CUSTOMER PERCEPTION

Customer Perception and Expectation of Hotel

Customer Perception and Expectation of Hotel

Introduction

The services have become essential and important part of the economy of UK and the contribution of made by the hotel industry is also significant in this context. The hotel industry has seen large amount of rise in the last few years. As this industry is attached to the tourism industry, its growth is dependent on the tourism industry. The hotel industry provides comfort and luxury service which increases the foreign exchange of the economy. However, the competition is very tough in the hotel industry due to which the hotels are trying to enhance and sustain the market share by keeping the customers satisfied and happy. The customers can only be satisfied when his expectations are met. In order to measure the perception and expectation of the service, a model called SERVQUAL has been developed. In this regard, the model is based on five different dimensions which are:

The reliability dimension which focuses on the ability of the hotel to perform the services dependably and accurately.

The responsiveness dimension which focuses on the willingness of the employee to help the customers and providing the prompt services.

The assurance dimension consists of the knowledge of the employees, their courtesy and the ability to inspire the confidence and trust.

The dimension of empathy refers to the caring, individual attention to the customers, ease in the accessibility and approachability along with the efforts to understand the requirements of the customers.

The tangibles dimensions refer to the appearance of the material relayed and the physical facilities at the retail outlet.

Literature Review

In a study performed by Hu et al (2009), the link between the images, perceived value, satisfaction, service quality in the hotel industry in the Mauritius. The results showed that the quality of service is directly affect the perceived value and satisfaction of the customers. It was also revealed that the perceived value strongly affects the satisfaction of customer.

In another study by Rahman et al (2010), it was identified that the various dimensions of service quality, perceptions of customers and their importance for the customers of various segments will help the managers in the hotel industry to meet the challenge of increasing the satisfaction among the customers.

In a study by Markovic & Raspor (2010), it was revealed that from among the five different dimensions, reliability is considered to be the most important predictor of the perceived quality of service furthermore, in the hotel industry, this dimension is related to the solving of the problems of guests, performing the service in an error free manner at the time which was promised, offering the prompt service and the opening hours of the hotel facilities in an convenient manner.

In another study, the satisfaction of the customers in the hotel industry was evaluated. It was suggested that the adoption of the structured management of customer relationship can enhance the satisfaction level in the hotel (Dominici & Guzzo, 2010).

In order to enhance the performance of the hotels, it has been suggested that the ...