Journal of Vacation Marketing

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Developing a service quality questionnaire for the hotel industry in Mauritius Rooma Roshnee Ramsaran-Fowdar Journal of Vacation Marketing 2007; 13; 19 DOI: 10.1177/1356766706071203
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Journal of Vacation Marketing Volume 13 Number 1

Developing a service quality questionnaire for the hotel industry in Mauritius

Rooma Roshnee Ramsaran !o"dar Received #in revised form$% July &''( )nonymously refereed paper
!aculty of *a" and Management+ ,niversity of Mauritius+ Reduit+ Mauritius -el% &3' ./. 1'.10 !a1% &3' .(/ (2'(0 3 mail% rooma4uom5ac5mu

?N-R=D,9-?=N Tourism is said to be the fastest growing industry in the world over the past () years

Rooma Roshnee Ramsaran !o"dar is a senior lecturer in Marketing and Management and has been "orking at the ,niversity of Mauritius for eight years5 6er main areas of interest include business to business marketing+ marketing of services and marketing research5

)78-R)9:3;<=RD8% hotel customers+ in depth intervie"s+ questionnaire+ Mauritius+ service quality+ 83RV>,)*+ tourist satisfaction
The evaluation of customer satisfaction is a pri-mary goal for any service firm that would like to survive in this increasingly competitive market. Keeping tourists satisfied and delighted is even more important for the Mauritian tourism industry given that the destination faces fierce competition abroad. Developing a measure of hotel service quality is an important precursor to attracting and retaining tourists and hence ensuring the survival of hotels. S !"#$%& has been proposed as a generic measure of service quality that may be applicable to hotel services. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether S !"#$%& dimensions are pertinent to the hotel industry. !esults from this study verify S !"#$%& dimensions' but demonstrate additional dimen-sions that are specific to the hotel sector.

with no signs of slowing down in the *+st century. %part from a country,s beautiful natural environment' the warmth of the local population' and political and economic sta-bility' tourists, memorable souvenirs are deeply influenced by the type of service that they receive at the hotel in which they lodge. Therefore' hotels have to strive to deliver to their guests' not only their pro-ducts and services' but also -quality, and -satisfaction, that may lead to longlasting survival and profitability. #uality is the cor-nerstone for success in any business and is perceived as a key factor in acquiring and sustaining competitive advantage.+.* Many studies have shown that quality service in-creases market shares' provides greater return on investment and lowers production

costs./.0 1rovidi ng quality service improves satisfaction of customer s and this is believed to lead to increased internatio nal visitation' re-peat purchases of the same tourist products' customer loyalty and relationsh ip commitment. Moreover ' highly satisfied tourists spread positive word-ofmouth and in effect become walking' talking advertise

ments for providers whose service has pleased them' thus lowering the cost of attracting new customers. %lso' highly satisfied customers may be more forgiving. Someone who has en2oyed good service in the past is more likely to believe that a service failure is a deviation from the norm. 3ence it may take more than one unsatisfactory incident for

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Developing a service quality questionnaire in Mauritius

destination' changing destination for their holidays' complaining and redress loyal customers toseeking.7.8 change theirTherefore' perceptions hotel and consideroperators switching tohave much an alternativeto gain if ser-vice they can provider. understand %dditionally' tourists, companies e9pectawhich tions of them command since this high customerwould assist satisfaction them in ratings alsoserving their seem to havecustomers in the ability toa better way. insulate Despite themselves the notable from progress in competitive pres-sures .the lod-ging particularly industry and the price 4 substantial competition. 5us-tomers demand for are oftenresearch' willing to payservice more to stayquality has with a firmremained that meetsundertheir needsresearched than to taketo date in the of the riskarea tourism. associated with movingThis study to a lower-therefore priced serviceaims to provider. 6nprovide a the otherser-vice hand' touristquality dissatisfactio framework n and lowfor the hotel service indus-try. quality mayMore lead tospecifically' unfavourable the research behavioural e9amines intentions' such asattributes tourists use spreading negative com-to evaluate ments aboutthe quality service the serviceof provided by provider or their hotels. even

