The Role of Servicescape in Hotel Buffet Restaurant

Abstract

All-you-can-eat Buffet is becoming increasingly popular and related concepts are adopted to operate in either hotel restaurants or buffet restaurants. Since catering experiences are highly affected by surrounding atmosphere, its service facilities have an essential impact on its overall customer satisfaction. However, there are no previous research studies on servicescapes and their relationships with customer satisfaction. This research is first to investigate if Buffet servicescapes affect customer satisfaction. The purpose of this research is to verify the relationship among Buffet servicescapes and customer satisfaction. Apart from this, which dimensions of servicescapes affect satisfaction the most are also examined. We have selected Park Lane Hong Kong Hotel Buffet Restaurant as an example because of its popularity and it is awarded as the best buffet restaurant in Hong Kong by a renowned Dining Magazine. Furthermore, we have also further studying on their effects on positive word-of-mouth since it results from the dining experience and it greatly affects others’ purchase decisions. The results discover that all dimensions of servicescapes have a positive effect on customer satisfaction where Cleanliness has the greatest impact. Finally, implications and recommendations are discussed base on the findings for further improvement to buffet hotel restaurants on various dimensions of servicescapes to enhance customer satisfaction and help spreading positive word-of-mouth under keen competition. Most importantly, this study is a starting point for further research on Buffet Restaurants’ servicescapes.