This study aims to grasp the functions of the service provided in hotel and to analyse how it affects to the relationship quality and performance. This study develops from a perspective of the relationship marketing; firstly customer is considered as ...
This study aims to grasp the functions of the service provided in hotel and to analyse how it affects to the relationship quality and performance. This study develops from a perspective of the relationship marketing; firstly customer is considered as the most significant asset in hotel business and secondly how to maintain existing customer.
Recently firms do not consider their customer as the simple product and target of service transaction, but consider as the target of the continuous relationships which exchange the value of company growth and consumer satisfaction, and proceeding to the leadership of forming and enhancing unremitting and staunch ties between service provider and customer.
The prior studies on the relationship marketing thus far has been limited to the interaction of inter-corporate level, such as manufacturer, vendor etc. and the performance of sales representative in individual level.
However, the construct of relationship marketing theory system can be applied to the relationships between business and consumer, and also between the hospitality and manufacturing industry. One of the incessant issues in the relationship marketing area is related to the relationship quality. Many previous studies on the relationship quality have showed that a combination of any components in satisfaction, trust, and commitment forms, however various results came up regarding the preceding and following relationship among them. It is thus considered that the further empirical study may be required.
The purposes of this study are: First, it derives the detailed the hotel service factors from considering the theoretical study for the hotel service. Second, it analyzes how the hotel service factors affects the relationship quality (trust and satisfaction). Third, it reveals how the relationship quality (trust and satisfaction) affects the commitment. Fourth, it shows how the immersion affects the revisit intention and word-of-mouth. Fifth, it analyzes through step-by-step modeling verification what the component of the relationship quality appropriate to the hotel service relational model is. Sixth, it tests attest how the specific component of the hotel service affects the satisfaction of detailed factors and the overall satisfaction respectively. And it attempts to get involved in the study on the relationship marketing area and construction of hotel marketing strategy by deriving the theoretical and strategic suggestion on the components of the relationship quality.
The methodology of this study was abreast with literary study and empirical study. First, this research integrated the existing studies regarding the property of hotel service, the relationship quality such as trust and satisfaction, commitment, reuse intention, word-of-mouth, and developed research model and hypotheses. Second, as an empirical study, it surveyed to 359 customers of over second graded deluxe hotels in Seoul, Pusan, Kyeongju, Kwangju, and Jeju area. Third for a data analysis it employed SPSS, for exploratory factors analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, regression analysis, T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation analysis, and LISREL.
The results are as follows.
First, it was demonstrated that personal, physical, and operational factors the hotel provides have positive influence on the relationship quality (trust and satisfaction). The core parameter of the relationship quality is physical service and followed by operational service and personal service. As a result certifies the significance of the physical service component in customer service. Keeping service charge appropriate as well as hotel facility, convenient space, and pleasant environments could be the key variable in forming the long-term relationship with customers. Therefore the strategic efforts for physical service must be required. Second, it was demonstrated that trust, satisfaction, and relationship quality have positive influence on the customer commitment, and also significant influence on reuse intention and word-of-mouth effect which is immersion and performance component. Third, it was demonstrated that the immersion formed by the relational marketing activity has a positive influence on in hotels performance.
In addition, this study provides some suggestions for management and employees whose aiming to increase the relationship with customer, to make their customer revisit, or to make a positive word-of-mouth effect.
First, companies must consider whether structural property in hotel can implement effectively the service factors of the relationship marketing, and endeavor to invest on the efficient management of internal marketing, individual marketing, database marketing, etc by means of the development of capable relationship marketing strategy and long-term service training for employees. Second, to maintain and increase the long-term customer, the corporate should hold effective service charge, as well as internal facility, which is physical service factor, convenient space, and hospitable environments. Third, the hotel
has to inspire ' their customers with self-esteem for the hotel they are using. And also it applies them to the discount rate by managing thoroughly the customer history card, utilize the immediate membership, provide the special service and a variety of free gifts, and make use of the mileage among the affiliates, in order to strengthen the directivity of the long-term customer and provide customers with more convenience. Fourth, the high relationship quality (trust, satisfaction) of customer for perceived service factors of the relationship marketing is necessary to develop the continuous relationship marketing program which customer can trust and follow firm's policy the hotel, because high level of trust and satisfaction for the hotel are most likely to be built. Fifth, because the customer commitment denotes the affection and attachment for the hotel, the customers who are highly interested in the attitudinal commitment which thinks only strength of the hotel and amicable relationship with the hotel, are in the incessant commitment stage that attachment and tenderness are emotionally high. Therefore, it is revealed that the higher the relationship quality concerning the service factors of the relationship marketing the customer perceives, the higher the customer commitment. Finally, the higher the customer commitment level, the more expected the hotel develop continuously, the more apparent the intention for revisiting, and the more positively the recommendation intention shows to the potential customer. It also ensures the behavioral performance, such as revisit irrespective of the raise, positive word-of-mouth to the potential customer, long-term use, and continuous purchase of service and product.