Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

FRONT OFFICE AND THE GUESTS: PLANNING FOR QUALITY SERVICE
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The Mobil Travel Guide and its star rating system are useful to many travel-
ers in selecting hotel accommodations. Factors used to award stars can be
a helpful foundation to managers who want to benchmark quality, physi-
cal facility, and property amenities. To view this information, go to 
www.mobiltravelguide.com. When you arrive at this site, click on Latest Star
Ratings and then click on Lodging Stars to see a general description of prop-
erties earning one to five stars. You can learn about services, facilities, gue-
stroom details, and specialized facility details for each property rating.
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To view an extensive library of general information about quality and quality
management, go to www.mapnp.org/library/quality/quality.htm. You will find
an extensive listing of quality and related topics that can be researched for a
wide range of information. This is a good one-site source for a virtual library
about quality that is useful for hoteliers.
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The Ritz-Carlton is the only lodging organization that has won the coveted
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (two times). To learn more about this
organization and its quality journey, go to www.ritzcarlton.com. When you arrive
at the site, click on About Us. You can learn about the company’s awards, gold
standards, quality philosophy, and leadership center (which is a resource center
that helps leading organizations to benchmark business practices).
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John Self, a lecturer at the Collins School of Hospitality Management at
California State Polytechnic Institute, has developed a series of brief customer
service articles that provide suggestions about tactics useful to hotel managers.
To view this site, go to www.sideroad.com/cs.