Customer perceptions of service quality in luxury hotels in New Delhi, India: an exploratory study

TLDR

Luxury hotel guests in New Delhi value certain service features, and this study identifies which are most important and where gaps exist. The study aims to evaluate luxury hotel guests’ perceptions of service quality in New Delhi to guide management in improving customer satisfaction. Data were collected via surveys and interviews from guests at four‑ and five‑star hotels in New Delhi and analyzed with SPSS v12. The analysis revealed that guests rated front office, room service, and in‑house dining as more important than the service performed, highlighting a significant gap between expectations and actual experiences. The study is limited by a small, single‑city sample and subjective responses, yet it contributes to the literature on luxury hotel service quality in India.

Abstract

Purpose The aim of the study is to assess the service quality perception of customers of luxury hotels, New Delhi in India and to help the hotel management identify areas that need attention to meet and exceed customer expectations. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a survey and interview technique to accumulate information for analysis using SPSS version 12 and was conducted at different four‐ and five‐star hotels in New Delhi involving hotel guests agreeing to participate. A usable sample of 271 participants resulted with a large majority being male. Findings The importance‐performance analysis shows that, for responses relating to front office, room service and in‐house café/restaurant, the importance score is statistically significant to and higher than the performance rating. Overall, the results indicate significant difference between expectations of the guests and actual experiences, thus highlighting managerial implications. Research limitations/implications The current study cannot claim to be wholly conclusive as it is limited to a small sample size from only one metropolitan city of India and there could be subjectivity in responses. From a practitioner's perspective the study provides an opportunity to recognise, in ranking order, features that are considered important by the guests staying in luxury hotels of New Delhi in India and to identify the areas of disparity in service and product quality. Originality/value It is observed that this is a significant study of service quality in luxury hotels in India; in that sense the study contributes to the literature and provides an opportunity for a comparative study of service quality with other such studies undertaken in different parts of the globe.