The Application of Service Quality Model and Importance-Performance Analysis to Thailand’s Hotel IndustryTools Chiraphichet, Rapeephan (2009) The Application of Service Quality Model and Importance-Performance Analysis to Thailand’s Hotel Industry. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished)
AbstractA competition in Thailand’s hotel industry these days has become fiercer. In order to be able to outlast in this stiff and never-ending battle, understanding customers’ needs is indispensable. This research assessed the expectations and perceptions in five dimensions of service quality in Thai boutique resorts. A Service Quality Model was used in this research in order to find the discrepancies between boutique resort patrons’ expectations and perceived performance. The differences between guests’ expectations and management’s perceptions of guests’ expectations were also observed. The results revealed that customers assigned the highest expectations to responsiveness and reliability dimensions, and service quality provided by Thai boutique resorts met or even exceeded customers’ expectations. Although the negative service quality gaps existed in some dimensions, the gaps were not significant. The management of Thai boutique resorts had a good understanding of patrons’ expectations but they overestimated patrons’ expectations in all aspects. An Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) was also applied in this research in order to identify and evaluate the attributes of boutique resorts in Thailand. After employing the IPA framework, seven prime determinants were identified. Six determinants, namely price, location, staff, resort services and atmosphere, resort room and recreational activities were selected as the critical determinants by resort patrons. The gap between importance and performance in leisure activities provided by Thai boutique resorts was significant while other determinants received high performance score from resort customers. This research can be utilised by boutique resort operators to design and ameliorate their services in order to meet customers’ requirements and increase the level of customer satisfaction.
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