What is the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in sheration saigon hotel

- RESEAARCH PROJECT BMBR5103 “WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF SERVICE QUALITY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN SHERATON SAIGON HOTEL?” STUDENT FULL NAME: DOAN ANH TU STUDENT ID: CGS 00019887 INTAKE: SEPTEMBER, 2015 ADVISOR’S NAME & TITLE: Dr BUI PHI PHUNG (DBA) FEBRUARY 2017 - Advisor’s assessment Advisor’s signature - ABSTRACT The research’s aim is to analyze the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in Sheraton Saigon Hotel To gain the main aim of this research, there are three main objectives for this research: (1) to analyze how customer satisfaction is impacted by factors of service quality (tangibles, assurance, reliability, empathy, and responsiveness) in Sheraton Saigon Hotel, (2) to analyze the level of customers’ satisfaction on the hotel service quality of Sheraton Saigon Hotel and (3) to suggest solutions regarding hotel service quality for Sheraton Saigon Hotel to increase its customers’ satisfaction on its hotel service quality in the future This research seeks positivism research philosophy, survey strategy, method of data collection (questionnaire, sampling size of 150 customers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel and simple random sampling), deduction research approach, quantitative research method, method of data analysis (descriptive analysis, test of reliability and linear regression analysis) This research explores that assurance, reliability, and responsiveness of hotel service in Sheraton Saigon Hotel have strong and positive impacts on customer’s satisfaction while this research explores that tangibles and empathy of hotel services in Sheraton Saigon Hotel not have any impacts on customer’s satisfaction This research explores that the level of customer’s satisfaction on the hotel services’ quality in the case of Sheraton Saigon hotel is high because the majority of customers’ expectations about the service quality of this hotel are met by this hotel In addition, this research suggests solutions regarding hotel service quality for Sheraton Saigon Hotel to increase its customers’ satisfaction on its hotel service quality in the future - CONTENTS ABSTRACT CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Research question 1.3 Research aim and objectives 1.4 Justification of the research 1.5 Limitations of the research 1.6 Structure of the research 10 1.7 Conclusion 10 CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW 11 2.1 Introduction 11 2.2 Service quality 11 2.3 Customer satisfaction 13 2.4 How customer satisfaction is impacted by service quality 14 2.4.1 Customer satisfaction and tangibles 14 2.4.2 Customer satisfaction and assurance 15 2.4.3 Customer satisfaction and reliability 16 2.4.4 Customer satisfaction and empathy 17 2.4.5 Customer satisfaction and responsiveness 18 2.5 The gaps in the literature 19 - 2.6 Conceptual model 20 2.7 Conclusion 22 CHAPTER THREE – METHODOLOGY 23 3.1 Introduction 23 3.2 Research philosophy 23 3.3 Research strategy 24 3.4 Research approach 24 3.5 Research method 25 3.6 Method of data collection 26 3.6.1 Data collection instrument 26 3.6.2 Sampling method and size 28 3.7 Method of data analysis 28 3.8 Research ethics 29 3.9 Research methodology limitations 29 3.10 Conclusion 30 CHAPTER FOUR – ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS 31 4.1 Introduction 31 4.2 Surveyed customers’ demographic information 31 4.3 Reliability test 33 4.4 The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in Sheraton Saigon Hotel 34 - 4.5 The customer’s satisfaction level towards service quality in Sheraton Saigon Hotel 37 4.6 Conclusion 38 CHAPTER FIVE – DISCUSSIONS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS 40 5.1 Introduction 40 5.2 Discussions of research findings 40 5.3 Conclusion 45 CHAPTER SIX – CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMEDATIONS 46 6.1 Introduction 46 6.2 Research conclusions 46 6.3 Research contributions 47 6.4 Research limitations 48 6.5 Recommendations 49 6.6 Conclusion 50 REFERENCES 51 APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE 57 - CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction The world’s market trend has substantially changed from agricultural aspect to service aspect (Rao and Sahu, 2013) All service companies have a great emphasis on the improvement of their service quality to satisfy basic expectations of their customers When requirements of customers are clearly known, hotel operators have the high ability to forecast and fulfill demands and wants of their customers (Bucak, 2014) The higher the customer satisfaction is, the higher the customer loyalty is (Yilmaz, 2009a) Currently, hotel visitors seem to have high needs for high-quality hotel services Hotels with the high-quality services will be able to compete with their rivals and will gain high positions in minds of customers (Akbaba, 2006) In the context in Vietnam, hotel visitors will prefer hotels with the high-quality services and have positive word-ofmouth comments about such hotels (Nguyen et al., 2015) The importance of service quality in increasing customers’ satisfaction in the hotel industry in Vietnam has been recognized (Nguyen et al., 2015) Hence, this research aims to analyze what the impact of service quality on customers’ satisfaction in Sheraton Saigon Hotel – A famous hotel in Vietnam is Consequently, a study question is created to have further investigation about this research issue 1.2 Research question Previous literature has recognized that service quality is crucial factor deciding customers’ satisfaction (Gil et al., 2006; Yilmaz, 2009a) However, in the hotel context in Vietnam, there have been a small number of researches investigating the relationship between customers’ satisfaction and service quality (Nguyen et al., 2015) - Hence, this research aims to analyze the impact of service quality on customers’ satisfaction in the hotel context