Exploring How Professional Knowledge and Experience Become Critical Success Factor in Hotel Operation

This study discusses how professional knowledge and experience become critical success factor in hotel operation. This research employed qualitative in-depth interviewing to interview 27 hotel owners and managers and the results indicated that professional knowledge and experience in management have become indispensable for efficient operation of a hotel. In addition, the best way for a hotel’s management to present professionalism and experience is to always think ahead of customers and set a high standard for itself. In this increasingly competitive environment, making customers satisfied is already not enough, because satisfied customers may not necessarily be loyal. Therefore, services should evolve to make customers not only satisfied but also moved. Using the professionalism and experience accumulated over the years, hotels always provide adequate services before demand and set a high standard for themselves. This is the reason why hotels with professional knowledge and experience can have good performance.