1

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO SERVICE QUALITY

Tangibility: This dimension deal with modern looking equipments and visual
appealing part of company.

Reliability: This dimension has a direct positive effect on perceived service quality
and customer satisfaction in company institutions. Company must provide error free
service and secure online transactions to make customers feel comfortable.

Responsiveness: Customers expect that the company must respond their inquiry
promptly. Responsiveness describes how often a company voluntarily provides
services that are important to its customers. Researchers examining the
responsiveness of company services have highlighted the importance of perceived
service quality and customer satisfaction.

Assurance: Customer expects that the company must be secured and the behavior of
the employees must be encouraging.

Empathy: individual attention, customized service and convenient company hours are
very much important in today’s service.
In order to achieve better understanding of service quality in company sector, the
proposed five service quality dimensions are conceptualized to illustrate the overall
service quality of the company in relation to customers‟ and providers perspective.
Company was in the sector featuring medium goods and higher customer producer
interactions, since in company, consumers and service providers interact personally
and the use of goods is at a medium level. Hence, in company, where there are high
customer-producer interactions, the quality of service is determined to a large extent
by the skills and attitudes of people producing the service.

In the case of services, because customers are often either direct observers of the
production process or active participants, how the process is performed also has a
strong influence on the overall impression of the quality of service. A well-performed
service encounter may even overcome the negative impression caused by poor
technical quality as well as generate positive word-of-mouth, particularly if customers

2
can see that employees have worked very hard to satisfy them in the face of problems
outside their control. Employees are part of the process, which connects with the
customer at the point of sale, and hence employees remain the key to success at these
service encounters or “moments of truth”. It is these encounters with customers
during a service that are the most important determinants of overall customer
satisfaction, and a customer’s experience with the service will be defined by the brief
experience with the firm’s personnel and the firm’s systems. The rudeness of the
company’s customer service representative, the abruptness of the employee at the
teller counter, or the lack of interest of the person at the check deposit counter can
alter one’s overall attitude towards the service, perhaps even reversing the impression
caused by high technical quality.

Another important service quality factor, competence, is defined by whether the

company performs the service right the first time, whether the employees of the
company tell customers exactly when services will be performed, whether the
company lives up to its promises, whether customers feel safe in their transactions
with the company and whether the employees show a sincere interest in solving the
customers‟ problems. In short, this dimension is related to the company‟ ability to
perform the promised service accurately and dependably. Performing the service
dependably and accurately is the heart of service marketing excellence. When a
company performs a service carelessly, when it makes avoidable mistakes, and when
it fails to deliver on promises made to attract customers, it shakes customers‟
confidence in its capabilities and undermines its chances of earning a reputation for
service excellence.

It is very important to do the service right the first time. In case a service problem
does crop up, by resolving the problem to the customer’s satisfaction, the company
can significantly improve customer retention. However, companies fare best when
they prevent service problems altogether and fare worst when service problems occur
and the company either ignores them or does not resolve them to the customer’s
satisfaction.
Performing the service accurately is perhaps the most important factor in service
quality excellence. The cost of performing the service inaccurately includes not only
the cost of redoing the service but also the cost associated with negative word-of-
3
mouth generated by displeased customers. In case of services, the factory is the field.
Again, services are intangible and hence the criteria for flawless services are more
subjective than the criteria for defect-free tangible goods. Hence for most services,
customers‟ perceptions of whether the service has been performed correctly, and not
provider-established criteria, are the major determinants of reliability.
The service quality factor tangible is defined by whether the physical facilities and
materials associated with the service are visually appealing at the company. These are
all factors that customers notice before or upon entering the company. Such visual
factors help consumers form their initial impressions. A crucial challenge in service
marketing is that customers cannot see a service but can see the various tangibles
associated with it - all these tangibles, the service facilities, equipment and
communication materials are clues about the intangible service. If unmanaged, these
clues can send to the customer’s wrong messages about the service and render
ineffective the marketing strategy of the company. On the other hand, improving
quality through tangibles means attention to the smallest details that competitors
might consider trivial. Yet, these visible details can add up for customers and signal a
message of caring and competence. Customers may reveal new aspects of service
quality in company that are important to them, and these would have to be
incorporated in the scale so as to further explore the concept of service quality in the
company arena.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Food, accommodation and dress are the three most essential things of human. Hotel or
hotel industry alone provides two basic things: food and accommodation. So, what is
hotel or hotel industry? Hotel is a part of the hospitality industry which is an umbrella
term for a broad variety of service industries including, but not limited to, hotels,
restaurants and casinos. Hotel is often referred as a “Home away from home”. If we
consider meaning of hotel in the dictionary, a hotel is a building where you pay to
have a room to sleep in and where you can eat meals (Cambridge dictionary) or a
hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis.
According to A.M. Sheela, the author of the book “Economics of Hotel
Management”, hotel is the place where the tourist stops being the traveler and become
a guest. Hotel usually offer a full range of accommodations and services, which may
includes suites, public dinning, banquet facilities, lounges and entertainment facilities.
4
It is considered as an industry whose main aim is also to make profits for the
hoteliers, though this may change at times. Hence a hotel should provide food,
beverage and lodging to travelers on payment and has in turn the right to refuse if the
traveler is drunk, not follow the rule of hotels or not pay the service fee Traditional
hotels provide rooms, banquets and restaurants. Additional hotels get revenues also
from telephone call services, laundry services, travel services, internet services and
recreational, entertainment activities in the hotels.

1.1.1 History
The hotel is maybe one of the oldest industries in the world. The history of hotels is
connected
closely to civilizations of mankind. According to some documents, the first inn was
appeared in the sixth century B.C when some couples provide large halls for travelers
to drink and the entire service was done by owners. To other documents, since early
biblical times, the Greeks developed thermal baths in villages for rest. Later, the
Romans built mansions to provide accommodation for the government business. The
first thermal baths in England, Switzerland and the Middle East were developed by
the Romans. In the Middle Ages, religious built inns to cater for their colleagues on
the move. At the beginning, inns did not offer meals. They only provided shelter and
allowed horses to be changed more easily. Travelling became popular and the impact
of the industrial revolution in England spread widely that led to the change from
social or governmental travel to business travel. The need for quick and clean service
all the time was emerged. The birth of hotel industry took place in Europe. At the
beginning of the fifteenth century, in France, the first time, there was a law required
that hotels keep a register. During this period, the first guide books for travelers were
also published. English rules for inns also introduced at that time. At the same time,
around 1500 thermal spas were developed in Carlsbad and Marienbad. However, the
real growth of the modern hotel industry took place in the USA by the opening of the
City Hotel in New York in the year 1794. It emerged the wave of hotel building
activity in different cities. Some of the best hotels of the USA were built in this era,
but the real boom came in the early of 20th century. This period also saw a beginning
of chain operations under the guidance of E.M Sattler which would spread into all the
continents. It involved big investments, big profits and trained professionals to
manage the hotel business.
5
Nowadays, architects, designers, developers, engineers, managers, etc realize that
taste of guests could be different, according to their wishes or needs. Therefore, they
have to catch new trends, define better criteria, present modern standards in order to
improve quality of life in hotels.

