Study of the relevance of ISO 9001 standard in the performance of the Portuguese hospitality industry

Abstract

The current global financial crisis has been promoting a greater focus on quality in the hospitality industry. This study aims to: analyze the impact of ISO 9001 implementation in the organization’s performance in this industry; to study if benefits differ according to the hotels’ rating and if they tend to emerge in long-term; to assess if the most recent version of ISO produces a greater impact than the older versions; and finally to identify the main reasons for non-certification. Based on a sample of 112 Portuguese hotels, the results show that ISO 9001 implementation contributes to improvements in several performance measures.

No relationship was found between the quality certification’s impact on performance and the hotels’ rating, and that ISO 9001 implementation benefits do not tend to emerge in the long-term. However, ISO 9001:2008 produces a greater impact on performance than the 2000 version, and finally, the high costs of implementation appear to be the main reason for non-certification.