LITERATURE REVIEW
Background of Bed and Breakfast
A bed and breakfast is generally known as a private home where a guest is provided a place to stay for the night. In some cases, the bathroom provided for the guest is shared with the family or another guest although the majority of guests now expect or demand a private bathroom that is usually en suite, or "in the room". Breakfast is usually included with the price of the room. Thus, bed and breakfast provided in a private home is sometimes referred to as a home stay. In addition to converted private residences, some establishments are considered bed and breakfast inns. The same concepts of "room and breakfast" apply. The major difference is that an inn has more rooms available than the usual one to four found in a private home. Inns often provide meals in addition to breakfast, as well as other services not always provided in a private home. These two terms are used in the industry to distinguish the difference between a stay in a private home and an inn. ( and , 2000)
Generally, a B&B is not the reason for a guest to visit an area, but in some cases B&Bs have done such a masterful marketing job that this has changed. People read articles in a variety of publications and sometimes are attracted by a bed and breakfast and plan to visit the area specifically to stay at that B&B. Travelers usually are attracted by recreational, cultural or historic sites, or by business they have in a particular area. Business travelers, especially women, sometimes seek out bed and breakfast accommodations as an alternative to the typical lodge, motel or hotel facility available in an area. B&Bs provide the traveler with a different lodging experience as well as what many consider a safer environment. ( and , 2000)
A Brief History of Bed and Breakfasts
The bed and breakfast concept has existed in one form or another since the beginning of man. Monasteries served as bed and breakfasts for travelers, and in some cases still do. Bed and breakfasts have been very popular with the traveling public in Europe for years. It was in England, Scotland and Ireland that the term "B&B" first came into use. Tourists will see a B&B sign in many windows there. The term "bed and breakfast" is not used in many other countries. Terms such as paradors, pensions, shukukos and pousados are used to describe what Americans and English-speaking Europeans think of as a bed and breakfast. ( and , 2000)
The United States also has a history of bed and breakfasts dating back to the time of early settlers. As the pioneers traveled the trails and roads across this county, they sought a safe refuge in homes, inns and taverns. In fact, some of those historic accommodations now serve as B&Bs. During the Great Depression, many people opened their homes to travelers to bring in some additional money for the family. The term "boarding house" was used at this time. After the Depression, this type of lodging declined and many people had the idea they were just for low-income travelers or drifters. In the early fifties, people may remember the term "tourist home" being used. This too was essentially a form of bed and breakfast. Once motels were built on the new highways, they were soon forgotten. In large part because of the number of Americans traveling to Europe in recent years and rediscovering B&Bs, there has been an exponential increase in interest in the U.S. Today, the B&B is not viewed as a low-cost lodging facility but as an attractive alternative to the typical standard chain hotel or motel room. Today, some bed and breakfasts offer amenities not unlike those found at the most upscale hotels in the world. (, and , 2000)
Customer Satisfaction
Several authors have suggested that bed and breakfast businesses are in a unique position to leverage relationship building into a sustainable competitive advantage ( and 1999; 1997; and 1993). Quick customer response, an obsession with a quality product or service that bears the family name and a genuine desire to provide outstanding customer service are the bases for developing strong customer relationships ( and 1999; 1995). Moreover, anecdotal evidence suggests that family businesses that can create and maintain superior customer relationships enjoy competitive advantages associated with customer loyalty, perceptions of trustworthiness, and good-will ( 2001; 2000). There is a formal commitment to customer relationship management (CRM) is increasingly being seen throughout the business community as an essential tool in a company's competitive arsenal. CRM, which has evolved in recent years from several areas of marketing, including database marketing and relationship marketing ( and 1995), often requires significant changes in company processes, policies and strategy.
The tendency to expand the field of relationship marketing to encompass a broad range of marketing and business-related activities has proven irresistible for practitioners as well. For example, the following have been called "customer relationship marketing": campaign management, cross-selling and up selling, customer retention, behavior prediction, customer profitability and value modeling, channel optimization, personalization, and even event-based marketing ( 2002). Others mention loyalty programs (, , and 2000), enterprise-wide initiatives ( 2001), and partner and channel management ( 2001).
