HLT7036 Research Methods: Customer Satisfaction Analysis in Hotels

This report investigates customer satisfaction within the hotel industry, emphasizing the importance of customer retention and loyalty in a competitive market. It explores the impact of brand image, service quality, and customer relationship management (CRM) on satisfaction levels. The research methodology includes both qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection and analysis. Key areas covered are customer expectations, the role of marketing, and strategies for enhancing customer satisfaction to gain a competitive advantage. The report aims to provide insights into how hotels can effectively meet customer demands, improve service delivery, and foster long-term customer relationships.

Running head: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Customer Satisfaction in Hotel Industry
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................3
1.1: Background of the Study......................................................................................................3
1.2: Rationale of the research......................................................................................................4
1.3: Aim and objectives of the research.......................................................................................4
1.4: Research questions...............................................................................................................4
1.5: Research Hypothesis.............................................................................................................5
1.6: Conceptual Framework.........................................................................................................5
Chapter 2: Literature Review...........................................................................................................6
2.1: Customer satisfaction...........................................................................................................6
2.2: Customer expectation...........................................................................................................7
2.3: Customer Relationship Management....................................................................................8
2.4: Marketing..............................................................................................................................9
Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................10
3.0: Introduction........................................................................................................................10
3.1: Research Philosophy...........................................................................................................10
3.2: Research Approach.............................................................................................................11
3.3: Research design..................................................................................................................11
3.4: Research methods...............................................................................................................12
3.4.1: Qualitative method......................................................................................................12

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3.4.2: Quantitative method....................................................................................................12
3.5: Data collection....................................................................................................................13
3.6: Data analysis.......................................................................................................................13
3.7: Sample selection.................................................................................................................14
3.8: Ethical consideration..........................................................................................................14
3.9: Limitation...........................................................................................................................14
Reference List................................................................................................................................15

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Chapter 1: Introduction
The hospitality industry is one the most competitive industries in the recent times. This
has led to most of the hotels in increasing the level of satisfaction among the customers so that
they can be competitive with rest of the hotels that are trying to establish their businesses. The
level of satisfaction of the customers depends on the brands and the products that are being given
to them by the hotels (Torres and Kline 2013). Providing the wrong products or the services to
the customers will lead them to switch the brands, which will result in hampering the reputation
of the hotel. The hotel brand plays an important part in influencing the methods of advertising to
the customers by creating a better impression of the products and services that are being
delivered by them (Li, Ye and Law 2013).
1.1: Background of the Study
Loyalty of the customers can be measured with the services that are being offered to them
along with the strategies that will help in improving the services within the hotels. This
measurement will help in understanding the loyalty of the customers towards the particular brand
of hotels. The major difficulty that is faced by the hotels is the ability in satisfying the customers
and making better profits at the same time (Amin et al. 2013). Additionally, the presence of
competition helps in increasing the chances of innovations so that it can help in satisfying the
customers. It is of utmost importance that the hotel industries try to meet the demands of the
customers in a unique manner so that it can help them in enhancing their level of profits. The
responsive nature of the employees within the hotels regarding the requests made by the
customers is the evaluation technique that helps in measuring the level of satisfaction among the
customers (Ali and Amin 2014).

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1.2: Rationale of the research
Satisfying the customers is an important element that helps the businesses to be
successful with the hospitality industry. Most of the businesses need to maintain a good
relationship with the customers so that it can enhance the profitability of the firm along with the
loyalty among the customers. Nevertheless, most of the managers in the hotel are facing
numerous problems in satisfying the customers, as their level of expectation is very high and not
meeting them in a proper manner will result in dissatisfaction among the customers (Markovic
and Raspor Jankovic 2013). This problem can be acknowledged by understanding the needs of
the customers so that it can helps in increasing the level of satisfaction among the customers.
This research process will help in identifying the practices that can be taken up by the
organizations so that expectations and satisfactions of the customers can be met in a proper
manner (Saleem and Raja 2014).
1.3: Aim and objectives of the research
The research will be based on the following aim and objectives:
 To analyze the level of customer satisfaction that will help in retaining the old and
gaining new customers in the hotel industry
 To understand the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) practices that are present
in the hotel industry so that it can help in increasing the satisfaction level among the
customers
1.4: Research questions
This research process will be based on the following questions:

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 What are the ways through which customer satisfaction among the old customers can be
increased and attract new customers as well?
 What are the CRM practices that will help in increasing the satisfaction level among the
customers?
1.5: Research Hypothesis
The research will be based on the following hypothesis:
H0- The increase in the customer satisfaction will not create an impact on the hotel industry
H1- The increase in the customer satisfaction will create an impact on the hotel industry
1.6: Conceptual Framework
(Source: Created by Author)
Customer Satisfaction
Marketing
of hotels
Customer
Relationshi
p
Manageme
nt
Customer
Expectation

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Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1: Customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is an important tool that helps the hotel industries to survive in the
competitive world. The retention of the customers in the hotel helps the businesses to prosper, as
there is huge competition in the market. The loyalty of the customers depends on the quality of
services that they are getting within the hotel so that it can help in satisfying their demands
within the industry. Additionally, the hospitality industry has been gaining many investors that
are able to meet the demands of the customers. Therefore it is important for the hotels to satisfy
the demands of the customers so that they do not shift to a better provider of services (Liat,
Mansori and Huei 2014).
The hotels need to be competitive in the market so that it can help in satisfying the
demands of the customers in a proper manner. The use of the advanced technologies within the
hotel premises will help the management in understanding the needs and demands of the
customers that they want from the hotel. The use of online surveys by the hotels will help them
in gaining valuable feedbacks from the customers so that based on those informations the hotels
can increase its level of satisfaction for the customers. The surveys will also help in
implementing improvement within the hotels in a continuous manner regarding the goods and
the services that are being offered to the customers (Rao and Sahu 2013).
The hotel industries in the recent times have been using a strategy known as
benchmarking. It helps the hotels to gain knowledge from the other hotels that are present within
the industry so that they can learn them and be competitive in the market as well. Past studies
have revealed that the loyalty among the customers is one of the major reasons that helps some

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of the hotels to prosper while other companies suffers from it. The element of customer loyalty
helps in showing the effectiveness of the management along with the stakeholders to the
customers so that they can get attracted and come to the same hotel on a repeated manner.
Retaining the customers within the organization depends on the quality of services that are being
offered to them so that their demands can be met in a successful manner (Cheng 2013).
2.2: Customer expectation
The level of satisfaction among the customers can be increased by gaining a better
knowledge regarding the expectations of the customers. The expectation of the customers
regarding what kind of services they want within the hotels will help the organizations in
providing those so that their demands can be fulfilled. This is an important factor, as it helps in
deciding the level of satisfaction that they have acquired (Jani and Han 2014).
When the high expectations of the customers are not met in a proper manner and the
reality is something less than that, it will lead to a factor of disappointment among the customers.
This may result in hampering the goodwill of the organization following which the level of profit
may also decrease. The expectation level among the customers helps in [providing the maximum
level of satisfaction, as it helps in influencing the purchasing decisions and the increase in the
loyalty of customers as well (Prud’homme and Raymond 2013).
There are many benefits that the hotel organizations may get when the expectations of the
customers can be understood in a better manner. Firstly, it helps in gaining knowledge regarding
the levels of service that are expected by the customers so that they can be happy and help the
organization in achieving greater level of customer satisfaction. Secondly, it also results in
fulfilling the expectations of the customers by creating an opportunity to increase it. Finally, the

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complaints that are provided by the customers can be addressed in a better manner by the
organization, as the customers helps in identifying the drawbacks that are present within the
organization (Shafiq et al. 2013).
2.3: Customer Relationship Management
The customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the strategies that help the hotel
organizations in interacting with the customers in an effective manner. This process is based on
the creation of a better relation through a mutual understanding between the customers and the
organization that will help in increasing the level of satisfaction among them. The hotel
industries take the help of intrinsic characteristics that will help in building up of proper
relationships with the customers. The proper implementation of the CRM activities within the
organizations will help in gaining much information from the customers so that the quality of
service can be improved in a better way (Kim, Vogt and Knutson 2015). The use of Customer
Relationship Management will enable the hotel organizations to be competitive in the market, as
it will provide encouragement to understand the behavioral patterns of the customers based on
which they will purchase the goods and services on a repeated manner. Implementing Customer
Relationship Management within the organizations will help in increasing the relations between
the customers and the respective hotel organizations. The increase in the cost of acquiring the
customers, travelers who are sensitive towards price along with the rising expectations of the
customers can be managed in a better manner with the help of this strategy (Radojevic, Stanisic
and Stanic 2015).
The relations with the customers can be increased by the hotels by using the online social
media platforms along with e-mails and telephones so that the feedbacks from them can be
gathered and utilized within the business environment. The use of this strategy helps the hotel