1.1.2 Types of Hotel Industry

There are two ways to categorize hotels: by functions or by star ratings. By functions,
hotel has been classified into several types as follows:
• Commercial Hotel
• Airport Hotel
• Conference Center
• Economy Hotel
• Suite or All-Suite Hotel
• Residential Hotel or Apartment Hotel
• Casino Hotel
• Resort Hotel

Commercial Hotel
A chain of hotels which have standardized service and amenity structures
Airport Hotel
Hotel near the airport but it does not have to be connected or adjacent to the airport
(although some are); it could be located up to five miles away. Most airport hotels
have a shuttle to and from the terminals (Charlyn Keating Chisholm, about.com.
guide)
Conference Center
A specialized hotel (usually in a less busy but easily accessible location) designed and
built almost exclusively to host conferences, exhibitions, large meetings, seminars,
training sessions, etc. A conference center often also provides office facilities and a
range of leisure activities.
Economy Hotel
A hotel offering few amenities
Suite or All-Suite Hotel
A hotel in which every rooms has an attached living room and/or kitchen

6
Residential Hotel or Apartment Hotel
A serviced apartment complex uses a hotel-style booking system. It is similar to
renting an apartment, but with no fixed contracts and occupants can 'check-out'
whenever they wish.
Casino Hotel
A business establishment combines a casino and a hotel or a building that houses both
a hotel
and a casino.
Resort Hotel
A hotel caters primarily to vacationers and tourist and typically offers more
recreational amenities and services in a more aesthetically pleasing setting, than other
hotels. These hotels are located in attractive and natural tourism destinations and their
clientele are groups and couples that like adventure with sophistication and comfort.
The attractions vary depending on the region and some might offer golf, tennis, scuba
diving and, depending on the natural surroundings, may also arrange other
recreational activities.

1.1.3 Classification by Star Ratings

• Five Star Hotel
• Four Star Hotel
• Three Star Hotel
• Two Star Hotel
• One Star Hotel
• No Category Hotels

Five Star Hotel

Luxury hotels; most expensive hotels/resorts in the world; numerous extras to
enhance the quality of the client's stay, for example, some have private golf courses
and even a small private airport.
Four Star Hotel
First class hotels; expensive (by middle-class standards); has all of the previously
mentioned services; has many "luxury" services, for example, massages or a health
spa.

7
Three Star Hotel
Middle class hotels; moderately priced; has daily maid service, room service, and may
have dry-cleaning, internet access and a swimming pool.
Two Star Hotel
Budget hotels; slightly more expensive; usually has maid service daily.
One Star Hotel
Low budget hotels; inexpensive; may not have maid service or room service.
No Category Hotels
These hotels include motels, cottages, bungalows and others with limited services.
However, these hotels represent 41% of the total hotel market share.

1.1.4 Growth and Latest Trends

In 2009, due to the economic downturn in the whole world, the hotel industry faced
many difficulties which revealed in the decrease in all the financial indicators in
almost countries all over the world. To overcome the downturn, hoteliers had to apply
many methods to cut down the cost as much as they could as well as strike to balance
with impact on the customer satisfaction. As a result, in 2010 the hotel industry has
the positive growth in the key performance indicators such as occupancy (Occ), ADR
(Average Daily Rate) and RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room).

1.1.5 Affect of Gender on Service Quality Perception In Hotel Industry

Do men and women have the same valuation of service quality in the same situation?
How do male and female guests respond to the same displayed emotion of hotel
employees? What men and women think about a service failure? In the service quality
literature (Mohr and Bitner, 1995), there are two type of service quality: process and
outcome.
 Process of service delivery is the manner in which the core service is transferred
to consumers.
 Service outcome is the core service that the consumer receives.

Consequently, the process of service delivery is related to the social/psychological

factors while the service outcome is related to the physical/instrumental factors

8
(Driver and Johnston, 2001). So quality of a process is interpersonal, whereas service
outcome quality is impersonal.
In hotel industry, the service performance is the critical to the customer satisfaction.
However, the service failure is inevitable. Service failure is divided into process
failure and outcome failure. In his research, Smith et al. (1999) reported that a process
is called failure if the core service is delivered in deficient manners, resulting in the
loss of social resources; such as status, esteem; for the consumers. Differently,
outcome failure is the result of undelivered some aspects of the core service, resulting
in the loss of economic resources such as time, money. For example,Process failure:
You booked a luxury room in a four- star-hotel one month before. Today you come to
that hotel. It is a nice hotel with an impressive design. You are in front of the
reception counter. The receptionist comes to help you check-in. You tell your name.
The receptionist does not smile while making the check-in. The receptionist gives you
the key but not tell you the way to go there. You ask the receptionist about it. The
receptionist then shows you but does not offer an apology or explanation.

Outcome failure: You booked a luxury room in a four- star-hotel one month before.
Today you come to that hotel. It is a nice hotel with an impressive design. You are in
front of the reception counter. The receptionist comes to help you check-in. You tell
your name. The receptionist informs you that the hotel is out of the room you
selected. You make another selection. The receptionist informs you that the hotel is
also out of your second choice of room.

There is a literature related to gender difference which describes men as goal or

outcome oriented and women as a communal or social oriented. This literature
supports to the hypothesis that female guests maybe more sensitive to the relational
aspects with service encounter and male guests to the core aspects. E. Hall, 1993,
concluded “Real-life customer experiences seem to indicate that gender stereotypes
are incorporated into customer expectations regarding good service”. There are many
other evidences suggesting the impact of gender on customer satisfaction. Among
them, the research of Anna S. Mattila, Alicia A. Grandey and Glenda M. Fisk, 2003,
is quite complete. Their journal shows that men and women have different valuation
rating on the same service. This difference exists in both smooth service and failed
service. During the using smooth service, women focus on process more than men
9
while men more pay attention on the outcome than women. Women feel less satisfied
than men with the negative displays and they also give higher evaluation rating for the
positive displays. On the other hand, the process, such as the service delivery style, is
not so important to male customer if they can gain the appropriate outcome. However,
this trend is totally changed in the slow, failed service process. In these situations,
male customers give lower satisfaction rating for the negative displays and higher
rating for the positive displays than female customers.

For example, in smooth service, a woman feel satisfied with the polite and helpful
receptionist. This affect to her more than cues regarding to the service efficiency
while a male customer does not so much pay attention on it. Another couple comes to
ask the receptionist the way to the nearest Japanese restaurant. Only after twenty
minutes of researching on internet, the receptionist show them the correct way. The
wife does not consider it as successful service providing process, so eventually she
gives the low satisfaction level for total service provision. The husband feels better
because he received the correct answer for what he needs. However, when the task
related problems happen, the effort to find solutions and smiles in the receptionist’s
face make a man feel comfortable and easier to accept them. The woman next to him
does not feel the same. She wants to see the impressive management attempt; the
smiling face to her is not enough. So, what do these customers think when task related
problem is combined to the rude attitude of the receptionist? With the man, they seem
to be unacceptable. But the woman can forgive the negative display because she
seems to be more sympathy with the feeling of the receptionist in this situation; she
does not require that the service employee have to be friendly and cheerful regardless
of whether these expressions indicate actual feelings of wellbeing on the part of her or
him.
In addition, in case of service failure in the hotel industry, men are more likely
complain to the management than women (Babakus et al, 1991 and Reiboldt, 2002).
Huang et al. (1996) also reported that the common pattern for men is assertiveness,
aggressiveness, achievement, selfreliance and competitiveness while the common
female traits are modesty, humility, nurturing and responsibility. Men tend to be thing
and money oriented and while women tend to be people oriented.

