior studies by Nelson and Gilbertson suggested that Machiavellian individuals take no notice of ethics and enhance their own individual self. In simple words, the pressure to win and achieve specific targeted goals can cause unethical behavior to manifest itself (Nelson & Gilbertson, 2002) Relationship between Ethical Behavior and Machiavellianism Machiavellianism is a factor which plays an essential and significant role in influencing ethical behavior and decision making because it is associated with proclivity to influence others for the sake of personal benefits and achievements. For example, most researchers associate entrepreneurship with Machiavellian propensities which can lead to straightforward manipulation of others and ethical compromise (Cable and Dangello, 2000). In other words, entrepreneurs can follow Machiavellianism properties by acting master manipulators who can take immediate advantage of others. Studies indicate that individuals who follow the principles of Machiavellianism are often to be deceptive and indifferent towards ethical needs. Machiavellianism is believed to be a widespread and frequent behavior and it is found in ethical decision making scenarios. It is often associated with sex, age, ethnic origin and birth order. Conclusion Ethical behavior is defined as the action taken in accordance to what is morally accepted. On the other hand, Machiavellianism is defined as the action which an individual takes in order to gain his or her own benefit with the help of manipulative behavior. Studies have shown that Machiavellian principles promote negative behavior in individuals. It plays a vital role in influencing perceptions because it has a relationship with the tendency to influence others. Machiavellian individuals are known to show calm and indifferent attitudes and are not affected by emotions.It can be concluded that Machiavellianism is a negative concept which does not go with ethical conduct. References Cable, M. & Dangello, F. (2000). Job Involvement, Machiavellianism and Job Performance, Journal of Business and Psychology (9:2). Christie, R. & Geis,F. L. (2002). Studies in Machiavellianism. New York: Academic Press. Gable, M. & Topol, M. (2004). Machiavellianism and Job Satisfaction of Retailing Executive in a Specialty Store Chain, Psychological Reports Nelson, G. & Gilbertson, D. (2002). Machiavellianism Revisited, Journal of Business Ethics.

Dual Career Families - 1654 Words

Dual Career Families The societies in the United States and other societies abroad are enduring many changes at a rather rapid rate. The changes that I am specifically referencing are those involved with altering the norms and cultural traditions among marriages. There is a vast amount of growth among both the husband and wife fulfilling full-time careers. In the past, more traditional marriages existed. The husband would endure a full-time career while the wife stayed at home and completed the majority of the domestic work. The traditional marriage has definitely changed, as it has become more of a norm for both the husband and wife to maintain separate careers. Research has identified numerous variables that affect the stability of a†¦show more content†¦A higher rate of depression and anxiety is found among men. Their rates of depression and anxiety are related to their partners job commitment and/or satisfaction and work demands. Women on the other hand suffer a higher rate of depression from these job related features. The discussion and communication that takes place among couples in regards to work related issues has different affects on men versus women. Evidence suggests that for men, frequent discussion is related to reduced well-being and higher levels of anxiety about their partners jobs, whereas the quality of the communication makes little difference. On the other hand, for women, frequency of discussion about work makes little difference, but the perception that communication with their partner is based on mutual understanding and helpfulness is related to higher levels of female psychological well-being (Crossfield, K inman, Jones, 2005). The research has conveyed the affects of work related discussion; it has also portrayed the manners in which a husband and wife commonly react to stressors. Women tend to react to work stressors in more of an outward focused and expressive manner. Men chose to be more inwardly focused and withdrawn. The research has displayed that the majority of women wish toShow MoreRelatedExploring the Sharp Rise in Dual-Career Families Essay506 Words   |  3 Pagesin a family that had two working parents. Even now most married adults are working couples. According to a survey, â€Å"the percentage of dual-income families has increased sharply over the past 30 years.† As more and more female enter the work force more single family careers are turning into two-career families. In this economy can a family actually afford not to have both adults working? 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Quality Assurance Systems In The Upscale Hotel Sector - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2969 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Argumentative essay Level High school Did you like this example? Quality assurance systems are an important element of any business strategy. As Porter (1985 and 2004) suggests, quality is now seen as a major force for gaining competitive advantage, particularly with the consumer. There is no commercial activity where this is more important than in the hotel sector. