CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the Study
The hospitality sector of Nigeria has increasingly assumed a crucial role in the country’s economy,
consequently playing a dominant role in creating value. The value creation
ultimately influences to a large extent, the purchasing patterns of consumers
and managerial decisions of the providers of these services. For the sector,
particularly the hotels sector to maintain dominance and improve financial
performance, the hotels must strive hard to
exceed customers'' expectations regarding the provision of quality service
delivery (Goyit & Nmadu, 2016).
Researchers have relied
heavily on customer satisfaction and quality ratings gathered from various
surveys on performance monitoring, compensation as well as resource allocation
(Bolton, 1998). Several researchers Swan and Trawick (1981), Churchill and
Surprenant, (1982) and Bearden and Teel (1983) like began to investigate
further the determinants of customer satisfaction. Rust and Zahorik (1993) and
Bolton (1998) revealed that organizations and researchers began to be
increasingly concerned about the financial outcomes of their customer
satisfaction as early as in 1990s. There appears to be a gap in the literature
on the service quality delivery specifically regarding Nigerian hospitality
industry. There is therefore a need to explore in detail the strategies for sustainable services quality delivery
in hotels in Nigeria.
Different strategies
are formulated to retain the customer and the key of it is to increase the
service quality level. Parasuraman et. al (1985) and Zeithaml et., al (1990) observed
that the key strategy for the success and survival of any business organization
is the ability to deliver quality services to customers. The quality of
services offered will determine customer satisfaction and long term loyalty
(Naik et al. 2010).
Parasuraman et al.
(1985) as well revealed that the customer’s perception of service quality
depends on the range of gap distance between the customer expects before
receive a service in a service centre and what he or she actually perceive
after see and use the service by their own. Thus, service quality is in fact
defined as the gap between customers’ expectation of service and their
perception of the service experience. A service quality gap exists when there
are shortfall occur in which the service provider would like to close (Bitner
1994). Taking for instance, insufficient of sales, planning procedures and
marketing research, organization do not focus on the demand quality,
unsystematic service development service, lack of personnel training and so
forth.
Service quality has therefore become a major area of attention for
researchers and professionals because of its
enormous impact on customers'' satisfaction and performance of firms. For
example, Brown and Swartz (1989) argued that the
clients prefer and value companies that provide high service quality.
Customers judge service quality about
what they want by comparing their perceptions of service experiences with their
expectations of what the service performance should be. According to Wang
(2005), good service quality offering is the key issue to survive in the
intensely competitive market, especially maintaining customer satisfaction. The
importance of tourism could manifest
through its role via revenue and foreign exchange generation, a preserver of
cultures and historical heritage, a promoter of national development and a
vital and crucial factor of employment opportunities. Where tourism is
concerned, hotels are the first concern of all tourists. In Nigeria, tourism is
ever growing, and customers are becoming
more demanding (Al-Rousan and Badaruddin, 2010). They demand better services
and start to demand total service quality. The link between service actions and
service quality has verified its importance in marketing (Heskett and Sasser,
2010; Hutchinson, Lai and Wang, 2009).
There has been a dramatic surge in focusing attention on
quality issues by firms globally which resulted from the quality philosophy that has emerged as a major
determining factor in the choice, purchase, and consumption of hotel services
(Goyit, 2015). Thus, placement of increased emphasis on service quality by operators in
the Hotel sector centers onachieving customer satisfaction (Ivanauskiene &
Volungenaites, 2014). Furtherstill, Ivanauskiene and Volungenaites (2014) opine
that creation of new markets, protection and development of market shares, and
surviving the competition so as to enhance customer loyalty, foreign exchange
generation and exposure to long-term financial performance, survival and
success in the Sector (Ivanauskiene & Volungenaites, 2014).Again, this has
indirect impact on the economy of its host community through its boost on the
existence and survival of support tourists'' facilities like; the transport
sector, tour guides, arts and craftsmen, food and beverages industry, security
agencies, restaurants, drinking spots, club houses and the local market men and
women who all benefit from the multiplier effect of the tourists'' presence
whose duration of stay dependson the quality of services and facilities rendered by the hotels.
In Gambia, for instance, 30% of the workforce depends directly or indirectly on tourism; while about 83% of workforce in the Maldives, 21%
in the Seychelles, and 34% in Jamaica also work in the tourism sector. Malta''s
high dependence on tourism and a limited number of export products make its
trade performance vulnerable to shifts in international demand. Nigeria cannot
be left out in this strive towards economic growth through hotel development as
its hospitality industry has shown tremendous strength in the aspect of human
resources and structural development and also recognizing the fact that the
dependence of the country''s economy is gradually shifting from the oil sector
to the tourism industry. The main thrust
of hospitality provision is the guest satisfaction through service excellence.