This information would not only be useful to hospitality and marketing strategists' but also to governments and commercial sectors to which the tourism industry is of much significance. The article first traces previous service quality research in the area of lodging and hospitality. This is then followed by a section of the methodology employed to gather data. The discussion section describes the findings and the final part of the article is devoted to a summary of strategic implica-tions and suggestions for future research. 7)9:BR= ,ND :n this study' the term -service quality, is to be interpreted

to mean -the quality possessed by both products and service activities thatthe +87)s. are provided<ro=onroos+ by a service) organi;ation distinguishe to its d two types customers,. of service Different quality> theoretical technical perspectives and funcon servicetional quality werequality. developed Technical during quality refers to the delivery of the core service or outcome of the service ?i.e. what is offered and received@' while functional quality refers to the service delivery process' or the way in which the customer receives the service ?i.e. how the service is offered and received@. &ehtinen and &ehtinen++ discussed three distinct service quality dimensions> physical quality' interactive quality and corporate quality. 1hysical quality includes the physical aspects associated with the service such as the recep-tion area and equipment.

:nteractive quality involves the interaction between the custo-mer and the service personnel' while corpo-rate quality includes the firm,s image or reputation. Arom these earlier writings' it can be seen that the notion of service quality arises from a comparison of what the customers feel a seller should offer ?i.e. customers, e9pectations@ with the sellers, actual service performance.+* This idea was supported by an e9ploratory research conducted by 1arsuraman et al.+/ of consumers in ?retail banking' telecommuni cations' securi-ties brokerage' product repair and maintenance@. 6n the basis of this study' 1arsuraman et al. defined service quality as an

wit h f o u r

+* focus groups service industries

overall ?appearance evaluation' of physical similar to' but elements@' not the same reliability as' an attitude ?ability to and refers to per-form the the degree promised and direction service of dependably discrepancy and between accurately@' custo-mers, responsiven perceptions ess and ?promptness e9pectations. and They also helpfulness@' developed the assurance S !"#$%& ?courtesy' scale' an credibility' instrument competence@ which and empathy included five ?easy access' main service good quality communicat dimensions> ions and tangibles customer

understanding@. Bithin each dimension' there were several items measured on a sevenpoint scale ranging from -strongly agree, to -strongly disagree, for a total of ** items. Since its inception' the S !"#$%& scale has been widely used by both academics and
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Ramsaran !o"dar

ener ally robu st as a mea pr sure a of ct serv ic ice in qual g ity' m the a instr n ume a nt g has er bee s n a criti cr ci;e o d on ss con in cept d ual u and st met ri hod es olog in ical v grou ar nds. - 6ne io of u the s mai c n o prob u lem nt s ri men es tion . ed T in h the o liter u atur g e is h the S appl icab ! ility " of # the $ five %S ! & "# h $% as & b dim e ensi e ons n to g diff eren

t serv ice setti ngs. !ep licat ion stud ies don e by othe r inve stig ator s faile d to sup port the five dim ensi onal fact or stru ctur e as was obta ined by 1ars ura man et al.+C
.+(

in their dev elop men t of S ! "# $% &. Aor e9a mpl e' Mc Dou gall and &ev esqu

e, s. s The st y u reve d aled y+ only 0 the di foll d own ing ot thre s e u und p erlyi p ng or dim t ensi 1 ons ar of s serv ur ice a qual m ity> a tang n ible et s' al cont ,s ract ?+ ual 8 perf 7 orm (@ ance c ?out o com nt e@ e and nt cust io ome n rth emp at loye se e rv relat ic ione ship qs u ?pro al cess it @. y Mor is eov c er' o rese m arch pr has is indi e d cate of d fi the v poss e ibili di ty m of e two n ?Da si bak o us n and

