Visitors' Perceptions of Holiday Experiences and Service Providers: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The paper presents and discusses the results of an exploratory, empirical study, which intended to explore links between holiday experiences and the assessment of the tourism offering. Focusing on evaluation as perceived by customers, the author argues for the acknowledgement of their notion of the ‘holiday product.’ Consequently, the central theme of the study is the holiday visitor's narrated experience. It was found that prevalent assessment frameworks were inconsistent with the way visitors described their own holiday evaluation. Instead of a component-based judgement process, visitors seem to evaluate holidays against vague holiday ideals. Based on this finding, an alternative role and assessment model of service providers is proposed.     

Customer Satisfaction and Behavioural Intentions in a Rural Community Museum Environment

Abstract

This paper examines a cornerstone concept of mainstream marketing theory relating to the importance of customer satisfaction as an influence on future behavioural intentions. The underlying premise is that visitors to a tourist attraction whose expectations are met or exceeded will be satisfied with their experience, and that the degree of perceived satisfaction will positively correlate with their stated intention to repeat purchase and to recommend the experience to others. This paper reports an exploratory project to test the above proposition within a tourism industry context, specifically with reference to the museum sector. The study measures visitor satisfaction levels and future intentions to revisit or recommend the Matakohe Kauri museum in Northland, New Zealand-a rurally isolated tourist attraction which is heavily dependent on referrals to support its continued existence. Research was undertaken by means of a two part structured interview technique, conducted on site with 141 respondents on six separate days in September and October 1996. Visitor expectations were established by questioning prior to entry, whilst a subsequent exit interview captured respondents' perceived degree of satisfaction with their visit. The second interview included a measure of stated intention to return and to recommend the museum to others. Provisional indications are that perceived levels of satisfaction have little bearing on the visitor's stated intention to return to the attraction; however, a significant relationship exists between perceived satisfaction and intention to recommend to others. The results of this research will prove valuable as a foundation for a recommended programme of further research to more rigorously assess the performance of customer satisfaction theory within a rural folk museum environment.     

Influence of Hotel Information System Quality on System Use and User Satisfaction

ABSTRACT

By applying DeLone and McLean's Updated D&M IS Success Model, this study seeks to understand the influence of information system quality on the intention to use the system and user satisfaction within the context of HIS. Data used for the study were obtained from a survey that focuses on hotel employees' evaluation of HIS quality and their intention to use and satisfaction with the system. The results indicate that information system success measures can be meaningfully explained by HIS quality. Service quality that often represents support from information service providers within an organization, among the three aspects of HIS quality considered, has a significant positive influence on users' intention to use HIS and their satisfaction with the system, given the consideration of users' demographic characteristics, career, and the level of work reliance on HIS. Practical and theoretical insights of the findings are addressed.     

Predictors of Service Effort

ABSTRACT

Improving service quality will continue to be a vital goal for hospitality and tourism organizations in the new millennium. As service worker performance directly impacts customer's evaluation of quality, further investigation of methods of improving performance are necessary. Service effort is a construct that has received little attention in the literature, but may be a significant factor in linking employee attitudes and customer perceptions of service quality. This exploratory study tested three popular managerial constructs to determine the extent to which they predict service effort. Using data from 331 service workers from two cruise line operations organizations, motivation, organizational commitment and job satisfaction were regressed against service effort. Results indicate that organizational commitment was the greatest predictor of service effort, followed by motivation. One dimension of job satisfaction (satisfaction with company), failed to yield a significant relationship with service effort, while satisfaction with supervisor yielded a slightly negative coefficient. Implications for hospitality and tourism managers and organizations are discussed.     

Burnout and Service Employees' Willingness to Deliver Quality Service

ABSTRACT

Employees are vital for enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty in service organizations because their proactive involvement is an essential part of delivering the services offered. With the recent rapid growth of tourism in the Macau SAR, service employee workloads are clearly increasing, and consequently one would expect that the incidence of job burnout is rising. This study uses the well-known Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to investigate the relationship between service employees' burnout and their willingness to deliver quality services. Self-administered questionnaires from 110 operational staff in three hotels in Macau have been analyzed. The results indicate that job burnout reduces staff's willingness to deliver quality services and that this effect is moderated by individual staff's level of affective organizational commitment, and their perceptions of the extent of organizational and supervisor support provided by the organization. Based on these results, practical managerial strategies to improve service performance are identified.     

Service Quality,Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intention Among Forest Visitors

Abstract

This study explores the interrelationships between service quality and satisfaction, and their influence on behavioral intention among forest visitors. On-site surveys were conducted in a forest through face-to-face interviews (n = 395). The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that service quality is an antecedent of satisfaction and satisfaction plays a mediating role between service quality and behavioral intention. Further, service quality has a direct effect on behavioral loyalty, implying that the effect of service quality on behavioral intention is as important as that of satisfaction. The results of the study provide important theoretical implications to nature-based tourism managers.     