However hospitality industries like hotels have always focused on the result of
customers'' desires; that is service excellence, paying lesser attention to
employees'' needs, not realizing the key
fact that employees are the key to service excellence (Valerie, Zeithaml,
Parasuraman & Leonard 1990). Hotel employees, often work long hours but are
paid meager salaries and have very few incentives to motivate them thus
threatening the achievement of service excellence and hence (financial) performance
in the hospitality industry (Atkinson & Williams, 2003). Employees who are
not motivated with incentives to encourage them will not be poised to provide
the required standard of service and that will impact negatively on financial
performance. It is in this view that this study
examines the strategies for sustainable services
quality delivery in hotels in Nigeria.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
In an intensely competitive scenario such as the hotel sector in Nigeria,
a proper understanding of the needs, wants and expectations of the customers by
the service providers is of paramount importance for growth, success, and
profitability. In view of this therefore,
studies on service predictors such as prompt and timely attention to customers
by employees, provision of prompt services especially at the front office,
timely check-in or check-out, willingness to help customers, display of ability
to perform the promised services dependably and accurately, quick resolution of
customers complaints, demonstration of knowledge and courtesy that is capable
of inspiring trust and confidence in customers and other similar actions
capable of building good reputation and superior performance are of vital
importance.
The reality of the scenario in the hotels in Nigeria portrays the contrary as studies by scholars such as
Olaleke (2010) indicated that poor service quality is a common feature
in the Nigerian Service Sector. Woldie (2003) also found a great level of dissatisfaction by many people
with the quality of services provided by Nigerian hotels. This may be evidenced by the occasional complaints
received from customers over the years, of poor handling of complaints,
rudeness and disrespect to customers by employees, theft of items forgotten in
the rooms, closing of accounts and switching from one Hotel to another by
customers,routine power outage, and unnecessary delays in resolving customers complaints,
call for great concern from both scholars and practitioners alike.
It is apparent that customers who receive poor
treatments will perceive the hotel in
a bad light and this can impact negatively on
its financial performance. In the light of this, therefore, a study on the Service Quality determinants in the
hotel sector and their relationship with financial performance becomes
pertinent. This presupposes that service
quality invariably plays a significant role in bringing about customer loyalty and/ or satisfaction (Al-Msallam, 2015) and therefore
financial performance.
The importance of financial performance to the hospitality industry and,
indeed business in general cannot be overemphasized. Investigations on the link
between service quality and organizational performance have been done in the US and the UK. Several authors point
out that research needs to be conducted in other contexts (Erickson
& Dyer, 2005; Wright, Snell & Dyer, 2005).
From all indications, it is evident that quality service
delivery is very fundamental especially for the sustenance, growth and
development of service sector business organisations (Rahaman et al, 2011). It
works as a factor of customer satisfaction (Boshoff 2004). However, service
quality has not been given the adequate importance it deserves in the
hospitality industry in Nigeria. This research therefore sought to assess strategies for sustainable services quality delivery
in hotels in Nigeria.
1.3 Research
Objectives
The general objective
of this study is to assess strategies for sustainable
services quality delivery in hotels in Nigeria. The specific objectives
are:
i)
To asses guest`s expectation and perception level towards the
hotel`s service quality in different dimensions
ii)
To determine the relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction in the hotel.
iii)
To recommend appropriate strategies or action plans to
enhance service quality delivery in Nigeria
1.4 Research Questions
The following
are some of the questions which this study intends to answer:
i)
What are the guest`s expectation and perception level towards
the hotel`s service quality in different dimensions?
ii)
What is the relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction in the hotel?
iii)
What are the recommendations for appropriate strategies or
action plans to enhance service quality delivery in Nigeria?
1.5 Significance of Study
Most researches show that service quality has a significant relationship
with financial performance (Hassan, Mamman & Farouk, 2013; Mohmood &
Asetmal, 2014). So, the financial
performance of hotels depends heavily on how effective and qualitative the
services provided by the hotels are. The outcome of the study will expose
hotels'' management to the importance of using and maintaining effective and
qualitative service delivery so as to improve their financial performance.
In addition, this study would be significant as it will make employees of
hospitality industry become conversant with the specific determinants of
quality service delivery that will enhance financial performance. Generally,
this study would be important to hotels management and policy makers by
providing insight and knowledge into the best ways of enhancing service quality
and financial performance as the study will expose them to areas of strength
and weaknesses of the quality service dimensions. Also, hotels management will
appreciate the fact that the right training of employees in terms
of Service Quality dimensions will increase the commitment of hotel staffs
which will be reflected in the service delivery to each customer that patronize
the hotel and the outcome will also be customer satisfaction as well as
improvement in the profitability and overall performance of the hotel. Hence, the outcome of the study will expose
hotels management to the importance of delivering and maintaining superior
service quality that will have considerable influence on financial performance
of their organizations.
1.6 Scope
of the Study
This study examines the strategies for sustainable services quality delivery in
hotels in Nigeria. Therefore five hotels in Lagos State shall be selected for
the study. Lagos city is housing some
of the monumental tourist attraction
sites. Given its status and antecedent, Lagos is therefore an appropriate
choice of location for this study.
1.7 Limitation
of the Study
Financial
constraints – the research was affected by the
writer`s limited funds to travel to different hotels in Lagos. This was a
challenge as the researcher was also raising some fees for the final semester
in school. The time available for the research was not adequate as there was
need to concentrate on other courses by the researcher. On this note, the
researcher opted to do the greater part of his research during the vacation
from school
1.8 Definition of Terms
The following terms were used during the cause of the
study.
Service quality: the difference
between customer expectations regarding a service to be received and
perceptions of service to be received and perceptions of service being received
(Gronroos, 2001).