Doll er+4 . in a publ ic utili ty sect or@ to nine ?5ar man +7 . in a dent al scho ol pati ent clini c' busi ness scho ol plac eme nt cent re and acut e care hos pital @ disti nct dim ensi ons und erlyi ng the serv ice qual ity cons truct . Dab akus and Man gold
+8

argu e that the inst abili

ty .*) of con th cede e thou di gh m that e the n univ si ersa o lity n of al the it five y dim of ensi S onal stru ! ctur " e of # serv $ ice % qual & ity is repr mai o ns b in a dou bl bt y and d sho u uld e be to furt th her e rety sear p che e d. of 6 se nly rv a ic few e stud se ies ct hav or e u dire n ctly d appl er ied in the v serv es ice ti qual ity g para at dig io ms n. with 1 in ar the s conur te9t a of m the a hos n pital et ity al indu

stry.
*+.(

Aor inst ance ' Sale h and !ya n*0 appl ied the S ! "# $% & mod el*4 to lodg ing serv ices to test the five serv ice qual ity gaps prop osed by the gap mod el*7 and the dim ensi onal ity of the S ! "# $% & mod el as appl ied to hote l serv ices. The y used // attri bute s of hote l serv ices

id irme e d nt the if e9is ie tenc d e of in the e gaps ar in li hote er l lo serv d ices' gi but n faile g d to st iden u tify di the es five ra serv th ice er dim th ensi a ons n sug th gest e ed * by *S ! it "# e $% m &. s <ett in y cl and u Tho d mps e on*8 d prop in osed th a e perf or orm ig in al S ! " # $ % & m o d el . T h ei r fi n di n g s c o nf

anc ebas ed mea sure men t mo del ?&6 D< #$% &@ for lod gin g rese arch . %lt hou gh this pro pos al was new to the lod gin g ind ustr y' a simi lar perf orm anc ebas ed serv ice qual ity mo del ?S !" 1 !A@ was alre ady pro pos ed by 5ro

ni velo n pme a nt n pro d ced T ure a mus yl t be ortake /) n focaur tiou sesly. rvAor ic e9a esmpl re e' sethe ar retr c osp h. ecti % ve lt perh for o man u ce g eval h uati th ons e ?obt y aine 2u d st thro if ugh ie a d reca th ll e met u hod se@' ofthe th use ei of r stud m ent o sub2 d ects el ' in and th thei e r lo pro d pos gi ed n dim g ensi in onal d ity u of st lod rygin ' g th serv ei ices r may scnot al gen e eral d i;e e hig

hly diff eren tiate d lod gin g pro duct s. T here fore' rese arch indi cate d that perceiv ed serv ice qual ity is cont inge nt upo n the type of serv ice offe ring. This impl ies that one gen eric mea sure of serv ice qual ity is inap prop riate for all serv ices. 1rev ious stud ies

h qual a itati v ve e res sear h ch o abo w ut n the th qual at ity S of lodg ! ing " serv # ices $ has % bee &n d som o ewh es at n scar ot ce' c this o rese v arch er is al ther l efor di e m aim e ed n at si find o ing n out s the of foll h owi ot ng> el se rv +E B h ic es a t th a at r ar e e t i h m e p or a ta t nt t r to i g b u u es t ts e . s Si o n n c t e h

e b a s i s o f w h i c h h o t e l g u e s t s e v a l u a t e t h e q u a l i t y o f s e r v i c e p r o v i d e d b y h o t e l s F

*E 5
a n S

i c e q u a l i t y c o n s t r u c t F B h a t i n s t r u m e n t w i l l h e l p h o t e l m a n a g e r s m e a s u r e s e r v i

c e q u a l i t y ' m o n i t o r a n d i m p r o v e t h e i r s e r v i c e a n d c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s F

! " # $ % & di m e n si o n s b e re pl i- /E c at e d in th e h ot el in d u st ry or s h o ul d a d di ti o n al di m e n si o n s b e in cl u d e d in th e se rv

