Current Issues And Challenges In Resort And Spa Management: Recommendations And Emerging Trends

Current Issues and Challenges in Resort and Spa Management

Question:

Discuss about the Resort and Spa Management

The study is enlightened with the concept of resort and spa management procedures in the present business market. In this particular study, some current issues and challenges that the spa and resort industry is confronting in present are manifested well. Moreover, a number of recommendations are brought out in order to resolve those challenges and complexities. Apart from this, some emerging trends is elaborated to make understand about its affect on the resort and spa business in future. The prime objective behind resort and spa management is to deliver higher quality of service to the customers and make them enjoy their leisure time.  

As opined by Lo, Wu and Tsai (2015), the resort and spa industry is currently facing major issues and challenges for changing business environment and increasing global competition. One of the major problems they confront is related to escalating renovation and construction cost. Whereas, Lin (2015) argued that changing and merging technology is the prime reason behind the difficulties the industry face in present. As stated by Lagrosen and Lagrosen (2015), lack of the skilled workers is the reason that they fail to meet the expectations of the customers in enjoying their leisure time. As the growth of resort and spa business relies less on capital and more on its human resources.

Vezzoli et al. (2015) has supported the viewpoint that nowadays renovation is required in keeping the same business position in the market. The increased capital requirements increases the reconstruction cost.  Many of the spa and resort businesses that have good market position tend to improve the physical condition of the service area. This primarily helps them to provide visual satisfaction to their customers. Reconstruction also causes escalating the operating cost that results more expenses and less saving as well as less investments. It has been found that the management bodies of the resort and spa industry confront difficulties in managing the operating cost with renovation and hence expenses overlap the income. Resort and spa industry is facing complexities in finding the ways to restrict the expenditure without sacrificing their service quality. In managing the new business operations, the managers need to think the ways more effectively. Failure in proper management results generating low degree of competitive advantages. This further results less income as well as less profit which acts as hitches in the path of success.

As per the statement of Enderwick (2013), the business system of resort and spa industry is rapidly moving towards internet based technology. Changing and merging technology allows the managers to operate the business in more easier and flexible way. However, the rapid change in technology makes the business confront challenges in operating the new system properly and effectively. This is the reason that lies behind the failure of proper operational management in resort and spa industry. As people come for enjoying their leisure time to the fullest extent through having their services, their expectations lies on the highest level. Through effective utilization of the new technology, they can fulfill customers' expectations. Most of the businesses fail to identify as well as quantify the business benefits from proper integration of technology. It has been found that most of the current systems and business operations are under-utilized. Hence, they fail to fully integrate as well as optimize the new business systems. In the emerging technology period, large number of new business is entering in the existing market. This increases the competition for the firms that are already existed in the market. As the new firms start up their business, they can easily incorporate new systems that deliver strong competition to the existed firms. It is difficult for the existed firms to restructure the entire system through integrating new technologies.

Escalating Renovation and Construction Cost

On the other way, Torres and Kline (2013) represented completely a different viewpoint that demonstrates human resource as the most powerful assets that the resort and spa industry have. Due to lack of skilled workers, they fail to retain its existing customers and attract the new ones. The service of this particular industry highly depends on numeracy and literacy skills as well as customer handling skills of the workers. Their ineffective effort in pursuing the business goal might create more challenges in the present scenario. In this twenty first century, the ways of thinking of the customers has changed from the ways they used to do the same in 90's. Therefore, the service providers are always in the stage of constant change in strategic policies that help to attract the customers. Apart from this, shrinking or compression of the workforce along with union issues affects the working environment. This changing labor condition decreases the effective role of the service providers. Besides, it has been seen that some of the businesses provide less benefit to the service providers in order to restrict the benefit cost. This causes increasing employee grievances and lowering the service quality. Thus, the spa and resort industry confronts challenges in balancing the entire expenditure along with delivering satisfaction to both its employees and customers.

However, it has been found that these are the major challenges and difficulties the resort and spa industry confronts in the present scenario. The challenges mentioned above are interrelated with other. The emerging technology raises the need of adopting new system in order to gaining comparative advantages. Further, the new system requires reconstruction of the existing business systems and operations that increase the cost. As the technology have been changing rapidly, the business operations and the working environment changes constantly. As a result, the service providers are divorced from the roles and procedures and hence it affects the employability skills of the workers which decline the service quality.

After analyzing the current issues and challenges that the resort and spa industry confronts, the study brings out a number of recommendations. Through discussing about the recommendations, the study addresses the pathways of resolving the problems. It is important to mention that the recommendations would cover each of the challenges that are discussed in the above section.

