Influence of Customer Service Quality on Determining Customer Satisfaction in Four Star Rated Hotels in Kisumu and Nakuru Cities

Abstract

Customers and workers in the hospitality business often engage in face-to-face exchanges. Given its competitiveness, significance, and contribution to global GDP, customer satisfaction has remained an essential component of the hospitality industry. The Kenyan hospitality industry has raised the bar on customer satisfaction to guarantee its continued success. This research aimed at the assessment of customer service quality that influence customer satisfaction in hospitality industry in Kenya, focus on 4-star rated hotels in Kisumu and Nakuru cities, a study that involved the use of descriptive survey research design. The study was guided by cognitive dissonance theory The target population for this study was the 4 star rated hotels both in Kisumu and Nakuru Cities representing a population of 684 and a sample size of 360 respondents comprising of tourists/guests and staff of 4-star rated hotels. The researcher used structured questionnaires to gather data. Maximum likelihood estimation was used to verify the validity of the data and the data collecting tool in order to validate the five service quality attributes—tangibles, empathy, responsiveness, assurance, and reliability of the service—of the SERVQUAL instrument. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics which include mean, standard deviation. The study used simple regression to establish the causal relationships as conceptualized. Pearson correlation was used to test the strength of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Data was presented in tables. The findings indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between service quality on customer satisfaction on 4-star rated hotels in Kisumu and Nakuru cities. Service quality explains 25.1% of the variance in customer satisfaction. The study recommends that hotels management should concentrate on providing high-quality services that will raise the standard of the hotel and the frequency of client visits, as these factors affect client happiness.