10
Therefore, men seem to want to get things straight, resulting in more complaints from
them to the management and to third parties than from women. What is about the
facilities available in the hotel? Is it the same in requirements of both men and
women? Until now, there are still lack of evidences expressing the different between
male and female customers’ evaluation of the service quality in term of the facilities
and leisure service available in the hotel. In reality, minority of hotels provide
different facilities for men and women. One of these hotels is Plus Florence.

Plus Florence is a hotel in the Plus brand which has appeared in 13 locations through
Italy including Rome, Venice, etc. In this hotel, they have not only the rooms for
guests like other hotels all over the world but also the rooms purposely designed for
women, called Plus Girl. Plus Girl focuses on space, privacy, relaxation of female
customers such as larger bathrooms, free hairdryers and comfortable space. Girls who
stay there also receive free personal care packs along with a big fluffy towel to use for
the duration of the stay.

Impact of gender on customer loyalty-the high level of customer satisfaction

Loyal guests always give the high customer satisfaction level and they appreciate the
service quality of the hotel. But a guest satisfies with your hotel service, it does not
mean that he or she will stay in your hotel next time or he or she will be your loyal
guest. So what is the loyalty? Why is it important to the hotel industry? And in what
way a hotel can gain the retention of the guest?

1.1.6 Customer Loyalty Definition

There is no globally agreed definition of loyalty. Loyalty can be defined as something
that consumers may exhibit to brands, services, product categories such as hotel's
room and activities such as travelling (Uncles, et. al., 2003). Uncles et. al (2003) also
propose three concept of loyalty.
 As primarily an attitude that sometimes leads to a relationship with the brand
 Express in terms of revealed behavior (for example, the pattern of past stay)
 Buying moderated by the individual’s characteristics, circumstances and/or the
purchase situation.

11
While Oliver (1997) defined customer loyalty as a deeply commitment to re-purchase
or repatronize a preferred product/service consistently in the future, thereby causing
repetitive same
brand or same brand - set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing
efforts having
the potential to cause switching behavior. Tideswell and Fredline (2004) reported that
the guests who fit into the extremely loyalty cluster have such a high attitudinal
attachment to the hotel that many of them are prepared to change the timing of their
visit to ensure they are able to stay at their favorite properties. They are also not so
sensitive to the pricing issues and are willing to pay more to stay in the preferred
properties rather than go somewhere else in favor of cheaper room rate.

1.1.7 Why is Customer Loyalty Important in the Hotel Industry?

It is easy to realize that the retention of the guests is proportional with the profit of the
hotel - a 5 per cent increase in the guest retention rate could lead to a 35-95 per cent
profit increase (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). The essence of focusing on loyalty in the
hotel industry is to increase rent volume by raising booking or usage levels and /or
increasing the range of services used by guests. Building a closer bond between the
brand of the hotel and current customers is also a good way to maintain the current
customer base. In addition, the loyal customers will say the positive things about the
hotel to others. Consequently, repeat guests are the richest source of hotel’s revenues
and profit. Hotel industry executives continue to emphasize customer loyalty as a key
to sustaining a long term business success (Oh, 2002).

1.1.8 How does gender impact on the customer loyalty?

According to Simmerman (1992), the guest defection rate correlated to the way guests
was treated by hotel employees. Almost 70 per cent of identifiable reasons why guests
switched to competitors were associated with a dissatisfied service experience with a
service provider during the service encounter (Whiteley, 1991). Major findings of Fu
and Park (2001) showed that the friendly service and individual attention were more
important than tangible factors of service in influencing the elderly guests’ behavioral
intentions. Hokey Min, Hyesung Min and Ahmed Emam (2002) also reported that
when one hotel has high performance ratings in term of the courtesy of hotel
employees, its guests tend to show some loyalty to the hotel. Then, the attitude
12
of hotel employees toward the guests directly impact to the gust patronization,
consequently, to the profitability of the hotel.

In the same research, Hokey Min, Hyesung Min and Ahmed Emam (2002) also
showed that there is a correlation between customer’ gender and his/her purpose of
the trip. For the travelling purpose, the female customers are five times more than the
male ones staying in the hotel. Considering this ratio, the hotel should pay attention to
the amenities to satisfy the female tourist so that they can gain more patronization.
Moreover, the young male guests in their 20s are more volatile, therefore, more prone
to move to the competitors’ hotels than the female guest in their 30s and the male
guests in their 30s as well as the female guests in their 40s are likely to stay in the
same or similar hotel in the next trip.

1.1.9 Hotel Industry in India

Hotels play the role of providing guests a home away from home. And it is this facility that
facilitates the further attraction of guests towards a place because it makes their visit more
convenient. A hotel refers to a commercial establishment providing lodging and meals on
temporary basis to its customers. In 1902 the "Indian hotels company" was incorporated by
the founder of the Tata group Mr. Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata and the company opened up its
first property The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Mumbai. After this there was an upsurge in
the Indian hotel industry as many other Indians followed the footsteps of Mr. Tata like Mr.
Mohan Singh Oberoi who started by taking over the grand hotel Calcutta and expanded his
business. Later companies like ITC and Air India also ventured into this field. In the last few
years the hotel industry has changed and developed considerably in terms of the services it
provides.
India is an attractive destination for tourists because of its rich heritage, which includes the
famous Taj Mahal, various temples and caves and many other famous monuments. Also there
are a lot of businessmen and officials who visit India for business purposes because of the
trade relations that our country has with the world. Similarly within our country also there are
people who travel from one state to another or from one city to another for business or leisure.
Jalandhar also known as the Manchester of India is also a major industrial city with industries
like sports, hand tools etc. It is home to some big companies like TK sports, Victor tools etc.

13
1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objectives are discussed below.
 To study the awareness of hotels in Jalandhar city.
 To study the type of hotels customer most likely stay in.
 To study the main reasons for visit to these hotels.
 To study the important factors of hotel services.
 To study the customer’s opinion about the room services, staff and price/payment
services of the hotel.
 To study the factors of service quality on the basis of satisfaction level of
customer in hotels.

1.2 NEED AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Need
The brief study on review of literature revealed the fact that number of studies have
been carried out in the area of the hotel industry but in Indian context, still a wide gap
exist in the research field with particular stress on the same aspect. In order to fill the
research gap of focus only on the service quality and the need aroused to study the
service quality of hotels in Jalandhar city.

Scope of the Study

The scope of the study was limited to customers of Jalandhar city only.

1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Every project requires genuine research. Successes of any project any getting genuine
result from that depend upon the research method used by the researcher. Research in
common parlance refers to search for knowledge. One can also define research as
scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic.

1.4.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design for the current study was descriptive research. Descriptive research
which includes surveys and fact finding inquiries of different kinds. The major
purpose is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present

14
1.4.2 SAMPLING DESIGN
It refers to the technique or procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items
for the sample. All the items under consider in any field of inquiry constitute a
universe or population.
1.4.2.1 Universe
The universe of the study covers all the product and services offered by hotels of
Jalandhar city.
1.4.2.2 Sampling Unit
Sampling unit of the study was customers of hotel industry who use their products and
services.
1.4.2.3 Sampling Size
In this study the sample size was of 50 respondents.
1.4.2.4 Sampling Technique
In this the sampling technique is Non- Probability Convenience sampling, where
population elements are selected for inclusion in sample based on ease of access.

1.4.3 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Secondary Data Sources
The secondary data was collected through internet, various official sites of the
companies, pamphlets, brochures of the companies. Journals & Magazine
Primary Data Sources
The primary data was collected through interaction with customers and questionnaires
filled from the customers who avails the Hotel Services.
4.3.2 Tools of Presentation and Analysis
Tables, Figures and Percentages were used as the Tools of Presentation and Analysis
in the study.

