Setting the Scene

for the Guest

Experience
THC3 MIDTERMS
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should understand:
 Why the service setting or service environment is important.
 How the service environment affects guests and employees.
 Which elements of the service environment need to be
managed.
 How service environment factors moderate or affect the
responses of guests, according to the Bitner model.
 Why providing a service environment in which guests feel safe
and secure is critical.
 How theming the service setting pays off.
Setting the Scene for the Guest
Experience
 “I don’t want the public to see the world they live in
while they’re in the Park. I want them to feel they’re in
another world.”
- Walt Disney
 An eatertainment restaurant create environments that
enhance the eating experience well beyond the meals
they serve.
 They deliver a high-quality meal, but they also offer an
elaborate themed décor to add a show-like experience
for their guests and uniquely differentiate their
restaurants from competitors.
Setting the Scene for the Guest
Experience
 Some in the hospitality industry have embraced the idea
of guestology, and have developed service
environments to meet or exceed the customers’
expectations.
 Truly amazing examples can be found in amusement
parks, hotels and restaurants, where the entire service
setting is crafted to create a specific look and feel for
the guest.
 This service setting is an important part of the service
experience being delivered.
Creating the “SHOW”
 A term coined by Walt Disney, “the show” refers
to everyone and everything that interfaces with
guests.
 It reflects his belief that a theme park should
make guests feel like they are immersed in a
living motion picture, where everything the guest
sees, feels and senses is part of the story being
told.
 Walt Disney originated the idea that a guest
experience can be unified and enhanced if it is
based on a theme.
Creating the “SHOW”
 Many companies use a theme to create a
feeling that guests are somehow immersed in
another place and time to provide guests with
extraordinary experiences.
 The lesson that Disney has taught everyone is
that by paying attention to the details of
creating a themed show, they can add quality
and value to the guest experience.
https://www.adayinlatours.com/bl
og/the-history-of-disneyland/
https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2016-07-09/11-
coolest-underwater-hotels-in-the-world

 Resort World Sentosa, Singapore

 Resort World Sentosa, just off the
coast of Singapore on Sentosa
island, offers 11 two-story suites
with direct access to the resort's
massive aquarium. Overnight
guests here can experience the
best of both worlds—an outdoor
patio on the upper level, and
underwater views of the
aquarium's 40,000 fish swimming
by on the lower level.
 Nightly rates from: $1,260
https://www.travelandleisure.com/culture-design/tv-
movies/movie-themed-hotel-rooms

 For a few hotels, that different

place they transport guests to
is a movie set. They are either
capitalizing on their movie
connection to remind visitors of
the movies filmed on their
premises. Or they are creating
theme rooms to help guest feel
like they are characters in their
favorite films.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode
rn_Toilet_Restaurant
 Modern Toilet
Restaurant (Chinese: 便所
主題餐廳; pinyin: Biànsuǒ
Zhǔtí Cāntīng) is a
unique toilet-
themed restaurant chain,
with three branches in
Taiwan.
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-bizarre-restaurants-in-the-world-
2015-10#a-group-of-22-belgian-chefs-enjoy-a-plate-of-oysters-at-a-table-
suspended-by-crane-150-feet-above-brussels-1

 A group of 22 Belgian
chefs enjoy a plate of
oysters at a table
suspended by crane
150 feet above
Brussels.
Themes Create Fantasy
 When a company uses the physical environment and
other visual cues to create a show as part of its service
experience, it is trying to transport its guests into a
fantasy world.
 This strategy can be used for an amusement park, a
restaurant, a hotel, a cruise ship or any other place
where the hospitality experience would be enhanced by
adding some fantasy.
 Many hospitality organizations have used the
environment to create a sense of fantasy through
theming, as they have learned the value of creating a
unique and memorable setting that enhances and
contributes to the total guest experience.
To Theme or Not to Theme?
 Theming can effectively tie all the elements of
the service experience together.
 Yet, by its very nature, a themed service may
limit the appeal of the service offering to some
people, and theming also limits the sort of new
ventures of service products that such a
company can provide, because any new
elements must remain consistent with that
theme.
 Therefore, the decision whether to theme or not
must be considered very carefully.
To Theme or Not to Theme?
 On the positive side, theming is a way to add value to
the guest experience, if used effectively by enhancing it.
 Theming contributes to maintenance of the fantasy and
enhances visual stimulation.
 It gives guests something to talk about after they’ve
gone home, it reinforces their remembrance of what
they’ve done, it can create an emotional connection
with the experience, and it provides additional
confirmation of the experience’s value.
 Theming is an opportunity for the organization to add
wow to the experience, by providing more than guests
expect.
To Theme or Not to Theme?
 On the negative side, a themed environment is
not always appropriate, and theming has its risks.
 By definition, theming places limits on what the
organization can offer in terms of service, setting
and delivery system.
 Compared to an all-purpose non-themed
restaurant, a themed restaurant will generally
have a narrower range of menu offerings.
Control and Focus
 To maintain the illusion of fantasy in a themed
setting, the experience, as is true of any good
story, must be controlled and focused.
 The guests should see what the storyteller wants
them to see.
 In a theme park, most attractions are designed
to control the experience. Rides are designed to
give guests the feeling of moving through a
story. Guests are positioned to see the right
visual cues and not the wrong ones.
Control and Focus
 Hospitality organizations can also limit where the
guests can actually go or what they can see.
 Bushes are planted to block guest movement to
where they are not supposed to go and pathways
are paved to promote movement to where they
should go.
 Support functions are carefully hidden from the
guests.
 Guests flow through a themed setting is carefully
planned so the guests experience only what the
company intends them to experience.
The Architecture
 The same idea, of having the attention of guests
engaged in specific things that will reinforce the
experience or a story, is carried forward in the
architectural theming of the hospitality organization.
 The Klaus K hotel in Finland was created with a theme
based on the Finnish national epic Kalevala.
 The designers studied the story and Finnish history to
realize that the country and Kalevala are about strong
contrasts: life and death, light and dark, pride and
humility.
The Architecture
 Their task was to weave these contrasts into a
theme in a way to evoke the story.
 As scholar Lena Mossberg describes it, “We
created an interior design that partly reflects the
Finnish nature, temperament, and the country’s
modern history. The hotel rooms were sectioned
into categories like ‘passion,’ ‘jealousy,’ ‘desire,’
and ‘mysticism.’”
 “As in all good dramaturgy, the most important
ingredients of Kalevala are the contrasts
between good and evil, and light and dark.”
https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g189934-d579503-
i254248645-Klaus_K_Hotel-Helsinki_Uusimaa.html

