Internal service encounters in hotels: an empirical study

Over the last two decades, the hospitality industry has witnessed a considerable shift of focus towards customer orientation, however, the vast body of the relevant hospitality research literature – with few exceptions concentrating on the concept of internal marketing and internal service constructs – is focused on the external customer neglecting the importance of the quality of internal service encounters, where one department in the hotel serves another. The purpose of this study was to explore an “internal service chain” in three international city hotels and identify the events and behaviours (service dimensions) that distinguish a successful internal service encounter from a non‐successful one. Although internal customers were usually not recognised as such, it was found that interpersonal relations affect to a great extent all internal service encounters in a hotel. Other factors influencing the internal service encounters are the professionalism, the dependability, the conscientiousness of the internal suppliers, their communication skills and the consideration they show to their internal customers.