Effectiveness of Customer Relationship Management in the Hotel Industry in Eldoret Town, Kenya

Abstract

Customer relationship management (CRM) has become a necessity especially in hospitality industry. This has been attributed to globalization that has not only ensured liberalization in trade but also enhanced competition in hotel industries. This paper is an outcome of a study that was conducted in Eldoret town that focused on CRM in hotel industry. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of customer relation management on hotels industry in Eldoret town, Kenya. The researcher employed mixed research design, simple. Questionnaires, informal discussion and interview guide were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics and narrations were used to analyze data, which were presented in tables, graphs, charts and narrations. The study found that hotel industries in Eldoret face several barriers in implementing CRM including; lack of training on CRM among members of staff, lack of awareness on CRM, lack of adequate funds and lack of leadership. This study further concludes that the hotel industry is facing customer service revolution, thus, customer relation management has a great impact to the performance of a hotel. Making follow ups on the services offered will also improve in overcoming some of the negative issues raised and will serve as improvement strategies in increasing customer relation management in the hotel industry. Additionally, management should put in place strict guidelines to be followed while dealing with customer complaints so as to eliminate negative word of mouth (feedback) from customers.