https://www.klauskhotel.com/en/rooms
https://www.klauskhotel.com/en/ro
oms
 PASSION DOUBLE
https://www.klauskhotel.com/en/ro
oms
 ENVY KING
https://www.klauskhotel.com/en/ro
oms
 DESIRE TWIN
https://www.klauskhotel.com/en/ro
oms
 MYSTICAL SINGLE
The Architecture
 “We therefore split the hotel into a light
part and a dark part and the dividing line
runs through the bar. On one side it’s
completely white where they serve clear
spirits and on the other side, where the bar
is black they serve just dark spirits.”
- Lena Mossberg
Klaus K Bar
https://www.uniqhotels.com/klaus-k
https://ph.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrxxP3Ln21hblgADA.zRwx.;_ylu=Y29sbwNzZzMEcG9zAzEEdnRpZA
MEc2VjA3BpdnM-?p=walt+disney+world+swan+and+dolphin+resort+pictures&fr2=piv-web&fr=chr-
yo_gc#id=23&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fptop.only.wip.la%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fwww.disneyeveryday.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F04%2FWalt-Disney-
World-Swan-and-Dolphin-Hotel.jpg&action=click

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort

https://ph.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrxxP3Ln21hblgADA.zRwx.;_ylu=Y29sbwNzZzMEcG9zAzEEdnRpZA
MEc2VjA3BpdnM-?p=walt+disney+world+swan+and+dolphin+resort+pictures&fr2=piv-web&fr=chr-
yo_gc#id=82&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fptop.only.wip.la%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.disabledaccessholidays.com%2Fimages%2FUSA -Disney-Swan-And-Dolphin-
Resort%2FUSA-Disney-Swan-And-Dolphin-Resort_25_Dolphin-Lobby.jpg&action=click

