Executive Summary
Content analysis is a very convenient method for research in the field of social sciences, management, and marketing. The tourism industry, in many ways, relies on the vision of consumers of services and products to improve business. The owners of Mantra Terrace hotel will find useful information in the research, where the authors measure the importance of some aspects of hotel service for guests. Mantra Terrace hotel, despite the significant demand among travelers and corporate officers, has many problems that require an immediate solution. The results of the study showed that expensive parking, poor breakfast options, messy rooms, and small room size cause complaints from visitors. At the same time, guests are extremely satisfied with the location of the hotel, the design of the rooms, and the courtesy of the reception staff. The last three features are paradoxically dangerous, because they typically characterize hostels, while Mantra Terrace hotel positions itself as a middle-class B&B facility.
Property Description
Mantra Terrace is a hotel located in downtown Brisbane, Australia, targeted at lower-middle income and middle-income customers. This 12-story hotel with balconies is a decent version of B&B stays and boasts 96 elegant rooms for one and two persons, free Wi-Fi, an iPod dock, and Foxtel TV. The hotel has a 24-hour reception, allowing for early and late check-ins and check-outs. The information on the website assures that the hotel has “secure undercover parking,” and is located close to the Queen Street Mall and Eagle Street Financial District. Currently, a hotel has been facing some difficulties in providing services, and there is a warning message saying that due to COVID-19-related restrictions, “the hotel facilities may experience temporary closures or changes to operating times and/or services provided” (“Mantra Terrace Hotel,” 2022, para. 8). It is also said that some inconveniences can be prevented through scheduling with the help of the hotel reception.
Method
The method of content analysis is a great tool for analyzing the massive amount of semantic data, including texts of all sorts – scholarly articles, news, feedback responses, books, and other types of information that consist of words. The content analysis method primarily focuses on developing a coding system for conceptual or relational analysis (Kleinheksel et al., 2020). The conceptual analysis was used to systematize the reviews from the TripAdvisor website.
The responses were put into a table, and the text was then reduced to categories and codes. The category system was used extensively and proved to be very handy. It included eight categories for ‘product aspects’ responses – location, hotel facilities, room style, room size, in-room facilities, cleanliness, tranquility, and in-F&B options. Six categories for ‘service aspects’ responses were developed as well – staff, reception, room service, housekeeping, car park service, and breakfast. There were also two categories for ‘overall comment and willingness to stay again’ – positive comments and negative comments. Codes green, red, and blue were used for positive, negative, and neutral keywords.
The relationship between concepts was determined through the grouping of categories. The deductive approach was used to analyze the responses as regards the overarching moods of customers, and how many deficiencies in particular categorized product or service aspects impacted the overall impression and decision to visit again (Park et al., 2018). The deductive approach was also applied in terms of developing the codes and categories system (Pandey et al., 2019). Forty-three responses from the TripAdvisor website were analyzed, dated February 2020 – September 2022. The inductive approach was used to come up with some insights regarding everyday in-hotel staying, probable improvements, and innovations.
Results
The content analysis method described above proved to be very effective. First, positive feedback should be considered, so that the shareholders see the main strengths of their property. Location is an important component of a positive visitor experience, with 16 positive reviews during the period (Verhagen et al., 2021). In ten cases, reviews of the place included positive impressions of the friendly staff, and in four cases, they coincided with an overall intention to visit again. The friendly staff category collected 17 positive responses, which can also be considered an important advantage of the hotel (Al-Ansi and Han, 2019). The design of the rooms is also seen positively, with 12 responses expressing satisfaction.
The second category of reviews is mixed impressions of guests, and it requires utmost attention. For example, 12 responses mentioned satisfaction with the cleanliness of the rooms, while 4 people were extremely dissatisfied with the complete lack of room cleaning during 4-day stays, and another 4 were surprised by the lack of room service. Equally important, 10 guests were satisfied by in-room facilities, mentioning comfortable beds, good wi-fi, and TV, big-sized TV screen with sports programs, a nice bathroom, compact and cozy rooms.
But another 14 guests were left with extremely negative impressions, complaining about no light in the bathroom, no hot water, lousy ventilation, no soap, no TV, and ‘granite-hard’ beds. Negative responses also reported confusing bed settings, absence of desks for laptops, bad table and sitting arrangement, no channels except Netflix paid subscription on TV, poorly working TV, not working TV, not working air conditioner, and air conditioner leaking water. Other guests were dissatisfied with the loud sounds from the upper and neighboring rooms, while 3 guests considered the hotel very quiet and cozy. Mixed reviews also include complaints about the lack of a restaurant in the hotel with 6 more recent negative reviews, while responses for 2021 and 2020 indicated satisfaction with the in-hotel breakfast, and another 5 guests were satisfied with the opportunity to drink coffee with pastries or visit the bar.
