PurposeThis article seeks to develop a managerial model that will aid in the effective management of customer relations. This study explains in detail the concepts of satisfaction and delight; their antecedents and potential outcomes.Design/methodology/approachAn extensive review of existing customer delight literature reveals the key concepts necessary for customer delight to occur.FindingsCustomer delight is a better measure of customer relationship management than customer satisfaction. Delight is likely to generate positive business results such as word‐of‐mouth communications, loyalty and increased profitability. Using existing literature a model is developed.Practical implicationsThe proposed model can be used by managers to achieve customer delight in their organizations. It can also be used to gain a better understanding of the process of managing customer relations.Originality/valueIn the last few years the concept of customer delight has been taking precedence over the concept of satisfaction. Despite such emphasis, there are few published articles relating to this topic in the hotel industry. The study uses customer delight literature from various industries and attempts to apply such knowledge to the hospitality industry.

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The purpose of thisfield research was to explore the relationship between member perceptions of internal group dynamics and group productivity. Forty-four work groups participated in this study. Significant relationships were noted between member perceptions of internal group dynamics and group levels of productivity as measured by the organizations as well as by members 'perceptions.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to provide a typology of customer delight in the hotel industry. By doing so, it identifies patterns by which hotels delight their guests. The paper explores the Torres and Kline model in light of the data and proposes an addition to the model. Design/methodology/approach -Content analysis is utilized to analyze letters of customer feedback provided by several hotels. A codebook was created, letters were coded by two raters and inter-rater reliability was calculated. Findings -The most frequently mentioned codes included: taking care of the guest's needs, exceptional friendliness, professionalism of staff, employees going outside of the call of duty and problem-solving skills. Based on this information the authors propose the following delight types: fulfillment delight, charismatic delight, professional delight, comparative delight, problem resolution delight. It was also found that the culture of an organization has an impact on the type of delight that is most prevalent. Practical implications -The research conducted helps hotel operators to identify the behaviors and actions that lead their guests to be delighted. By knowing this information, appropriate steps can be taken in the selection and development of staff that will lead towards greater customer engagement. Originality/value -In the hospitality literature, much information exists on what to do to correct negative service experiences. However, a relatively smaller number of articles highlight how to create great service experiences for the guests. This article provides a theoretically sound and practically useful framework to delight hotel guests in the hotel industry.

Purpose There are decades of research analyzing turnover in the hospitality industry and yet it remains nearly double other industries. Whereas previous studies have analyzed training and its impact on turnover, the purpose of this paper is to look at the direct relationship between training at the management level and how this impacts their direct employees’ turnover intentions. Design/methodology/approach This study utilized annual evaluation data from two luxury resorts in the southeast USA. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted which resulted in four factors: management style, manager/employee relations, manager training and employee turnover intentions. Multiple regression was utilized to assess these relationships between factors. Findings The analyses show that an employee’s perception of his or her manager was inversely related to turnover intentions. Additionally, it was found that management training and management style had a significant inverse relationship with employee turnover intentions. Finally, this study found that as manager training increases, employee turnover intentions decrease. This research indicates that if hotels invest in management training then there will be a reduction in employee turnover intention. Research limitations/implications The sample consisted of only two luxury full service hotels in the southeastern USA. Both luxury hotels recruited a significant amount of employees from local universities; therefore, the workforce was more educated than other hotels. This study should be replicated across hotel types and throughout various locations. Practical implications This research has relevant implications for practitioners. General managers should analyze their training requirements and fiscal appropriations. This research finds that if hotels invest in management training then there will be a reduction in employee turnover. If managers had more training, this study indicates that employees would view their managers more favorably, feel closer to their managers and have less of a desire to leave the organization. Originality/value Extant research has shown that employee training programs impact employee turnover and that manager training programs impact manager turnover. This study extends that research by showing that these segments are not autonomous; manager training has a significant direct effect on employee turnover intention. This has not been studied in turnover intention literature suggests that this could be the missing variable in the body of turnover research.