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DOI 10.51582/interconf.19-20.08.2023.001
Application of ISO standards in hospitality
industry and challenges of Georgia
Azmaiparashvili Maia1
1 Doctor of Ecology, Associate Professor;
Gori State University; Republic of Georgia
European University; Republic of Georgia
Abstract.
The United Nations Global Compact (hereinafter referred to as the UN Global Compact) obliges
countries to create a sustainable and inclusive business economy. Today, the tourism and
hospitality industry accounts for 30-35% of world service exports. The reliability of the
hotel sector, proper functioning, and strength of development depend on the implementation
of the best practices of international standards in practice. Quality standards of the
International Organization for Standardization (hereinafter ISO) help the tourism sector to
introduce high-quality services and create an image of sustainability. The main goal of the
topic is to study and investigate the problematic issues of the introduction of ISO standards
for the service management system of Georgian hotels, the importance of standardization of
services in the hotel business in the face of global changes, the lack of consideration,
the existing negative indicators and the search for solutions in the service industry.
Keywords:
quality standards
ISO
Hospitality industry
Sustainable development
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Introduction. Improving the management system of tourist
service providers, tourist hotel facilities and continuous
development according to modern standards is an important
issue in the 21st century. Billions of dollars are spent every
year to improve the quality of service in tourist facilities
around the world. Acquiring a new customer is many times more
expensive than retaining an existing customer. The key to
hotel business success is guest satisfaction and retention.
Also, good customer service and providing the right service
is the basis for the growth and development of the tourism
business.
The old management and malpractices in the hotel are
causing various negative issues. Ignorance of hotel service
and its many details as an important issue, for example
disregarding international standards, damages the country's
economic sector and presents it in a negative light on the
international market. Negative evaluations of hotel services
have become a subject of criticism for foreign guests [1].
Taking into account the world's widely recognized quality
management systems, which include ISO standards and their
importance in the development of the Georgian hospitality
industry, is a challenge today. Our paper talks about the
need to introduce the development of a modern management
system instead of outdated stereotypes and the corresponding
certification.
We evaluated sustainable innovative management services
of hotel facilities in different countries. The paper is based
on the evaluation of well-known international hotels as well
as the data of different categories of local hotels.
Recommendations were formulated, the implementation of which
will strengthen the quality issues of the service industry.
Aim of research. The purpose of the research is to
identify modern trends in the hotel industry, evaluate the
specifics of management, and identify gaps in the development
of the service market. Determining the positive impact of
international standardization in the field of services.
Studying the characteristics of sustainable management of
hotel services, sustainable services. Determination of the
positive factor of hotel service quality ISO to improve the
results of the organization's activities.
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Methodology. The research uses: comparative analysis,
qualitative research methods, the research is based on complex
and interdisciplinary approaches. Verbal interviews with
representatives of various tax organizations were used in the
research. A wide range of practical and theoretical material,
special and fundamental works, as well as a global network
were used in the research process. Conclusion and
recommendations are based on qualitative analysis.
Literature review. The study of the bibliographic
material surrounding the issue we studied reveals that
research in the field of services in the field of hospitality
is a rarity in Georgia in relation to international standards.
There are only separate works, in the works of Georgian and
foreign researchers: Barkalaya, Faresashvili, the mentioned
problem is discussed unilaterally, from an interesting angle.
From the foreign researchers, the issue was discussed by
Victoria Levkulich and Alexander Momoti, Deepak Eldo Babu,
Archinder Kaur, Chandrasek Rajendar, Matloub Hussain,
A.S. Kuskov, Benny Chan, Schulz Don, and others. Among the
foreign researchers, Victoria Levkulich and Alexander
Momoti's paper "Using ISO standards in the hospitality
industry: a comparative analysis of European clusters" stands
out. Their opinion confirms the hypothesis that the more
active ISO 9001 standards are in European countries, the
higher the implementation level for other ISO standards
management systems in the hospitality industry (ISO 14001,
ISO 45001, etc.).
