Abstract:
One of the critical success factors in the hotel business is service quality. The proliferation of hotels coupled with the intense competition in the hotel industry in the Western Region calls for improvement in service quality. This study sought to assess guests' perceptions of service quality in hotels in the Western Region of Ghana. The study adopted a purely quantitative approach, using a self-administered SERVPERF questionnaire to collect data for the study. Percentages, means, t-test, ANOVA, factor analysis, Chi square and regression were employed to analyse data obtained from a sample of 358 hotel guests. The study revealed that there were four dimensions underlying guests’ perceptions of service quality, with the service reliability dimension emerging as the best predictor of overall service quality. Significant differences were also found to exist in the perceptions of service quality between Ghanaian and non Ghanaian guests. Guests' perceptions of service quality were also found to be significantly related to the category of hotel they stayed in. Based on the findings, it was recommended that management of hotels should take measures to improve service quality, particularly in the area of reliability of services. In addition, hotel operators in the region should implement long term strategies to recruit, train, and develop qualified employees.
