ABSTRACT
The study examined the hotel facilities and customer patronage among selected hotels in Umuhia, Abia State. The objectives of the study are; To examine the identify the various hotel facilities that enhances customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia, examine the influence of quality facility on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia, determine the influence physical settings on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia, examine the influence of servicescape on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia and to determine the influence of interior design on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia. To achieve the objective of the study, survey research design was adopted. The researcher adopted primary data in getting the required information through the use of structured questionnaire. The population of the study is infinite owing the fact that the total number of hotel customer cannot be ascertained. The sample size of the study is 234 after adopting infinite formula. In analyzing the data, simple descriptive statistics was used. The findings revealed that Quality facility has a significant influence on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia. The findings also revealed settings has a significant influence on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia.. Also Servicescape has a significant influence on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia. The study recommends that hospitality industry should integrate maintenance budgets into organizational objectives and have functional maintenance centres; hospitality industry should be committed to high maintenance management to minimize production losses and wastes. Also, Preventive maintenance education and training should be given to every machine operator on regular basis and implementation of preventive maintenance actions be monitored by the head of maintenance department to reduce the chances of machine breakdown.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1
Background to the study 1
1.2 Statement of the problem 4
1.3 Objective of the study 6
1.4
Research questions 6
1.5 Research hypotheses 7
1.6 Significance of the study 7
1.7 Scope of
the study 8
1.8 Operational Framework 8
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
9
2.1 Conceptual
framework 9
2.1.1 Facilities
quality 9
2.1.2 Customer patronage 11
2.1.3 Servicescape and customer patronage in hotels 13
2.1.4 Physical settings and customer patronage 24
2.1.4.1
Dimensions of physical settings 29
2.1.5 Interior design and customer patronage 33
2.2 Theoretical, framework 36
2.2.1
Theory of reasoned action (tra) 36
2.2.2 Theory of planned behavior 37
2.3
Empirical review 38
CHAPTER
3: METHODOLOGY 45
3.1 Research design 45
3.2 Area of the study 45
3.3 Population for the study 45
3.4 Sampling and sampling technique 46
3.4.1 Sample size determination 46
3.4.2 Sampling technique 47
3.5 Instrument for data collection 47
3.6 Validation of the instrument 48
3.7 Reliability of the instrument
48
3.8 Method of data collection 48
3.9 Method of data analysis 49
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 50
4.1
Data presentation 50
4.2. Data
analysis for test of hypotheses 55
4.3 Test of hypotheses 56
4.4
Discussion of findings 58
CHAPTER 5:
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 60
5.1 Summary
60
5.1.1 Restatement of the problem
61
5.1.2 Description of methods used 62
5.1.3 Major findings
62
5.2 Conclusion 63
5.3
Recommendations
63
5.4
Contribution to knowledge 64
5.5
Suggestion for further studies
64
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
According
to Kumar & Malik (2013), hospitality is defined as reception and
entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers with liberality and goodwill.
Hotels have come up beyond what used to be in the years past in terms of
customers. Hotels now arm themselves with modern equipment in order to be
relevant and remain competitive in the industry. Just like any other commercial
establishment, hotels have functional compartments ranging from customer
service, human resources, finance, research and development and facilities
which are the focus of this study among others. The competition for having a
strategic location and adequate facilities that create delight to customers is
now the priority in the minds of the hotel investors.
The hospitality
industry consists of firms that provide such services as accommodations,
restaurants and bars, travel and tourism within the service sector of the
state. The firms in the hospitality industry depend on consumers who have
disposable income and leisure time to patronize their businesses. The
hospitality industry provides salutary services in spectacular, fantastically
organized environments; with serene landscaping, sensational architecture,
enveloping ambience, and well oriented staff. As a result of the foregoing and
the importance of the services consumers are always willing to spend their
spare time and income in these environments. Firms in the hospitality industry
thus make significant investment to provide attractive and serene service environment
to meet the relaxation needs of customers. Firm that do not have the capacity
to put appropriate physical evidence in place will not enjoy the patronage of
consumers. The role of physical environment in signaling customers about the
nature of service that can be provided in a given environment cannot be
overemphasized. In fact, it could be argued that hospitality firms’ ability to
provide befitting physical environments that augments their core services is
associated with customer patronage. It thus follows that hospitality firms that
are not adequately patronized, may be failing in their task of appropriately
manipulating the “physical evidence” to enhance customer experience. Put
succinctly, hospitality firms’ failure to get adequate customer patronage may
be connected to their inability to manipulate ambient conditions; appropriately
organize service system designs; and put forward a well-dressed
customer-oriented service staff to provide their core service offerings.
