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.     

基于期望差异模型的RBD顾客满意度研究--以广州市北京路步行商业区为例

北京路步行商业区是广州城市游憩体系中重要的组成部分。本文运用期望差异模型对北京路步行商业区的顾客满意度进行了研究。研究发现，总体上顾客对北京路步行街的感知实绩低于期望．对北京路购物功能的满意度较高，娱乐休闲满意度稍逊。在实证研究的基础上，指出了期望差异模型的不足．并提出了新的期望差异概念模型。新的概念模型显示，服务实绩对于顾客的满意度具有决定作用。     

Measuring tourist judgment on service quality

This study measures tourist judgments on service quality in alpine ski resorts. An attribute based method was employed in order to estimate weighting schemes both for quality judgments across different tourism activity domains and different quality dimensions within winter resorts and to quantify an overall quality measure. A linear regression and Sirgy's congruity model of customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction were adopted. The results indicate that there exists a linear relationship between the overall quality measure and the partial judgments of each domain/dimension. This allows deciphering the relevance of different domains of tourism activity and quality dimensions within the process of making quality judgments.     

Generational Perception and Satisfaction Differences Related to Restaurant Service Environment

ABSTRACT

The current study considers perception, satisfaction, and importance rating differences of aspects of the dining service environment in a casual-themed restaurant between members of three generations—baby boomers, Gen X, and millennials. The study also assesses the moderating role of generation on the relationship between satisfaction and repeat patronage intentions. Significant differences were found between generations related to satisfaction, importance ratings, and repeat patronage intentions regarding the overall dining service environment. The current study provides assessment of components of the DINESCAPE scale along with items from the DinEX scale related to social connectedness. Implications of the research are discussed.     

The significance of environmental values for destination competitiveness and sustainable tourism strategy making: insights from Australia's Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

Sustainable destinations must deliver products that perform better than their competitors and at the same time protect key environmental drawcards. This research explores the environmental–economic interface of a major destination, both as a case study in how to approach this complex relationship and as a contribution to the methodology of tackling the need for understanding competitive pressures as part of sustainable tourism strategy creation. Using the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) as an example, the paper assesses 21 key environmental values, including Indigenous culture, against market-based factors, in terms of their importance for visitors as regional drawcards, satisfaction with them and the way in which changes in them might affect trip numbers and duration across different regions. While the natural values of the GBRWHA are found to be the most important drawcards, satisfaction scores were significantly lower than importance scores for a number of these values. Visitors responded more negatively to the prospect of environmental degradation than to the prospect of a 20% increase in local prices: the detailed impact depends, however, on location and visitor mix. Clear ocean, healthy coral reefs, healthy reef fish, and lack of rubbish were the top four most important values.     

Tipping Behavior of Diners in Three Upscale Chinese Restaurants in Hong Kong

This study intends to fill a gap in the literature and explores customers' tipping behaviors in the Chinese foodservice industry. The main focus of this study is to test a model that examines the influences of “food quality”, “service quality”, “conformity”, “universalism”, “reputation”, “likelihood of return” and “overall meal satisfaction” on tip size. A survey was conducted with 611 restaurant patrons in three selected Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. The findings of this study reveal that five of these seven factors were found to be good predictors of overall satisfaction except “universalism”. However, the overall impact of these seven factors on tip amount was small. Implications of the findings were discussed and directions for future studies were included.     

Marital Satisfaction: An Examination of Its Relationship to Spouse Support and Congruence of Commitment Among Runners

Role-identity theory supports the position that marital satisfaction is influenced by shared identities to a salient recreation role and by role support provided by a spouse for a salient recreation role identity for her or his partner. In addition, some previous studies have suggested that these effects are more prominent among women, but other research indicates that the effect is stronger among men. This study examined the relationship among the congruence of spouse's commitment to running, perceived role support, and gender to marital satisfaction among a population of married adult runners. Participants were 85 married runners and 75 of their spouses sampled from a list of participants in an annual marathon in a western U.S. city. Questionnaires were administered to runners and their spouses that measured commitment to running, role support, marital satisfaction, and the type of recreation participation within the marriage. A significant main effect for role support was found in the regression analysis, indicating that as the runner's perceived role support decreased, marital satisfaction also decreased. No significant interaction effects involving gender or level of congruence in commitment to running were identified. In an exploratory analysis, it was found that participation in shared activities, or commitment to the same activities, was not essential to marital satisfaction if the spouses perceived that their partners supported their recreational choices.     