S ervi ce perc epti ons

h ent a stud v y is e ther st efor ille an n effo ot rt to re anal c yse ei tour v ists, e perc d epti e ons n of o seru vice gs h pro re vide sed by ar hote c l h ope at rato te rs. nt Def io inin ng in serv th ice e qual ar ity e and a pro ofvidi to ng urtech is niq m ues . for T its h mea e sure prmen est is
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a ma2 or con cern of service pro vide rs and rese arch ers. Thi s bec ome s a part icul arly com ple9 issu e in a hig h cont act serv ice ind ustr y suc h as tour ism and hos pitalit y.
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Developing a service quality questionnaire in Mauritius

widest market with tourist arrivals ?04 percent@ originating -63 mainly from -=,R? Arance' $K' 8M <ermany' )ND :taly' 6=8C? Swit;erland -)*?-; and ?ND,8 Delgium. -R; ?N %frica is the M),R? second -?,8 The tourismma2or industry is themarket and third pillar ofis dominated the Mauritianby tourists from economy' after the!eunion manufacturin :sland and g sector andSouth agriculture %frica. sectors and The has been achallenges key factor inthat face the the overallMauritian development tourism of thesector in the country. :nyears ahead both the past twoare vast and decades' demanding tourist if it is to arrivals maintain its increased atstatus as an an averagee9clusive annual rate ofdestination. 8 per cent%t a time with awhen world correspondin events . for g increase ofe9ample' about *+ perwars' S%!S cent inand terrorism tourism acts . receipts. impact so Tour-ist draarrivals have matically on been internationa e9panding l travel and significantly have such a rising fromprofound +)*'(+) ineffect on a +844 todestination, 0(0'C(/ ins appeal' it *)))' a moreis more than si9-foldimportant now than at increase. urope hasany time in long been thethe past to

ensure that all players who are involved in tourism have a common vision for the future' and are in total synergy with their collective endeavours. This will offer the dynamic industry the opportunity to perform at its optimum level and position Mauritius so that it is able to compete to its greatest advantage in the market place. !einforcing Mauritius, image as an e9otic holiday destination to attract the discerning traveller and achieve continued growth is essential. %part from governmenta l attempts to pro-mote Mauritius' the hotel industry has also made its contribution towards the improvement of the quality of service to meet with international

quality standards./+.* Some ho-tels have initiated quality programmes food and and havebeverage been prices' poor language accredited with the :S6and communicat 8))) certification ion ability of and others arepersonnel a in the processand limited towards of achieving thisvariety goal. Despitefood being served.// these Stud-ies initiatives' however' aconducted number ofon service quality tourists issues in remain of dissatisfied hotels and complainMauritius about high are of little help because they do not provide detailed evidence on the evaluation of service quality from the perspectives of guests./C Therefore' this study will contribute to the literature by providing qualitative evidence on customers, e9pectations of service quality from hotels and this will help tailor a service quality measuremen t tool for the hotel industry as a whole. M3-6=D= *=B; This article represents an e9ploratory

effort in understandin g hotel service quality in the Mauritian conte9t. This was an important driver as there was scant literature related to service quality of hotels in Mauritius. More-over' the S !"#$%& model had been tested in settings other than the hospitality industry./( :n-depth interviews were conducted with /* tourists over a period of two months to probe into their needs and the services they hoped to obtain from their hotels. % convenience sample was used by choosing tourists visiting tourist villages in the different parts of the island. Tourists who were approached were first asked some pre-liminary questions about their background and profile and it was

ensured thatrespondent the was respondents sub2ected to included ina set of the studyopen-ended were cho-senquestions on in such a waytheir as to achievee9pectations diversity inof service terms of age'quality gender' provided by country ofhotels. Aor origin' e9ample' occupational questions status andasked during marital status.those un6nly thosestructured tourists whointerviews had travelledincluded> to Mauritius-Bhat do on vacationalyou e9pect purposes from an were e9cellent interviewed. hotelF,G -3ow do ach you know

