1. Consider the formula presented in the chapter:

service product + service environment + service-delivery system = guest experience

A. Although all parts are important, do you think these three types of organization--a hotel, a

restaurant, and an airline--would tend to place a different emphasis on the three parts in

providing the total guest experience? Why do you think so?

B. If product + environment + delivery system = 100%, how would the hotel, restaurant, and

airline divide up their emphasis? Or, if you prefer to compare them this way, how would these

organizational types rank the three parts of the guest experience in order of emphasis?

2. Imagine that a Rolex watch, a Radio Shack watch, an Eagle Mirado #2 pencil, and a Cross

fountain pen are sitting on a table in front of you. Which item is highest in quality, and which is

lowest in quality?

3. These standard rooms are available in your locality: the Ritz-Carlton Hotel ($350 per night), a

Holiday Inn ($100), a YMCA or YWCA ($40), and a No-Tell Motel ($29.95). Which room is highest

in quality, and which is lowest in quality?

4. Consider the examples in questions 2 and 3 in terms of value. Under what circumstances can

quality be high and value low? Value high and quality low?

5. A guest experience is a service, and this chapter explained that services are largely intangible.

Think of a somewhat costly guest experience you have had. What tangibles did the organization

use to make you feel that your intangible experience was worth the cost you paid?

6. Reflect on a recent, enjoyable guest experience and on a disappointing guest experience.

A. What were the significant events, the moments of truth, during each experience?

B. How did they contribute to your enjoyment or disappointment?

C. How does all that relate to managing the guest experience in hospitality organizations?

7. This chapter makes some general statements about how people form their expectations for

guest experiences.

A. How do those statements match up with the way you personally form your expectations for

a new upcoming experience?

B. If you are going for a repeat experience, would your expectations be based totally on

previous experiences?

C. If you were a hospitality manager, what level and type of expectations would you want to

create in your guests, and how would you try to create them?

D. How would you take into account the fact that some guests are new, some are repeaters,

and you may not know which are which?

8. You are probably familiar with the expression "too much of a good thing." In the hospitality

setting, that would describe overdelivering the service guests have come to receive.

A. How much service is too much service? Have you ever experienced excessive service?

B. How does a hospitality manager ensure that guest expectations are met or exceeded without

going overboard?

9. From an article in a guest services magazine: "What brings hotel guests back? A fluffy robe

hanging on a padded hanger? Creamy chocolate reposing on the pillow? The jungle safari

bedroom decor? Or plain vanilla, old-fashioned service?" What do you say?

10. How is service quality related to guest satisfaction?