In the conclusion of the work of Victoria Levkulich and
Alexander Momoti, it is noted that „The countries of the world
and Europe have seen a slow decline in the number of ISO 9001
and ISO 14001 certifications issued between 2015 and 2019,
while new ISO 27001, ISO 22000, ISO 45001, ISO 50001,
ISO 22301, ISO 28000, ISO 39001 certificates have increased,
including those used in the hospitality industry. The study
has confirmed the hypothesis that the more actively ISO 9001
standards are distributed in the countries, the higher their
level of implementation in the hospitality industry and other
ISO standards for management systems. It can be explained by
the fact that the organization executives have developed a
psychological readiness and acceptance of certain competitive
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advantages that can be brought by ISO MSS certification. The
degree of ISO standards distribution can be regarded as an
informal criterion of the degree of population's involvement
in the technological, technical, organizational culture of
society“ [2].
Scientists are increasingly proving that ISO standards
have an impact on the sustainable development of society and
are related to the growth of well-being with such indicators
as GDP per capita, the Human Development Index and others.
Consequently, the researchers' opinion is to observe the
growing role of ISO certifications in the global hospitality
industry, which affects not only the ability to improve the
efficiency of the industry, but also to provide means of
survival in the face of increasing competition.
Discussion and Results. International Organization for
Standardization ISO International Organization for
Standardization (hereinafter - ISO) is an independent private
company, which was established in 1947 and provides services
in the field, inspection, testing, training, technical
consulting throughout the world. ISO standards define high-
quality services, the issue of standardization at the
international level. In the tourism and hospitality sector,
ISO standards with valid international characteristics were
prepared in 2003. International standards represent best
practices agreed upon by the tourism industry worldwide. The
standard has become a valuable tool and a useful source of
knowledge for tourism service providers [3]. Today, ISO 9001
is used in more than 170 countries, which is a universal
internationally recognized quality management system
standard. The quality management system ISO 9001 is a powerful
tool for business improvement and provides support for
sustainable and continuous business development. With the
introduction of the mentioned system, working conditions are
improved, competitiveness is increased, the strengthening of
trust and attraction of partners is facilitated,
standardization increases awareness, helps the enterprise to
reveal the strengths of the manager [4].
The boom in tourism and hospitality has created millions
of new jobs and created an economic boom in countries around
the world. When describing a phenomenon such as the
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hospitality industry, it is difficult to accurately define
its performance in relation to sustainability. Managing a
hotel in the twenty-first century is a challenging task.
Welcoming and caring for guests from different backgrounds,
offering food and shelter is constantly in demand and growing.
Today's modern hotelier needs in-depth knowledge of
operations, finance, marketing, customer relations. Branding,
media, communication, stakeholder relations, knowledge of
environmental management, ethics and social responsibility.
Many hotels consist of multiple departments, including
restaurants, bars, clubs, entertainment facilities, spas and
recreational facilities that operate 365 days a year and
therefore have a relatively high environmental impact. The
tourism industry sector shows that it has the highest negative
impact. The environmental impact of all commercial buildings,
pollution, waste, greenhouse gases and other hazards do not
necessarily arise when considering the hospitality and
tourism industry.
The development of the hotel business in the world in the
context of global changes refers to the improvement of service
quality, green management, environmental protection and
sustainable infrastructure, security quality, green
investments, attracting qualified staff in the service
industry, retraining, etc. Sh.
ISO standard activity in tourism is a confirmation that
the customer receives quality services, in terms of safety,
environmental protection, food safety, social responsibility,
provision of green energy. The hotel quality management system
(hereinafter HOTEQ 500) certification process is a
comprehensive standard in hotel management [5]. It includes
upgrading the management system and aims to provide customers
with high quality service as well as healthy food safety
service preference. Standard HOTEQ 500 developed by ISO is a
guarantee of quality service for customers. It is a quality
management system that helps to establish relationships
between businesses and customers in the sector and establishes
certain criteria [6]. HOTEQ 500 service standard, intended
for the customer and aimed at the hotel's obligations to
fulfill all requirements to satisfy the customer.
