CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT: CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES IN HOSPITALITY

Abstract:

Customer experience management has been a key strategy for hotel companies considered leaders in their segments. To understand this phenomenon, we propose a systematic review aimed at identifying the practices, benefits and trends of customer experience management in the hotel industry. Conducted in the Scopus database, the research included a sample of 241 articles (time frame 2011-2021). The twenty most cited articles in the sample were accessed for analysis, and bibliometric findings from the total sample complemented the discussion. The results indicate that the main benefits are the maintenance of competitive advantage and business differentiation. Best practices are associated with human capital, use of technology, and service design. Trends point to the evolution of the concept of experience, greater attention to the employee experience, the search for mutual benefits, and the use of technology to encourage engagement and co-creation. In addition to the research agenda, this study advances by signaling the growing importance of experience management in hospitality, that its success depends on joint efforts, and that it is necessary to act actively in the face of the constant transformation of services, the economy, and consumer behavior in order to keep the hotel company competitive and aligned with the expectations of its guest.

Keywords:
Customer experience management; Guest experience; Hospitality; Experience economy; Systematic review