Leisure Involvement,Job Satisfaction,and Service Performance among Frontline Restaurant Employees

The importance of employee leisure involvement to employee service performance has been suggested but not tested in the literature. This study closes this research gap by inspecting the direct consequence of leisure involvement on service performance and leisure involvement’s indirect effect on service performance via job satisfaction for frontline service employees. This study uses a sample of 313 restaurant employees collected from Bandung, Indonesia. The proposed model is tested using variance-based SEM-PLS. The results show the importance of leisure involvement as a determinant of frontline service performance. Moreover, this study reveals that the effect of leisure involvement on service performance is partially mediated by job satisfaction. The conceptual and practical significance of these results are reviewed.     

Guest Satisfaction in the U.S. Lodging Industry Using the ACSI Model as a Service Quality Scoreboard

SUMMARY

This article extracts data from the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) for the lodging industry and for the six hotel brands included in the study. Guest satisfaction scores are analyzed for three important standards: overall satisfaction, expectancy-disconfirmation, and customer experience compared to an ideal product. Findings indicate that [1] the lodging industry scores slightly better than the entire service sector and about the same as the national score, and [2] there is significant variation in satisfaction scores among the six brands tested. Implications for management are included.     

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.     

Perceptions on quality customer service in the hospitality industry in Papua New Guinea: an evaluation

The purpose of this study is to identify any quality customer service gaps in the hospitality industry in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and to test the significant values of each of the necessary variables that make up the component of quality customer service in the hospitality sector. A survey has been done among a group of 197 visitors in hospitality firms. Results revealed that the hospitality industry in PNG had a major service gap in the area of “Personalized Service and Empathy”. This gap includes areas such as serving customers' best interests, never too busy to respond to questions, and understanding of specific needs. The study also identified that the major predictors for overall customer satisfaction were “Tangibles” and “Financial Competence and Reliability”, which had a significant negative effect on customers' satisfaction.     

传统旅游城市入境游客满意度评价及其期望-感知特征差异分析--以西安欧美游客为例

入境旅游是衡量一个国家或地区旅游实力和开放程度的重要指示器.本文选取西安欧美客源为研究对象,基于期望差异模型、花费-收获模型、服务绩效模型和标准模型对游客满意度做出测定和比较,并运用合图法(co-plot)分析西安欧美游客的期望和实际感知特点.结果发现:①期望差异和花费--收获模式与总体满意度显著相关,推荐率与游客满意度高度正相关,而重游意向与满意度联系不大.②根据游客期望和实际感知及两者差异值,西安旅游的相关指标分成八类,间接反映了西安旅游业发展特点.③西安欧美游客和国内游客对旅游六要素表现出不同的评价和满意度.最后提出了本文研究不足及今后研究中应弥补之处.     

How Cultural Differences Cause Dimensions of Tourism Satisfaction

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual model of the relationship between different cultural values and how they influence consumer satisfaction in the tourism industry. It is hypothesized that cultural differences manifest themselves in different levels of importance being placed upon different aspects of service, and the differences between the levels of importance and the actual service received cause differences in the levels of satisfaction. These hypotheses are tested using 269 independent samples of levels of importance and 411 independent samples of satisfaction of tourists from four cultural groups (Australian, USA/Canadian, Japanese, Mandarin speakers) who visited Melbourne, Australia in the period May-September, 1996. The analysis develops dimensions of importance and satisfaction separately for each cultural grouping, and uses structural equation modeling (Amos 3.6) to develop the causal model measuring the way in which importance of service dimensions cause dimensions of satisfaction. Conclusions from the analysis show little evidence of a causal relationship between importance of service quality attributes and satisfaction. However, significant differences are found between cultures for different levels of satisfaction resulting indirectly from differences in the importance and actual levels of service received.

The implications for cultural differences affecting tourism satisfaction are discussed.     

Tourist decisions in renting various personal travel modes: A case study in Kitakyushu City,Japan

Recently, personal transportation modes have diversified remarkably, and rental use in a tourism area can be one of the strategies to popularize them. This study focused on Kitakyushu City, Japan, and analyzed users' decision-making processes to choose among four modes (ultra-lightweight vehicles [ULVs], electric-assisted bicycles, electric scooters, and electric four-wheel carts) by four evaluation standards: “safety,” “convenience,” “mobility,” and “joy.” The results found that, regarding overall satisfaction of the rental service, most users were satisfied and want to use it in a tourism area as an alternative to, primarily, private cars, even if the service will be provided under a continuous-charging model. In addition, a detailed analysis of the decision-making process of rental use showed that users ranked the criteria in descending order of importance as “safety,” “convenience,” “joy,” and “mobility,” and regarded ULVs as the most preferable transportation mode.     

