The case of Quantum Park Hotels, a global hotel chain, is designed to uncover the challenges in designing a customer service recovery programme. The case is set in the Singapore branch of the hotel chain. General Manager David Ng is faced with several irate customers who have refused to pay their hotel bills, because they had no access to water from 4:30 am to 8:45 am that day due to damaged pipes. The front desk staff are seeking guidance from Ng on how to address the guest complaints. To help him arrive at a decision, Ng meets with his heads of guest services, finance, and loyalty programmes to get their insights and thoughts. Although the broken water pipes have since been repaired, they expect more customers to request some sort of compensation for their trouble. It will soon be check-out time at the hotel and while Ng is considering the inputs of multiple stakeholders, several decisions must be made. What sort of compensation should be offered - cash, room nights, hotel meals, or a combination of some or all of these? How much should be offered to the affected guests - a sum greater, less than or exactly the same as what they spent? Should different guests receive different benefits? And should something be done for guests who did not complain?

The case describes the relaunch of the popular bubble tea franchise Gong Cha in Singapore in December 2017. This was seven months after its 80 outlets were converted, within a week, into a new chain named LiHO TEA by the former Gong Cha franchisee. Kang Puay Seng, the new franchisee, had the advantage of a large loyal customer base waiting for Gong Cha's return, but also faced the challenge of balancing the expectations of the existing base of Gong Cha loyalists with the changes occurring in the fast-changing bubble tea market. In addition, he had to find new locations in an increasingly competitive market in which mall owners were now allowing multiple bubble tea brands to operate in the same mall. The COVID-19 crisis in 2020-21 was another shock that the franchise had to adapt to, especially during a two-month lockdown period. In 2022, five years after the relaunch, the bubble tea market seemed to continue attracting new entrants, with over 60 brands operating in Singapore. The case describes innovations in menu additions, retail format, and service model that have kept the Gong Cha brand popular in a competitive market. The challenge ahead is to continue to innovate as the bubble tea market would likely consolidate in the years to come.

Amara Hotels & Resorts is a family-managed public-listed company running three business hotels, one each in Singapore, Shanghai and Bangkok, in addition to a resort on the island of Sentosa off the southern coast of Singapore. The company is led by Albert Teo, the son of the hotel chain founder. The case describes the sustainability initiatives implemented by the Singapore hotels, and the firm's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Singapore and Bangkok. As the COVID pandemic has deeply affected the fortunes of the hotel, Teo is considering various ways in which the hotel can respond in a substantive way to the growing requirements by investors, analysts and governments for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria to be fulfilled by corporations. Since it is a family-owned business, he is particularly conscious of the long-term legacy of the hotel brand name. In considering future initiatives for the hotel to advance its sustainability and CSR agenda, he would like to achieve a win-win situation in which there are tangible benefits for the world, as well as a long-term positive impact on the bottom line. The case illustrates this central challenge in running a modern corporation, especially a service business with an international clientele.

Set in February 2019, Stark Resorts Hotel ('Stark Resorts') is a case based on the real-world experiences of the authors. The hotel, a USD155 million investment, had been plagued by insects since its grand opening 15 months earlier. Of even more concern was the avid social media influencer who had stayed in the resort a year ago and was diagnosed for Dengue fever, which she allegedly caught at the hotel poolside. It didn't take time for the negative word of mouth to spread. While the staff tried their best to handle the problem and were vigilant about initiating and overseeing the administration of pest control, even they were losing confidence and morale. Stark Resorts' revenue rate per available room (RevPAR), a key hotel metric, had fallen 6% over the past six months. Other resorts in the area had pest problems as well, but they did not seem to be experiencing the same reputational and financial damage. Jack Lim, the manager at Stark Resorts has his work cut out for him - he has to tackle the pest issue at hand, repair the reputational damage, and win over customer loyalty of his guests.