Hotel cleanliness—how do guests view it? Let us get specific. A New Zealand study

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Abstract

It is of extreme importance for hotels and other accommodation providers to understand the factors that influence the selection of accommodation. There have been a number of research projects which have investigated this question, with many finding that cleanliness is the most import important of the factors affecting selection of accommodation. However, a review of previous research indicates the research has stopped at that point. This paper looks at specific areas for cleanliness (the ‘toilet’, the ‘shower cubicle floor’, ‘bed linen, etc.) and in so doing, takes the question of accommodation cleanliness a step further. A survey was conducted in New Zealand which resulted in 412 usable responses. It found that for many of the critical areas of accommodation guest expectations were not being met, with particular evidence around the area of the bathroom and toilet. The results give accommodation management specific direction pertaining to cleanliness and guest expectation, indicating that there is a significant difference between performance and importance in some areas where results show expectations to be higher than performance. It is also revealed that there is statistically significant difference between the importance rating of females and males, with females rating almost all areas higher in importance, while there was almost no gender difference in the rating of performance.

Introduction

Over the years numerous research projects have been undertaken to measure the factors that influence the selection of accommodation by guests. Callan (1996) identified 166 hotel attributes under the headings of: (1) Location, (2) Image, (3) Price/value, (4) Competence, (5) Access, (6) Security, (7) Additional services, (8) Tangibles-bedroom, (9) Tangibles-other, (10) Leisure facilities and (11) Service provider. Dube and Renaghan (1999) surveyed 469 frequent users of hotels, and identified the reported most frequent benefit as “no-worry, hassle-free stay”. This was followed by “Having a comfortable stay” and two items shared the third place: “Having an enjoyable experience” and “General sense of satisfaction”. Other studies have focused on specific areas of the accommodation market: Ananth et al. (1992) investigated the needs of mature travellers, while other researchers have considered the needs of business guests (Gundersen et al., 1996; McCleary et al., 1993; Weaver and Oh, 1993; Lockyer, 2000). Of the many studies undertaken, there is in many of them a strong indication that cleanliness is a very important, if not the most important, factor in the selection of accommodation (Callan, 1996; Weaver and Oh, 1993; Saleh and Ryan, 1992; McCleary and Weaver 1992; Mehta and Vera, 1990; Lewis, 1987). What has not received academic research are the specific areas of a hotel or motel that are indications of cleanliness and how potential guests view such items as the toilet, the floor of the shower, the odour etc, and how important these items are, along with a comparison to performance.

Although some progress was made by Callan (1997), Callan (1998) in relation to attributes of cleanliness, this research did not look particularly at cleanliness itself, rather at many areas of guest satisfaction with accommodation providers.

Knowing those attributes that determine guest selection of accommodation is of extreme importance to the hospitality industry. Understanding those features that are perceived as important can lead to higher customer satisfaction and assist accommodation providers in their day-to-day decisions on which areas are important within the property.

Section snippets

Methodology

New Zealand is a small country located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia. Its land size is 268,670 km2 (similar in size to the USA state of California, or Japan). It has a temperate climate with sharp regional contrasts. Approximately 80% of the population live in cities. The capital is Wellington, its second largest city. Although it could be argued that research from such a remote country might have little international relevance, the makeup of the population, while small (3.8

Results

The data were analysed for sample reliability and adequacy. Using split half modelling on the ‘importance’ scales the Guttman split-half correlation was 0.89, which is usually perceived as a good result. The alpha coefficients for each half were 0.92 and 0.95, indicating internal consistency within the data set. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin test of sample adequacy was 0.94, classified as ‘marvellous’ (Ryan, 1995, p. 256). From these statistical tests it can be concluded that the sample data possess

Discussion and relevance to management

An important element in the management of accommodation is understanding the needs of guests. This gives management the opportunity to put their (often limited) resources to the best advantage. There is strong evidence that, among the many factors that might influence the selection of accommodation by guests, cleanliness is very important.

However to say that cleanliness is the most important factor in the selection of accommodation is to pose a significant question: that of what specifically in

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