SERVICE QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN RELATION TO SUFFICIENCY ECONOMY PRINCIPLE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL HOTEL CHAINS IN MAHASARAKHAM AND KHONKAEN

Abstract

The study aimed to compare the domestic and international hotels’ service quality management in relation to Sufficiency Economy Principle (SEP) in Mahasarakham and Khon Kaen provinces, which is critical for the service quality improvement of the hotels with regard to the SEP in order to normally run their business performances, particularly when encountering with COVID-19 situations. Besides, it is a qualitative research using a semi-structured interview purposively with 2 hotel managers and 2 specialists and event organizers who are policy makers of the two research sites for a total of 8 key informants. A pattern-matching technique was used for the data analysis. The findings revealed that the accommodation and in-room service quality of the domestic hotel in Mahasarakham can sufficiently satisfy most customers due to its value for money and reasonable prices which meet the customers’ expectation, whereas the services of the front of the house and concierge, food and beverages, and safety and environmental management and the quality of employees are not yet considered at an international standard and cannot be sufficiently satisfied, but there are some possibilities to be improved according to the SEP. Regarding the international hotel in Khon Kaen, overall service quality was managed at a sufficient level; the hotel conventions and meeting rooms are mostly satisfied at an international standard because they are totally certified by both Thailand and ASEAN MICE Venue Standards (TMVS-AMVS), followed by accommodations and in-suite services, food and beverages; however, both hotels have a similar constraint of employees’ international quality and knowledge. The issues of moderation, reasonableness, self-immunity, morality, and knowledge are discussed to implement the SEP in both theory and practice.