Impact of Hotel Rating on Service Quality and Customer Choice of Hotel: A Case Study of Speke Resort Hotel Munyonyo

Abstract

This research was conducted on a case study of Speke Resort hotel Munyonyo. The hotel is a member of the Crane group of companies. The hotel was chosen for its particularly diverse clientele, both local and international. The overall objective of the research was to assess the impact of hotel rating on professionalism and how it informs customer expectations, perceptions and choice of hotel and the specific objectives were; to identify factors that influence choice of hotel, to examine how hotel rating influences choice of hotel and to assess the relationship between hotel rating and service quality. Data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire copies disseminated to a sample of 83 respondents from the hotel.Secondary data was also considered from reviews by customers on review plat forms particularly trip advisor and booking. Com. The data collection was done in March and April 2019 and thereafter analyzed using SPSS to generate statistical summaries. Data collected revealed that respondents first consider the basic factors that should be present at every hotel, and then the desirables as per their preferences when choosing which hotel to visit, it also revealed that hotel rating is considered an indicator of those qualities to clients. The data collected also showed the relevance of hotel rating and how in that it affects customer expectations of the hotel when choosing which hotel to visit and perceptions of what they actually found on the ground. It was concluded that respondents felt basic factors were important when choosing where to stay and other variables may vary from one person to another basing on their purpose of visit. It was also concluded that respondents understand the concept of hotel rating and rely on the rating of a hotel to form their expectations and informed perceptions. The study recommended that Speke Resort Munyonyo install a plaque at the hotel entrance showing the hotel rating to help customers form more realistic expectations based on the rating.