The impact of hotel interiors on customer’s loyalty intentions

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this master thesis is to examine the role of hotel interiors which are perceived by five atmospheric elements of color, lighting, layout, style, and furnishings on customer’s loyalty intentions under the two types of service quality: high and low. Previous research indicates that atmospheric elements, which comprise the perception of physical environment of the hotel, impact on overall guest’s perceptions and impressions. Design/methodology/approach – Data was collected from 50 students from the “Norwegian School of Hotel Management” using a scenario-based approach together with the actual photographs of hotel’s lobby/reception area, restaurant and residential room servicescapes. “SPSS Statistics” program was used to analyze the reliability and validity of the obtained data as well as the correlations between the proposed constructs. Findings – A strong positive relationship was found between the satisfaction with the interiors of each of three servicescapes (except for lobby interiors which revealed quite a low influence power) on respondent’s loyalty intentions both under the high and low perceived service quality, as well as between the overall satisfaction with interiors and overall loyalty intentions. Research limitations/implications – The focus of this research was the hotel’s lobby, reception and residential room. While these physical environments are rather important in helping to establish the impressions about the entire hotel, there are other physical spaces within a hotel that may have a large influence on guest’s loyalty intentions. A relatively small sample size can also be treated as limitation. Also there is a need to involve real hotel guests and provide a field study within the hotel property. Hotel practitioners need to understand the importance of interiors and their influence on overall guest’s loyalty intentions. The impact of hotel interiors on customer’s loyalty intentions | 3 Originality/value – This research examines the atmospherics from a hospitality perspective. The topic has received a limited research interest in the past studies but it is gaining more and more popularity in planning the hotel design and construction. This research helps in providing a foundation on which the future studies can be based on.