Research on guest staying experience

Question

Task: Write a research report on the factors impacting the overall guest staying experience.

Answer

1. "Introduction"
1.1. "Background of the study"
Guest staying experience is one of the most significant factors that affect the positive behavior of the guest. This behavior includes personal recommendation and loyalty. Guest satisfaction could provide significant competitive advantages for the hotels in the "hospitality industry." Moreover, it could directly result to maximize the growth and profitability of the organization. To provide a satisfactory experience to the consumers, managers, and supervisors should have a clear perception of the factors that impact the guest staying experience. As for the researches for any study, the problem notifies the kind of job to be done and the significance of the result is evaluated.

Scholars considered that, there is a big difference within the requirements of the "business guests" and other tourist type guests. Employees need to optimize the service time for the "business guests" to avoid dissatisfaction (Dzia-Uddin, Hashim & Isa 2018). It should be considered that, technology is improving with time and the expectations of the guests are also changing with it. Guests are expecting convenient and personalized types of interaction when they are staying in hotels. This includes communicating with hotel employees via text messages, using smart-phones to for booking and automatic check ins (Torres & Sipe 2020). These all factors provides the knowledge that the management of the hotels should focus on these factors to improve the staying experience for guests.

1.2. "Research Objective"
The research aims to address the factors that are impacting the overall "guest staying experience" for the global "hotel industry". The research will discuss the several issues that how the "guest staying experience" varies with the different services provided by the hotel industry in different corners of the world.

The research will be based on the following objectives:

• To specify and address the factors that are influencing the "guest staying experience" across the global "hotel industry."
• To suggest all of the possible factors that could improve the overall guest staying experience regarding the global aspects.
• Measuring the degree of "customer satisfaction" regarding the competency of the hotel industry

1.3. "What are the research questions for the study on guest staying experience?"
The research is based on the following research questions:

• What are the factors that are influencing"guest staying experience" in the "hotel industry?"
• How to improve the guest staying experience factors related to the global hotel industry?
• How to measure the customer satisfaction level related with the competitiveness among the hotel industry?

1.4. "Problem statement"
In the present days, customer staying experience is a significant factor for the hotel industry across the world. The different types of services like room quality, food service and employee behavior impacts the guest staying experience for the future days. Management of the hotel and also the employees are mainly responsible for these factors to meet the customer expectation and satisfaction. Moreover, with the advancement of technology, demands of the guests are changing. They are more likely to reserve rooms, check ins and other service deliveries with the help of mobile phones or computers.

1.5. "Rationale" The industrial 'globalization' leads to a "four percent growth in the 'tourism industry" with huge progress in technological aspects and "economic structures"(MISIRLI, 2019). However, the ‘Hotel Industry’ has been strategizing and varying their goals and objectives with the changes in customer’s demand.

The relationship between the consumers and the "service providers" across the "Hotel Industry" has always proved to be mysterious as the "customer’s loyalty" never matches with their expectation from the services (TAN, 2018). The "emotional relationship" between the consumers and the hotels may ensure the level of satisfaction and may provide loyalty. The current topic will "shed light" on these specific factors and their influence on the "guest staying experience" within the 'Hotel Industry.'

2. "Literature Review"
2.1. "Definition of Key Concept"
According to (Darini & Khozaei 2016), conceptualizing the factors that are impacting customer satisfaction is a significant issue for the individuals involved within the hotel industry. Satisfaction could be stated as the product or the "service quality" that reaches the overall expectations of the consumers related to the present scenario. It has been noticed that the expectations of the customers mostly depends on the information from the internet and previous experiences. If the guest staying experienceis satisfied with the "services provided" by the hotel, they will possibly return. Moreover, the quality of services also considered having a co-relation with customer satisfaction. It has been noticed that the "star-rating" of a hotel increases customer satisfaction. Many researchers also noticed that the judgment varies between male and female guests provided with the same quality of service.

