Quality certification in services: the case of hospitality industry

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the most important aspects and criticism of quality certification in the Italian hospitality industry. During the past few years ISO 9000 has become more popular within organizations but, on the other hand, doubts have raised about the effectiveness of ISO 9000 improving quality management practices and quality results. Analysing the SINCERT database of Italian ISO 9000 registered companies and throughout interviews with specific certified and not certified hotels, it has been possible to notice differences between registered and not registered companies in the hospitality industry. The research focuses on the study of these differences. In particular, motivations of the decision to adopt or not ISO 9000 certification in the hospitality industry are examined by the analysis of Milan area. Findings reveal that ISO 9000 registered hotels are mainly mono-unit organization of small-medium size while hotel chains prefer to develop their own quality management methods.