Customer Loyalty
Despite a slowdown in tourism in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, bed and breakfasts have managed to hold their own. According to the latest industry figures compiled by the Professional Association of Innkeepers International, these businesses managed to pull in $3.1 billion in revenues in 2002, which was only slightly lower than in 2000. The number of inns in the U.S.. meanwhile, has grown to 19,500 from 19,000. The average daily rate for a room has climbed to $136.70 in 2002 from $128.87 in 2000. ( and , 2000) A few other enterprising African Americans are participating in this growing industry and roughly 20 black innkeepers belong to the African American Association of Innkeepers International (). There's definitely money to be made in this area, but if you think inn keeping is an easy business to get into, think again. (, 2005)
The business can be time-consuming and expensive. Then there are the rigors of keeping house and pacifying guests. In fact, nearly a third of the entrepreneurs that launch these ventures will find the workload too much to handle and cease operations within five to seven years. But those who sweat it out enjoy the security of a sector that's potentially lucrative and resistant to economic downturns. ( and , 2000)
That was the beginning, The structure was weather-beaten, and a fire a few years earlier had caused cosmetic damage. Moreover, the house's plumbing and electrical wiring were in need of upgrading. A new oil heating system had to be installed. A new roof was fitted and the yard landscaped. The 18 rooms had to be repainted and furnished. Each room needed a private bath installed; in addition, Greenwood added Jacuzzis to the guest rooms. The front porch needed to be lifted six inches. Greenwood brought in a group of architects and contractors and spent more than $75,000 in the first year alone. ( and , 2000)
There can be steps for a successful B&B
Ø Formulate a business plan
Ø Determine the market
Ø Project sales revenue
Ø Research proper location
Ø Choose a building
Ø Learn the law
Ø Get insurance
Ø Renovate and furnish
Ø Calculate room rates
Ø Promote better B and B inns
Retention
One of the features that attract guests to a B&B is the promise of a special breakfast. The host's goal is to serve attractive, delicious and whenever possible nutritious meals to guests. Breakfasts start at the very simple a continental breakfast, which usually includes hot tea or coffee, fruit juice and sweet rolls, muffins or biscuits. A full breakfast with juices, entree, breads and hot beverages is at the other end of the scale. No matter what type of meal you serve, everything should be of the highest quality. ( and , 2000)
Comparison between US and Taiwan's B&B
Taiwan is situated about 160 kilometers off the southeastern coast of the China, and between Korea and Japan in the north and Hong Kong Island and the Bohol, Philippines to the south. The island has always been known as one of the most beautiful in the Pacific. The Portuguese called it Formosa, which means just that. With its mountains that rise up high above the green-forested foothills, its terraced flatlands and coastal plains and basins and foremost with its friendly generous people, it's really almost paradise. ( and , 1999)
Not just the breathtaking scenery with waterfalls, lakes, hot springs or misty hillsides, make Taiwan well worth a visit. Pagodas and temples build on a culture that goes back beyond the beginning of western civilization. Next to nature and tradition there's also the modern Taiwan with skyscrapers that almost reach into heaven, with their feet firmly planted in a chaotic stream of traffic. Whatever you're looking for, you can probably find it in here. If you visit the capital city, Taipei, even if you're just passing through take a day or two to look around and to visit the Yangmingshan National Park. Other cities of interest are Taichungand the industrial city of Kaohsiung. ( and , 1999)
The most beautiful natural regions are Central Cross-Island Highway, the Hsitou's bamboo forests, Sun moon lake, Kenting National Park and the Yushan National Park and of course there's Yushan or Mount Jade, Alishan, and Toroko gorge. If you think you have seen the whole island you also have to discover the Penghu Islands, off the southwestern coast of Taiwan. Ancient temples, picturesque farms and windswept fishing villages, friendly people, fine beaches, coral reefs, and rugged coastlines are just a few keywords to get person’s attention. This is a great place for all kinds of water sports and don't forget to try the fresh seafood. Penghu is famous for its northeatern wind in the winter, wind is consistantly over 25 knots from October to April and blowing up to 50 knots occationally.