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort

Walt Disney
Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida
 https://www.google.com/search?q=disney+orlando+resorts&tbm=is
ch&ved=2ahUKEwjS-cGHpdTzAhUL9pQKHeIVDKYQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=disney%27s+orl&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgIMgQIA
BAeMgQIABAeMgQIABAeMgQIABAeMgQIABAeMgQIABAeMgQIAB
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zoFCAAQgAQ6BwgAELEDEEM6BAgAEEM6CwgAEIAEELEDEIMBOgQI
ABADOgoIIxDvAxDqAhAnOgUIABCxAzoICAAQsQMQgwFQ_QVYjtc
CYIb-
AmgCcAB4A4ABtQOIAYoakgEJNi44LjMuMi4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLX
dpei1pbWewAQrAAQE&sclient=img&ei=nZRtYZK3H4vs0wTiq7CwCg
&bih=657&biw=1366#imgrc=alvew6S2k5GCvM
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
 Sound is often an important service-setting element.
Music is a particularly potent (powerful, effective,
compelling) environmental factor.
 Environmental sounds should serve a purpose. In
general, the sounds (most often the music) should
complement the experience that the organization is
trying to provide to its target guests.
 In general, but with exceptions, louder, faster music
in the service setting appeals to younger guests;
softer, slower music appeals to older guests.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
 The sounds of music can also affect guest behavior.
Studies have shown that bar patrons finish their
drinks faster or slower depending on the tempo and
subject matter of the music being played.
 People tend to eat faster and drink more (and leave
sooner, meaning that more tables are typically
turned) if the music is fast and loud. Slow music
encourages people to dine in a leisurely fashion.
 Clearly, the sights and sounds in the background
affect the way consumers behave – and spend their
money.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
 Lighting is an important feature of most service
settings. Some guest experiences are best delivered
in bright lights, some in dim.
 Lighting can focus the eye toward visual cues that
emphasize the theme of the experience and away
from things that detract from the theme.
 Lights should be selected, turned on, and directed
not just to avoid darkness.
 Lighting should be an element of a greater design
with the purpose of enhancing the guest
experience.
Why is the Environment Important?
1. Guest Expectations
 The environment influences the guest’s
expectations, even before the service is delivered.
 If the restaurant does not care enough to clean up
outside its building, the guests may conclude that it
does not clean up its kitchen either and probably
does not care about how it prepares the meal.
 Many guests evaluate a restaurant by using the rest
room test, to see how much the restaurant cares
about cleanliness.
Why is the Environment Important?
2. Guest Mood
 The environment sets and maintains the mood
after the guest begins the guest experience.
 One way to do so is to maintain the consistency
between what the guest expects to see and
what the guest actually sees.
 Example: Disney characters
Why is the Environment Important?
3. Employee Satisfaction
 The effect on a group of people who do not even
use the service: the employees who coproduce it.
 The environment should be supportive of and
compatible with the employees’ experience as well.
 Employees spend a lot more time in the service
setting than guests do, and a well-designed
environment can promote employee satisfaction ,
which some argue is highly correlated with guest
satisfaction.
Why is the Environment Important?
4. Setting as a Part of Service
 The setting for guest experiences should
be considered as part of the service itself.
 When the guest is present and
coproducing the experience in the
hospitality “service factory,” the setting
represents a major part of what the guest
is paying for and seeking from the guest
experience.
The Functional Value of the Setting
 The guest relies on the hospitality organization to create
an environment that is safe and easy to use and
understand.
 Environmental features must be such that the guest can
easily and safely enter, experience, and then leave
without getting lost, hurt or disoriented.
 For the modern hospitality organization, the issue of
safety and security has become more important than
ever before.
 Well-lit parking lots and pathways, low-cut hedges
behind which no one can hide, presence of uniformed
employees; security guards
The Functional Value of the Setting
 Second functional aspect of the setting is
making it easy for guests to find their way
to do whatever it is they seek in
experience.
 Clear, simple signage or strategically
located employees; clear, easy-to-follow
directions on how to navigate the Web
page or use the self-service technology
Environment
1. Ambient Conditions
 Include the ergonomic factors such as
temperature, humidity, air quality, smells, sounds,
physical comfort, and light, which affect the
nature of the guest experience.
 “Dark” theme park rides and attractions –
darkness has an element of suspense, surprise
and potential terror.
 Romantic feel of dimly lit restaurants with soft
music, comfortable chairs and tempting smells
Environment
2. Use of Space
 Refers to how the equipment and furnishings are
arranged in the hospitality service setting, the size and
shape of those objects, their accessibility to the
customers, and the spatial relationships among them.
 The space layout should also help guests to know where
they are and how to find their way to where they want
to go.
 Hospitality settings should be designed to ensure smooth
flow for both guest and employee.
Environment
3. Functional congruence (similarity,
resemblance)
 Refers to how well something with a functional
purpose fits into the environment in which it
serves that purpose.
 The functioning of the equipment, layout of the
physical landscape, design of the building, and
the design of the service environment must be
congruent with what the guest expects to find in
that environment.
Environment
4. Signs, Symbols and Artifacts
 Signs are explicit physical representations of
information that the organization thinks guests
might want, need or expect to find.
 Signs must be easy to read, clear and located in
obvious places where they can direct and
teach people how to use the service easily.
 Signs are used to convey messages through the
use of symbols, often language itself.
Environment
4. Signs, Symbols and Artifacts
 Some signs contain not words but other symbols, such as
representational icons that can replace any specific
language.
 These signs, of course, are especially important in travel and
tourism settings, to which guests come from many nations,
cultures, and linguistic backgrounds. If the customer must
remember the information on the sign, a symbol often works
best.
 Artifacts are physical objects that represent something
beyond their functional use. As such, they are a type of
symbol. Themed restaurants use artifacts extensively to help
convey the theme.
Environment
5. Other People
 Consist of employees, other guests or perhaps
even audio-animatronics creations that guests
come to think of as real people.
 Employees are environmentally important even
before they deliver the anticipated service.
 Guests also arrive in some service settings with
expectations for each other.
Reference
 Ford,Robert C., Sturman, Michael C.
and Heaton, Cherrill P. (2012). Total
Quality Management For Hospitality
And Tourism. Philippines: Hiyas Press,
Inc. (with license from Delmar, a part
of Cengage Learning)