Guests' perceptions on factors influencing customer loyalty

TLDR

The study builds on regression analyses that classify hotel cues as critical, satisfier, or dissatisfier, and is the first to use extensive online guest ratings to examine these attributes. The paper investigates how UK hotel service attributes affect guests’ intention to return. The authors analyzed online ratings from 664 UK hotels, evaluating six attributes—customer service, cleanliness, room quality, value for money, food quality, and family friendliness—to assess their impact on repeat stay intentions. Value for money emerged as a critical attribute, while customer service, room quality, and food quality were dissatisfiers; for leisure guests and chain hotels, value for money was also a dissatisfier, indicating that poor performance in these areas strongly deters repeat stays.

Abstract

Purpose This paper seeks to explore the performance of UK hotels, in terms of various service attributes, and whether it influences customers' intention to stay again. Design/methodology/approach Data are used from online customer ratings of 664 hotels in the UK for the purpose. The approach is based on an interesting use of statistical regression reported in the literature that attempted to classify different cues in hotels as critical, satisfier, dissatisfier, etc. In this study, six prominent attributes are considered, namely: customer service, cleanliness, room quality, value for money, quality of food, and family friendliness, rated by guests, based on their experiences of staying in hotels. Findings The findings reveal that “Value for money” is a critical attribute, while “Customer service”, “Room quality” and “Quality of food” are dissatisfiers. Business guests, and guests of independent hotels, exhibit similar behavior, but for leisure guests, and guests of chain hotels, “Value for money” is a dissatisfier. Practical implications “Value for money” is a critical attribute, in that good performance, in terms of this attribute, is critical for positively influencing guests' intention to stay again; however, failures in terms of this attribute cannot be compensated by improving service in terms of other attributes. There are three dissatisfier attributes (“Customer service”, “Room quality”, and “Quality of food”), implying that an inadequate performance in terms of these attributes could significantly adversely impact guests' intention to stay again. Originality/value This study would appear to be the first to use the extensive data available on the internet on guest ratings of hotels.