Le Méridien Piccadilly
How guests can be motivated to share their positive
experiences after service recovery via electronic Word-
of-Mouth
Research Report
July 2017
Merel Donkers (1309862)
Frida Joustra (1310534)
Celesta van der Laan (1316265)
Willemijn Odekerken (1307150)
Jasmijn Stenzler (1320289)
Martijn Zengerink (1323075)
, ‘Le Méridien Piccadilly’
Research report
Hotel Management School Maastricht
Maastricht February 2017 – July 2017
Project group 3:
Merel Donkers 13098620
Frida Joustra 1310534
Celesta van der Laan 1316265
Willemijn Odekerken 1307150
Jasmijn Stenzler 1320289
Martijn Zengerink 1323075
Project supervisor
Hilde Hanegreefs
Hotel Management School Maastricht
Bethlehemweg 2, 6202NX Maastricht, The Netherlands
E-mail:
Project providers
Eveline Noort – General Manager
Hotel Le Méridien Piccadilly
21 Piccadilly, Mayfair,
London W1J 0BH,
United Kingdom
Dr. Mark Pluymaekers – Senior Lecturer
Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
International Relationship Management Research Centre
Brusselseweg 150 6216 HB Maastricht, the Netherlands
Telephone: +31 433466445
E-mail:
Report Author Version Date
2/56 The Research Report Projectgroup 3 Version 1.2 06.07.2017
Le Méridien Piccadilly
, Management summary
The Hotel Management School Maastricht (HMSM) was contacted by the International Relationship
Management Research Centre of Zuyd University of Applied Sciences with the desire to gain more
insight into the motivations for sharing positive electronic Word-of-Mouth (from now on referred as e-
WoM) after a service recovery. This problem statement was turned into a research project applied on Le
Méridien Piccadilly London, a luxurious five-star hotel closely located to Piccadilly Circus, the city
center of London. Nowadays reviews are of great importance for the image of a hotel; therefore, Le
Méridien Piccadilly should take the opportunity to improve the stimulation of positive e-WoM. The
main goal of this project is to find out specific motivations that can be implemented into the service
recovery procedure provided by Le Méridien Piccadilly which stimulates sharing. Through literature
study and exploratory research, a better understanding of specific motivations that encourage sharing
was gained. Based on those two studies, the following management question was formulated:
“How can guests be motivated to share their positive experiences after service recovery via e-WoM?”
Two research questions are developed to answer the management question:
RQ1: “What are the motivations for guests to share their experiences via e-WoM?”
This first question focuses especially on specific motivations that enhance positive e-WoM, without a
focus on the service recovery procedure.
RQ2: “What can be done to implement the identified motivations in the current service recovery
procedure provided by Le Méridien Piccadilly and where can those be implemented?”
This question investigates how the specific motivations found by the first research question can be
implemented in the service recovery procedure provided by Le Méridien Piccadilly. Based on this
research questions, three investigative questions were established.
IQ1: “What is the current procedure for service recovery in Le Méridien Piccadilly?”
IQ2: “Which stage of the service recovery procedure of Le Méridien Piccadilly is critical to enhance
the intention of sharing e-WoM?”
IQ3: “What can be done to implement the identified motivations in the service recovery procedure?”
Report Author Version Date
3/56 The Research Report Projectgroup 3 Version 1.2 06.07.2017
Le Méridien Piccadilly
, In order to answer the research questions, three different research methods were used. First, four focus
groups were conducted with participants with and without prior knowledge of the hospitality industry,
different ages, and different nationalities. These focus groups gave insight into the motivations for
sharing positive e-WoM. This in combination with the literature study answered the first research
question. The answer showed that there are six main motivations, namely; people are motivated to share
when their expectations were exceeded (“expectation exceeded”), people are motivated to share to get
positively recognized by others (“self-enhancement”), people are motivated to share to become of an
online community (“social benefits”), people are motivated to share to help others (“altruism”), people
are motivated to share when they receive a compensation in return (“reward”), and people are motivated
to share if the review act is made easy (“platform accessibility”).
The second research method was a combination of a small interview using a critical incident and a
questionnaire provided on an iPad. This was done with guests of Le Méridien Piccadilly and showed
what the strongest motivation is to share positive e-WoM and what Le Méridien Piccadilly should focus
most on. The results revealed that “expectation exceeded” is the strongest motivation, followed by
“altruism”, “platform accessibility”, “social benefits”, “reward”, and the weakest motivation turned out
to be “self-enhancement”.
The third research method used was a semi-structured interview with the associates of Le Méridien
Piccadilly. These interviews were held to gain more insight into the current service recovery procedure
provided by Le Méridien Piccadilly in the hotel. These interviews revealed that there is a standardized
procedure for associates to handle complaints. However, the 8 associates working at operational level
were not always following this procedure, although they are aware of the existence of it. This leaves
opportunities for the hotel to improve. In contrast, the 3 supervisors / duty managers that were
interviewed did follow this procedure.
