Improving Hotel Service Quality in Oman: A QFD and SERVQUAL Case Study Analysis for Effective Service Management

BFP/GRG/CBS/23/079

Improving Hotel Service Quality in Oman: A QFD and SERVQUAL Case Study Analysis for Effective Service Management

Abstract

Recently, the tourism industry has expanded a lot, and since the most important issue for a tourist is a place to stay, the hotel industry also becomes very important. Competition in the hotel industry is fierce and the best way to increasing the market share is listening to the voice of the customer. The purpose of this study is to evaluate customer satisfaction with the service quality in one of the hotels in Oman using the SERVQUAL and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) method. We evaluate the difference between the customer’s perceptions and expectations of the quality of service at hotel(s) in Oman through a questionnaire designed based on the five distinct dimensions of the SERVQUAL method. The sample size is decided based on Cochran’s formula for an infinite population, which is the people who have stayed at least one night at the hotel. Then, the Sign test is used to investigate if there is significant difference between the customer’s perceptions and expectations. Also, a regression study is conducted to know the relationship and importance between the SERVQUAL distinct dimensions and the customer satisfaction. Moreover, QFD method is employed to understand the customers’ requirements and to know where and how the service quality improvement should be done.