you are receiving a high level of hotel serviceF,G -Bhich criteria do you consider when choosing a hotelF,G -Bhich variables affect your satisfaction with a hotelF,G -Bhat makes a hotel,s service e9cel-lentF,G -Bhy do you think no one patronises
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ener al ques tion s abo s ut o serv m ice e qual h ity ot and el the s' resp w onse hi s le obta ot ined h wer er e s grou h ped a 2udg v ee men v tally er into y diff hi eren gt h dim o ensi c ons c of u serv p ice a qual n ity. c !es y pon ra dent te s sF had ,. to ! com es e up p with o their n own d idea e s nt abo s ut w serv er ice e qual as ity k and e wer de g

deli bera tely not e9p osed to item s fro m the S ! "# $% & mod el. ac h inter vie w laste d for abo ut C( min utes to one hour and sub2 ects wer e enc oura ged to resp ond freel y in their own wor ds. Det aile d note s wer e take n

dr ur their in time g and th kind e coin oper te atio rv n ie with wa s sou a veni nr d toke th n es fro e m w Mau er ritiu e s. e v e 9= nt N9 u *, al 8?= ly N c )N oD m ?MC pi *?9 le )-? d =N in 8 to a Tabl e + re com p pare or s t. the TS ! h "# e $% re & - dim s enp sion o s to n the d ite e ms gen nt erat s ed w fro er m e the th ina dept nh k inte e rvie d ws. fo Two addi

tion al qual ity dim ensi ons wer e fou nd' nam ely -cor e hote l ben efits , and -hot el tech nol ogie s, and a few addi tion al ite ms wit hin eac h of the gen eric qual ity dim ensi ons. Bh en ask ed abo ut thei r e9p ecta tion s fro m a goo d hote l' mos t respo nde

nt and s recr i eati m onal m faci e litie di s. at The el core y serv st ice at was e ther d efor th e at the th mos e t y imp w orta a nt nt qual e ity d attri a bc ute o for m hote fol rt gue a sts bl and e this a is n not d repr re ela sent 9 ed e in d the st S ! a "# y $% w& it inst h rum q ent. u M al oreo it ver' y hote fol o cust d' ome e rs 9t ra laid a a lot m of e emp ni hasi ti s on esthe in tang roible o envi m ron s men

t in parti cula r hote l and roo m de Hcor and clea nliness . <ue sts wer e also dem andi ng rega rdin g relia bilit y and pro mpt ness of serv ice and cons iste nt cour tesy of staff . Iou nger cust omer s mad e com men ts rega rdin g the pau city of inter net

a e c resu c lts es of s this in stud hy ot indi el cate s. that :n dim th ensi ons is in re S ! s "# p $% e & ct can ' not Mbe a reur plic iti ated a full n y to h the ot hote el l s indu w stry. er 6th e er st dim ill ensi la ons g such as gi -cor ne g ben b efits e , hi ?incl n udin dg a in com te fort r able m' s rela of 9ed te and c wel h com ne ol feeli o ng' gi vari c etyJ al qual fa ity of ci food lit and ie recr s. eati onal h

facil ities and prov isio n of eve ning ente rtain men t' amo ng othe rs@ and -hot el tech nolo gies , ?incl udin g acce ss to tele pho ne' tele visi on' email ' onli ne rese rvati on and inter nati onal calli ng facil ities amo ng othe rs@ may eme rge as

e ager qs u sho al uld ly take cr thes iti e c key al qual w ity h dim e enn sion ds et into er acco - unt m whe in n in asse g ssin th g e the at leve tr l of ib the ut serv es ice th they at prov c ide. u ns st urin og m qual er ity s wou u ld se eve to ntua e lly v lead al to u gro at wth e of h their ot clie el ntel se e. rv Bay ic s of e achi q evin ug al qual it ity y. serv 3 ice ot coul el d m incl a ude n- the

adm inist ratio n of hote l cust ome rs satis facti on surv eys usin g the serv ice qual ity dim ensi ons invo lved G the imp rove men t of the leve l of serv ice perfor man ce whe re nee ded by filli ng the gaps and the man age men t of e9p ecta tion s rega rding qual ity

