Abstract

The Ritz-Carlton Hotels are managed by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC., based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marriott International, Inc. As of September 2013, it operated 81 hotels and resorts in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean. The Ritz-Carlton hotels are known for their luxury and the world-class service offered to guests, and the company is the only service company to have earned the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award twice – in 1992 and 1999. In addition to this, the company has earned many other awards and certifications in recognition of its quality excellence and achievements. The reputation of Ritz is considered legendary and many companies in the service sector take it as a benchmark while many others have adopted its techniques. Companies even send their executives to be trained in the Ritz-Carlton principles of service at its Ritz-Carlton Learning Institute and The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center. In September 2013, the company announced a major expansion drive where it would increase its total number of hotels and resorts around the world from 81 to 100 by 2016 and hoped that it would remain the undisputed top-tier luxury hospitality brand across the world by 2016.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• The importance of customer service in the hotel industry
• Ritz-Carlton’s legendary customer service
• The Key elements of customer service at Ritz-Carlton
• The Total Quality Management of Ritz-Carlton

Keywords

Customer Service, Customer relationship management, Service marketing, Service quality excellence, Service values, Hospitality management, Total quality management, Hotel industry, Luxury, Employee empowerment