Customers’ perception of service quality in hotels

Abstract

The study examined guests’ expectations and perceptions of service quality in hotels in Accra and the differences between their expectations and perceptions of service quality (service quality gaps). The study used the survey method. A modified version of the SERVQUAL instrument was used to collect data from guests who had stayed in the sampled hotels for at least one night. The Paired sample t-test was used to test the significant differences between guests’ expectations and perceptions of service quality. And it was revealed that guests’ perceptions of service quality were far below their expectations and there was a significant difference between expectations and perceptions. It shows that service delivery falls short of guests’ expectations and this poses a serious problem for the hotel industry. There were also high association between guests’ perceptions of service quality and their profile variables. This paper has implication for critical attention from hotel managers in those areas of concern such as front office services and responsiveness dimensions