(a) Project Title : ASSESSING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AT APAVOU INDIAN

RESORT & SPA: A study carried out fro No!e"er #$%# to A&ri' #$%()
(b) Definition of the research problem and justification to study
Indian Resort & Spa forms part of the Apavou Hotels-Resorts & Spa which is the leader hotels
group in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Resort is the flagship of Apavou Hotels and is found on a
heavenly islet in the middle of an eceptionally preserved nature. It constitutes of a par! of
eleven hectares with several gardens dominated and protected "y the silhouette of #e $orne. The
resort contains %&' air conditioned rooms( all facing the lagoon and are decorated in % different
styles) Indian* $arine and $ountain* +,- standard $arine rooms of which %. have twin "eds* all
have terrace and face the sea* .- Indian /rivilege rooms* +- with twin "eds* terrace and ocean or
garden view* +-, family rooms-Sea or garden view. 0inally it contains % suites found on second
floor with sea view and a "ig "alcony and the decoration of each suite follows respectively the
Indian* $odern and Sport themes.
0urthermore* the Indian Resort is said to "e one of the rarest hotels in the island to have seven
restaurants 1#a /ointe du $orne* #a /lage* 2den* #e 3io* Haseena* #a /ia44etta* #e 3istrot5
under one roof offering different cuisine and different atmosphere. Added to this* it has 6 "ars
17aru!anna * 3ar 8 vin* 9ictoria 3ar * :ite 3ar * 3owdi 3ar5 and the Spa-;The 7olphin Spa<
which is "ased on the thalasso energy-a concept derived from the =hinese energy medicine.
>evertheless* in spite of "eing so famous Indian Resort is not "eing a"le to attract tourists and
therefore a decrease in the num"er of visitors has "een noted. The minimi4ed visits is mainly
due to the intense competition that Indian Resort is facing from competitors li!e 7inaro"in Hotel
?olf & Spa* #u@ #e $orne and /aradis Hotel & ?olf =lu". $oreover* the statistics of the hotel
indicate that there is decrease of A--- visitors on average over the last si months. This situation
is further impacted "y the fact that no structured approach is availa"le to maintain Buality
improvement of services* thus customers are not satisfied with the services provided.
=onseBuently* Indian Resort must emphasi4e on customer satisfaction in order to "e competitive.
According to :otler1A---*/g%,5 satisfaction is a personCs feelings of pleasure or disappointment
resulting from comparing a productCs perceived performance in relation to his epectation.
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$oreover* Di1+''-5 stated that customer satisfaction is a collective outcome of perception*
evaluation and psychological reactions to the consumption eperience with a productEservice. In
a nutshell customer satisfaction is defined as a result of customersC evaluation to the consumption
eperience with the services. However* customers have different levels of satisfaction as they
have different attitudes and perceived performance from productEservice differently.
Since the goal of hotel industry is to develop services that will attract and !eep customers who
are satisfied 1?ustafsson et al.+''' /g%&&-%6.5* a research is "eing done to !now a"out the
customersC epectations and to find ways of retaining eisting customers. Therefore* more
emphasis will "e laid on =ustomer Relationship $anagement so as to increase the customer
satisfaction and loyalty 1:halifa & #iuA--%( :otorov A--A( /ar! &:im A--%( >gai A--65 which
will conseBuently increase revenue* customer eBuity and mar!et share 1Fang et al* A--&( /ar! et
al*A--&5.
(c )Hypothesis and research Objectives
3ased on the research pro"lem and Gustification to study* the main aim of this research is to study
customer satisfaction regarding the services provided at Indian Resort & Spa* which is an
essential concept of =ustomer Relationship $anagement. The o"Gectives of the research would
"e useful for understanding the gap "etween customer epectations and perceptions towards
service Buality at Indian resort. These would in turn "e used for improving the Buality services
provided to customers. The o"Gectives are)
+5 To analy4e the levels of customersC satisfaction on the services 10ront 7es!* House!eeping*
Spa* 0ood & 3everage5 provided "y Indian Resort and Spa.
A5 To identify the variation of customersC satisfaction with regard to the demographic
characteristics such as gender* age* nationality and purpose of visit.
%5 To eamine the guidelines for improving the services provided "y Indian Resort and Spa.
In order to fulfill the o"Gectives of this research* the following research Buestions and hypotheses
were developed.
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Research Huestion +) Fhat is the satisfaction level of consumers regarding the services provided
"y Indian Resort & SpaI
Research Huestion A) How does customer satisfaction vary in terms of demographic
characteristicsI
Research Huestion %) Fhat can "e done to improve the Buality of services provided "y Indian
Resort & SpaI
H-) The differences in gender* age* nationality and purpose of visit affect the differences
customer satisfaction on 0ont 7es!.
H+) The differences in gender* age* nationality and purpose of visit do not affect the differences in
customer satisfaction on 0ont 7es!.
H-) The differences in gender* age* nationality and purpose of visit affect the differences in
customer satisfaction on House!eeping.
H+) The differences in gender* age* nationality and purpose of visit do not affect the differences in
customer satisfaction on House!eeping.
H-) The differences in gender* age* nationality and purpose of visit affect the differences in
customer satisfaction on Spa.
H+) The differences in gender* age* nationality and purpose of visit do not affect the differences in
customer satisfaction on Spa.
H-) The differences in gender* age* nationality and purpose of visit affect the differences in
customer satisfaction on 0ood & 3everage.
