Housekeeping Service Quality and Guest Satisfaction in Selected Star Rated Hotels in Nairobi City County, Kenya
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Date
2019
Authors
Mchigani, Elwin
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
The major contributors to guest patronage in a hospitality organization are the standards
of cleanliness and quality of services offered. In Kenya, despite the knowledge, set rules
and guidelines of housekeeping practice, hotels have been faced with complaints from
guests ranging from room cleanliness and maintenance to the quality of services
offered. The purpose of the study was to examine housekeeping service quality and
guest satisfaction in selected star-rated hotels in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study
was guided by four objectives namely; to examine housekeeping services, determine
housekeeping service qualities, establish guestroom physical amenities and examine
challenges encountered by housekeeping personnel in achieving guest satisfaction. A
cross sectional survey design was adopted in achieving the research objectives, with
both qualitative and quantitative approaches being used for data collection. Nairobi City
County offered a cosmopolitan base for the study as it hosts most of the star rated hotels
therefore, providing a good source of respondents for the study. The population for this
study comprised of 244 guestroom attendants, 21 executive housekeepers and 1033
hotel guests from star-rated hotels in Nairobi City County. Purposive sampling and
stratified random sampling were used to select 21executive housekeepers, 149
guestroom attendants and 280 hotel guests. The study used questionnaires, personal
interviews and observations to collect data. Data collected were analyzed using both
descripti ve and inferential statistics. Factor analysis was used to identify housekeeping
services most' preferred by guests and guestroom attendants. It was found out that
physical status of facilities in the guestrooms is well maintained and the housekeeping
staff seems to be friendly and courteous. Regression analysis was used to measure the
relationship between housekeeping service quality and guest satisfaction and the
findings showed R=0.323 which indicated there existed a weak but positive relationship
of housekeeping services and guest satisfaction. Additionally, physical facilities in the
guestroom which included aspects such as the different room categories, keycard door
'SQ'stem, room doorbell, quality of the bed and mattress, the room and bathroom linen,
furniture and fixtures, mini bar, air conditioning unit and guest amenities affected guest
satisfaction. There existed a negative relationship between physical facilities found in
the guest rooms and guest satisfaction with a coefficient of (-0.123) tested at 0.05
significant level. On challenges encountered by housekeeping personnel in achieving
guest satisfaction, lack of enough housekeeping cleaning equipment, insufficient room
linen, lack of enough staff and poor support from management highly contributed to
poor service delivery. Based on these findings, the study concluded that star-rated hotels
lack the technical know-how of identifyfng guests' needs.
Housekeeping quality services in selected star-rated hotels has a direct relationship with
management decision making in that a unit change in decision making process directly
influences the quality of service delivery. There is need for housekeeping service
providers in the industry to be encouraged to formulate guidelines that will encompass
all housekeeping practitioners to act as an internal regulatory body to ensure the
industry offers quality services to its guests. [t is recommended that further' research be
conducted on the new trends in hotel housekeeping practice, and challenges experienced
by the department in implementation of the same.
Description
A Research Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
The Award of the Degree of Master of Science in Hospitality Management
in the School of Hospitality Tourism and Leisure Studies, Kenyatta
University,2019
Keywords
Housekeeping Service, Quality, Guest Satisfaction, Star Rated Hotels, Nairobi City County, Kenya