The quality management system of the hotel is the only
perfect standard. Customer service, health and food safety
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are performed in accordance with the principle of ecologically
clean enterprises. ISO 22483: 2020 standard - offers
measurements, benchmarks, measurement of service quality and
customer satisfaction that contribute to business development
both qualitatively and quantitatively [7].
he World Business Council on Sustainable Development
notes that sustainable development is development
(hereinafter WBCSD) forms of progress that meet the needs of
the present without compromising the demands and needs of
future generations [8]. According to the United Nations World
Tourism Organization (hereinafter UNWTO), “the principles of
sustainability refer to the aspects of ecological, economic
and socio-cultural development, and an appropriate balance
must be established between these three dimensions to ensure
its long-term sustainability. What sustainable hospitality
means is a hospitality operation that manages its resources
so that economic, social and environmental benefits are
maximized to meet the needs of today's generation [9]. For
more clarity, this statement requires the following questions
to be answered: The fact that service quality is the main
challenge in the hotel business of Georgia was clearly shown
in the government program of economic policy, which mentions
the need to improve service quality. „For the sustainable
development of the tourism industry and the increase of the
service level, in line with the directive of the European
Parliament, the formation of the legal framework for tourism
will be implemented taking into account the best European
practices. A high standard of travel safety and protection of
consumers' rights will be introduced through the
aforementioned legal framework. Moreover, with the formation
of the legislative base, national and regional policy
coordination will be strengthened“ [10].
In the future development of the industry, there is still
no internationally recognized rating system that will
differentiate hotels according to various ISO parameters. The
development of the hotel business in the world in the context
of global changes refers to the improvement of service
quality, green management, environmental protection and
sustainable infrastructure, security quality, green
investments, attracting qualified staff in the service
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industry, retraining, etc. Sh.
With the beginning of the tourist season, we surveyed all
active and accordingly rated hotel facilities in Georgia.
What is the quality of service, activities according to ISO
standards. We investigated the following hotel facilities:
Holiday Inn Tbilisi, Paragraph Hotel, Tbilisi Inn, Gori Inn,
Radisson Blu, Coliseum, Georgia Palace, Borjomi Palace, Gold
Hotel, Crown Palace, etc. The survey of respondents was
conducted using specially prepared questionnaires.
The positions of the interviewees were distributed
according to the hotel's organizational structure: 30% were
hotel directors, 47.5% were managers, 16.8% were
administrators, receptionists, operators and others. Most of
the respondents - 68.3% answer that they are familiar with
ISO standards, 31.7% - do not know. When asked whether they
believe that the introduction of international standards will
improve the quality of services, 85.1% believe that the
introduction of standards will improve the quality, 14.9% do
not. When asked whether they offer services according to ISO
standards, 43.6% answer that they offer services according to
international standards, 56.4% do not offer services
according to international standards. 60% of respondents
consider sustainability principles in management issues, 40%
do not. It was found that 39% of enterprises do not consider
urban ecology, care about the development of sustainable
buildings and structures, 49% positively evaluate urban
ecology and take into account, 10% have a negative attitude
towards sustainable ecological hotel buildings and
structures. For 59% of the surveyed respondents, partnership
is important for achieving sustainability goals, 31%
neutrally assess the contribution to achieving sustainability
goals, 8.9% neutrally view the solution to this issue. We can
conclude that 53.5% of the surveyed respondents consider green
investment promising, 37.6% are neutral, 8.9% are
unacceptable.