of ent se strat rv egie ic s to e. recr uit and n trai ot n h emp er loye m es a to n bec a ome g skil er ful ia in l thei i r m 2obs pl ' ic hav at e io e9c n elle in nt cl inte u rper d son esal th skill e s' n be e cou e rteo d us' fofrie r ndl hy ot and el com s pete to nt d and e be v emp el owe o red p to h be u able m to a mee nt re cust - ome s r o nee urds c and e solv me a thei nr a pro g ble e ms. m 3ot

el man ager s sho uld also pay a lot of atte ntio n to hote l de Hcor ' clea nlin ess and com fort of roo ms' qual ity and vari ety of foo d serv ed and pro vide basi c gue st roo m faci litie s suc h as soa p' sha mp oo' tea' coff ee' kett le' and so fort h. :n addi tion '

st que af sted f . s Aurt h her o mor ul e' d hote nl ot man m ager a s k sho e uld a now n real y ise er the ropote rs ntia in l of c the o tech mp nol ut ogy in for g the bi hote ll l s ind a ustr n y. d The s cha h ngi o ng ul lifes d tyle prs of o cust vi ome d rs e imp a ly c that c the urhote at l e ind in ustr foy r sho m uld at mak io e n crea a tive n and d inn seova rvic tive e use w of h tech e nol n ogy re to

enh anc e the valu e of its serv ice offe ring s. T his rese arch is onl y e9pl orat ory and nee ds furt her vali dati on to fina lly dev elop a reli able scal e for mea sure men t of serv ice qual ity in the hote l ind ustr y. The resu lts fro m this stud y may not be repl icab le

o pite ut thes - e si limi d tati e ons' Mhow a ever ur' the itiresu u lts s. pro D vide essom
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Developing a service quality questionnaire in Mauritius

Table +> Service quality attributes

S !"#$%& dimensions ?1arsuraman et al. ?+87(@@ Tangibility ?physical facilities' equipment and appearance of personnel@ +. *. /. C. Modern-looking equipment "isually appealing facilities "isually appealing materials Leat appearance of employees #uality attributes in the hotel industryK Tangibility ?physical facilities' equipment and appearance of personnel@ + . Modern and comfortable furniture * . %ppealing interior and e9terior hotel deHcor / . %ttractive lobby C . 5leanliness and comfort of rooms ( . Spaciousness of rooms 0 . 3ygienic bathrooms and toilets 4 . 5onvenient hotel location 7 . Leat and professional appearance of staff 8 %vailability of swimming pool' sauna and . gym + ) . 5omplimentary items + + . 1rovision of clean beaches + * 1rovision of beach facilities ?beach . mattresses' umbrellas' beach towels' etc.@ + / "isually appealing brochures' pamphlets' . etc. + C %vailability of non-smoking areas in . restaurants + ( . :mage of the hotel !eliability ?ability to 0. %ccuracy in billing perform the e9pected 4. %ccuracy of food service dependably and accurately@ orders +. Staff performing 7. %ccurate information services right the first about hotel services time 8. %dvance and accurate *. 1erforming the information about prices services at the time +). Timely promised housekeeping services /. Bell-trained and ++.%vailability of knowledgeable staff transport facilities C. 9perienced staff +*. !eliable message (. Staff with good service communication skills

+. Delivery of promises *. Dependability in handling the customers, problems /. 5orrect performance of the service the first time C. Maintenance of error-free records (. Delivery of services at the time promised

!eliability ?ability to perform the e9pected service dependably and accurately@

!esponsiveness ?willingness to help customers and customers provide prompt service@ feel safe in +. Keeping customers informed about when the their service will be performed transactions *. 1roviding prompt service to customers C. Know /. Billingness to help customers ledgeabl e staff to C. !esponsiveness to customers, requests answer custome r %ssurance ?courtesy and knowledge of staff and question their ability to inspire trust and confidence@ s +. 5ourteous staff

/. Making

*. %bility of staff to instill confidence in customers

!esponsiv service eness /. #uick check-in ?willingnes and check-out s to provide C. 1rompt prompt breakfast service@ +. Billingness of service staff to provide help%ssurance ?courtesy promptly displayed by hotel staff and their *. %vailability ofability to inspire and staff totrust confidence@ provide
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+. Ariendliness of *. 5ourteous
staff employees

