A framework of customer experience management for hotel industry

Abstract

Purpose Creating an extraordinary and memorable customer experience is the goal of every company seeking to be a market leader. This amplifies the need for customer experience management (CEM), particularly in customer-centric industries. Despite the indispensable importance of CEM, studies conducted within this area have been scattered and no agreement has been reached upon its stages. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the main stages and steps for effective and efficient CEM in the hotel industry. Design/methodology/approach Considering the variety of approaches in the literature and also the need to explain CEM stages in the hotel industry, a systematic literature review (SLR) has been picked as the first research methodology. It entailed a systematic review of 116 academic and professional studies. Then, the framework was completed by interviewing 19 experts. Findings With SLR and complementary interviews, this study obtains a four-stage framework for CEM in the hotel industry, each comprising necessary steps. These four stages are customer identification, customer experience design, customer experience implementation and customer experience measurement, which are all executed through organizational factors such as culture, structure, leadership, human resources and technology. Research limitations/implications This study identifies CEM stages in the hotel industry via SLR and interviews. Due to dispersion in customer experience studies, the need for research on CEM in another service- and customer-based industries is apparent. Practical implications The suggested framework can help hotel managers enhance the management of their customers’ experience and deliver a superior and memorable experience. Originality/value The current study aims to add value to the literature by presenting a framework of CEM in the hotel industry. Through a systematic literature review and interviewing experts, a framework of CEM stages and steps was identified. The proposed framework allows for improving future CEM studies.