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organization in effectively developing and widening the base of customers so that it can help in
increasing the level of profits and manage the loyalty of the customers at the same time
(Martinez and del Bosque 2013).
2.4: Marketing
In the recent times, it can be seen that majority of the organizations are relying on the
marketing principles that enables them in attracting new customers and retaining the older ones.
The marketing mix helps the organizations in placing their brands in an effective manner so that
it can help in grabbing the attention of the customers. The pricing of the services has to be set in
a better manner so that it can help them in gaining more customers and increase the level of
profits (Shafiq et al. 2013). The advertisement of the hotels is being done in an effective manner
with the help of latest technologies so that maximum coverage can be provided in it. The
innovative ways in which the advertisements are being done by the organizations are helping
them in gaining customers towards them. The services that are being offered by the organizations
are being mentioned to the customers on a priority basis so that it can provide proper knowledge
to them. This has helped the companies in attracting the customers towards them (Poku, Zakari
and Soali 2013).

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Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.0: Introduction
The methods that are available in the process of research help in collecting the data in an
authentic manner with respect to the variables that has been taken up for the research. The
selection of the proper methods will help the researcher in enhancing the quality of outcome for
the research. Additionally, the use of the proper methods of research will also help the research
in gathering the data that are authentic and related to the topic (Mackey and Gass 2015).
3.1: Research Philosophy
It deals with the development of the information that is needed for the research to be
conducted in an effective manner. It allows the researcher in gathering the information that are
relevant and authentic in nature that are relevant to the topic of the research. There are mainly
three types of philosophies that can be taken up by the researcher. The positivism philosophy
helps in gathering the data that are based on facts and can be trusted to increase the outcome of
the research in a better manner (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). The interpretivism
philosophy enables the researcher in collecting the data that are constructed in a social manner
and can be associated with that of the topic of the research. The realism philosophy is the
mixture of the philosophies that has been mentioned above, as the information that is collected is
authentic in nature and is constructed in a social manner as well. Using this philosophy enables
the researcher in collecting the data that is authentic so that the research can have a better quality
of outcome (Glesne 2015). This research will be based on the positivism philosophy, as it will
enable the researcher in gathering the data that are authentic in nature.

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3.2: Research Approach
The research approach enables the researcher in gaining proper knowledge regarding the
topic that has been taken up for the research process. The approach depends mainly on the type
of the topic and the variables that has been taken up for the research. The inductive and the
deductive style of approach in a research process are mainly the options that are taken up by the
researcher (Brinkmann 2014). The inductive approach helps the researcher in creating models
and theories so that the information regarding the variables of research can be collected in a
proper manner. This allows the researcher in gathering the information in a specific manner.
Deductive approach on the other hand, allows the researcher in taking help of the models and
theories that are already established and can help in relating it to the topic that has been taken up
for the research (Flick 2015). This research will be based on the deductive approach that, as the
researcher will be taking help of the models and theories that has been published earlier by
different scholars.
3.3: Research design
The design of the research allows the researcher in understanding the topic so that it can
help him in gaining further knowledge regarding the variables that have been taken up in the
research process. There are three types of research designs namely descriptive, exploratory and
explanatory. The explanatory design helps in identifying the relation between the various
variables that has been taken up in the topic of the research. It also allows the researcher in
making a link between the variables (Silverman 2016). The exploratory design helps in
reviewing the research background. It will allow the researcher in understanding the current
issues that are present in the topic of the research. The descriptive style of research design helps
in the accumulation of the real purpose based on which the research is being conducted (Vaioleti