A study of service quality in small hotels and guesthouses

Two hundred and ninety-nine customers staying at eight small hotels/guesthouses in the UK were asked to provide written free responses indicating the best and worst aspects of the service they had experienced. These data were explored using the 18-point framework of Johnston (1995). Service quality attributes were identified as 'satisfiers' or 'dissatisfiers', and as relating to tangible or intangible aspects of the guest experience. Service quality scores based upon both aspects and attributes showed good agreement with customer satisfaction ratings and revealed clear differences between establishments. Tangible aspects of service quality were most frequently mentioned overall, but intangibles showed the greatest power to discriminate between establishments. Customers' comments were used by some service providers to correct faults and to focus staff onto customer needs. The possibility of classifying establishments on the basis of such data is discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.