INTRODUCTION
In every service venture, there are two complimenting sides; the provider of the services and the customer for whom the services are provided. A customer's patronage of any service made available by the producer hinges on that service being able to satisfy the need of the customer. If a customer offers his patronage to a service provider and finds out that the purchased service was unable to meet his/her demands, the guarantee of further patronage becomes greatly diminished. The primary concern of any Nigerian hotel should not be the maximization of profits as an isolated goal but a quest for maximized earnings that is supported by a vigorous pursuit of customer satisfaction through the entrenchment of customer - friendly services which would guarantee total contentment of the guest with the quality of services offered.

In the hospitality business, the customer's satisfaction should be of paramount importance to the hotelier. Robust earnings by hotels, guest houses, resorts and other hospitality providing entities hinge on positive recommendations, sustained patronage and favorable ratings. These 3 factors are hugely dependent on the levels of customer satisfaction. In Nigeria, hotels in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kaduna generally have an average of better ratings than hotels elsewhere, a possible consequence of the maturity of the hospitality markets in those regions and the realisation of the strong correlation between customer service and hotel reputation.

Most travel and hotel booking sites encourage users to rate and leave reviews for hotels that they were referred to. Hoteliers know that they cannot change these third party reviews once they have been dished out, and that they can only hope to influence future reviews and ratings through impeccable customer service and delivery.

Below are a few steps that hotels can follow towards optimizing positive customer experience.

(1) Be honest: The quality of facilities available within a hotel is usually proportional to the pricing policy of that particular hotel. When a low cost hotel promises high class facilities and services on their web and advertising platforms all in a bid to lure gullible clients, these clients would end up thoroughly disappointed when they find out that their expectations have been dashed. Do not offer what you don’t have as you will only end up hurting your customer patronage and referrals to your hotel.

(2) Maintenance culture: Just as the provision of top notch facilities within a hotel is important, routine maintenance of such infrastructure is equally as important. It would be completely anti-profitable for a guest to book a room with state of the art television set only to pick up the remote control and find out that the TV set is out of service.

(3) Training of personnel: Even in a hotel that boasts of excellent facilities, a display of non-chalance by a receptionist or concierge can greatly dent the image of the hotel. Most customer experiences with hotels are shaped by the encounters of these customers with persons working in such facilities. It is therefore critical to every hotel that intermittent trainings be organized for staff on how to deal with customers even when they (the customers) are being irascible. Many hotels in Nigeria have realized the importance of consistent training of staff on customer relations and often make such training compulsory or organize it as a retreat. Hotels that have been known to do this in Nigeria include: Nicon Luxury, Intercontinental Lagos Hotel, Regent luxury suites and Reiz Continental Hotel.

(4) Provision of out-of-the-box customer services- Hotels can forge personal relationships with their customers, and by so doing boost customer satisfaction and revenue generation. This can be done by certain customer care services like sending congratulatory messages on their birthdays and anniversaries, providing complimentary services and facilities e.g. toiletries, wine and water to guests and also by offering regular guests price discounts.

These simple steps can lead to improved positive customer experience for a hotel, and would definitely precipitate greater profit potentials and better ratings for any hotel in the hospitality industry that seeks a competitive advantage over its rivals.