1.4.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The study which is explicit in its form suffered from few limitations which were
unavoidable. A few of these are:
• Due to time and financial constraint the study was limited only to interview of
50 respondents.
• The study was confined to city of Jalandhar only and hence the result obtained
cannot be generalized.
15
• The customers were chosen at liberty and according to convenience, they may
not be representative of all the customers.
• In some cases, the questionnaire had to be translated into local language for
the convenience of the respondents. This might have led to some bias.

16
17
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Food, accommodation and dress are the three most essential things of human. Hotel or
hotel industry alone provides two basic things: food and accommodation. So, what is
hotel or hotel industry? Hotel is a part of the hospitality industry which is an umbrella
term for a broad variety of service industries including, but not limited to, hotels,
restaurants and casinos. Hotel is often referred as a “Home away from home”. If we
consider meaning of hotel in the dictionary, a hotel is a building where you pay to
have a room to sleep in and where you can eat meals (Cambridge dictionary) or a
hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis.
According to A.M. Sheela, the author of the book “Economics of Hotel
Management”, hotel is the place where the tourist stops being the traveler and become
a guest. Hotel usually offer a full range of accommodations and services, which may
includes suites, public dinning, banquet facilities, lounges and entertainment facilities.
It is considered as an industry whose main aim is also to make profits for the
hoteliers, though this may change at times. Hence a hotel should provide food,
beverage and lodging to travelers on payment and has in turn the right to refuse if the
traveler is drunk, not follow the rule of hotels or not pay the service fee Traditional
hotels provide rooms, banquets and restaurants. Additional hotels get revenues also
from telephone call services, laundry services, travel services, internet services and
recreational, entertainment activities in the hotels.

2.1.1 History
The hotel is maybe one of the oldest industries in the world. The history of hotels is
connected
closely to civilizations of mankind. According to some documents, the first inn was
appeared in the sixth century B.C when some couples provide large halls for travelers
to drink and the entire service was done by owners. To other documents, since early
biblical times, the Greeks developed thermal baths in villages for rest. Later, the
Romans built mansions to provide accommodation for the government business. The
first thermal baths in England, Switzerland and the Middle East were developed by
the Romans. In the Middle Ages, religious built inns to cater for their colleagues on
the move. At the beginning, inns did not offer meals. They only provided shelter and
allowed horses to be changed more easily. Travelling became popular and the impact

18
of the industrial revolution in England spread widely that led to the change from
social or governmental travel to business travel. The need for quick and clean service
all the time was emerged. The birth of hotel industry took place in Europe. At the
beginning of the fifteenth century, in France, the first time, there was a law required
that hotels keep a register. During this period, the first guide books for travelers were
also published. English rules for inns also introduced at that time. At the same time,
around 1500 thermal spas were developed in Carlsbad and Marienbad. However, the
real growth of the modern hotel industry took place in the USA by the opening of the
City Hotel in New York in the year 1794. It emerged the wave of hotel building
activity in different cities. Some of the best hotels of the USA were built in this era,
but the real boom came in the early of 20th century. This period also saw a beginning
of chain operations under the guidance of E.M Sattler which would spread into all the
continents. It involved big investments, big profits and trained professionals to
manage the hotel business.
Nowadays, architects, designers, developers, engineers, managers, etc realize that
taste of guests could be different, according to their wishes or needs. Therefore, they
have to catch new trends, define better criteria, present modern standards in order to
improve quality of life in hotels.

2.1.2 Types of Hotel Industry

There are two ways to categorize hotels: by functions or by star ratings. By functions,
hotel has been classified into several types as follows:
• Commercial Hotel
• Airport Hotel
• Conference Center
• Economy Hotel
• Suite or All-Suite Hotel
• Residential Hotel or Apartment Hotel
• Casino Hotel
• Resort Hotel

19
Commercial Hotel
A chain of hotels which have standardized service and amenity structures
Airport Hotel
Hotel near the airport but it does not have to be connected or adjacent to the airport
(although some are); it could be located up to five miles away. Most airport hotels
have a shuttle to and from the terminals (Charlyn Keating Chisholm, about.com.
guide)
Conference Center
A specialized hotel (usually in a less busy but easily accessible location) designed and
built almost exclusively to host conferences, exhibitions, large meetings, seminars,
training sessions, etc. A conference center often also provides office facilities and a
range of leisure activities.
Economy Hotel
A hotel offering few amenities
Suite or All-Suite Hotel
A hotel in which every rooms has an attached living room and/or kitchen
Residential Hotel or Apartment Hotel
A serviced apartment complex uses a hotel-style booking system. It is similar to
renting an apartment, but with no fixed contracts and occupants can 'check-out'
whenever they wish.
Casino Hotel
A business establishment combines a casino and a hotel or a building that houses both
a hotel
and a casino.
Resort Hotel
A hotel caters primarily to vacationers and tourist and typically offers more
recreational amenities and services in a more aesthetically pleasing setting, than other
hotels. These hotels are located in attractive and natural tourism destinations and their
clientele are groups and couples that like adventure with sophistication and comfort.
The attractions vary depending on the region and some might offer golf, tennis, scuba
diving and, depending on the natural surroundings, may also arrange other
recreational activities.

20
2.1.3 Classification by Star Ratings
• Five Star Hotel
• Four Star Hotel
• Three Star Hotel
• Two Star Hotel
• One Star Hotel
• No Category Hotels

Five Star Hotel

Luxury hotels; most expensive hotels/resorts in the world; numerous extras to
enhance the quality of the client's stay, for example, some have private golf courses
and even a small private airport.
Four Star Hotel
First class hotels; expensive (by middle-class standards); has all of the previously
mentioned services; has many "luxury" services, for example, massages or a health
spa.
Three Star Hotel
Middle class hotels; moderately priced; has daily maid service, room service, and may
have dry-cleaning, internet access and a swimming pool.
Two Star Hotel
Budget hotels; slightly more expensive; usually has maid service daily.
One Star Hotel
Low budget hotels; inexpensive; may not have maid service or room service.
No Category Hotels
These hotels include motels, cottages, bungalows and others with limited services.
However, these hotels represent 41% of the total hotel market share.

2.1.4 Growth and Latest Trends

In 2009, due to the economic downturn in the whole world, the hotel industry faced
many difficulties which revealed in the decrease in all the financial indicators in
almost countries all over the world. To overcome the downturn, hoteliers had to apply
many methods to cut down the cost as much as they could as well as strike to balance
with impact on the customer satisfaction. As a result, in 2010 the hotel industry has

21
the positive growth in the key performance indicators such as occupancy (Occ), ADR
(Average Daily Rate) and RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room).

2.1.5 Affect of Gender on Service Quality Perception In Hotel Industry

Do men and women have the same valuation of service quality in the same situation?
How do male and female guests respond to the same displayed emotion of hotel
employees? What men and women think about a service failure? In the service quality
literature (Mohr and Bitner, 1995), there are two type of service quality: process and
outcome.
 Process of service delivery is the manner in which the core service is transferred
to consumers.
 Service outcome is the core service that the consumer receives.