It is a great destination for windsurfers. Every guest comes to a B&B or inn with certain expectations about the quality of the services provided and the way they are delivered. An innkeeper who exceeds these expectations is perceived as offering high-quality services and, consequently, achieves a high level of guest satisfaction. As we all know, the more guests are satisfied the more often they will come back and/or generate positive word-of-mouth. Inversely, when expectations are not met, the result is guest dissatisfaction and a loss in repeat business and long-term profitability. ( and , 1999)
Quality, therefore, is defined as the difference between the service that customers actually receive and the service they expected. It is obvious then that, if customers are the arbiters of quality, it is up to the innkeeper to ascertain how high or how low his service ranks on the quality scale. The most effective way of gathering that crucial information is by surveying current and potential guests. However, a common difficulty with surveys is that respondents can more easily articulate expectations about the results to be achieved - for example, to be pampered - than about the manner in which the service should be provided, i.e. the different approaches used by the innkeeper to bring about a feeling of being pampered. ( and , 2000)
A survey method developed by Professor of Tokyo Rika University overcomes that problem by identifying three categories of customer expectations or requirements and by proposing a type of questionnaire that takes them into account. ( and , 2000)
Other examples of attractive requirements can include a big shower stall equipped with multiple showerheads, a fireplace in the guest's room, private balcony, breakfast served in the guest room, service above and beyond the call of duty by the innkeeper, unannounced surprises such as an upgrade or a discount offered to repeat guests, etc. It should be noted that customers may also be indifferent to certain aspects of the B&B service, for instance the presence in the room of wall-to-wall carpeting, tooth brush holder. Whether these features are present or not has no effect on guests' perception of quality or their level of satisfaction. (, and , 1996) According to , these three types of requirements can be classified by means of a specifically constructed questionnaire and, when the responses are tabulated, they provide the innkeeper with useful feedback on which service components have the greatest influence on guests' perception of quality and, more importantly, they can help the innkeeper determine which improvements will have the greatest influence on their level of satisfaction. (, and , 1996)
"The phenomenal growth in the bed and breakfast industry has led to the formation of the Bed and Breakfast market in South Taiwan countries. Bed and breakfast establishments have increased from approximately 300 in 1993 to an estimated 30 000 in 2004 in order to unite the industry nationwide. Individual establishments and associations were often unable to attain their full potential in matters such as national advertising, national networking, collective bargaining, representation at national level, staff training and other matters which could contribute to the running of a more efficient and financially sound venture. (, and , 1996) There seeks: to ensure customers of quality, service and excellence by setting and monitoring the highest standards of professionalism and hospitality in the industry, to strive towards total customer satisfaction, to raise the visibility of our member establishments and present them as an unified body through professionalism and an effective marketing and public relations plan. Customer loyalty comes from three things: Customers feel they have a real relationship with the business, perceive real value from the relationship that could not easily be replaced and believe that switching would cause hardship. There is no easy way to transform a business into a loyalty-based business, because it truly is a transformation for most. But a good way to start is with a loyalty program tied to a promotional campaign. (, and , 1996)
There would describe customer satisfaction (CS) as being the degree to which there is a match between a customer's expectations of a product and service combination and the actual performance of that product and service combination. Today, customer satisfaction measurement is seen by many as the ultimate measure of business success. Instead, companies should measure the indicators of customer loyalty and the product and service attributes that constitute value to the customer, beyond minimum expectations. In order to deliver on its promise, a CSM system must measure the indicators of customer loyalty and determine customer priorities for action. Only then will it identify true value, the key to competitive advantage in today's business environment. (, and , 1996)
SATISFACTION
The hotel industry today has been recognized as a global industry, with producers and consumers spread around the world. The use of hotel facilities such as: room, restaurant, bar, nightclub or health club; is no longer considered a luxury. For many people these services have become an integral component of lifestyle. Moreover, in the last two decades, demand for and supply of hospitality services beyond that of the traditional services intended for travelers have escalated the growth of the hospitality industry globally, leading to intense competition in the market-place. ( and , 2000)
One of the greatest challenges facing hotel organizations today is the ever-growing volume and pace of competition. Additionally, there is little to distinguish one hotel’s products and services from another. Thus it has become imperative for hotel organizations to gain a competitive advantage. Hotels that attempt to improve their market share by discounting price, however, run the serious risk of having a negative impact on the hotel’s medium- and long-term profitability. ( and , 2000) As a result, it is quality of service rather than price that has become the key to a hotel’s ability to differentiate itself from its competitors and to gain customer loyalty. Moreover, hospitality managers believe that firms can improve their profits by satisfying customers. Studies show, however, that satisfying customers alone is not enough, since there is no guarantee that satisfied customers will return to purchase. It is now becoming apparent that customer loyalty is significantly more important than customer satisfaction in a business organization’s success. ( and , 2000) The increasing sophistication of customers’ demands coupled with the increasing market competition has posed a new challenge to hotel managers. Hotel managers, therefore, are seeking ways to understand the most influential factors in customer loyalty. This knowledge may assist hotel managers to implement strategies which will ensure that the hotel will receive loyalty from both existing and prospective customers. ( and , 2000)
Loyalty dimensions
There are two dimensions to customer loyalty: behavioral and attitudinal (., 1997). The behavior dimension refers to a customer’s behavior on repeat purchases, indicating a preference for a brand or a service over time ( and , 1998). Attitudinal dimensions, on the other hand, refer to a customer’s intention to repurchase and recommend, which are good indicators of a loyal customer ( and , 1994). Moreover, a customer who has the intention to repurchase and recommend is very likely to remain with the company.