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Quality Assurance Systems In The Upscale Hotel Sector" essay for you Create order As Yavas et al (1995) state, the question is no longer whether to have quality assurance programmes, but rather how to make these programmes work, within this sector of hospitality. It can be argued that in terms of quality assurance systems delivery the hotel sector is in a distinctive position, particularly when it is related to service satisfaction (Parasuraman 1997, Schiffman and Kanuk 2000). Unlike most other industries, where customer contact and engagement during a visit might be fleeting, as happens in retail shop environment, a hotels interaction with customers can last from a few hours to several days. Furthermore, as Kandampully et al (2001, p.28) the quality of the hotel product also has to take into account the customer-to-customer interactions. Following a brief literature review, the intention of this essay is to examine quality assurance systems and evaluate the effect that these systems have upon service quality and customer satisfaction within the upscal e Hotel market. Quality assurance and management within the hotel environment is focused upon satisfying the customer. Therefore, this review concentrates on the existing literature relating to customer satisfaction and the various methods and frameworks of service quality related to this focus. Academic literature relating to customer satisfaction falls within two main categories, these being the psychological perceptions of the customer and the practical ways in which customer satisfaction can be implemented to help a business achieve its objectives. In the hotel sector, this objective is to try and engender a high level of customer satisfaction in order to positively influence our customers repurchasing and communicative behaviour (Hennig-Thurau and Hassen (2000, p.62). However, to achieve this aim the business has to understand what drives customer satisfaction. Christopher (1984), Holbrook (1999), Schiffmand and Kanuk 2000 and Brennen (2003) all agree that satisfac tion is related to the consumers perception or judgement of a product experience and value when set against their expectations and the payment made. Zeithamls (1998, p.14) describes it as follows, being that Perceived value is the consumers overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ value represents a trade-off of the salient give and get components , in other words the cost paid is measured against the value expected . Therefore, it can be suggested that the greater the service quality the higher the satisfaction (Kandampully et al. 2001, p.8) and, conversely, the higher the price the greater the perception of value. Bostepe (2007) further identifies that, within a service environment such as a hotel, consumer satisfaction does not simply rely upon the quality of service satisfaction received from business employees, although this is an essential element. The physical environment, for examp le the dÃÆ' ©cor, bedrooms and other facilities offered, are also elements of the consumers perceived value and service satisfaction. If any of these are deemed as sub-standard, particularly when related to the price paid, this will reduce the customers enjoyment and levels of satisfaction. It follows therefore that only by concentration upon providing quality within all of these areas of the product will the business be able to assure satisfaction and encourage customer loyalty (Holbrook 1999, p.121), which Porter (1998), Parasuraman (1997) Agrawal (2000) and Harrison (2003) all agree is essential to competitive advantage. There are numerous quality assurance measurement systems and standards available for use within the business environment. Customer feedback is one such measurement. Client feedback can be achieved by two methods. The first way is to provide questionnaires that hotel guests are asked to complete before the end of their stay. The second is to rely up on externally conducted questionnaires, interviews and polls, which can be conducted on a continuous basis. However, whilst comments and responses provided by customers may act as a good testimonial for the business (Porter 1998, p.1478), these systems have their drawbacks. In addition to the fact that not all customers might respond, the design of the process itself is often flawed (Kandampully et al 2001) and can therefore be misinterpreted. For example, a simple complaints procedure would not necessarily identify areas of quality success. Secondly, these feedback processes tend to lack definition. Their use may therefore be inhibited by the fact that they do not provide management with sufficient detail to be able to locate and resolve the specific areas of the business where deficiency of service quality is occurring. Furthermore, a system of continuous surveys adds to the business administration costs and, in addition, raises the inherent issue of sampling (Visit Britai n 2008 b). Evidence of these limitations can be seen in a recent survey conducted by