Our research has identified problems that need to be
addressed. The hotel sector does not have a well-formed
policy, a strategy that will facilitate the practical
implementation of ISO standards in Georgia. In the survey,
the opinion and desire about sustainable development,
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attraction of green investments, development of urban green
economy, production of ecological products prevails, although
we believe that the goals are not aimed at future sustainable
development, we believe that the following issues should be
noted: with the help of relevant services, consultations
should be held in production ISO international on the
introduction of standards. In a global environment, the
management vector must be directed towards the solution of
quality management, environmental protection, safety, food
safety, green development goals and objectives, all of which
provide the best service to customers.
Sustainable hospitality industry must take environmental
and social responsibility, implement sustainable business
operations, and care about the image perceived by customers,
suppliers and other stakeholders. The legitimacy of the
company's environmental positioning, sustainable products and
services for customers is important.
Acknowledged by the United Nations as the World’s First
‘Climate Positive’ Hotel Brand, Inkaterra is a Peruvian
organization 100% Carbono Neutral that is celebrating 47 years
of experience in sustainable tourism initiatives. Each year
Inkaterra hosts more than 200,000 travellers providing
authentic nature experiences in Peru, while rescuing,
presenting and showcasing Peru’s culture and nature for the
world [11]. Incaterra's mission is to create an extensive
sustainability policy based on the following:
1. Determination and respect of authentic cultural,
social and environmental values;
2. Encouraging professional development opportunities;
3. An ideal working environment that provides better
living conditions than those stipulated by the labor
legislation;
4. Encouraging the development of local communities,
their environment and culture;
5. Environmentally friendly products and good
communication;
6. Continuous improvement of management and process
control by minimizing negative impacts. Interesting;
7. Invests more than $300,000 annually in conservation.
All employees undergo in-depth training in social and
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environmental issues.
Conclusion and recommendations. The study of the problems
of standardization of the ISO system of hotel service quality,
sustainable management allowed us to draw a conclusion and
formulate recommendations based on the opinions of scientists
and the results of our survey. In this regard, the following
conclusions and recommendations were made:
– The development of a sustainable management strategy
should become a priority for the development of the Georgian
hotel service market;
– Introduction of new standards is voluntary, although it
is recommended, use of ISO standards will bring better
results, increase market value, service quality, sustainable
management, environmental protection, health and safety;
– The lack of necessary infrastructure of hotel
facilities was identified, this refers to violations in the
field of green hotel construction; Today, the priority of the
modern market is to give hotel buildings a green and
sustainable status. International standards of quality
service performance in accommodation facilities are
perfected;
– It is recommended that hotel organization
"individualism" as a priority approach of green management
style of management. Hotel facilities that maintain similar
services and approaches to the guest determined by the
international ISO standard receive much more income than
hotels that operate using sustainable services.
References:
[1] Ferishvili I., (2019). "Impact of the hotel industry in the
development of tourism" collection of scientific works "Globalization
and modern challenges of business".
[2] Levkulych, V., Momot, A., (2021). The use of ISO standards in the
hospitality industry: a comparative analysis of European clusters.
E3S Web of Conferences 277, 02004 (2021) ICEES. P.9-10.
[3] Standards and Tourism, (2019). Project no. AM/GPK-05/2019.
[4] Acharya, U.H. (200). ISO 9000 certification in Indian industries: A
survey. Total Quality Management.
[5] www.sertifikasyon.net/en/detay/hoteq-500-otel-kalite-yonetim-
sistemi-nedir/
[6] Tourism and related services Hotels Service requirements Tourisme et
services connexes Hôtels Exigences du service.
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https://www.iso.org/obp
[7] https://cdn.standards.iteh.ai/samples/73315/8ca7e90719b945e79cbc6ad
b268176b3/ISO-22483- 2020.pdf
[8] https://www.wbcsd.org/
[9] https://www.unwto.org/tourism-in-2030-agenda
[10] Government program 2021-2024 "For the construction of the state"
https://www.gov.ge/files/68_78117_645287govprogramme2021-2024.pdf
[11] https://www.inkaterra.com/