Research Possibilities in Private Club Management

Abstract

This research project proposes a process that studies the service quality trade-offs that restaurant managers worldwide are willing to make in order to maximize their customers' satisfaction level. The project uses traditional conjoint techniques to determine which service attributes managers are willing to trade so that customer satisfaction is maximized.     

The Importance of Hotel Attributes in Contributing to Travelers' Satisfaction in the Hong Kong Hotel Industry

Abstract

This study surveyed 402 international travelers to explore their satisfaction levels towards service and facility quality in three Hong Kong hotel market segments, High-Tariff A, High-Tariff B and Medium Tariff. Six perception dimensions were extracted from 33 hotel attributes by a factor analysis. All six dimensions had a significant impact on the overall satisfaction of travelers with service quality and facilities in the three Hong Kong hotel market segments. Quality of Staff Performance was the most influential factor followed by Quality of Room Facilities, Value for Money, Variety and Efficient Services, Business Related Services, and Safety and Security respectively. It was found that travelers had the lowest satisfaction level towards the Medium-Tariff hotel segment. By identifying the most influential hotel dimension in influencing travelers' satisfaction levels, hoteliers will be in an advantageous position to formulate tactics to meet the changing needs and expectations of travelers. Implementing human resources training that emphasizes the fact that service quality is part of each employee's job should have a significant impact on guest re-purchase intention. The importance of value segmentation cannot be overlooked by hoteliers. Travelers will continue to expect hotels to provide more value-for-money services and facilities and they are expected to shift their purchasing decision to an economic value basis.     

The Relationships Between Food Service Wait Staff Skills,Satisfaction, Commitment and Their Levels of Customer Orientation

Abstract

Restaurants are in an industry that seems to be one of the most competitivein the nation. The challenges of operating in this particular industry are exacerbated bythe relative similarities that exist between many food service providers. One means that may be used to achieve a degree of differentiation may be through the restaurant's customer contact personnel, i.e., its wait staff. The restaurant's wait staff is an important factor in determining customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction in turn is an important determinant of the restaurant's profitability and longevity. The purpose of this research is to assess the relationships that exist between the wait staff's levels of customer orientation and their sales skills, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The results indicate that the positive relationships exist between the wait staff's customer orientation and their skills, job satisfaction and organizational commitment.     

游客满意度测评体系的构建及实证研究

游客满意度测评体系旨在以旅游者视角来评价“城市旅游综合服务质量”软环境.该研究根据满意度理论和扎根理论,结合提升旅游服务质量的实践需要,构建了游客满意度调查体系,并以2010年全国50个城市的大规模调查数据为基础,较全面、系统地探讨中国游客满意度的总体及区域特征.游客满意度测评体系包含现场问卷调查、网络评论调查及旅游投诉与质监调查,2010年全国整体处于78.95的“基本满意”水平,呈现显著的区域差异性和正向空间集聚特征.建议推广“大旅游”的产业发展理念,切实提升涉旅行业服务质量和城市综合配套服务.     

Hotel Guests' Cumulative Satisfaction Updating Process in the Context of Service Failure and Service Recovery

ABSTRACT

Consumers constantly revise their satisfaction judgments as they gain new service experience. While some researchers found that consumers weigh their prior cumulative experience more heavily than their most current individual service encounters when updating their cumulative overall satisfaction, others found the opposite result. Following the development of the literature, this study investigated customers' satisfaction updating process in the context of service failure and service recovery in the hotel industry. The results of the data analysis show that when updating overall satisfaction, participants weighed their current service encounter satisfaction more heavily than prior cumulative overall satisfaction, regardless of different levels of service failure and service recovery. The findings of this research also suggest that once customers experience service problems, it is difficult to bring customers' satisfaction level back to where it was.     

The Impact of Consumer Involvement on the Consumers' Perception of Service Quality-Focusing on the Korean Hotel Industry

Abstract

The consumers' evaluations of service quality may be impacted by their assessments of the actual service received, the service provider, and/or the service facility. Within a service marketing context, the more an individual believes the service is personally relevant, the more involved the individual may become with various aspects of the service. This study integrates these two important variables in consumer behavior, which are consumer involvement and service quality. This paper investigates the effect of consumer involvement on the consumer's perceived service quality by focusing on the Korean hotel industry.     

An Assessment of Key Hotel Guest Contact Personnel in Handling Guest Complaints

Abstract

The quality of a guest's hotel experience is frequently dependent on the consistency with which hotel standards of service are applied. Where the existing systems break down, guests will complain. This should be viewed as an opportunity for the hotel's management. However, some hotel direct guest contact personnel may view guest complaints as causes for panic rather than opportunities for improving the hotel operation. Guests whose complaints were resolved satisfactorily were willing to return back to the hotel. Proficiency in handling their complaints results in greater guest satisfaction and loyalty. The application of the research will be on Hotel Assistant Managers/Guest Relations Agents to investigate whether they are applying the necessary steps and techniques to solve guests' complaints related either to tangible or intangible products in hotels. Results indicate that Hotel Assistant Managers and Guest Relations Agents could improve their effectiveness in handling guests' complaints. Assistant Managers were found in this study to be better at handling complaints than Guest Relations Agents.     