Physical evidence
as one of the hotel facilities is paramount in service marketing due to the
fact that pre-purchase assessment of service is difficult because of the
peculiar nature of service. The peculiar nature of services poses challenges
for marketers in their effort to establish and maintain relationship with
customers; as customers’ evaluation of service is totally dependent on personal
perception of the service encounter. Also, customers are skeptical about
overall service experience because services are intangible: They cannot be
seen, tasted, felt, heard or smelled prior to purchase. Other characteristics
of service that pose challenge to marketers are: heterogeneity - the quality of
service depends on who provides them and when, where, and how; inseparability -
services cannot be separated from their providers; perishability - services
cannot be stored for later sale or use. As a result of these, customers find it
difficult to evaluate service quality and make purchase decision. Extant
literature however, suggests that customers can rely on several measures of
service quality to make purchase decision. Such measures include (1)
reliability; (2) responsiveness; (3) assurance; (4) empathy; and (5) tangible
as postulated in the SERVQUAL model (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 2015);
or (1) the service delivery process (functional dimension); (2) the outcomes
which are produced for the customer (technical dimension); and (3) the
customer’s perception about the company (image dimension) as proposed by
Gronroos (2014).
Consumers cannot
experience the service before making a purchase decision; they make purchase
decision based on preliminary evaluation of tangible elements associated with
the service. That is to say, there must be certain clues that will help them
make superficial assessment before obtaining the service. Thus, consumers make
inference about the service quality from things they can see in connection with
the service such as the place, people, price, equipment, and communication
(Kotler & Armstrong, 2013); and make purchase decision accordingly. In
other words, to allay the uncertainty in the service experience, consumers look
for signals of service quality, prior to purchase. It is therefore the task of
marketers to provide symbolic evidence about the quality of their services to
enable consumers create a mental picture of the service experience or the
capability of the service provider. Therefore, the focus of this study is to
determine the connection between physical evidence and customer patronage of
hospitality firms.
Generally,
the hotel business is challenging and thrilling and these pave ways for
investors to become financially independent, bosses in their own right, create
job opportunity and also increase self-esteem. Besides, it gives owners the
opportunity to be creative in terms of meeting customers’ expectations. To
record huge success in this aspect, efforts must be geared towards putting in
place all essentials that will create customer satisfaction because, customers
are becoming more conscious of their convenience, hence, want to be fulfilled.
The awaking consciousness in customers had sharpened their knowledge horizon,
thereby armed them to the extent that customers are readily prepared to
challenge bad service rendered. This increase in knowledge has reshaped end
user service expectations from service providers (Oladele, 2011). This
heightened knowledge had exposed the organisation of hotel businesses to
embrace factors that are capable of enhancing customer patronage. This is
because the society depends on organisations, so also organisations depend on
the society for survival and for achieving specific and desirable ends, through
services, products, and facilities offered to the members of the society.
Therefore, effective customer service through the availability of quality
facilities cannot be ignored in the realm of achieving effective customer
patronage in hotels.
The advent of dynamism in facilities becomes
an imperative in the context of achieving effective customer patronage in hotel
business provided to end users has reshaped the activities of hotels in Nigeria
simply because most activities beyond lodging are now being carried out in
hotels. Past studies have indicated the importance of facilities as a sub set
of critical success factors in the management of service oriented organisations
and their findings tend towards diverse and different focus (Mosoma,
2014;Okibo&Ogwe, 2013; Natuhwera, 2011; Shariff, Omar, Sulong, Majid,
Ibrahim, Jaafar & Idris, 2015; Jakpar& Johari, 2012; Lacap, 2014; Kumar
& Malik 2013; Choi & Chu, 2001; Zaim, Yasar & Unal, 2013; Oliveira,
Pedro & Marques, 2013). Nigeria as a frontier market with the growing
population of about 170 million is fast becoming the center of focus for
potential investors who see Nigeria as a greener pasture where business will
thrive. The dream of Nigeria as hospitality investment destination may not be
fulfilled, if necessary quality facilities are not put in place. Therefore,
this study intends to investigate the influence of facilities quality on
customer patronage of hotels in Nigeria.