/. %bility of staff to
instill confidence in customers

?continued@

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Table +> ?continued@

S !"#$%& dimensions ?1arsuraman et al. ?+87(@@ mpathy ?caring' individuali;ed attention provided to customers@ + . * . / . C . ( . $nderstanding the customers, requirements 1roviding customers with individual attention 5onvenient operating hours Dealing with customers in a caring fashion 3aving the customers, best interest at heart #uality attributes in the hotel industryK mpathy ?caring' individuali;ed attention provided to guests by hotel staff@ + . <iving special attention to the customer * . !ecogni;ing the hotel customer / . 5alling the customer by name C . %vailability of room service ( . $nderstanding the customers, requirements 0 . &istening carefully to complaints 4 . 1roblem-solving abilities of staff 7 3otel to have customers, best interest at . heart 8 . 5ustomer loyalty programme 5ore hotel benefits ?the central aspects of the service> benefits to hotel customers@ +. 5omfortable' rela9ed and welcome feeling *. #uietness of rooms /. "arietyJquality of sports and recreational facilities C. Security of room (. Security and safety at the hotel 0. 5omfortable and clean mattress' pillow' bed sheets and covers 4. !easonable room rates 7. "ariety of basic products and services offered ?toothpaste' soap' shampoo' towels' toilet paper' stationery' laundry' ironing' tea' coffee' drinking water@ 8. <uest room items in working order ?kettle' air-conditioning' lighting' toilet' fridge' etc.@ +). #uality of food in restaurant ++. !easonable restaurantJbar prices +*. 5hoice of menus' buffet' beverages and wines

+/. 1rovision of children,s facilities ?playground' baby-sitting' swimming pool' etc.@ +C.
1rovision of evening entertainment 3otel technologies ?technological services available to hotel guests@ +. :n-room technologies ?telephone' voicemail' ondemand 15' television' internet plug' meal ordering' email' wake-up system@

*. 3otel technologies ?online reservation' email' internet' fa9' international calling facilities' hotel website' direct hotel email' computeri;ed feedback form' special promotions on hotel website' acceptance of credit and debit cards@
K :tems are grouped 2udgementally and not through statistical processes like factor analysis

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evidence to indicate that additional dimen-sions need to be included if the S !"#$%& measure is implemented in the hotel industry.
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Mueller' <. and Dedwell' D. ?+88/@ -5usto-

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3ampton' <. M. ?+88/@ -<ap ?(@ %nalysis of 5ollege Student Satisfactio n as a Measure of 1rofession al Service #uality,' Mournal of 1rofessional Services Marketing 8?+@> ++(. *7.

?*@ Shearden

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' B.%. ?+877@ -<aining the Service #uality %dvantag e,' Mournal ?0@ of Dusiness Strategy 8?*@> C(. 7. <arvin' D.%. ?+87/@' -#uality in the &ine,' 3arvard Dusiness !eview 0+?(@>

mer Service and Service #uality, ' in (. She wing ?ed.@ -The Service #uality 3andbo ok,' pp. C(8.0*. Lew Iork> %M%5 6M. 1hillips' &. B.' 5hang' D. !. and Du;;ell' +7.D. ?+87/@ -1roduct #uality' 5ost 1osition and Dusines s 1erform ance> % Test of Some Key 3ypothe ses,' Mournal of Marketi ng C4?*@> *0.C/. !eichhe ld' A. and Sasser' B. ?+88)@' -Nero Defectio ns> #uality 5omes to Services ,' 3arvard Dusines s

