A STUDY ON VARIOUS INNOVATIVE PRACTICES INCORPORATED BY THE FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT & MEASURING THEIR IMPACT ON GUEST SATISFACTION WITH R E SPECT TO THE WESTIN GURGAON, NEW DELHI HOTEL

Mr. Akshay Nain, Mr. Abhimanyu Awasthi and Dr. Kunal Seth. Amity School of Hospitality, Amity University Haryana, Pachgaon, Manesar, Gurugram, Haryana, India. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History Received: 8 August 2018 Final Accepted: 10 September 2018 Published: October 2018

The research paper focuses on finding the various innovative practices incorporated by the front office department of The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi hotel and measuring their impact on guest satisfaction comprehensively. Based on the findings, it is found that there is reasonable positive & healthy impact of various innovative practices incorporated by the front office department of The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi hotel on guest satisfaction, retention & loyalty.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….... Introduction:-
The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi, is a sprawling 313 room five star hotel strategically located in the heart of millennium city -Gurgaon (recently, Gurgaon has been declared as metropolitan city). This hotel is located just 25 minutes from the New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport. The hotel brings a fresh, new lifestyle experience to the city, surrounded by upscale shopping malls, entertainment hubs, multiplexes and commercial offices making it an ideal choice for both business and leisure. Its distinct architectural design reflects clutter free spaces laying strong emphasis on openness and natural lighting. There are large numbers of five star hotels in Gurgaon & competition among them is severe. Since the competition is cut throat, it becomes very important for every hotel to provide exemplary & exclusive services to each & every guest in order to provide utmost satisfaction which eventually leads to guest retention & loyalty. The front office department is the face & mirror image of every hotel & guests interact maximum with hotel's front office staff only. The level of guest's satisfaction undoubtedly depends a lot on services & practices offered & followed by front office department respectively.

To study various innovative practices incorporated by front office department of The Westin Gurgaon, New
Delhi Hotel. 2. To measure the impact of various innovative practices incorporated by front office department on guest satisfaction at The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi Hotel.

Literature Review
Judy Siguaw, 1999 discusses about implementing outstanding or best practices to improve operations. When effective practices were implemented in the front office especially check-in and check-out, there was an increase in the guest and employee satisfaction, along with considerable profit improvements. The practices include sharing with employees the savings from revised work practices, particularly those that prescribe standard times for each activity.

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Tom Baum, 2001, the researcher emphasizes on the changing functions of the front office operations. It includes the role of the personnel, multi skilling, balancing between technologic advancement and delivering of quality customer care, expectation of faster response to more complex methods of communication, bench marks for various services. It gives an insight into the various changes in the front office practices and how technology is working as an enabling force and not replacing the traditional roles. It also addresses the importance of educating and training the employees for better performance.
Riza Munira Binti Shamsudin, 2012, the research states that guest satisfaction is a differentiator and a critical success factor for the hotel. It shows the results of the study of performance management of Front Office department and guest satisfaction. The hotel performance is impacted because of the attitude and the motivational levels of the employees.
Asad Mohsin, 2010, the study aims to assess the service quality perception of customers of the hotels and helps the management to identify areas that need attention to meet and exceed customer expectations. The results indicate that there is significant difference between expectations of the guests and the actual experiences.
Melia, 2010, the study suggests the satisfaction of the guest as important success factor for the hotel's survival. Guest satisfaction plays important role and it helps hotel to improve its standards as well as imparts knowledge about the competitors.
Alin Sriyam, 2010, the study suggest that if the front office staff is efficient and cooperative it will lead to customer satisfaction in the hotel.
Kong Hai Yan, 2006, the study focuses on the front office staff in the four and five star hotels in China. The findings suggest that work in this department of hotel is challenging, demanding and communication is an important skill for the staff. It also says that high-quality human resources are lacking in the hospitality sector and emphasizes on professional development and training in order to improve the skills of staff in the front office.

Conclusion:-
On the basis of primary & secondary data collected through various sources in above research study, it is observed that front office department of the The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi hotel incorporated several innovative practices which have created reasonable positive impact on guest satisfaction levels. Majority of guests mentioned that they will be repeat guests to the hotels & are fully satisfied & convinced with services & practices formulated, incorporated & implemented by front office department of the hotel.