Talk at the ITRC

Improving Guest satisfaction with the Meal Experience Model

Reidar Johan Mykletun from the Norwegian School of Hotel Management, Faculty of Social Science at the University of Stavanger in Norway gave lectures on tourism and hotel management at Hólar University College and the University of Akureyri. His focus was on the challenges in the food and accommodation sector that are many and often complex. One issue that have caught our interest for a while is that of visitors’ meal experiences. Meals are needed four times a day or so, and is a perfect way to make a difference both for the traveller and local guests with regards to experience. One new trend is for hotels to try to take back the meal as an important ingredient in their service to the guests. How can an accommodation facility or a restaurant facility work systematically to improve the meal experience for their visitors? The meal experience model is a systematic tool for improving guest satisfaction. This model contains five factors for analysing and improving the meal experience:

1. The room
2. The workforce and their skills (“the meeting”)
3. The other visitors
4. The management
5. The core of the meal - unique (local) food and fun dining.

The slides from the talk are to be found here