Measuring Personal Service Quality

Abstract

This study examined the personal service quality of international tourism hotels in China by measuring international hotel customer's satisfaction level and their perceived importance evaluation of personal service attributes. Six international hotels in Beijing and three departments (reception, food and beverage, and housekeeping) in each hotel were selected in this study. Responses from 472 customers were used for the data analysis of this study. It was found that customers identified friendliness and willingness to provide service in all three departments as service attributes with which they were very satisfied. Foreign language ability was identified as the least satisfactory in the reception and food and beverage departments. Customers also regarded friendliness and willingness to provide service as very important.     

The Importance of Cultural Distance in the Perception of Evaluation of Service Quality

ABSTRACT

The paper deals with determinants in the cross-cultural setting of service encounters in tourism. The first part of the paper describes the theoretically expected influence of culture (cultural values) on the perception of expected and received service qualities. Based on a review of the literature cultural values are hypothesized to intervene in the formation of expectations and the perception of received service quality (satisfaction) across specific service quality related choice and/or decision and evaluation processes. Cases in point are particular dimensions of service quality encountered in tourism destinations, events and accommodation settings. The second part of the paper explores the usefulness and also the limitations of alternate cultural constructs found in the literature and used in the analysis of tourist's service quality judgements. Finally in part three the cultural distance is suggested as a useful potential proxy for the influence of cultural values in tourism applications and is discussed alongside other cultural constructs traditionally employed in tourism analyses.     

Exploring asymmetric effects of attribute performance on customer satisfaction using association rule method

Identifying primary service attributes that generate customer satisfaction (CS) is critical to organizational success. The Kano model demonstrates an asymmetric relationship between attribute performance and CS. However, extant regression-based approaches for classifying Kano's quality attributes have theoretical limitations, such as multicollinearity problems, resulting in spurious inferences. The association rule (AR) method is widely used in data mining to explore the associations or correlations among variables because it does not require the typical assumptions associated with regression analyses. The framework developed in this study incorporates the AR method to classify Kano's quality attributes. The effectiveness of the proposed method was demonstrated using a case study of a restaurant chain. The proposed method is more practical for classifying Kano's quality attributes because it shortens the time required for data collection. Moreover, the proposed method reduces computational complexity. Validity test results indicate that the proposed method markedly outperforms some regression-based approaches.     

Business Traveler Satisfaction with Hotel Service Encounters

Abstract

This study examines customer satisfaction with a series of hotel services. Five service encounters were examined in a sample of business travelers (n = 140) who had stayed in Hong Kong hotels. Overall satisfaction and repurchase intention were differentially impacted by the various service encounters. Business center encounters had the greatest effect on business traveler satisfaction, followed by check-out and check-in encounters. Interestingly, room and restaurant encounters had the least impact on satisfaction. The delivery of good core services alone cannot guarantee customer satisfaction. Hotels must also pay attention to peripheral service delivery, because these encounters help to shape the customer's overall level of satisfaction and repurchase intention.     

An Examination of Job Satisfaction of General Managers Based on Hotel Size and Service Type

ABSTRACT

Because of the flatter organizational structure and decentralized hierarchical configuration of limited-service and extended-stay hotels, managerial job responsibilities may differ between these types of hotels and their full-service counterparts. As job responsibilities vary, so too might approaches to ensuring job satisfaction. This study examined how hotel size and service type affect the job satisfaction of general managers. After hypotheses testing and an analysis of the item correlations, it was concluded that neither hotel size nor service type significantly impacted general manager job satisfaction and gender, age, educational level, and longevity in the hospitality industry or as a hotel manager all had minimal impact on job satisfaction.     

Dialectical emotions in a dark heritage site: A study at the Auschwitz Death Camp

This study was designed to explore the emotional experience during the visit to the Auschwitz Death Camp, and its relationship to the perceptions of benefits gained from the visit as well as the quality of the experience. A mix method approach was adopted. Following a qualitative study, questionnaires (n = 553) were distributed in four languages. The findings which are based on the PANAS index revealed an emotional duality. The study highlights the central role of the negative emotions and the significant contribution of these emotions to visitor's satisfaction, as well as to the perceived benefits derived from the visit. The study challenges the emphasis of tourism research on positive emotions and its view of negative emotions as having a negative impact, leading to dissatisfaction with the visitor experience. The findings emphasize the need to conceptualize the visitor experience and address the positive contribution of negative emotions.