According to (Worsfold et al. 2016), the physical features of a hotel have a strong value for which guests are intended to return rather than the satisfaction regarding the service they had received in the past. However, employee satisfaction related to the job is another factor that has the potential to impact negatively customer satisfaction. If the level of job satisfaction is low, it increases employee turnover and absenteeism and adversely affects the guest staying experience. According to (Hewagama et al. 2019),it has been considered that "customer satisfaction" has a "positive correlation" with the job satisfaction of employees. If the employees working in the hotel are satisfied with their job, they will tend to provide better services. In the present day, quality is not considered as the "competitive advantage" in the hotel industry. Several organizations are reorienting their strategies and focusing on the added "value delivery" to the guests "Service quality" and customer satisfaction have been proved to be less important whereas the "perceived value" is the most effective factor for customer return intentions.

2.2. "Critical Review of Related Theories"
(Samy 2016)stated that in the last few years, the focus of the customers has been shifted from the higher star rating hotels to the budget hotels regarding customer loyalty and the quality of service. This trend is opening a new skyline for the development of the "hotel industry." For the developing countries, "budget hotel" is a contemporary concept that meets the changes in expectations in the modern tourism industry. (Choo, Tan & Yeo 2018)stated that the "heritage hotel industry" in several countries are redesigning as the customer trend is changing with time.

According to (Samy 2016), customer satisfaction is defined as the judgment that includes the standard of "under or over fulfillment." The guest staying experience will be satisfactory when the experience will cross the positive expectations. This theory assures the interrelation between customer satisfaction and service quality. Along with that, the management quality of a hotel is one of the significant key factors which is responsible for the critical success related to the organization. Every managers and supervisors of hotels usually develops their strategies and perceptions for providing improved customer satisfaction but, it may vary from the real truth that what the guests want. Recognizing the customer expectation is a key factor that could provide a better and higher service level.

According to (Baek, Choe & Ok 2020), lifestyle hotels could be called as the modern generation of the "boutique hotels." It has been noticed that the popularity of these hotels is emerging and attracting more tourists and guests for its uniqueness. With the trends of changing customer requirements and preferences, lifestyle hotels attracting more travelers these days. Driven by the major "hotel chains", major investments have been noticed in lifestyle hotels to increase business profitability. According to (Arifin, Ahmad & Jamal 2018) as the boutique hotels (lifestyle hotels) are offering new products and a variety of services, these hotels are providing unique experiences to the guests. Moreover, several traditional hotels are also adopting the features of lifestyle hotels. The reason behind it is to maximize their business profitability and to maintain the current changes for the better guest staying experience.

Figure 1: Critical success factors for "budget hotels" (Samy 2016)

2.3. "Empirical Research Review"
According to (Ali, Hussain & Omar 2016), four factors impact the guest staying experience in the hospitality industry. The factors include escapism, education, esthetics, and entertainment. In the hotel industry, most of the offers provided to the customers are related to the experience of enjoying, visiting, and living the lifestyle with a variety of modes. Considering the global hotel industry as an "experience-oriented" sector, the concept of experience is always related to a logical choice.

(Nobar & Rostamzadeh 2018)discussed that, due to the advancement of technologies, most of the customers typically collects the information from the internet. It may include mass media, feedback from other guests on the websites, or may be from friends and family. The first-hand experience of a customer always influences the "post-perceived" quality by contrast.Moreover, the services that are received by the customers if results in a "positive guest staying experience," will have a potential influenceto improve the reputation of the organization. According to (Kandampully, Zhang & Jaakkola 2018), strong relation between employee and customer improves the guest staying experience that has been noticed in several cases.

• Customer emotion-From several types of research, it has been noticed that the emotion of the customers could be referred to as the central component of their guest staying experience. The responses related to the customer's emotions often expressed as joy, sadness, anger, or fearfulness. Service failure may create mistrust among the customers staying in a hotel (Bakar, Damara & Mansyur 2020). Depending upon the experience, emotions are expressed that determines the level of expectations and satisfaction.
• Customer satisfaction-Service providers in the hotel industry always strive for satisfying their customers because it has a significant impact on their business profitability and reputation for future days (Ali, Hussain & Omar 2016). Many researchers explained that "emotions have a great impact on customer satisfaction." Moreover, the "behavioral intentions" of the customers are also impacted by the customer's emotions determining the degree of satisfaction. According to (Luturlean & Anggadwita 2016), quality of service according to market and customer demands is also responsible for customer satisfaction.

