Understanding the Customer Experiences from the Perspective of Guests and Hotel Managers: Empirical Findings from Luxury Hotels in Istanbul, Turkey

TLDR

Customer experience is crucial for positive customer behaviors such as loyalty and recommendation, and the hospitality industry is among the most experience‑intensive services. This study explores hospitality experiences from guests’ and managers’ perspectives through a qualitative investigation. The authors interviewed 33 luxury hotel guests and 14 managers in Istanbul and analyzed the data into two factors—physical environment and social interactions—encompassing eight categories. The study identified ambiance, space/function/amenities, design, and signs/symbols/artifacts as key physical‑environment themes, and staff professionalism, attentiveness/customization, attitude, and peer interactions as social‑interaction themes, offering managers actionable insights and directions for future research.

Abstract

Customer experience has been acknowledged as an important factor affecting positive customer behaviors such as loyalty and recommendation. The hospitality industry is also considered to be among the experience-intensive services. This study aims to explore hospitality experiences from guests' and managers' perspectives through a qualitative study. A total of 33 luxury hotel guests and 14 hospitality managers in Istanbul, Turkey, were interviewed to determine factors affecting guest experiences. The content was then analyzed according to two major factors—physical environment and social interactions—under which eight major categories were grouped. The findings imply that ambiance, space/function/amenities, design, and signs/symbols/artifacts may be considered main themes under the physical environment factor, whereas under the social interactions factor, the guests' experiences can be grouped under interactions with staff (professionalism, attentiveness/customization, attitude) and interactions with other guests. The results offer valuable insights to managers regarding dimensions of guest experiences and possible misperceptions. The study also suggests various implications and directions for future research.