Loyalty prerequisites
Practitioners and researchers have not clearly identified a theoretical framework, identifying factors that could lead to the development of customer loyalty ( and , 1997). However, there is a consensus amongst practitioners and academics that customer satisfaction and service quality are prerequisites of loyalty ( and , 1997; and , 1992). Those technical, economical and psychological factors that influence customers to switch suppliers are considered to be additional prerequisites of loyalty (, 1993; and , 1997). Recent studies also indicate that the firm’s image may influence customer enthusiasm: value, delight and loyalty (, 1996).
Relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty
Customer satisfaction is considered to be one of the most important outcomes of all marketing activities in a market-oriented firm. The obvious need for satisfying the firm’s customer is to expand the business, to gain a higher market share and to acquire repeat and referral business, all of which lead to improved profitability (, 1992). Studies conducted by and (1992) in service sectors such as: banking, pest control, dry cleaning, and fast food; found that customer satisfaction has a significant effect on purchase intentions in all four sectors. Similarly, in the health-care sector, . (1994) found that patient satisfaction and service quality have a significant effect on future purchase intentions. and (1994) studied relationships between quality of lodging, satisfaction, and the resulting effect on customers’ intentions to recommend the lodging to prospective customers. Their findings suggest that customers’ intentions to recommend are a function of their perception of both their satisfaction and service quality with the lodging experience. Hence, it can be concluded that there is a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Relationship between image and loyalty
An organization’s image is an important variable that positively or negatively influences marketing activities. Image is considered to have the ability to influence customers’ perception of the goods and services offered ( and , 1996). Thus, image will have an impact on customers’ buying behaviour. Service literature identifies a number of factors that reflects image in the customer’s mind. Image is considered to influence customers’ minds through the combined effects of advertising, public relations, physical image, word-of-mouth, and their actual experiences with the goods and services (, 1991). Similarly, (1983), using numerous researches on service organizations, found that service quality was the single most important determinant of image. The customers tend to repurchase and recommend a business with a favourable image in the belief that it provides an assurance of high quality goods and services. (, 1983) Moreover, it is particularly important to note that customer satisfaction with housekeeping was found to be the only significant factor that determined customer loyalty when tested in the model. One possible explanation for this is that housekeeping, from a customer’s perspective, represents the core benefit of a hotel while reception, food and beverage, and price are regarded as supporting factors that assist the delivery of the hotel’s core benefit. (, 1983)
Consequently, hotel guests perceive satisfaction with housekeeping to be more important than satisfaction with reception, food and beverage, and price when deciding whether to return, recommend and demonstrate loyalty to the hotel.