Visit Britain (2008 a) (see figure 1). Figure 1 Customer hotel choice determinants Source: Visit Britain (2008 a, p.11) Whilst it is clearly apparent from these results that customer satisfaction in related to encouraging loyalty and retention, as well as being inherently useful in turning existing customers into promotional tools for the hotel, this does not provide management with a detailed analysis of the areas where satisfaction has been achieved or denote what areas were not satisfying. To provide detailed quality service observations therefore, a more robust quality assurance system is required and most of these are based upon variations of the Total Quality Management (TQM) system (Dotchin and Oakland 1994 and Ziethaml et al 2000). These methods are designed to assess and monitor the level of quality being maintained throughout all areas of the business process and its suppl y chain, from an internal as well as external viewpoint. One such variation, particularly applicable to the hotel industry, is the SERVQUAL method, which originated from the works of Parasuraman et al (1991). Kandampully et al (2001, p.68) observe that many academics and practical studies have used SERVQUAL as a true measure of customer service and that it has been extensively applied (Shahin 2005, p.4) in service based organisations. Amongst these service industries will be included the hospitality and hotel sector of the tourism industry. Despite the fact that recent researches have sought to extend the elements of quality measurement with the SERVQUAL model, fundamentally it is still based upon the level of quality assurance to be measured and gained within five key sectors of the business processes, which are: Tangibles Physical facilities, equipment and appearance of personnel. Reliability Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Responsiveness Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. Assurance (including competence, courtesy, credibility and security). Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence. Empathy (including access, communication, understanding the customer). Caring and individualized attention that the firm provides to its customers. Source: Sahney et al 2004 The SERVQUAL measurement can be used internally, through measurement against preset quality assurance standards such as the ISO 9001 Quality certification process (BSI 2008) and the Star Rating system operated by Visit Britain (2008) in conjunction with the Automobile Association. In this case the hotel services and processes are measured against pre-determined sets of quality criterion and monitored at least annually by those who regulate these standards. The internal quality assurance programme is also complemented by external consumer questionnaires and interview surveys. The SERVQUAL quality assurance method has been in existence for some years and is tried and tested (Shahin 2005, p.5), making it a firm favourite within the hotel service industry, where managers are comfortable and confident with the outcomes of these measurements. An element of SERVQUAL that is considered particularly important in this respect is the fact that the system a nd its measurements are monitored and updated on a regular basis (Holbrook (1999), Sahney et al (2004) and Boztepe (2007)), for example annually (Shahin 2005, p.6). Both ISO 9001 and the Star Rating systems conform to these determinants. As will be seen from the following analysis, the quality assurance systems applied to the hotel in terms of both the internal industry Star Rating and external SERVQUAL systems are virtually synonymous in terms of the standards and factors they rely upon for measurement. To maintain their perception as upscale or 5 star hotels, in each of these cases the hotel will have to achieve much higher levels of standards. 4.1 Star Rating system Although the Star Rating system is formatted in a slightly different way to SERVQUAL, the quality elements of this process are still graded in a similar manner. The main difference is the fact that there are minimum quality requirements before the hotel will even be considered for a rating. However, eve n these equate to the tangible element of the SERVQUAL system (figure 2). Figure 2 Minimum entry requirements Source (Visit Britain 2005, p.8) Once the minimum entry requirements have been met, to assess which star level is applicable to the establishment independent inspectors will monitor five quality bands and award a quality percentage to each. These percentages determine what rating the establishment has achieved (figure 3). Figure 3 Quality bands for star rating Star rating Bands One star 30-46% Two stars 47-54% Three stars 55-69% Four Stars 70-84% Five Stars 85-100% Source: Visit Britain (2005, p.6) Furthermore, this standard of quality has to be achieved across a range of five product elements, which include cleanliness, service, food quality, bedrooms and bathrooms. Simply complying in one of the areas is not sufficient to earn the highest star. Therefore, if the hotel fails to achieve the required 85-100% standards during an annual monitoring it risks its rating being downgraded to four stars or a lower standard. For instance, in the example shown below (figure 4), despite the fact that the hotel being monitored has achieved the five