The Impact of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in Luxury Hotels in Muscat

Purpose: The study aims to explore the service quality in the Omani luxury hotels to identify key attributes that can result in customer satisfaction and loyalty. The study's objectives were to assess guests' expectations of service quality in Muscat's luxury hotels, determine the key attributes discerned by guests in evaluating the service quality of luxury hotels in Muscat, and measure guests' satisfaction and loyalty towards the service offered in luxury hotels in Muscat. The research question was what effect does the service quality have on customer satisfaction and loyalty in luxury hotels in Muscat. Design/methedolgy/approach: The study adopted a descriptive research design to determine the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, the study adopted quantitative research and used a survey questionnaire to collect the data and propose findings. Due to the testing of different theories rather than developing them, the research approach is considered a deductive approach. Findings: Results concluded that customers had very high expectations of service quality in Oman's luxury hotels. Guests ranked ten different service quality attributes; the results showed that 'physical facilities are visually appealing' ranked the most significant among all attributes. However, 'a wide variety of food' was the least important among all attributes. The results further revealed that all attributes of the five distinct dimensions had a potent influence on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Originality: This study is unique as no previous studies have been conducted in Oman, making it a one-of-a-kind study on Muscat's luxury hotels. This study's results will be valuable to hotel practitioners, the government, tourism development companies and future researchers. Keywords: Service quality, Customer satisfaction, Customer loyalty, Luxury hotels Category: Applied Paper
1. Introduction Countries in the Middle East region are highly reliant upon their oil reserves for economic development. Oman's oil and gas industry provides more than 80% of total government [...]