Consequently, the process of service delivery is related to the social/psychological

factors while the service outcome is related to the physical/instrumental factors
(Driver and Johnston, 2001). So quality of a process is interpersonal, whereas service
outcome quality is impersonal.
In hotel industry, the service performance is the critical to the customer satisfaction.
However, the service failure is inevitable. Service failure is divided into process
failure and outcome failure. In his research, Smith et al. (1999) reported that a process
is called failure if the core service is delivered in deficient manners, resulting in the
loss of social resources; such as status, esteem; for the consumers. Differently,
outcome failure is the result of undelivered some aspects of the core service, resulting
in the loss of economic resources such as time, money. For example,Process failure:
You booked a luxury room in a four- star-hotel one month before. Today you come to
that hotel. It is a nice hotel with an impressive design. You are in front of the
reception counter. The receptionist comes to help you check-in. You tell your name.
The receptionist does not smile while making the check-in. The receptionist gives you
the key but not tell you the way to go there. You ask the receptionist about it. The
receptionist then shows you but does not offer an apology or explanation.

Outcome failure: You booked a luxury room in a four- star-hotel one month before.
Today you come to that hotel. It is a nice hotel with an impressive design. You are in

22
front of the reception counter. The receptionist comes to help you check-in. You tell
your name. The receptionist informs you that the hotel is out of the room you
selected. You make another selection. The receptionist informs you that the hotel is
also out of your second choice of room.

There is a literature related to gender difference which describes men as goal or

outcome oriented and women as a communal or social oriented. This literature
supports to the hypothesis that female guests maybe more sensitive to the relational
aspects with service encounter and male guests to the core aspects. E. Hall, 1993,
concluded “Real-life customer experiences seem to indicate that gender stereotypes
are incorporated into customer expectations regarding good service”. There are many
other evidences suggesting the impact of gender on customer satisfaction. Among
them, the research of Anna S. Mattila, Alicia A. Grandey and Glenda M. Fisk, 2003,
is quite complete. Their journal shows that men and women have different valuation
rating on the same service. This difference exists in both smooth service and failed
service. During the using smooth service, women focus on process more than men
while men more pay attention on the outcome than women. Women feel less satisfied
than men with the negative displays and they also give higher evaluation rating for the
positive displays. On the other hand, the process, such as the service delivery style, is
not so important to male customer if they can gain the appropriate outcome. However,
this trend is totally changed in the slow, failed service process. In these situations,
male customers give lower satisfaction rating for the negative displays and higher
rating for the positive displays than female customers.

For example, in smooth service, a woman feel satisfied with the polite and helpful
receptionist. This affect to her more than cues regarding to the service efficiency
while a male customer does not so much pay attention on it. Another couple comes to
ask the receptionist the way to the nearest Japanese restaurant. Only after twenty
minutes of researching on internet, the receptionist show them the correct way. The
wife does not consider it as successful service providing process, so eventually she
gives the low satisfaction level for total service provision. The husband feels better
because he received the correct answer for what he needs. However, when the task
related problems happen, the effort to find solutions and smiles in the receptionist’s
face make a man feel comfortable and easier to accept them. The woman next to him
23
does not feel the same. She wants to see the impressive management attempt; the
smiling face to her is not enough. So, what do these customers think when task related
problem is combined to the rude attitude of the receptionist? With the man, they seem
to be unacceptable. But the woman can forgive the negative display because she
seems to be more sympathy with the feeling of the receptionist in this situation; she
does not require that the service employee have to be friendly and cheerful regardless
of whether these expressions indicate actual feelings of wellbeing on the part of her or
him.
In addition, in case of service failure in the hotel industry, men are more likely
complain to the management than women (Babakus et al, 1991 and Reiboldt, 2002).
Huang et al. (1996) also reported that the common pattern for men is assertiveness,
aggressiveness, achievement, selfreliance and competitiveness while the common
female traits are modesty, humility, nurturing and responsibility. Men tend to be thing
and money oriented and while women tend to be people oriented.

Therefore, men seem to want to get things straight, resulting in more complaints from
them to the management and to third parties than from women. What is about the
facilities available in the hotel? Is it the same in requirements of both men and
women? Until now, there are still lack of evidences expressing the different between
male and female customers’ evaluation of the service quality in term of the facilities
and leisure service available in the hotel. In reality, minority of hotels provide
different facilities for men and women. One of these hotels is Plus Florence.

Plus Florence is a hotel in the Plus brand which has appeared in 13 locations through
Italy including Rome, Venice, etc. In this hotel, they have not only the rooms for
guests like other hotels all over the world but also the rooms purposely designed for
women, called Plus Girl. Plus Girl focuses on space, privacy, relaxation of female
customers such as larger bathrooms, free hairdryers and comfortable space. Girls who
stay there also receive free personal care packs along with a big fluffy towel to use for
the duration of the stay.

Impact of gender on customer loyalty-the high level of customer satisfaction

Loyal guests always give the high customer satisfaction level and they appreciate the
service quality of the hotel. But a guest satisfies with your hotel service, it does not
24
mean that he or she will stay in your hotel next time or he or she will be your loyal
guest. So what is the loyalty? Why is it important to the hotel industry? And in what
way a hotel can gain the retention of the guest?

2.1.6 Customer Loyalty Definition

There is no globally agreed definition of loyalty. Loyalty can be defined as something
that consumers may exhibit to brands, services, product categories such as hotel's
room and activities such as travelling (Uncles, et. al., 2003). Uncles et. al (2003) also
propose three concept of loyalty.
 As primarily an attitude that sometimes leads to a relationship with the brand
 Express in terms of revealed behavior (for example, the pattern of past stay)
 Buying moderated by the individual’s characteristics, circumstances and/or the
purchase situation.
While Oliver (1997) defined customer loyalty as a deeply commitment to re-purchase
or repatronize a preferred product/service consistently in the future, thereby causing
repetitive same
brand or same brand - set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing
efforts having
the potential to cause switching behavior. Tideswell and Fredline (2004) reported that
the guests who fit into the extremely loyalty cluster have such a high attitudinal
attachment to the hotel that many of them are prepared to change the timing of their
visit to ensure they are able to stay at their favorite properties. They are also not so
sensitive to the pricing issues and are willing to pay more to stay in the preferred
properties rather than go somewhere else in favor of cheaper room rate.

2.1.7 Why is Customer Loyalty Important in the Hotel Industry?

It is easy to realize that the retention of the guests is proportional with the profit of the
hotel - a 5 per cent increase in the guest retention rate could lead to a 35-95 per cent
profit increase (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). The essence of focusing on loyalty in the
hotel industry is to increase rent volume by raising booking or usage levels and /or
increasing the range of services used by guests. Building a closer bond between the
brand of the hotel and current customers is also a good way to maintain the current
customer base. In addition, the loyal customers will say the positive things about the

25
hotel to others. Consequently, repeat guests are the richest source of hotel’s revenues
and profit. Hotel industry executives continue to emphasize customer loyalty as a key
to sustaining a long term business success (Oh, 2002).

2.1.8 How does gender impact on the customer loyalty?

According to Simmerman (1992), the guest defection rate correlated to the way guests
was treated by hotel employees. Almost 70 per cent of identifiable reasons why guests
switched to competitors were associated with a dissatisfied service experience with a
service provider during the service encounter (Whiteley, 1991). Major findings of Fu
and Park (2001) showed that the friendly service and individual attention were more
important than tangible factors of service in influencing the elderly guests’ behavioral
intentions. Hokey Min, Hyesung Min and Ahmed Emam (2002) also reported that
when one hotel has high performance ratings in term of the courtesy of hotel
employees, its guests tend to show some loyalty to the hotel. Then, the attitude
of hotel employees toward the guests directly impact to the gust patronization,
consequently, to the profitability of the hotel.

