Culture in Service Quality Management at the Ibis hotels : Are cultural backgrounds being considered when working with service quality management in large hotel chains?

Abstract: The aim of this thesis is to find out whether or not a guest’s cultural background is being considered when working with service quality management in the Ibis hotels. By doing qualitative interviews with both managers and front-office staff at three different Ibis hotels in the Stockholm area, the thesis analyzes the hotel chain’s way of working with service quality management on several levels of hierarchy within the company. The academic world is just starting to acknowledge the effect of culture on customer’s perceptions on service quality, while the tourism industry is still not paying attention. Our research has shown that the Ibis hotels do not consider the cultural background of their guests when working with service quality management, although they do seem to understand that doing so could help them avoid cultural shocks and lower the risks of service failures.