Drivers of Customer Satisfaction in the Hotel Industry in Ghana: The Role of Personality, Staff Service Quality and Physical Environment

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the extent at which personality factors (extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), staff service quality, and physical environment (room and outside facilities) influence customer satisfaction in the hotel industry in Ghana. It further sought to identify which of these factors is the most influential in keeping customers satisfied with hotel services in Ghana. The study was a cross-sectional survey and employed quantitative research approach. The population of the study comprised of hotel guests in Accra. Purposive and convenience sampling methods were used to select four (4) registered hotels rated between 1 to 4 star in Accra. Convenience sampling technique was used to sample 351 respondents. Data was analysed using Partial Least Squares Modeling. Findings from the study revealed that among the three personality factors assessed, neuroticism was the only personality factor found to be positive and significant to customer satisfaction in the hotel industry in Ghana. The study found significant relationship between staff service quality and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, staff service quality was found to be the key determinate of customer satisfaction in the hotel sector. Room quality was found to have strong influence on customer satisfaction in the hotel setting than the outside facilities. The study therefore recommended that hotel management should re-examine and re-programme their customer database system to capture guest personality traits in order to deliver the right services and to keep them delighted.