Hypothesis 1: The frequency of engagement for the management and employees is essential to improve customer trust and loyalty (Li, Cui & Peng 2017). "Decision making" process of the customers affects the "marketing strategies" within the "Hotel industry" (Kanten & Darma 2017).

Hypothesis 2: In the hotel industry, guest satisfaction and the performance always depends on the "asymmetric" impact (Bi et al. 2020). Moreover, guest staying experience also depends on the "brand image" and reputation of the hotel (Nobar & Rostamzadeh 2018).

Figure 2: "Customer loyalty and Brand power"(Nobar & Rostamzadeh 2018)
3. "Design of the Research and Methodology"
3.1. "Research Paradigm"
The research model represents the research description of the methodology that is used to cover the overall research. The model involves analyzing the design of the research, target population, "data collection methods," and the sampling techniques related to the topic of the research. The survey questionnaire was provided to the respondents and was created with convenient designs and simple words to get better and clear responses from the guests. The research method is based on the primary research method that collects the primary data from different guests staying in several luxurious hotels. Moreover, the secondary data that is used in the research paper has been collected from different articles.

3.2. "Research Design"
The current research is on understanding the factors that are impacting the "guest staying experience" in the global "hotel industry." It will adopt a specific research method to evaluate the research objectives. Implementing a proper methodological approach and sampling approaches will enhance the current research paper with more significance. The "research" will be based on a survey questionnaire. The "research design" is based on a descriptive research methodology with exploratory research procedures. The questionnaire is divided into three segments with both qualitative and quantitative approaches towards the existing research journal and articles (Chepngetich, Ouma & Aila 2019). Along with that, the research paper will also draw the contents from several publications to clarify the factors that are affecting the guest staying experience. To achieve the research objective, an exploratory design is adopted as it is considered an important factor to analyze the diversified data types.The research paper will provide knowledge about guest satisfaction and loyalty toward the hotel.

3.3. "Data Collection and Instrument"
Data has been collected through both qualitative and quantitative way after receiving the approval of the survey questionnaires from the hotel managers. The other employees of the hotel were informed about the research so that they can distribute the survey questions to the existing guests of the hotel during the twenty-eight days of the data collection period. To gather adequate knowledge about the regression analysis and conduct factor, validity, and reliability methods were applied to test the research model. Variation was not expected from the results and that considers and establishes the instrument quality. The questionnaires used in the data collection method are "self-administered" and used in the "quantitative phase" of the "research." The "qualitative phase" of the research is conducted through interviews (Chepngetich, Ouma & Aila 2019). To provide the customers (respondents) a convenient time to "complete the survey," the "self-administered" questionnaire method is selected.

3.4. "Target Population and Sample Target"
The target population was three hundred and sixty-one and the survey questionnaire was distributed in several hotels. Responses were received from three hundred and twenty-one guests with a response rate of 88.92%. The procedure involves the "pilot testing" method and the sample target was ten percent of the total population. Luxurious hotels from three cities have been chosen for the analysis (Chepngetich, Ouma & Aila 2019). The hotels selected for collecting the samples used to offer individualized and sophisticated services for the customers. Including luxurious decoration with superior facilities, the hotels are selected with one hundred and twenty-bed capacity or more. Moreover, the selected hotels also include luxurious suites and lounges along with a wider range of "recreational facilities." These hotels have been selected as they include a clarified organizational structure that is consistent. Moreover, the result of the research from these organizations will provide minimum errors about the study.