IPA分析法的修正及其在游客满意度研究的应用

传统的重要性绩效（IPA）分析法以受访者自述满意度和重要性评价来衡量各评价要素对提升客户满意度的意义。多数学者指出,这种分析方法存在两个弊端：一是重要性评价受满意程度的影响,二是单个评价要素的满意与否不一定能带来整体满意度相对称的变化。因此,单个评价要素的重要性也应当有所不同。所以,采用自述重要性的分析方式并不能反映客户的真实感受,分析方法需要改进。该研究以一山地景区的游客满意度为例,使用对数转化和偏相关系数法从满意度评价计算出引申重要性评价,去除满意度的影响,从而能较为客观地反映出游客对评价指标重要性感知。该研究对两种IPA分析方法进行了实证比较研究,并指出了结果存在差异性的原因,为完善使用IPA方法提供了有价值的理论阐述和实践检验。     

The joint effect of consumer and service providers’ culture on online service evaluations: A response surface analysis

National culture exerts substantial influence on consumers' expectations, satisfaction, and evaluations. Despite that, within a service-based context, two cultures are met, that of the customer and that of the service provider, the existing literature systematically explores the effect of customer culture in isolation neglecting the impact of the provider's culture or their joint effect. We fill this gap by considering the concomitant effect of customer and provider cultural factors on passenger evaluations of airline carriers using a large dataset of reviews that covers the majority of countries. Employing a response surface methodology, our study provides significant advantages over methods based on cultural distance scores in revealing more complex non-linear relationships. This multi-dimensional approach provides new insights for assessing the impact of national culture on customers' service perceptions and evaluations, thus bringing significant implications for researchers and service providers.     

Customer satisfaction using low cost carriers

Low cost carriers (LCCs) have a competitive advantage over full service carriers (FSCs) in several nations due to their lower fares and similar levels of service quality. Not all customers' needs are alike, and the market characteristics found in the LCCs industry may influence customers' attitudes. Thus, this study examines the relative importance of perceived service quality and the relationship between perceived service quality, customer satisfaction and behavioral intention using multidimensional methods. The results from this study indicate that the significant dimensions of customer satisfaction are tangibles and responsiveness. In addition, the study confirms the significant consequences of customer satisfaction including word-of-mouth communication, purchase intentions, and complaining behavior. Based on these results, carriers should develop tangibles and responsiveness for the enhancement of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions.     

The Intrinsic,Instrumental and Spiritual Values of Natural Area Visitors and the General Public: A Comparative Study

Theory suggests that tourists who hold higher levels of environmental concern are more likely to have an interest in natural places and their conservation, and be more likely to engage in activities that are environmentally sustainable. This study assessed environmental concern by measuring and comparing the intrinsic, non-use, use, spiritual and recreation values of nature-based tourists, members of a recreational conservation group and the general public. The results showed that members of each sample could be grouped into four clusters, each holding a unique combination of the values. For some clusters, spirituality and intrinsic value were positively associated, yet for others, the two values appeared to exist in different conceptual domains. One cluster placed particular importance on bequest and existence values and one cluster valued natural places mainly for recreation. The results indicated that while many people are clearly interested in natural areas, they are influenced in different ways by a range of values. The study provides information about specific values that will help to better understand visitors to natural places and assist in the management and conservation of those places.     

An Examination of Park Preferences and Behaviors Among Urban Residents: The Role of Residential Location,Race, and Age

We examined the relationship between age, race and residential location with respect to four issues salient to public park agencies, (a) citizens' perceived need for additional park land; (b) preferences for the desired function of that park land (e.g., conservation vs. recreation); (c) preferences for the style of recreation (e.g., developed vs. naturebased recreation); and, (d) level of existing visitation to local parks. Data for this study was drawn from a general population of urbanites residing within a seven-mile radius of Cleveland Metroparks' newly opened Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation. Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) was used to collect data from respondents during an 8- to 10-minute interview. Eight hundred telephone interviews were completed in December, 2000, representing an overall response rate of 77% and an overall sampling error of - 3.5 %. Four logistic regression models were generated to test the relationships of interest. Results of the study suggested that while all three variables (race, age, and residential location) contributed significantly to the models, age was the strongest predictor of support/nonsupport for additional park land. Examination of park preferences revealed that older adults and Blacks were more likely to prefer recreation to conservation than younger adults and Whites. Race, however, was the strongest of these characteristics in terms of predictive power. Race had the strongest influence on the preference for type of recreation activity. When examining park visitation, older adults and Blacks were more likely to be nonvisitors.     

Determining the Attributes of Casino Customer Satisfaction: Applying Impact-Range Performance and Asymmetry Analyses

This case study assesses the asymmetric relationship between the relative importance of service quality attributes and overall customer satisfaction in Korean casino settings, using impact-range performance analysis (IRPA) and impact asymmetry analysis (IAA). Results validated the rigor of IRPA and IAA over importance–performance analysis (IPA) in identifying key determining attributes of customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction among various casino service quality attributes based on three-factor theory. The theoretical and practical implications of this study’s findings are included to enrich both academicians’ and casino industry professionals’ understanding of customers’ perceptions of and attitudes towards casinos, and the development of a marketing strategy.