H+) The differences in gender* age* nationality and purpose of visit do not affect the differences in
customer satisfaction on 0ood & 3everage.
(d) Methodology of approach
In order to measure customer satisfaction in the hotel industry* it is important to collect data.
There are two types of measurements) Huantitative and Hualitative.
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Huantitative Research options have "een predetermined and a large num"er of respondents are
involved. 3y definition* measurement must "e o"Gective* Buantitative and statistically valid.
Hualitative Research is collecting* analy4ing* and interpreting data "y o"serving what people do
and say. Fhereas* Buantitative research refers to counts and measures of things. Hualitative
research refers to the meanings* concepts* definitions* characteristics* metaphors* sym"ols* and
descriptions of things. Hualitative research is much more su"Gective than Buantitative research
and uses very different methods of collecting information* mainly individual* in-depth interviews
and focus groups. The nature of this type of research is eploratory and open-ended. The Buality
of the finding from Bualitative research is directly dependent upon the s!ills* eperience and
sensitive of the interviewer or group moderator.1Source) Imperial =O2* A--, John 7. Anderson*
Superintendent of Schools5.
There are two types of data mainly)
/rimary and Secondary 7ata K /rimary data consist of information which has to "e collected
especially for the purpose of research report. Secondary data already eist somewhere* "ut*
they were gathered for a different purpose. Researchers can gather Gust one of them* or "oth
of them 1:otler and :eller A--.*/g'A5.
Huantitative and Hualitative 7ata K Huantitative data refers to numerical or contain data that
can "e Buantified. Such data are usually turned into information in the form of charts or
graphs. Then they help to descri"e or present relationships or trends within Buantitative data.
1Saunders* #ewis and Thornhill A--'*/g&-,5.On the other hand* Bualitative data are all non-
numerical data which cannot "e Buantified. It is for eample open-ended Buestions used in
Buestionnaires or transcripts of interviews. To ma!e these data useful they have to "e
analy4ed and the meanings need to "e understood 1Saunders* #ewis and Thornhill
A--L*/g&L-5.
The research will "e carried out "y survey which is the most commonly method used. Survey can
"e conducted "y using Buestionnaires* interviews and o"servations. Huestionnaires will therefore
"e used to collect responses a"out customer satisfaction. 0urthermore* Buestionnaires can gather
large si4e of information in a short period of time compared to interviews and o"servations.
Huestionnaires are more advantageous since the mem"ers of the sample group can remain
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anonymous* they are considera"ly cheaper than most of the other primary data collection
methods and have the possi"ility of generating large amount of data. =onversely* Buestionnaires
incur difficulties of ensuring greater depth for the research and there is the pro"lem of the Mfirst
choice selectionC.
$oreover* the Buestionnaires were given to customers on the last day of their stay and it was
estimated that Indian resort had an average of +6- customers per month. Thus* L- Buestionnaires
were used as sample for this research. The Buestionnaires comprise of two sections of Buestions)
Section A( Buestions on customersC satisfaction regarding the Buality of services offered and
Section 3( Buestions on customersC satisfaction with regard to the demographic characteristics
such as gender* age* nationality and purpose of visit.
Sectio* A
+5 Are you a customer of Indian Resort & SpaI
Des >o
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If >o* /lease go to section 3.
A5 7o you often come to stay at Indian Resort & SpaI
Des >o
If >o* /lease go to section 3.
%5 0or how long have you "een staying at Indian Resort & SpaI
--% days
%-6 days
6-L days
L-' days
+- days are more
&5 How did you find the services of the 0ront 7es!I

/oor Average ?ood 9ery good 2cellent
65 How did you find House!eeping servicesI
/oor Average ?ood 9ery good 2cellent
,5 How would you rate the Spa treatment and serviceI
/oor Average ?ood 9ery good 2cellent
L5 How was the food and "everage offeredI
/oor Average ?ood 9ery good 2cellent
Sectio* +
+5 /lease specify your genderI
$ale 0emale
A5 /lease identify you age from the data provided "elowI
Nnder A- years
A+ to %- years
%+ to &- years
&+ to 6- years
6+ years and a"ove
%5 /lease state your nationality) OOOOOOOOOOO.
&5 Fhat is your purpose of visitI
Tourist
3usiness
9isit friendsE relatives
Other
65 The services provided at Indian Resort & Spa are 2cellent. 7o you agreeI
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Des >o
If >o* please specify whyI OOOOOOOOOOOOO.
,5 To what etent are you satisfied with the Buality of services providesI
9ery satisfied OO OO OO OO OO OO OO 9ery unsatisfied
Interpretation of data
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Recommendation)
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The overall recommendation to managers is that they should consider the importance of
managing Buality as a complete process. To achieve this* organi4ations need to create a culture of
Buality in which staffs are empowered and in which managers facilitate the consistent delivery of
high-Buality services.
=onclusion)
0rom the findings* it can "e concluded that Indian Resort provides good services to customers.
However employees need to "e provided with more trainings and motivation to increase the
num"er of visitors. 0rom the research findings there is a significant relationship "etween Buality
of service provided and customer satisfaction* the two varia"les are directly proportional( the
"etter the Buality of service* the higher the customer satisfaction and poor Buality of service leads
to customer dissatisfaction.
(e)ndication of time and cost
The cost of the proGect is to "e estimated in terms of total duration of the proGect and facilities
needed. It may contain the following items)
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=ost of paper) Rs %--
=ost of /rinting) Rs 6--
Transport cost)Rs +---
Total) Rs +.--
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