Benchmarking and Quality of Small Hotels in Croatia: An Explorative Study

This work explores the co-dependency of benchmarking and quality based on numerous interviews with 60 managers of small hotels in Croatia. The aim of this research is to state different ways and possibilities of using the benchmarking method as one of the modern, efficient methods which provide opportunities for adapting to the changes and needs of the modern market. In its first part, the research covers comparison of business standards of small hotels in Croatia and small and medium hotels in the European Union. The second part refers to positioning the role of quality in business of small hotels within the context of ‘strategy of quality’ implementation, certificate of quality possession and measurement of the influence of quality on competitive advantages increase in small hotels in Croatia. The research has shown that management of small hotels rarely applies the comparison of business success regarding domestic and foreign competitors, and therefore fails to understand that this is the way to improve one’s business. The reasons for this could be found in the fact that our country has still not accepted the standard methodology of recording and analysing business results and management of results in the hotel industry (USALI), although it has been accepted in most developed countries of the world. Although quality has been stated as the basic strategic aim of small hotels’ management, the research showed that the present ‘declarative’ level should be lifted to the highest possible level in reality. At the end, the thesis of strong influence of quality on competitive advantages increase in small hotels in Croatia has been proved by using simple and multivariate regression analysis. The facts and propositions of implementation measures of benchmarking and quality of hotel management with the aim of achieving a competitive advantages increase have also been stated.