Hotel image and customer satisfaction
When hotel image and customer satisfaction with reception, housekeeping, food and beverage and price were tested, hotel image and customer satisfaction with housekeeping were the only significant factors identified. This finding indicates that hotel image and customer satisfaction with housekeeping are the most important factors considered by customers in their discussion to repurchase, recommend and exhibit loyalty. While customer satisfaction is a widely accepted and proven prerequisite to gain customer loyalty, there have been relatively few studies on image as the prerequisite for customer loyalty. ( and , 2000) This research shows that the inclusion of image and customer satisfaction in one model not only highlights the importance of image, but also provides a more comprehensive understanding of how it influences both customer satisfaction and loyalty. This also suggests that both image and customer satisfaction should be included when measuring customer loyalty. (, and , 2000)
Moreover, various aspects of the hotel operation, including the seven services marketing variables like for instance, product, place, price, promotion, people, process and physical evidence may directly affect the hotel image. ( and , 2000) Henceforth, it is crucial that the seven services marketing variables are managed and marketed in accordance with the hotel’s image. For example, reduction in price may attract a particular category of clientele. To a customer, the hotel’s clientele is an element that significantly and indirectly reflects the hotel’s image. Hence, attracting customers who do not represent the image of the customer base may negatively affect the loyalty of existing customers. Customer loyalty can therefore be nurtured by providing consistent superior room facilities, complemented by the personalised services of housekeeping staff, it is important to recognize that customer loyalty is time specific and non-permanent and, thus, requires continuous and consistent investment. Hotel organizations must constantly strive to develop and maintain their customers’ loyalty or, as is true in the majority of relationships, risk losing it to someone else. ( and , 2000)
EMPLOYEE SERVICE QUALITY
Service-based industries such as hotels and restaurants are spending a tremendous effort to measure and improve the service quality of their businesses. Service quality is one of the key factors in achieving competitive advantages in the restaurant industry since high service quality presumably results in increased customer satisfaction and increase the future patronage. The purpose of this study was to examine the two generic service-quality dimensions: physical quality and staff behavior/attitude in restaurants by employing the confirmatory factor analysis approach. ( and , 1991) The findings indicated that the two-factor model of restaurant service quality was successfully validated and also, the predictive accuracy of the model was established. The object of study is to compare the different perspectives with regard to service quality between restaurant customers and restaurateurs in Taiwan. The sample included 1,084 restaurant customers and 117 restaurateurs. Seven domains of service quality perspectives were developed for restaurant customers and eight for restaurateurs ( and , 1991).
Restaurant customers and restaurateurs held different perspectives toward factors of service quality. Cluster analysis was conducted to explore travelers' and restaurateurs' perspectives of restaurant service quality and to homogeneously group the sample to different segments. The study also examined whether service quality perspectives differed across segments. Three mutually exclusive segments of restaurant customers were identified and found to differ in three service quality factors. Two restaurateurs' segments were identified and found there were significant differences. The managerial implications of these findings for the foodservice industry and researchers are discussed. The key point is that customer service is only one aspect of the broader service construct a distinction that is particularly important for the assessment of service quality. Researchers generally agree that service quality is not a unidimensional construct that simply reflects whether a firm’s customer service is excellent or poor.6 Instead, service quality represents a composite of factors that determine customers’ perceptions about the service offering. In a seminal work on the topic, , and conceptualized service quality not as objectively measured according to technical standards but instead as subjectively perceived by customers and measured relative to customer determined standards. Thus, service quality defined as the gap between perceived service delivered by a firm and the expected service that excellent that firms should offer. ( and , 1991)
The subsequent analysis of the dimensions of service quality led to a five-factor model and accompanying scale, SERVQUAL, that has become the gold standard of service-quality measurement.8 Descriptions of the five dimensions of service quality (known as the “RATER” dimensions), research conducted in non-hospitality contexts showed that reliability is the most important factor in determining service-quality perceptions; the dimensions of empathy and tangibles tended to have the least influence, though these factors remained important. This suggests that customers may assess the quality of a service provider positively as long as a reliable outcome is provided such as fast-food order is fulfilled even if performance on other dimensions is lacking, perceptions of service quality are most likely to suffer if the service outcome is not as promised like the food order is wrong regardless of how the service is delivered by a smiling worker. However, a combined reliability-tangibles factor also influenced service quality, which suggested that customers considered these two elements to be related. Thus, unclean facilities such as tangibles would reflect a lack of reliability. ( and , 1991)
Research on older travelers’ service-quality perceptions produced a similar finding: that is, reliability was one of the more important factors, but items intended to measure tangibles, specifically that hotel staff should be well dressed and neat and that hotel facilities should be visually appealing, loaded on the reliability factor. In one of the few hotel-based studies that did not find a strong effect for tangibles on service quality, Knutson and colleagues, using an adapted version of SERVQUA, reported that the order of importance of the factors determining hotel service quality across lodging sectors was reliability, assurance, responsiveness, tangibles and empathy. Delivering quality service when the unexpected happens requires more than just the extraordinary efforts of personnel to recover when service fails. Service excellence is a system. The physical plant, service processes and formal plans are the foundation of the system the structure that must be solidly in place to enable employees to do their jobs well and guests to co-produce their experience. Aside, quality is considered to be one of the management’s topmost competitive priorities and a prerequisite for sustenance and growth of firms. ( and , 1991)
The quest for quality improvement has become a highly desired objective in today´ s intensive competitive markets. In recent years the topic of quality has also reached the literature on organizational culture. The concept of quality culture has been used to describe the extent to which quality is important and valued in an organization like how much organizational culture supports and values quality (, 1997; , 2001; and , 1996; ., 2002). Firms that are clearly interested in providing outstanding customer value would be expected to have a culture that reinforces high quality. A culture that is supportive of quality maybe particularly important in service organizations, where simultaneous production and consumption of the service makes close control impossible. Therefore, management of service quality is fundamental issue for survival and growth of service companies. Moreover, knowledge about the content and formation of perception of service quality enables organizations to deal with the fields that directly influence their competitive advantage and not to waste too many resources on unimportant fields. If service quality is to become the cornerstone of marketing strategy, the marketer must have the means to measure it.
