Customer Satisfaction In Hospitality Organizations

Customer satisfaction is determined by the quality of service. Service quality is a concept that is difficult to understand and many hospitality organisations find it difficult to understand what aspects contribute to the perceived quality of a service and what the level of these aspects is required to deliver satisfaction. Researchers indicate that only if an organization has clear knowledge on how the service they provide is perceived by the customer, they will be able to direct the customers’ satisfaction level in the preffered direction (Sureshchandar et al., 2002). Parasuraman et al. (1985) developed a framework of service quality, the SERVQUAL model, that provides a graduated system with 22 factors that measures service quality along

• Core service or service product: the content and features of the service;

• Human element of service delivery: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy;

• Systemization of service delivery (the non-human element): the processes, procedures, systems and technology;

• Tangibles of service: the equipment, machinery, signage and appearance of the

Semeijn et al. (2005) say that loyalty has become a key succes factor in today’s competitive and economic environment as competition is only a “mouse-click” away. Even though only a few studies were conducted on the relationship between satisfaction, trust and loyalty in an online environment (Anderson and Srinivasan, 2003; Flavia´n et al., 2006), reseachers have identified that it does relate to the online environment (McGovern, 2001). Meaning that online satisfaction, trust and loyalty will translate to offline satisfaction, trust and loyalty amongst consumers and benefit the consumer-brand relationship (Ribbink et al., 2004). Social media allows organisations to develop a personal relationship with the consumer (O’Mahony, 2009) and develop a better understand of the consumers needs and demands (Magnini, Honeycutt, & Hodge, 2003), which makes social media an important tool for managing the consumers’ experiences prior to, during and after their purchase (Cox, 2009). Buhalis and Law (2008) propose that identification of consumers needs and providing them with services in alignment with these needs is key to success. Furthermore Wang et al. (2002) identified four psychological needs of consumers on social media: identification, involvement, unity and relatedness. They also indicated that satisfaction and loyalty