star requirements in three of the five bands, its failures in the other two would demote it to a four star hotel. Figure 4 Quality bank achievement LevelStandard 1 2 3 4 5 Cleanliness X Service X Food quality X Bedrooms X Bathrooms X Source: adapted from Visit Britain (2005, p.7) 4.2 SERVQUAL system When using the SERVQUAL system, which is largely based largely upon the results of customer satisfaction surveys, although all hotels would be looking to achieve the maximum service quality satisfaction level of 100% in terms of the overall scoring, there is a significant difference in the way this would be achieved when related to the different standard of establishments. To provide an example of how this equates in practice, the following is a comparison between the SERVQUAL requirements of a 5 star hotel against lower rated hotel, such as the budget Travelodge hotel chain (figure 5). Figure 5 SERVQUAL comparisons SERVQUAL criterion 5-star hotel Travelodge Tangibility 20% 20% Reliability 20% 30% Responsiveness 20% 15% Assurance 20% 25% Empathy 20% 10% Total 100% 100% It is apparent from the above comparison that the 5-star establishment requires their quality of service to be more balanced, in other words no one area of their product should be delivering a lower quality of service than any other. However, with the budget chain, which operates on a low cost strategy that eliminates much of the human resources and food elements, these specific areas are shown to have less importance to the business, but need to be compensated by increased levels of satisfaction in other areas of quality if the business is to remain successful. What is immediately apparent from the analysis of the two quality assurance systems identified above as being used within the hotel sector is their compatibility. This not only applies to the systems per se, but also to the measurement of the results. In both cases an upscale hotel would need to achieve a balanced score with high ratings in all of the quality determinants if it is to maintain its market position and be perceived by the potential customer as a quality (5 star) hotel. Conversely, the lower quality hotels pay less attention to those areas of the standards that are more directly related to the quality of service provided by their human resources, relying instead upon other elements to satisfy customer quality perception, such as low cost (Porter 2004). Whilst it could therefore be stated in simple terms that quality assurance is related to the price being paid for the product, what research such as that conducted by Shahin (2006), Ziethaml et al (1990) and Holbrook (1999), and the fact that all hotels, irrespective of their standards, operate quality assurance systems, shows is that price is simply one element required to fulfil customer satisfaction needs. Whatever price is being charged for the hotel product the customer will still weigh the experience received against the value they expect from the product enjoyed at that price (Zeithaml 1988 and Parasuraman et at 1 994). A customer who decides to spend a greater amount of his or her disposable income on arranging to stay in a 5-star hotel will have a much greater value expectation than one who chooses a budget hotel stay. The former will expect the service quality to exist in all aspects of the hotel product. This includes the dÃÆ' ©cor and the ambiance of the environment, the facilities that are being offered, including meals and room service, and the performance of the hotels human resources. If these quality expectations are not met that customer will perceive that they have not received value for money and therefore will view the experience as less than satisfactory. Therefore, they will be unlikely to promote the hotel in a positive manner to others or re-use it. It is apparent that in the case of an upscale or5-star hotel the combination of the industry Star Rating and SERVQUAL quality assurance systems will have a significant impact upon their service quality and the level o f customer satisfaction achieved from using the product. In terms of the Star Rating system, the higher the star rating the greater the expectation of the customer in terms of their perception of the quality that will be found in this establishment. Therefore, the five star establishments are likely to attract customers who wish to avail themselves of the higher quality experience. With regard to the external SERVQUAL system of measurement, because these are results from customer experiences, the greater the levels of quality achieved in the areas measured, the more likely it is that customers will be retained and act as recommenders to other potential customers. In both cases therefore, it can be concluded that the quality assurance system is designed to achieve competitive advantage by attracting additional market share, thus improving the hotels revenue and profitability levels. Agrawal (2000). Managing service industries in the new millennium: Evidence is everyth ing. Paper presented at the AIMS Convention on Service Management Berry L L and Parasuraman, A (1991). Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality, Free Press. New York, US Boztepe, Suzan (2007). User Value: Competing theories and models. 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