Gender Perspectives on the Service Quality of Low-Cost Hotels

Abstract

Service sector has recently become quite important to the global economy. The Nigerian government and numerous public sector investors are developing infrastructure and implementing sound business plans to take advantage of the hospitality industry's enormous potential in the service sector. However, due to the intense competition in the marketplace and the hospitality sector's rapid development, many businesses have felt pressure to distinguish themselves from rivals through superior customer service. Despite the level of competition among the low-cost hotels, most of the low-cost hotels in Nigeria still lack marketing concepts to attract guests. Previous studies on SERVPERF (service performance) model focused on other classes of hotels, neglecting low-cost hotels. Thus, this study analysed the SERVPERF dimensions regarding guests' satisfaction in low-cost hotels, from the demographic perspective (gender). Five undergraduate students received authorization from low-cost hotels to collect research data with the assistance of hotel employees. Each of the five survey teams consisted of a hotel employee who speaks and understands Hausa language (local language) as well as an undergraduate student from Federal University Gusau, Zamfara state, Nigeria. Data were collected from 300 guests at low-cost hotels and analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM). Composite reliability, Cronbach’s alpha and average variance extracted were used to test the reliability and validity of the instrument. It was revealed that assurance positively influenced male guests’ satisfaction, while reliability positively influenced female guests’ satisfaction in low-cost hotels. Furthermore, assurance negatively influenced female guests’ satisfaction. Male guests in low-cost hotels cherish the staff’s expertise and civility, as well as their capacity to instil trust and confidence. They want the hotel employees to make them feel comfortable while the services are being provided. The study’s practical implications are elucidated in this paper.