The most popular measure of service quality is SERVQUAL, an instrument developed by . (1985; 1988). Not only has research on this instrument been widely cited in the marketing literature, but also its use in industry has been widespread (., 1993). SERVQUAL is designed to measure service quality as perceived by the customer. Relying on information from focus group interviews, (1985) identified basic dimensions that reflect service attributes used by consumers in evaluating the quality of service provided by service businesses. As an example, among the dimensions were reliability and responsiveness, and the business included hospital services, banking and credit cards. Consumers in focus groups discussed service quality in terms of the extent to which service performance on the dimensions matched the level of performance that consumers thought a service should provide. A high quality service would perform at a level that matched the level that consumer felt should be provided. The level of performance that a high quality service should provide was termed customer expectations.
The traditional conceptualization of service quality is based on the disconfirmation paradigm–perceived quality is viewed as a result of comparing particular performance with some kind of standard. For example, has defined the perceived service quality as ˝the outcome of an evaluation process, where the customers compare their expectations with the service they have received˝ ( 1984; 2000). , and support the same view, defining the concept of service quality as ˝a form of attitude, related, but not equivalent to satisfaction, that results from a comparison of expectations with perceptions of performance. Expectations are viewed as desires or wants of customers, i.e. what they feel a service provider should offer rather than would offer˝ (., 1988). and (1992), however, argue that the conceptualization of service quality as a gap between expectations and performance is inadequate. They point out the confusion in pertaining literature over the relationship between service quality and consumer satisfaction. According to them, the concept of service quality should be customers attitude towards the service, since the concept of satisfaction is defined as a gap between expectations and performance or disconfirmation of expectations. An attitude-based conceptualization would argue for either an importance-weighted evaluation of specific service attributes or even just an evaluation of performance on specific service attributes (, , 1992).
The identification of service quality dimensions aids an understanding of customer needs and wants. While the multi-dimensional nature of construct has been noted, there is general agreement that quality evaluation are made not only on the outcome of the service, but also on the process of service delivery (, 1984, 2000; and , 1991). This point is well made by (1984.), who proposed that customers experience of the service depends on two key dimensions, namely technical and functional quality:
Technical quality
Technical quality is what the customer receives the technical outcome of a process. This dimension is called outcome quality by (1985) and physical quality by and (1982).
Functional quality
How the customer receives the technical outcome, what ´ calls the “expressive performance of a service˝ ( 1984). This dimension is called process quality by . (1985) and interactive quality by and (1982).
Thus, and (1991) take this contention a step further, suggesting that the quality of functional service may even offset problems experienced with the technical component. While a technical problem should not occur, the reaction of the service provider to it, if a problem does occur, may contribute to positive customer perceptions of the service provided and factor analysis was used to provide a means of determining which questions are measuring dimension number one, which questions are measuring dimension number two and so on, as well as which questions do not distinguish between dimensions and the number of dimensions in the data. Furthermore, a scale was used in a second sample, questions were tested and the result was 22-question (item) scale measuring five basic dimensions:
Ø Reliability: The ability to perform a promised service dependently and accurately
Ø Responsiveness: A willingness to help customers and to provide support services
Ø Assurance: The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence
Ø Empathy: The caring, individualized attention firm provides its customers
Ø Tangibles: The physical facilities, equipment and appearance of personnel
FACILITY COMFORT
When China first opened its doors to international tourists in the late 1970s, the sudden influx of foreign visitors created a great demand on China’s undeveloped lodging industry. Hotel development was therefore considered as a very important part of China’s tourism development, and it was given priority for development in the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1981-1985) for China’s Economic and Social Development (, 1992). As a result, great effort has been put into hotel construction and renovation in the last 12 years. However, according to (1992), the supply of hotel beds appeared to have expanded beyond the demand of international tourists during the period 1986 to 1994 and, for the first time, the overdevelopment of hotel accommodation became a problem confronting the Chinese government. Despite of the overdevelopment of Chinese hotels, some studies (., 1986; , 1989; ., 1989; , 1993; and , 1993) found that the standard and quality of services provided by the hotels were still far below international standards. Problems included poor language ability and communication skills, a lack of property maintenance, unreliable reservations system and poor sanitation.