!eview 08?(@> +)(.++. ?4@ 3offma n' K. D. and Dateson ' M. . <. ?+884@ ssentia ls of Services Marketi ng. Aort Borth' TO> The Dryden 1ress. ?7@ 1earce' 1. &. ?+877@ The $lysses Aactor> valuati ng "isitors in Tourist Settings . Lew Iork> 1ringer "erlag. ?8@ Neitham l' ". %. and Ditner' M. M. ?*)))@ Services Marketi ng> :ntegrati ng 5ustom er Aocus %cross the Airm. *nd edn. Doston> Mc<ra w-3ill. ?+)@ <ro=onr oos' 5. ?+87*@ Strategi c Manage ment and Marketi ng in the Service Sector. 3elsinki > Swedish School of

conomi c and Dusiness %dminist ration. ?++@ &ehtinen' !esearc $. and h,' &ehtinen' Mournal M. !. of ?+87*@ Marketi ng -Service C8?Aall@ #uality> > C+.(). % Study of ?+C@ 1arsura #uality man' %.' DiNeitham mensions l' ".%. ,' and unpublis Derry &. hed &. research ?+877@ report' -S !" Science #$%&> Manage % ment Multi<roup' :tem 6I' Scale Ainland. for Measuri ?+*@ 1arsuram ng an' %. 5onsum ?*)))@ er -Superior 1ercepti 5ustomer ons of Service Service and #uality, Marketin ' Mournal g of 9cellen !etailin ce> Two g Sides of 0C?Spri the Same ng@> *+. Success C). 5oin,' "ikalpa ?+(@ 1arsura *(?/@> /. man' %.' +/. Derry' &.&.' ?+/@ 1arsuram Neitham an' %.' l' ".%. Neithaml' ?+88+@ ".%. and -!efine Derry' ment and +*.&. !easses ?+87(@ -% 5onceptu sment al Model of the of SerS !"# vice $%& #uality Scale,' and its Mournal :mplicatio of ns for !etailin Auture g' 04?C@> C*).().

Dimensi ons> %n mpiric al :nvestig ation,'

Mournal of 1rofessi onal Services Marketi ng ++?+@> +78. *)8. ?+4@ Dabakus ' . and Doller' <. B. ?+88*@ -%n mpiric al %ssess ment of the S !"# $%& Scale,' Mournal of Dusines s !esearc h *C> *(/.07. ?+7@ 5arman' M. M. ?+88)@ -5onsu mer 1erceptions of Service #uality> %n %ssess ment of the S !"# $%& Dimensi ons,' Mournal of !etailin g 00?Spri ng@> //. ((.

?+8@ Dabakus

?+0@ McDoug

all' <. 3. <. and &evesqu e' T. M. ?+88C@ -% !evised "iew of Service #uality

' . and Mangold ' B. <. ?+878@ -%daptin g the S !"# $%& Scale to 3ealth 5are nviron ment> %n mpiric al %ssess-

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?*+@ Do2anic' . D. 5. and Spekman' 3. 3. !osen' Kassar2ia &. D. n' ". ?+88/@ Maha-2an' -Measuri D. &. ng Scammon Service and M. &eay #uality ?eds@ in +7.
!estaura %M% Summer nts> %n ducator %pplicati s, on of the 1roceedi S !"# ngs> $%& nhan:nstrucing ment,' Knowled 3ospitali ge ty Develop !esearch ment in Mournal Marketin g. +7> /.+C. 5hicago' ?**@ <etty' :&> <. M. %merica and n Thomps Marketin on' K. g L. %ssocia?+88C@ tion. -The ?*)@ 1arsuram !elation an' %.' ship Derry' &. between &.' #uality' Neithaml' Satisfaction **.%. and ?+88/@ !ecom -More on mendin :mprovin g g Service Dehavio #uality ur in Measure &odging ment,' Decisio Mournal

ns,' Mournal of 3ospital ity and &eisure Marketi ng *?/@> /.*+.

?*/@ Saleh'

A. and !yan' 5. ?+88+@ -%nalysi ng Service #uality in the 3ospital ity :ndustry $sing the S !"# $%& Model,' The Service :ndustrie s Mournal ++?Muly@> /*C.C/.

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and !yan' 5. ?+88*@ -5lient 1erceptions of 3otels . % Multi%ttribut e %pproac h,' Tourism Manage ment /?8*@> +0/.7. Claudia on September
16, 2009

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