In the same research, Hokey Min, Hyesung Min and Ahmed Emam (2002) also
showed that there is a correlation between customer’ gender and his/her purpose of
the trip. For the travelling purpose, the female customers are five times more than the
male ones staying in the hotel. Considering this ratio, the hotel should pay attention to
the amenities to satisfy the female tourist so that they can gain more patronization.
Moreover, the young male guests in their 20s are more volatile, therefore, more prone
to move to the competitors’ hotels than the female guest in their 30s and the male
guests in their 30s as well as the female guests in their 40s are likely to stay in the
same or similar hotel in the next trip.

2.1.9 Hotel Industry in India

Hotels play the role of providing guests a home away from home. And it is this facility that
facilitates the further attraction of guests towards a place because it makes their visit more
convenient. A hotel refers to a commercial establishment providing lodging and meals on
temporary basis to its customers. In 1902 the "Indian hotels company" was incorporated by
the founder of the Tata group Mr. Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata and the company opened up its
first property The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Mumbai. After this there was an upsurge in

26
the Indian hotel industry as many other Indians followed the footsteps of Mr. Tata like Mr.
Mohan Singh Oberoi who started by taking over the grand hotel Calcutta and expanded his
business. Later companies like ITC and Air India also ventured into this field. In the last few
years the hotel industry has changed and developed considerably in terms of the services it
provides.
India is an attractive destination for tourists because of its rich heritage, which includes the
famous Taj Mahal, various temples and caves and many other famous monuments. Also there
are a lot of businessmen and officials who visit India for business purposes because of the
trade relations that our country has with the world. Similarly within our country also there are
people who travel from one state to another or from one city to another for business or leisure.
Jalandhar also known as the Manchester of India is also a major industrial city with industries
like sports, hand tools etc. It is home to some big companies like TK sports, Victor tools etc.

27
28
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The data has been processed and analyzed by tabulation interpretation so that findings can be
communicated and can be easily understood. The findings are presented in the best possible
way. Tables and graphs had been used for illustration of findings of the research.

Table 3.1: Demographic Profile of Respondents

Demographics No. of Respondents Percentage
Age
25-35 years 10 20
35-45 years 15 30
45-55 years 10 20
Above 55 years 10 20
Total 50 100
Gender
Male 30 60
Female 20 40
Total 50 100
Occupation
Student 30 60
Employees 15 30
Businessman 5 10
Others please specify 0 0
Total 50 100
Income (Rs.)/month
10,000-30,000 10 20
30,000-50,000 25 50
Above 50,000 15 30
Total 50 100

29
Statement 1. Hotels in Jalandhar city you are aware of.

Table 3.2: Awareness of Hotels in Jalandhar

Model Name No. of Respondents Percentage
Maharaja Residency 30 60
The Maya 50 100
Ramada 50 100
Radisson Hotel 45 90
Hotel President 35 70
Sekhon Grand 50 50
Hotel Kings 50 50
Shangri La 40 80
Ranvir Prime 30 60
Dolphin 40 80
Leo Fort 50 50
Total 470 790
*Multiple Choice of Respondents
Figure 3.1: Awareness of Hotels in Jalandhar

120 100 100

100 90
80 80
80 70
60 60
60 50 50 50
40
20
0

Analysis and Interpretation

From the above table and chart it is quite clear that all the respondents are aware of
hotel Ramada and The Maya followed by 90% respondents aware of Radisson hotel
followed by 80% aware of Dolphin and Shangri La. Respondents are less aware about
Maharaja Residency, Leo Fort, Ranvir Prime, Kings, Sekhon Grand and hotel
president.

30
Statement 2. Sources of Awareness about these Hotels.
Table 3.3: Sources of Awareness about these Hotels
Promotion Media No. of Respondents Percentage
I already knew it 15 30
Internet 5 10
Friends and Relatives 10 20
Media 5 10
Books and Guides 7 14
Travel Agency 3 6
Fairs and Exhibition 5 10
Total 50 100

Figure 3.2: Sources of Awareness about these Hotels

35
30
30

25
20
20
14
15
10 10 10
10
6
5

0
I already Internet Friends and Media Books and Travel Fairs and
knew it Relatives Guides Agency Exhibition

Analysis and Interpretation

From the above table and chart it is quite clear that majority of respondents i.e. 30%
respondents already knew about these hotels followed by 20% respondents got
awareness through family and relatives followed by 14% got awareness books and
guides. 10% respondents got awareness through internet, media and through fairs and
exhibition. The remaining 6% respondents got awareness through travel agency.

31
Statement 3. Hotels do you most likely stay in.

Table 3.4 Preference of Hotel

Options No. of Respondents Percentage
Five Star 3 6
Four Star 12 24
Three Star 12 24
Two Star 15 30
One Star 3 6
Budget Hotels 5 10
Total 50 100

Figure 3.3 Preference of Hotel

35
30
30

24 24
25

20

15
10
10
6 6
5

0
Five Star Four Star Three Star Two Star One Star Budget Hotels

Analysis & Interpretation

From the above pie chart it is shown that 30% of the respondents prefer two star hotel
followed by 24% respondents prefer three star and four star hotels followed by 6%
prefer fiver stat and one star. The remaining 10% prefer budget hotels.

32
Statement 4. Main reasons for your visit to these hotels.

Table 3.5 Main Reasons for your visit to these Hotels

Options No. of Respondents Percentage
Visiting Relatives and Friends 5 10
Marriages and Parties 20 40
Business Reasons 10 20
Religious Reasons 4 8
Conference and Seminars 6 12
Health, Sports and Recreation 5 10
Total 50 100

Figure 3.4 Main Reasons for your visit to these Hotels

45
40
40
35
30
25
20
20
15 12
10 10
10 8

5
0
Visiting Marriages Business Religious Conference Health, Sports
Relatives and and Parties Reasons Reasons and Seminars and
Friends Recreation

Analysis & Interpretation

From the above table and graph it is clear that majority of respondents i.e. 40% say
marriages and parties followed by 20% respondents say business reasons followed by
12% respondents say conference and seminars. Each 10% respondents say health,
sports and recreation service and visiting relatives and friends. Only 8% respondents
say religious reason for visiting hotel.

33
Statement 5. Other properties in a hotel you also interested in.

Table 3.6 Other Properties in a Hotel you also Interested in

Response No. of Respondents Percentage
Restaurant & Bar 15 30
Gym 5 10
Souvenir Shop 10 20
Parking Place 5 10

Money Exchange 2 4

Beauty Salon 8 16

Swimming Pool 5 10

Total 50 100

Figure 3.5 Other Properties in a Hotel you also Interested in

35
30
30

25
20
20
16
15
10 10 10
10
4
5

0
Restaurant Gym Souvenir Parking Money Beauty Swimming
& Bar Shop Place Exchange Salon Pool

Analysis & Interpretation

From the table and graph it is quite clear that 30% respondents need restaurant & bar
followed by 20% respondents need souvenir shop followed by 16% respondents need
beauty saloon services. Each 10% respondents need gym, swimming pool and parking
place. Only 4% are interested in money exchange services

34
Statement 6. Important factors of hotel services.

Table 3.7 Important Factors of Hotel Services

Response No. of Respondents Percentage
A quick check in/out procedure 3 6
Friendly Staff 5 10
New and Modern facility of room 10 20
Quality of Service, food and 15 30
beverage in restaurant/bar
Discipline and cleanness of hotel 7 14
staff
The atmosphere in room 10 20
Total 50 100

Figure 3.6 Important Factors of Hotel Services

35
30
30
25
20 20
20
14
15
10
10 6
5
0
A quick check Friendly Staff New and Quality of Discipline and The
in/out Modern Service, food cleanness of atmosphere in
procedure facility of and beverage hotel staff room
room in
restaurant/bar

Analysis & Interpretation

From the above table and graph it is clear that according to 30% respondents quality
of service, food and beverage in the restaurant is the main factor followed by 20%
respondents say new and modern facility of room and the atmosphere in the room
followed by 14% respondents say discipline and cleanness of hotel staff. The
remaining say quick check in/out procedure and friendly staff.