Recommendation for escalating renovation and construction cost:

The resort and spa industries are in financially challenging environment as the renovation and construction cost increases gradually. In this context, it is suggested that the management bodies of this industry should make proper budget plan and monitor the operations as per the budget. The budget plan is the road map of the business operations that direct the entire process in a certain way (Zimina, Ballard and Pasquire 2012). Before making budget plan, the historical results and the current cost trends should be considered in order to predict the future financial health. This way, the future financial result will possible to be outlined and thus they can balance the income and expenditure. Apart from this, the managers should pursue proper budget management process so that the operations would not exceed the amount set in budget plan (Lahdenperä 2016).

Changing and Merging Technology

Recommendation to deal with changing and merging technology:

Improper integration of modern technology is the prime reason behind confronting difficulties in operating the new system. It is recommended that the spa and resort industry should hire experts and provide training programs to its service providers. The employees should be provided training programs of using the new system in more effective way by the experts (Mithas, Krishnan and Fornell 2016). Moreover, the training programs will help to motivate the employees to use the modern technology and improve their employability skills. It is mentioned that the modern technologies are incorporated but under-utilized in most of the spa and resort businesses. The hired expert would direct the service providers in utilizing the new techniques to the fullest extent (Ostrom et al. 2015). 

Recommendation to deal with lack of the skilled workers:

In the above section, it has been suggested that the employees should be trained by hired experts that would improve their employability skills. Moreover, the study suggests through employing new workers who have high skill as well as experience, the industry can improve their entire labor performances. Besides, the employees should analyze the changes in the choices and preferences of the customers as the service providers are the one who directly communicate with the clients. The study further suggests the employers should provide more benefit packages to the employees in order to motivate them in delivering quality service to the customers. The employers should enhance the customers’ and clients’ satisfaction without maximizing the cost (Devambatla and Nalla 2015).

In this particular section, the study demonstrates five emerging trends in the resort and spa industry.

The customers want more mobile accessibility

As per the statement of Ramos et al. (2015), huge number of consumers use smart phones and similar devices to take any kind of services. Therefore, nowadays it is essential to incorporate mobile technology in the business to move towards further steps. It has been found that most of the service industry improves their service quality through involving mobile technology. When the customers receive the service details in their mobile phones, they find it is easy to take the service. The resort and spa industry should allow point of sales payments through using smart phone devices.  

The customers want more health conscious resorts and spa services

In this present century, the consumers become more conscious about their health and well beings. Most of the customers want to take services from the organizations that focus on wellness and healthy environment. The services that include healthy environment are in high demand. Therefore, the resort and spa industry needs to make their service environment healthier in order to attract more customers.

The resort and spa are investing more in technology

Hanson, Lind and Muendler (2015) opined that the organizations would able to gain comparative advantages and make growth through investing capital in incorporating technology. In this modern world, it is essential to operate the business in innovative ways.

Sustainability

It has been seen that people prefer to invest in the services which are environmentally friendly and green. Therefore, the resort and spa industry would need to invest more capital for the wellness in the working environment.  

Lack of Skilled Workers

Social media engagement

Moncrief, Marshall and Rudd (2015) stated that the social media is one of the most powerful tools that the organizations take advantage of. The resort and spa industry should involve themselves more in the social media to keep the customers update about their services. 

Effect of incorporating mobile accessibility

The researcher assumes that the more mobile accessibility would attract more customers. The organizations can represent their service in more attractive ways in the mobile software to grab the attention of the clients. As a result, the resort and spa industry would able to attain sustainable growth and development in the long run.

Effect of creating healthier service environment

As the customers become more health conscious, the healthy environment will able to attract large number of customers. Through paying more attention to the wellbeing of the customers and the clients, the resort and spa industry would able to provide additional benefit to them. This will attract both the customers and the new employees. The researcher expects that it would help the resort and spa industry to make sustainable growth.

Effect of investment in technology

The researcher assumes that the resort and spa industry might face increasing expenditure in the short run, but the investing in technology would reduce the cost in the long run. This would help the business to maximize their revenue through minimizing the cost.

Effect of Sustainability

In this context, the researcher assumes that sustainability would be beneficial in the long run. This would help to enhance their business more in both the domestic as well as global market.

Effect of engaging social media engagements

The researcher states that most of the customers crave for social media engagements. Thus, the resort and spa industry would able to stay connected more with the customers.

Conclusion:

The researcher concludes that the resort and spa industry is presently confronting several issues regarding escalating reconstruction cost, emerging technology use and lowering skills of the workforce. In this regard, the study brings out some suggestions to deal with these challenges. The study further describes five specific emerging trends in the industry along with the justification how it would affect the future of the industry.

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