The hotel industry has also faced the problem of finding qualified employees to provide services that could meet the standards of foreign tourists. Most service workers in China lack an understanding or appreciation of international service standards. Because China was closed to the West for so long, its standards of living are different from western societies, and a discrepancy in expectation of service quality has existed between foreign tourists and service workers. (1995) also expressed the same opinion that the concept of service was non-existent during the era that Mao Zedong ruled China. Many hotel employees had service attitude problems which drew constant complaints from international tourists. Furthermore, (1987) also pointed out that lack of education and training in tourism management was the major reason for the problem of poor service in the hotel industry in China. However, in order to render consistent and excellent services to international tourists, the Chinese government must introduce monitoring and evaluation measures that will reinforce the importance of service quality management and operations. Offering consistent and excellent services will not only help China’s hotels to meet international standards, but also increase its international competitiveness, it is important to consider the international competitiveness of China’s hotel industry. China has to compete for the same market with counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand, most of which are well established and have a sophisticated hotel industry, with similar products but better service ( and , 1991).
A service quality model
Much of the recent research on service quality has been carried out within the framework of the service quality model developed from the extensive research of . (1985, 1988, 1991). The service quality model was derived from the magnitude and direction of five gaps which are:
The gaps (Gap 1, Gap 2, Gap 3 and Gap 4) affect the way in which service is delivered, and the existence of these four gaps leads to the extent of Gap 5. In other words, the extent of Gap 5 depends on the size and direction of the first four gaps. However, Gap 2, Gap 3 and Gap 4 are not relevant to the research scope of the present study. The principal focus of the present research is Gap 5, Gap 1 and the two additional gaps (Gap 6 and Gap 7) which are identified in the model. Each of these gaps (Gap 5, Gap 1, Gap 6 and Gap 7) is discussed and elaborated on in the following sections.
Example Demographic profile of the international tourists and hotel managers
The sample of international tourists contained more males (65 per cent) than females (35 per cent). More than 70 per cent of the respondents had a university, college or graduate education. About 65 per cent of the respondents were professional, executive or salesman, and nearly 50 per cent earned an annual household income of US$35,000. . ( and , 2000) The majority of respondents’ age group was 25-34 (36 per cent), followed by below 25 (31 per cent) and 35-54 (28 per cent). About 60 per cent of the respondents indicated that the main purpose of the trip was business. Most of the respondents were from Hong Kong (36.7 per cent), the USA (14.7 per cent) or Japan (10.5 per cent) and the rest of the respondents were from 15 other countries. ( and , 2000)
The sample of managers contained slightly more males (59 per cent) than females (41 per cent), and more than 80 per cent were aged from 25-54. More than 65 per cent of the respondents had a university, college or graduate education. The respondents ranged from supervisors to general managers, and about 68 per cent of them were departmental managers or supervisors. More than 22 per cent of respondents were in the Housekeeping Department, and were followed by Front desk (16 per cent), Training (14 per cent), Food and beverage (11 per cent) and various departments (33 per cent). ( and , 2000) The managers in the hotel industry in China should carry out this type of analysis regularly so that they can understand more about the tourist evaluation process, and thus meet tourists’ expectations more consistently. However, in attempting to narrow Gap 5, the hotel industry in China should also understand and study the other gaps (Gap 1, Gap 6 and Gap 7) which contribute to the extent of Gap 5. In all likelihood, the causes of Gap 5 may be found in one or more of the remaining gaps (Gap 1, Gap 6 or Gap 7).