35
Statement 7. Your opinion about the staff of the hotel regarding various services.

Table 3.8 Opinion about the Staff of the Hotel Regarding Various Services
Response No. of Respondents Percentage
Staff responded promptly to 15 30
my requests
Staff was willing to answer 10 20
my questions
Staff responded quickly to 3 6
solve my problems
Staff treated me with respect 7 14
Staff anticipated my needs 15 30
Total 50 100

Figure 3.7 Opinion about the Staff of the Hotel Regarding Various Services

35
30 30
30
25
20
20
14
15
10 6
5
0
Staff Staff was Staff Staff treated Staff
responded willing to responded me with anticipated
promptly to answer my quickly to respect my needs
my requests questions solve my
problems

Analysis & Interpretation

From the above table and graph it is clear that majority of respondents i.e. 30% said
that staff responded promptly to their request and staff anticipated their needs. 20%
said staff was willing to answer their questions and 14% said that staff treated them
with respect. The remaining 6% said that staff responded quickly to solve my
problems.
36
Statement 8. Your opinion about the room services of the hotel.

Table 3.9 Opinion about the Room Services of the Hotel

Response No. of Respondents Percentage
TV, AC and Light worked 45 90
properly
Attached Toilet and Bathroom 50 100
Enough towel and soaps were 50 100
found in my room
Furnishing in the hotel were 45 90
appealing
Neat and Clean Room 50 100
Total 240 480
* Multiple choice of the respondents
Figure 3.8 Opinion about the Room Services of the Hotel

102
100 100 100
100
98
96
94
92
90 90
90
88
86
84
TV, AC and Light Attached Toilet Enough towel Furnishing in the Neat and Clean
worked properly and Bathroom and soaps were hotel were Room
found in my appealing
room

Analysis & Interpretation

From the above table and graph it is clear that all the respondents were agreed that
enough towel and soaps were found in their room, neat and clean room and attached
toilet and bathroom services. Almost all the respondents were agree that TV, AC and
light worked properly and furnishing in the hotel were appealing.

37
Statement 9. Your opinion about price/payment services of the hotel.

Table 3.10 Opinion about the price/payment Services of the Hotel

Response No. of Respondents Percentage
Charges on my account were 50 100
clearly explained
Quick check in/out procedure 50 100
Cashless Payment 50 100
Discounted Price 20 40
No Billing Issue 50 100
Total 220 440
* Multiple choice of the respondents
Figure 3.9 Opinion about the price/payment Services of the Hotel

120
100 100 100 100
100

80

60
40
40

20

0
Charges on my Quick check Cashless Discounted Price No Billing Issue
account were in/out Payment
clearly explained procedure

Analysis & Interpretation

From the above table and graph it is clear that all of respondents were agrre that
charges of their account were clearly explained, quick check in/out procedure,
cashless payment and no billing issues. But only 40% respondents are satisfied
discounted price.

38
Statement 10. Rank the following factors of service quality on the basis of
satisfaction level of customer in hotels? (HS-Highly Satisfied, S-Satisfied, N-
Neutral, D-Dissatisfied, HD-Highly Dissatisfied)

Table 3.10 Ranking of factors of service quality on the basis of Customer

Satisfaction
Factors HS S N D HD Score Rank
Room Services 15 10 20 5 0 95 2
Staff Co-operation 25 15 10 0 0 85 1
Food Quality 20 15 10 5 0 100 3
Price of services 8 13 9 15 5 146 4
charges
Cleanliness of 20 20 5 5 0 95 2
Hotel
Discount and 5 8 8 9 20 181 5
Offers
Quick response on 25 15 10 0 0 85 1
complaint

Analysis & Interpretation:

Room Services: These factors got rank2. It means respondents are satisfied with
room services provided by hotel.
Staff Co-operation: This factor got rank1. It means respondents are highy satisfied
with this factor.
Food Quality: This factor got rank3. It means respondents are satisfied with the food
quality service.
Price of services charges: These factors got rank4. It means respondents are
dissatisfied with this factor.
Cleanliness of Hotel: : This factor got rank2. It means respondents are satisfied with
this factor.
Discount and Offers: This factor got rank 5. It means respondents are highly
dissatisfied with this factor.
Quick response on complaint: This factor got rank 1. It means respondents are
highly satisfied with this factor.

39
40
 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

After conducting a research on service quality analysis of hotels in Jalandhar ciy, the
findings are as follows:

 All the respondents are aware of hotel Ramada and The Maya followed by 90%
respondents aware of Radisson hotel followed by 80% aware of Dolphin and
Shangri La. Respondents are less aware about Maharaja Residency, Leo Fort,
Ranvir Prime, Kings, Sekhon Grand and hotel president.
 Majority of respondents i.e. 30% respondents already knew about these hotels
followed by 20% respondents got awareness through family and relatives
followed by 14% got awareness books and guides. 10% respondents got
awareness through internet, media and through fairs and exhibition. The
remaining 6% respondents got awareness through travel agency.
 30% of the respondents prefer two star hotel followed by 24% respondents prefer
three star and four star hotels followed by 6% prefer fiver stat and one star. The
remaining 10% prefer budget hotels.
 Majority of respondents i.e. 40% say marriages and parties followed by 20%
respondents say business reasons followed by 12% respondents say conference
and seminars. Each 10% respondents say health, sports and recreation service and
visiting relatives and friends. Only 8% respondents say religious reason for
visiting hotel.
 30% respondents need restaurant & bar followed by 20% respondents need
souvenir shop followed by 16% respondents need beauty saloon services. Each
10% respondents need gym, swimming pool and parking place. Only 4% are
interested in money exchange services.
 30% respondents quality of service, food and beverage in the restaurant is the
main factor followed by 20% respondents say new and modern facility of room
and the atmosphere in the room followed by 14% respondents say discipline and
cleanness of hotel staff. The remaining say quick check in/out procedure and
friendly staff.
 majority of respondents i.e. 30% said that staff responded promptly to their
request and staff anticipated their needs. 20% said staff was willing to answer

41
 their questions and 14% said that staff treated them with respect. The remaining
6% said that staff responded quickly to solve my problems.
 All the respondents were agreed that enough towel and soaps were found in their
room, neat and clean room and attached toilet and bathroom services. Almost all
the respondents were agree that TV, AC and light worked properly and furnishing
in the hotel were appealing.
 All of respondents were agree that charges of their account were clearly
explained, quick check in/out procedure, cashless payment and no billing issues.
But only 40% respondents are satisfied discounted price.
 Respondents are satisfied with room services, staff co-operation, cleanliness of
hotel and quick response on complaint factor.