Finally, two focus groups with HMSM participants were
repeated to get a better understanding where the found
motivations can be implemented in the current service
recovery procedure provided by Le Méridien Piccadilly. In
addition, two new focus groups were held with participants
that also have expertise in the hospitality field. These focus
groups showed that the motivation “expectation exceeded”
should be implemented in the entire service recovery
procedure to strengthen the motivation to share. In addition,
Report Author Version Date
4/56 The Research Report Projectgroup 3 Version 1.2 06.07.2017
Le Méridien Piccadilly
How guests can be motivated to share their positive
experiences after service recovery via electronic Word-
of-Mouth
Research Report
July 2017
Merel Donkers (1309862)
Frida Joustra (1310534)
Celesta van der Laan (1316265)
Willemijn Odekerken (1307150)
Jasmijn Stenzler (1320289)
Martijn Zengerink (1323075)
, ‘Le Méridien Piccadilly’
Research report
Hotel Management School Maastricht
Maastricht February 2017 – July 2017
Project group 3:
Merel Donkers 13098620
Frida Joustra 1310534
Celesta van der Laan 1316265
Willemijn Odekerken 1307150
Jasmijn Stenzler 1320289
Martijn Zengerink 1323075
Project supervisor
Hilde Hanegreefs
Hotel Management School Maastricht
Bethlehemweg 2, 6202NX Maastricht, The Netherlands
E-mail:
Project providers
Eveline Noort – General Manager
Hotel Le Méridien Piccadilly
21 Piccadilly, Mayfair,
London W1J 0BH,
United Kingdom
Dr. Mark Pluymaekers – Senior Lecturer
Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
International Relationship Management Research Centre
Brusselseweg 150 6216 HB Maastricht, the Netherlands
Telephone: +31 433466445
E-mail:
Report Author Version Date
2/56 The Research Report Projectgroup 3 Version 1.2 06.07.2017
Le Méridien Piccadilly
, Management summary
The Hotel Management School Maastricht (HMSM) was contacted by the International Relationship
Management Research Centre of Zuyd University of Applied Sciences with the desire to gain more
insight into the motivations for sharing positive electronic Word-of-Mouth (from now on referred as e-
WoM) after a service recovery. This problem statement was turned into a research project applied on Le
Méridien Piccadilly London, a luxurious five-star hotel closely located to Piccadilly Circus, the city
center of London. Nowadays reviews are of great importance for the image of a hotel; therefore, Le
Méridien Piccadilly should take the opportunity to improve the stimulation of positive e-WoM. The
main goal of this project is to find out specific motivations that can be implemented into the service
recovery procedure provided by Le Méridien Piccadilly which stimulates sharing. Through literature
study and exploratory research, a better understanding of specific motivations that encourage sharing
was gained. Based on those two studies, the following management question was formulated:
“How can guests be motivated to share their positive experiences after service recovery via e-WoM?”
Two research questions are developed to answer the management question:
RQ1: “What are the motivations for guests to share their experiences via e-WoM?”
This first question focuses especially on specific motivations that enhance positive e-WoM, without a
focus on the service recovery procedure.
RQ2: “What can be done to implement the identified motivations in the current service recovery
procedure provided by Le Méridien Piccadilly and where can those be implemented?”
This question investigates how the specific motivations found by the first research question can be
implemented in the service recovery procedure provided by Le Méridien Piccadilly. Based on this
research questions, three investigative questions were established.
IQ1: “What is the current procedure for service recovery in Le Méridien Piccadilly?”
IQ2: “Which stage of the service recovery procedure of Le Méridien Piccadilly is critical to enhance
the intention of sharing e-WoM?”
IQ3: “What can be done to implement the identified motivations in the service recovery procedure?”
Report Author Version Date
3/56 The Research Report Projectgroup 3 Version 1.2 06.07.2017
Le Méridien Piccadilly
, In order to answer the research questions, three different research methods were used. First, four focus
groups were conducted with participants with and without prior knowledge of the hospitality industry,
different ages, and different nationalities. These focus groups gave insight into the motivations for
sharing positive e-WoM. This in combination with the literature study answered the first research
question. The answer showed that there are six main motivations, namely; people are motivated to share
when their expectations were exceeded (“expectation exceeded”), people are motivated to share to get
positively recognized by others (“self-enhancement”), people are motivated to share to become of an
online community (“social benefits”), people are motivated to share to help others (“altruism”), people
are motivated to share when they receive a compensation in return (“reward”), and people are motivated
to share if the review act is made easy (“platform accessibility”).
The second research method was a combination of a small interview using a critical incident and a
questionnaire provided on an iPad. This was done with guests of Le Méridien Piccadilly and showed
what the strongest motivation is to share positive e-WoM and what Le Méridien Piccadilly should focus
most on. The results revealed that “expectation exceeded” is the strongest motivation, followed by
“altruism”, “platform accessibility”, “social benefits”, “reward”, and the weakest motivation turned out
to be “self-enhancement”.
The third research method used was a semi-structured interview with the associates of Le Méridien
Piccadilly. These interviews were held to gain more insight into the current service recovery procedure
provided by Le Méridien Piccadilly in the hotel. These interviews revealed that there is a standardized
procedure for associates to handle complaints. However, the 8 associates working at operational level
were not always following this procedure, although they are aware of the existence of it. This leaves
opportunities for the hotel to improve. In contrast, the 3 supervisors / duty managers that were
interviewed did follow this procedure.
Finally, two focus groups with HMSM participants were
repeated to get a better understanding where the found
motivations can be implemented in the current service
recovery procedure provided by Le Méridien Piccadilly. In
addition, two new focus groups were held with participants
that also have expertise in the hospitality field. These focus
groups showed that the motivation “expectation exceeded”
should be implemented in the entire service recovery
procedure to strengthen the motivation to share. In addition,
Report Author Version Date
4/56 The Research Report Projectgroup 3 Version 1.2 06.07.2017
Le Méridien Piccadilly