However, some past studies ( and , 1993; ., 1990) have suggested that managers traditionally have the least contact with guests and do not get the opportunity to experience first-hand what their guests want. In fact, the lack of interaction between managers and tourists might be one of the major reasons for the extent of Gap 6 in the hotel industry in China. Therefore, managers in the hotel industry in China should spend more time interacting with tourists and experiencing real service delivery. ( and , 2000)
LOCATION CONVENIENCE
Mainland China has been the largest market for Hong Kong tourism since 1994, and represented 27.1 per cent of the total visitor arrivals in 1998. According to the (, 1999), the number of mainland Chinese travelers has been increasing steadily from 1.7 million in 1993 to 2.6 million in 1998. Hong Kong is now the number one destination for the mainland Chinese traveling abroad ( and , 1997). Hong Kong has two advantages in capturing the China market: geographical proximity; and the family ties. The China open-door policies (, 1997), and the loosening of travel restrictions to the mainland visitors after reunification of Hong Kong (, 1998) have led to an increase in the number of mainland Chinese visitors. Growth was fostered partly by the Hong Kong government’s simplified entry formalities to mainland Chinese travelers introduced in 1993 (, 1993).
Despite increasing numbers of mainland Chinese traveling to Hong Kong and abroad, there is a lack of understanding of the needs, expectations and satisfactions of this lucrative market. One of the main tourist products is hotel service. Knowing the satisfaction levels of the customers can help hotels improve their products and services (., 1996; ; 1991). Therefore, the purpose of the study is to assess mainland Chinese travelers’ perceptions and satisfaction levels towards hotel services in Hong Kong. Specifically, the present study aimed to: assess mainland Chinese travelers’ expectations, perceptions and satisfaction levels towards the hotel services in Hong Kong; identify the underlying dimensions of mainland Chinese travelers’ perception of hotel services; and examine the relative impact of each underlying dimension of hotel service perceptions on the overall satisfaction levels of the mainland Chinese travelers.
Customer satisfaction
In recent years, a growing number of studies have focused on customer satisfaction in the service industry ( and , 1998; and , 1992; ., 1994; , 1996; and , 1997). and (1976) were among the first to argue that satisfaction is associated with performance that fulfill expectations, while dissatisfaction occurs when performance falls below expectations. The common reason for studying customer satisfaction is the profitability that is generally believed to be brought by customer satisfaction ( and , 1992; ., 1996; , 1996). The key benefits brought by customer satisfaction are repeat purchases, favorable word-of-mouth publicity, reduced customers’ price elasticity, and increased loyalty (, 1992). Customer satisfaction is a result of comparison of the service performance with expectation (, 1992; , 1986; , 1980). This cognitive comparison between pre-use expectations and post-use perception has been shown to be a predictor of satisfaction in some situations (, 1980).
Customer satisfaction is therefore defined as post-purchase evaluative judgment concerning a specific product or service (, 1992; ., 1996). In a study of hotel choice, (1984, 1985) found that quality, security and image were perceived as important in affecting a lodging choice; and leisure travelers were more concerned with quietness, service quality and location. In a later research study, (1990) pointed out that cleanliness, comfortable mattresses and quality towels were considered to be important hotel attributes. According to . (1994), past experience is the major factor that directly influences a guest’s evaluation of security, reputation and quality of service. (1988) suggested some consistent criteria apply across different classes of hotels, such as cleanliness, location, a safe and secure environment. Recent research ( and , 1997) investigating the perceptions and satisfaction levels of mainland Chinese visitors traveling to Hong Kong revealed five factors: sufficiency of hotels, location, service, availability of facilities and price from a practical viewpoint, it is believed that the findings of this study can make several important contributions.
By measuring the satisfaction levels of the mainland Chinese travelers, hotel operators can assess the current position of the hotels in terms of whether the hotel meets guests’ needs and expectations. From a diagnostic standpoint, this should indicate more precisely the sources of dissatisfaction of the hotel guests. Understanding customers’ changing desires and expectations for the hotel attributes may therefore help in improving existing hotel services, developing new hotel services, and educating the customers. In fact, it is impossible for any company to meet its customers’ needs and wants all at once. One of the most important bases for prioritization is to identify what the company needs to do, can afford to do, and will result in the maximum benefit. In order to provide strategic direction in customer satisfaction management and better prioritization in service improvement, it is suggested that attention should be given to the sources of dissatisfaction.
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