in Vietnam Overall, the question of this research is as follows: “What is the impact of service quality on customers’ satisfaction in Sheraton Saigon Hotel?” and the research question will be answered after this research is completed The goal of the research question is to have a great insight of both service quality and customer satisfaction For this rationale, this research aims at analyzing the relationship of customer satisfaction and service quality in a famous hotel in Vietnam In addition, this research is conducted with a case study strategy that analyzes the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality in Sheraton Saigon Hotel Consequently, the aim and objectives have been suggested to clarify the question of this research 1.3 Research aim and objectives Overall, the research’s aim is to analyze the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in Sheraton Saigon Hotel Hence, to gain the main aim of this research, there are three main objectives for this research The first research objective is to analyze how customer satisfaction is impacted by factors of service quality (tangibles, assurance, reliability, empathy, and responsiveness) in Sheraton Saigon Hotel The second research objective is to analyze the level of customers’ satisfaction on the hotel service quality of Sheraton Saigon Hotel The final research objective is to suggest solutions regarding hotel service quality for Sheraton Saigon Hotel to increase its customers’ satisfaction on its hotel service quality in the future However, a justification for this research is required to explain this research’s significance - 1.4 Justification of the research Over the past decades, service quality and customer satisfaction have been important issues for organizations in today’s business environment to help them to gain competitive advantages (Saleem and Raja, 2014) In the hotel context in Vietnam, there are few researchers focusing on investigating service quality and customer satisfaction Hence, there are many concerns about these issues in the hotel context in Vietnam For this rationale, a quantitative method is used to gather data to answer the question of this research in detail The quantitative method is used because Saunders et al (2012) emphasize that this research method is reliable and valid to examine the relationship between factors As a result, the quantitative research method consisting of questionnaire is used to evaluate what the impact of service quality on customers’ satisfaction in Sheraton Saigon Hotel In addition to the increase of literature in the hotel context in Vietnam, this research will help the management of Sheraton Saigon Hotel to know the way to increase customers’ satisfaction on this hotel’s service quality in the future Although this research has advantages, it has some limitations that are required to evaluate 1.5 Limitations of the research Although it is crucial to consider advantages and strengths of a research, it is also crucial to evaluate research limitations to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research (Cameron and Price, 2009) In addition, Saunders et al (2012) indicate that an academic research can have research limitations in terms of data collection and data analysis As a result, this research only concentrates on a particular hotel – Sheraton Saigon Hotel and thus, this indicates that data collection may be insufficient In addition, Yin (2003) indicates that sampling size must be large enough to ensure the - data generalization For this research, it collects an average number of customers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel because of the study time limitation The average number of customers cannot ensure the average level of collected data generalization The limitations of this research are indicated in the chapter in detail 1.6 Structure of the research This research consists of six chapters In addition to the chapter one, five additional chapters are presented to answer the main question of this research In particular, the chapter two – literature review is presented to gain deep knowledge about the study issues like service quality, customers’ satisfaction, the relationship between customers’ satisfaction and service quality The third chapter will indicate the research methodology in terms of research philosophy, research strategy, method of data collection, research approach, research method, method of data analysis, sampling method, sampling size, consideration of research ethics, and limitations of the research methodology The fourth chapter offers research results to answer research question The chapter five discusses the research results by comparing and contrasting them with previous studies The chapter six indicates summary of research findings, presents research contributions and limitations, and recommends solutions for regarding hotel service quality for Sheraton Saigon Hotel to increase its customers’ satisfaction on its hotel service quality in the future 1.7 Conclusion In short, the chapter one is a basic chapter of this research that indicates the research question and aim In addition, the chapter one has offered limitations and justifications for this research and has presented the main structure of this research To have better 10 - 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A study in Cappadocia, Turkey Tourism and Hospitality Research, 10, 59-69 56 - Yin, R (2003) Case study research: Design and methods Thousand Oaks: Sage APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Sir/ Madam, You are customers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel and your answers are very useful for me to complete my dissertation In particular, my dissertation has a main goal is to analyze the correlation between customer’s satisfaction and service’s quality in Sheraton Saigon Hotel This questionnaire includes two parts as follows: Part 1: Demographic information 57 - Part 2: The correlation between customer’s satisfaction and service’s