The third category of reviews is extensively negative, and those that did not have positive connotations. These are 8 reviews about paid parking with high prices, 20 negative reviews about room sizes, and 4 reviews sharing dissatisfaction with hotel facilities such as ‘terrible lift’ and ‘confusing entrance.’ Some guests were dissatisfied with the staff – 3 negative reviews complaining about rudeness, discriminatory behavior, and refusal to solve the guest’s problem.
To sum it up, the most important for guests were no parking, no in-hotel restaurant, problems with in-room facilities, room cleanliness, room services, and tranquility. Twenty guests were dissatisfied with the size of the rooms and suggested they are designed for one guest. The most positive impressions were caused by the location, the design of the rooms and in-room facilities, friendly staff, and fast check-ins.
Recommendations
Given the above, shareholders, top managers, and heads of departments should consider the following improvements to preserve the hotel’s reputation and fix the guests’ overall impressions. First, the parking problem should be served – guests were mostly offended by the price, which was seen as too high, compared to the price for the hotel stay. Some 3 guests even said they will never visit the hotel again due to this deficiency, so the price should be lowered to at least $20-25 per night. The absence of an in-hotel restaurant was another major issue, and, although on the website it is said that the kitchen may not be working due to COVID-19 measures, this service should be restored to improve the situation, especially given that Mantra Terrace hotel is positioning itself as a B&B class option, not a hostel.
Further, the hotel back-office departments should be informed of numerous problems with in-room facilities, tranquility, lack of room and cleaning service. These are all issues that caused expressive negative feedback and impacted the guests’ final decisions on whether to visit the hotel again. The managers should rethink the policy of attending to problems with the in-room equipment, such as ventilation, air conditioning, working TV, hot water, and light in the bathroom (Sinulingga, 2021). Then, the arrangement of furniture and the quality of the mattresses should be checked – some rooms should be complemented with laptop desks, while in others the bed arrangement should be changed for better convenience (Alemayehu, 2020). Daily cleaning and available room service is a must for decent B&B hotels (Ineson et al., 2019). Therefore, the department managers should hire more cleaners and increase the expenses in this area, this notice regards the room service as well. The front office should also attend to the complaints about the noise and the rudeness of some reception staff and baristas.
Finally, the hotel should warn guests about the size of the rooms, and offer alternatives for accommodation, such as discounts for a second room for people who come in pairs or groups. Currently, the situation is critical, as the main characteristics that make visitors happy are the design of the rooms, the location, and the courtesy of the staff, which are typical signs of a good hostel. If the Mantra Terrace hotel wants to remain in the category of B&B hotels, the top management should consider the comments presented in the results section and listen to the advice and recommendations given above.
Reference List
Al-Ansi, A., & Han, H. (2019) ‘Role of halal-friendly destination performances, value, satisfaction, and trust in generating destination image and loyalty,’ Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 13, 51-60.
Alemayehu, E. (2020). Assessment of the level of customer satisfaction with in-room technological facilities for branded hotels: A case of Best Western Plus Addis Ababa (Doctoral dissertation, St. Mary’s University).
Ineson, E. M., Čomić, D., & Kalmić, L. (2019) ‘Towards a hierarchy of hotel guests’ in-room needs,’ International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 5, 1-15.
Kleinheksel, A. J., Rockich-Winston, N., Tawfik, H., & Wyatt, T. R. (2020) ‘Demystifying content analysis,’ American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 84(1).
Mantra Terrace Hotel (2022) Web.
Pandey, J. (2019) ‘Deductive approach to content analysis,’ In Qualitative techniques for Workplace Data Analysis (pp. 145-169). IGI Global.
Park, S., Hahn, S., Lee, T., & Jun, M. (2018) ‘Two factor model of consumer satisfaction: International tourism research,’ Tourism Management, 67, 82-88.
Sinulingga, S. (2021) ‘Tourism & Covid-19 (Coronavirus Impact Inventory to Tourism Stakeholders in North Sumatera),’ Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal) Vol, 4(1), 170-179.
Verhagen, T., Meents, S., Merikivi, J., Moes, A., & Weltevreden, J. (2021) ‘How location-based messages influence customers’ store visit attitudes: An integrative model of message value,’ International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 12, 1-10.