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Facilities are very important to hotels
today. Having and maintaining a good facility is necessary not only to ensure
continued operations of hotels, but also increases customer patronage. The
issue of maintaining a good facility is often highlighted in the hospitality
industry with respect to weaknesses in managing the maintenance of hotel
facilities. Due to growing customer expectations and the demands for
exceptional service, the hospitality industry will always have unique
challenges. Right from the entrance, guests are already making decisions based
on the performance of security and the concierge. By the time they check-in,
other factors like general maintenance, air conditioning, plumbing, lighting,
and a host of other guest services will influence their decisions on whether to
become repeat customers (Bryan, 2019).
Most
hotels have failed to give sufficient attention to their facilities. This has
in turn failed to boost the image of hotels, resulting to low patronage by
customers. Ayeni and Ebohon (2012), explained that the hotels rooms, game
reserves, nature reserves and in some cases the halls are not adequately
maintained nor physically developed in line with ambient physical environment
that enables conducive atmosphere for attraction of customers. In most hotels
today, machines and facilities are not functioning effectively as a result of
lack of maintenance. Some parts of the building that need maintenance are left
without maintenance thereby making customers to consider other hotels.
There
are different dimensions of maintenance management such as routine inspection
and overhauling, repairs and replacement. Most hotels in Umuahia, Abia State
seem not to be doing the needful regarding maintenance management as
observations have shown in some cases the air conditions do not function
effectively, some of the buildings are no longer attractive, house keeping
facilities are so outdated and out of maintenance. All these and more are
pointers to the fact that maintenance management has become a topical issue
particularly in hotel operation where service quality is the customer
watchword. Research findings have shown that possible effects that maintenance
management can have on organizational competitiveness. It is on this that this
present study is being carried out to determine the hotel facilities and
customer patronage among selected hotels in Umuhia, Abia State.
1.3
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study is to
determine the hotel facilities and customer patronage among selected hotels in
Umuhia, Abia State.
The specific objectives include to:
(i)
identify the various hotel facilities that
enhances customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia.
(ii) examine
the influence of quality facility on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia.
(iii)
determine the influence physical settings on
customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia.
(iv) examine
the influence of service scape on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia.
(v) determine
the influence of interior design on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following questions guided the
study
(i)
what are the various hotel facilities that
enhances customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia?
(ii) to what extent
does quality facility influence customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia?
(iii)
what
is the influence physical settings on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia?
(iv) how does servicescape influence customer
patronage in hotels in Umuahia?
(v) to what
extent does interior design influence customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
The following hypotheses is stated in null form
H01: Quality facility
has no significant influence on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia.
H02: Physical settings
has no significant influence on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia.
H03: Servicescape has
no significant influence on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia.
H04: Interior
designhas no significant influence on customer patronage in hotels in Umuahia.
1.6
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study will be of great benefit to the following
group of people; hotels, customers, students and researchers. The findings from
this work will educate hotels operators to know influence of hotel facility on
customer patronage. The findings and recommendations of this study will
enlighten hotels operators on the dimensions of hotel facilities that enhances
customer patronage. The study will also help hotel operators as it will enable
them to see need to pay more attention to improving hotel facilities in order
to enhance customer patronage.
The findings of this work will help customers to be
aware of how good or bad hotels are when it comes to hotel facilities and the
choice at the right value to go for. However, such will enhance customer
satisfaction and hence, increases customer patronage. This study would help
customers to know more about state of hotels in UmuahiaAbia State especially in
the area of hotel facilities.
With the improvement of hotel facilities, customers will
be satisfied by the product or service that would be given to them. However,
the publication of this work both online and manual publication will play a
significant role in educating managers of hotels on what to do in order to meet
with the demand of customers.
This research when published, will also be significant
to the students of this noble institution and other institutions in the field
of tourism and hospitality management as it would enable them to know the
importance of hotel facilities to customer patronage in hotel UmuahiaAbia state
and Nigeria as whole.
Finally, the publication of this work both manual and
online publication will help in serving as a reference material to researchers
who would wish to research on a similar topic in future.
1.8 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The content scope
is hotel facilities and customer patronage among hotels. The
unit scope is selected hotels in Umuahia, Abia State. The unit scope are the
managers and customers of the selected hotels in Umuahia, Abia state.
1.9 Operational Framework
The operational framework
showing the independent variable (hotel facility) and the dependent variable
(customer patronage).
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