The Difference In What Customers Value and Perceived Service Quality When Staying at Branded Versus Independent Properties
Open Access
- Author:
- Kach, Sarah Marie
- Area of Honors:
- Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- John W. O'neill, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Breffni M Noone, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- independent hotels
branded hotels
customer expectations
importance
perceived service quality - Abstract:
- The goal of this research was to determine whether there were significant differences between customer perceptions of service quality when they were staying at branded hotel properties versus staying at independent hotel properties. By conducting a survey of 105 hospitality management seniors at the Pennsylvania State University, responses were gathered on which to do statistical tests. There were two parallel sections of the survey, one addressing branded properties and the other addressing independent properties. The survey had respondents answer on a 7-point Likert scale their agreement with several statements. The statements had to do with service quality dimensions and related customer service expectation components, as well as some author-designed statements. Analysis of the data showed that for the majority of the dimensions, customers expected essentially the same from branded as independent properties. The two dimensions that showed significant differences were that customers valued the customer service expectation component of Empathy in independent hotels more, and that they would be more willing to pay more for less tangibles in independent hotels. By still valuing the same service quality as branded properties, these results show that customers may desire to stay at independent hotels for the “charm” and “uniqueness” of the properties. They tend to feel that at independent properties, they can have more personalized attention and this difference makes up for lack of size, restaurants, amenities, etc. Limitations of this study include the use of a student sample and its cross-sectional design. These results can be important to corporate managers, who need to better understand what their customers value from their properties.