quality in Sheraton Saigon Hotel Please indicate your perceptions for the following statements by circling one of five answers as follows: 58 - No Content 5 5 Sheraton Saigon Hotel like statements and 5 5 Tangibles Sheraton Saigon Hotel owns modern-looking equipment Sheraton Saigon Hotel has visually appealing physical facilities Sheraton Saigon Hotel has staffers with neat appearance Materials associated with the hotel service of pamphlets are visually appealing The tangibles of the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel are attractive Assurance The behaviors of staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel instils confidence in customers Staffers of Sheraton Saigon consistently courteous with you 59 Hotel are - You feel safe in transactions with Sheraton 5 conduct a certain thing by a certain time, it will 5 5 5 Sheraton Saigon Hotel has operation hours Saigon Hotel Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel have knowledge to answer your questions 10 Assurance of the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is good Reliability 11 When Sheraton Saigon Hotel promises to so 12 When you have problems, Sheraton Saigon Hotel indicates a sincere interest in handling the problems 13 The hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is conducted right the first time 14 The hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is offered at the time it promises to conduct so 15 Sheraton Saigon Hotel insists on error-free records 16 Reliability of the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is high Empathy 17 Sheraton Saigon Hotel gives you personal attention 18 60 - which are convenient to all its customers 19 Sheraton Saigon Hotel has staffers that give you individual attention 20 Sheraton Saigon Hotel has your best interests at heart 21 Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel understands your particular needs 22 Empathy of the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is high 5 5 5 5 5 Responsiveness 23 Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel tell you exactly when hotel services will be conducted 24 Staffers of Sheraton Saigon hotel give you quick hotel services 25 Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel have the high willingness to help you 26 Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel are never too busy to respond to your requests 27 Responsiveness of the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is good Customer satisfaction 28 You satisfy with tangibles of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 29 You satisfy with assurance of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 61 - 30 You satisfy with reliability of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 31 You satisfy with empathy of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 32 You satisfy with responsiveness of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 33 You satisfy with the service quality of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 5 5 Please indicate your expectations for the following statements by circling one of five answers as follows: No Content 5 Sheraton Saigon Hotel has staffers with neat Tangibles Sheraton Saigon Hotel owns modern-looking equipment Sheraton Saigon Hotel has visually appealing physical facilities 62 - appearance Materials associated with the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel like statements and 5 5 5 conduct a certain thing by a certain time, it will 5 pamphlets are visually appealing The tangibles of the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel are attractive Assurance The behaviors of staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel instils confidence in customers Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel are consistently courteous with you You feel safe in transactions with Sheraton Saigon Hotel Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel have knowledge to answer your questions 10 Assurance of the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is good Reliability 11 When Sheraton Saigon Hotel promises to so 12 When you have problems, Sheraton Saigon Hotel indicates a sincere interest in handling the problems 13 The hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is 63 - conducted right the first time 14 The hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is offered at the time it promises to conduct so 15 Sheraton Saigon Hotel insists on error-free records 16 Reliability of the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is high 5 5 5 5 5 Empathy 17 Sheraton Saigon Hotel gives you personal attention 18 Sheraton Saigon Hotel has operation hours which are convenient to all its customers 19 Sheraton Saigon Hotel has staffers that give you individual attention 20 Sheraton Saigon Hotel has your best interests at heart 21 Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel understands your particular needs 22 Empathy of the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is high Responsiveness 23 Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel tell you exactly when hotel services will be conducted 24 Staffers of Sheraton Saigon hotel give you quick hotel services 64 - 25 Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel have the high willingness to help you 26 Staffers of Sheraton Saigon Hotel are never too busy to respond to your requests 27 Responsiveness of the hotel service of Sheraton Saigon Hotel is good 5 5 5 5 Customer satisfaction 28 You satisfy with tangibles of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 29 You satisfy with assurance of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 30 You satisfy with reliability of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 31 You satisfy with empathy of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 32 You satisfy with responsiveness of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 33 You satisfy with the service quality of Sheraton Saigon Hotel 65