3.5. "Sampling Techniques"
The research adopted a "multi-stage" sampling technique that considers the vastness of the area of research. The "multi-stage" sampling technique that involves using more than a single method while selecting the respondents or the survey in different stags. The samples were empirically analyzed and based on the frame consisting of several luxurious hotels. A pilot system was used in the techniques for the identification of time length to fill up the questionnaires. The pilot system also provided an adequate understanding of the tool and corrected the wording and simple spelling mistakes of the sentences. Data generated through the questionnaire was conducted for a reliability test that was based on the "Cronbach's alpha" system (Chepngetich, Ouma & Aila 2019). With the adequate testing of the data for stability and consistency, the reliability measure was established. It has been considered that the reliability coefficient or "Cronbach's alpha" indicates the positive co-relation of the items used in the survey questionnaire. It ensures the reliability of all the sets included in the measure. Customer experience and behavior measurement posed to a higher degree of measures which assures that the sample is reliable to measure and analyze the proper result.

3.6. "Analysis Techniques"
To examine the "specific items," the analysis technique defines the primary structure of the "guest staying experience" in the "hotel industry". To address the dimension of the "guest staying experience," mean ranking was conducted and subjected to the "factor analysis." In this study, the respondents or guests were required to provide their level of agreement based on numbers against their dimension (Chepngetich, Ouma & Aila 2019). Mean ranking was conducted to achieve the analysis objective and the items were sent for PAF ("Principal Axis Factoring"). The analysis used the "Varimax Rotation" process to analyze the results.

3.7. "Accessibility and Ethical Issues"
The present research theory represents several empirical and theoretical contributions regarding the guest staying experience in luxurious hotels. Approval from the selected hotel managers has been received by the researcher which ensures the accessibility of the research method (Chepngetich, Ouma & Aila 2019). Moreover, the "self-administered" questionnaires were distributed to the respondents so that they can answer the questions at a convenient time. The empirical study investigates the relation between guest staying experience dimensions and the purchasing behavior of the customers in luxurious hotels.

3.8. "Research Limitation"
Factors impacting the guest staying experience are an extremely critical construct and also depend upon the research method and design. From the research methods, the researchers could receive a different picture that involves the guest experience and resulting in customer satisfaction. It has been considered that many of the methods apply the conventional procedure that is directed with the hypothesis (Ko 2018). For future researches, it is important to collect data over the different "periods" that may shed more light on the research topic and objective.

Along with that, maximizing the geographical area should provide more adequate knowledge of the guest staying experience factors as the limitation of the research exists in limited countries. It is also important to evaluate further investigations with demographic factors like age, gender, social background, and the purpose of the customers for staying in the hotel. Applying these principles, researches in the future days should consider the "cross-cultural" factors and the challenges that will provide the guest staying experience across the global hotel industry.

4. "Conclusion"
The "main objective" of this paper is to identify the factors or issues that are affecting or impacting the "guest staying experience in the hotel industry." As the industry is emerging with time like all other industries, the trends are also changing with customer requirement and satisfaction. To face the globalization, it is critically required to focus on the competitive market structure that differs in services and varies with the guest staying experience. It is a challenging factor for the employees of the industry to satisfy the customers to improve the future business and also the reputation of the organization. The critical success factors of the "budget hotels" and "lifestyle hotels" discussed in the research paper provide knowledge about huge changes in the traditional hotel industry. Moreover, it could be concluded that the experience of the customers creates the logic that tends them to return back to the same hotel or recommend it to their family and friends if the guest staying experience is overall satisfactory in the previous visit.

5. "Research Timetable and Reference"
5.1. "Timetable Chart"

References
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Arifin, AS, Ahmad, A & Jamal, SA 2018, 'Factors of Guest Experiential Value of Boutique Hotels in the City of Kuala Lumpur', Journal of Tourism and Hospitality, vol 7, no. 2, p. 342.

Baek, J, Choe, Y & Ok, CM 2020, 'Determinants of hotel guests’ service experiences: an examination of differences between lifestyle and traditional hotels', Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, vol 29, no. 1, pp. 88-105.

Bakar, RM, Damara, ZF & Mansyur, AY 2020, 'Post-service recovery emotion and customer trust: The role of satisfaction as mediation', Jurnal Manajemen dan Pemasaran Jasa, vol 13, no. 1, pp. 17-28.

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