42
43
5.1 CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY
The hotel industry is witnessing a boom in Punjab in both the five star and budget
hotels. The state has emerged as a favorite destination for visitors. Jalandhar is
emerging as one of the most preferred cities for the hospitality industry. A lot of
major hotel chains have announced their plans for the city like The Maya, Ramada,
Raddison, Dolphin, Shangri La etc. The arrival of these big-ticket hotel brands (both
luxury and budget) could yield a slew of spin-off benefits for the city's hospitality
fortunes, by improving the service quality. And this may further spark a chain
reaction for the present hospitality players to improve upon their service quality.

The study concludes that the hotel industry of Jalandhar is performing as per the
customers' expectations on any of the service quality dimensions. There is a lot more
that the customers expect from the hotels. Since Jalandhar is a major industrial city
therefore it must have good quality hotels.

Finally it is concluded that almost all the respondents are aware of various hotel in
Jalandhar. Majority of respondents already knew about these hotels. The main
purpose for visiting these hotels are marriages and parties, business reasons and
conference and seminars. Quality of service, food and beverage in the restaurant is the
main important factors of hotel services. Majority of respondents said that staff
responded promptly to their request and staff anticipated their needs. All the
respondents were agreed that enough towel and soaps were found in their room, neat
and clean room and attached toilet and bathroom services. Almost all the respondents
were agree that TV, AC and light worked properly and furnishing in the hotel were
appealing. All of respondents were agree that charges of their account were clearly
explained, quick check in/out procedure, cashless payment and no billing issues.
Respondents are satisfied with room services, staff co-operation, cleanliness of hotel
and quick response on complaint factor.

44
45
6.1 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY
The study brings about the areas which require urgent attention of the employees and
the management of hotels. These are areas in which customers are dissatisfied with
the services of the company against their expectation.

 The hotel should focus price factor.

 The hotel should focus on offers and discounts to customers.
 The hotel should try and focus on the specific demands of its customers. This will
help it to differentiate itself from the others and will provide customers with better
satisfaction.
 The menu card and other such material should be kept in a good presentable
condition.
 Some sort of entertainment services should be introduced. E.g. video games for
the children
 Rooms should be more spacious and comfortable.
 The hotels should have adequate number of employees so that the services are
performed in time.

46
47
 REFERENCES

 Banerjee M. (2012). Measuring Service Quality in the hospitality Service

Agencies. Journal of Applied Sciences, 9: 4258-4262.
 Bell et al.(2014). Opinion regarding Hotel Industry: A study on current scenario
and future trends‖, Global Vistas- World Trade Trends and Developments, Vol. V
(1), April- June 2006, pp. 6-14.
 Boker P. (2016). The Social Influence of services in Hotel Industry; Indian
Journal of Marketing, Community- vo1.69, issue 3, July 2005, pp. 19-34.
 Caruana L.G. (2011). The relation between good services and entrepreneurial
opportunities: Case Study of Iran- Khodro Company‖, African Journal of Business
Management Vol. 5(13), 4 July 2011, pp. 5152-5161.
 Davidson B. (2012). Relative importance of service quality dimensions: A
Multisectoral study‖, Journal of Services Research, Volume 4, Number 1, April-
September 2004, pp.11-15.
 Hall T. (2017). A Study on Customer Satisfaction of Hyundai i10 customers in
Coimbatore‖, CBS E-Journal, Biz n Bytes, Vol.3, March 2010, pp.22-26.
 Nath L. (2015). How to Design Service. In: Congram, C. and Friedman,M. (eds).
The AMA Handbook for the Service Industries. New York, NY: Amacom.
 Reuland T. (2010). Value-Percept Disparity: An Alternative to the
Disconfirmation of Expectations Theory of Consumer Satisfaction in Advances in
Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. vol. 21, no. 1,
pp. 1-12.
 Sharma Y. (2016). Business Competitiveness: Strategies for Hotel Industry,
Conference on Global Competition Competitiveness of Indian Corporate,
http://dspace.iimk.ac.in /bitstream/2259/488/1/299-303.
 Sheela M. (2014). Technical complexity and consumer knowledge as moderators
of service quality evaluation in the hotel service industry, Retailing, Volume 70,
Issue 4.
 Zenith J. (2015). Measurement of Service Quality of Hotel Industry, Proceedings
of the 2016 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations
Management, Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 2010 pp. 9 and10.

48
49
 QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Sir/Mam,
I, am a student of MBA final year student, am doing a project on
“Service Quality Analysis of Hotels in Jalandhar City”. For the purpose of
completing the task, I have prepared a questionnaire. Therefore, I would be highly
obliged if you spare a few minutes to fill it up.
Thank you

Demographic Information:

Name: …………………………………………………………

Gender: Male Female

Age: < 20 21-30

31-50 Above 51

Occupation: ……………………………………………………

Income: 10,000-30,000 30,000-50,000

50,000-80,000 80,000 and Above

Q1. Which of the following hotels in Jalandhar city you are aware of?
Maharaja Residency [ ] The Maya [ ]
Ramada [ ] Radisson Hotel [ ]
Hotel President [ ] Sekhon Grand [ ]
Hotel Kings [ ] Shangri La [ ]
Ranvir Prime [ ] Dolphin [ ]
Leo Fort [ ]

Q2. Where did you hear about these hotels?

I already knew it [ ] Internet [ ]
Friends and Relatives [ ] Media [ ]

50
Books and Guides [ ] Travel Agency [ ]
Fairs and Exhibition [ ]

Q3. Which type of hotels do you most likely stay in?

Five Star [ ] Four Star [ ]
Three Star [ ] Two Star [ ]
One Star [ ] Budget Hotels [ ]

Q4. What are the main reasons for your visit to these hotels?
Visiting Relatives and Friends [ ] Marriages and Parties [ ]
Business Reasons [ ] Religious Reasons [ ]
Conference and Seminars [ ] Health, Sports and Recreation[ ]

Q5. Which other properties in a hotel you also interested in?

Restaurant & Bar [ ] Gym [ ]
Souvenir Shop [ ] Parking Place [ ]
Money Exchange [ ] Beauty Salon [ ]
Swimming Pool [ ]

Q6. What are the important factors of hotel services?

A quick check in/out procedure [ ]
Friendly Staff [ ]
New and Modern facility of room [ ]
Quality of Service, food and beverage in restaurant/bar [ ]
Discipline and cleanness of hotel staff [ ]
The atmosphere in room [ ]

Q7. What is your opinion about the staff of the hotel regarding various services?
Staff responded promptly to my requests [ ]
Staff was willing to answer my questions [ ]
Staff responded quickly to solve my problems [ ]
Staff treated me with respect [ ]
Staff anticipated my needs [ ]

51
Q8. What is your opinion about the room services of the hotel?
TV, AC and Light worked properly [ ]
Attached Toilet and Bathroom [ ]
Enough towel and soups were found in my room [ ]
Furnishing in the hotel were appealing [ ]
Neat and Clean Room [ ]

Q9. What is your opinion about price/payment services of the hotel?

Charges on my account were clearly explained [ ]
Quick check in/out procedure [ ]
Cashless Payment [ ]
Discounted Price [ ]
No Billing Issue [ ]

Q10. Rank the following factors of service quality on the basis of satisfaction
level of customer in hotels? (HS-Highly Satisfied, S-Satisfied, N-Neutral, D-
Dissatisfied, HD-Highly Dissatisfied)
Factors HS S N D HD Score Rank
Room Services
Staff Co-operation
Food Quality
Price of services
charges
Cleanliness of
Hotel
Discount and
Offers
Quick response on
complaint

52