Assessment Of Factors Influencing Hotel Patronage

The customer retention is very important for the hotel to maintain the old customer and attract the new customer. This is very difficult job for the hotels and for each company to retain the old customer and for that reason the hotel offers different package for their customers to retain. The study therefore examined the factors influencing patronage of hotels in Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. The study was based on primary data obtained in a cross-sectional survey of 203 respondents using multi-stage sampling techniques across communities in the Local Government Areas (LGAs). The study data collected were analysed using both descriptive and quantitative techniques. Descriptive techniques and chi-square were used to analyse the data collected. The findings revealed that majority of the respondents were between 25- 34 years of age with an average of 36.2 years. Socio-demographic characteristics revealed that females were (61.6%). (75.9%) were married; (48.8%) had secondary education, 33.0% had tertiary level formal education and 9.4% had no formal education. The findings of the study revealed that 53.2% had between 4-6 individuals as household members. Substantial percentage of the participants (60.6%) engaged in trading as the main occupation. About 30.0%) had between 5-9 years of experience in their main occupation. Majority (50.2%) of the respondents were members of social group. Result of the factors affecting patronage of hotel in the study area were staff hygiene and neat uniform (89.2%), attractive outdoor surroundings (100.0%), well maintenance of hotel interior and exterior (100.0%), sanitation of the hotel (58.6%), colour compatibility in common areas of the hotel (59.1%) and playing of nice music in the hotel (52.7%). The study recommended that hotel managers should provide quality services that will commensurate with the price the customers pay. Since staff performance is seen as insignificant due to known routine services of staff, there should be a constant staff training of relationship marketing and courtesy. Hotels in the study area should ensure the adequacy of these technological facilities in the hotels and also ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of these facilities.

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Tourism refers to the broad framework that identifies tourism"s essential characteristics and distinguishes tourism from similar, often related but different phenomena The two terms �"travel" and �"tourism" can be used in isolation or together to describe three concepts: (i) The movement of the people, (ii) A sector of the economy or an industry, (iii) A brad system of interacting relationships of people, their needs to travel outside their communities and services that attempt to respond to these needs by supplying products. The Tourism industry has developed through the years and presently is one of the most diversified, largest and extensively growing industries in the world. The share of tourism and travel industry comprises 11% of the global export of commodities and services, 50% international tourists go to foreign countries for holidays, 16% go on business trip and 34% go to visit friends and relatives, religious, and for medical purposes (Travel Exhibitions, 2007). Since the purpose of travel determine the form of tourism, tourism has been classified into various forms by different authors according to the activities carried out at the country of destination.

Patronage is the sole aim of every enterprise. Consumer patronage has however been described as the concept of repeat purchase behaviour, which can be regarded as some degree of repetitive purchase of the same brand by the same buyer (Zeithaml, 2000). Patronage is tied to competitiveness, profitability and even survival of an enterprise. It is therefore an important issue in a contemporary business world. Patronage (level of patronage per time period) becomes even more important in hospitality industry in general (hotels in particular) because of the nature of the product offered which cannot be stored and which becomes effectively lost once not rendered within a particular time period. In other words, the non-storable nature of hotel services makes the issue of ensuring constant patronage a front burner issue.

In order to ensure fairly constant and substantial patronage of hotel services, there is the need to understand what drives consumer patronage. Although many studies have examined the patronage determinant factors which were conducted in developed countries. In spite of the ground-breaking of some of these studies, the fact that they were skewed towards the developed world questions theirvalidity in the context of the developing world in general, Nigeria in particular and Lagos State specifically. According to Ahmad, Ghazali and Othman (2013), what determines a customer"s choice of selecting or patronizing hotels differs from country to country as well as from region to region as a result of differences in cultural, environmental and socioeconomic factors. Some of the global factors found to influence customer patronage of hotel and allied services are highlighted review in this study.

Previous studies have quoted that importance of services quality in determining customer satisfaction with a services encounter (Pettijohn., 1997, Stevens et al., 2000). In hospitality industry, services quality has been found to be important in influencing customer satisfaction and future intentions to request for further services as well. The result of ambient hotel patronages on a study conducted in Hong Kong revealed that the service quality dimension contributed strongly to customer"s intent to request for a given hotel. The study also categorized telephone reservations and parking under convenience, it also tested reservations and parking with logistic regression analysis, which resulted in a significant level of model improvement (p<0.001) (Kivela, et al., 2000).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Nigeria has a huge population that is estimated at 170 million people and apart from the international market that is available for hotels, the local market is also huge, hence people constantly desire comfort-the type offered by hotels. This further translates that both the population and the need are present within the local market creating opporunities for patronage. It is therefore a yardstick that in order for the hotels to maximize patronage, it is necessary to understanding current factors that drive consumer patronage is needed. A plausible way of getting the vital information towards gaining the understanding is through empirical studies. A review of relevant literature showed that a study that focuses specifically on influencing factors of hotel patronage within Lagos are scanty which justifies further studies to contribute to the existing literature.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study is to investigate the assessment of factors influencing hotel patronage in Lagos State.

Specific objectives include to:

Examine the impact of tangibility on hotel patronage in Lagos State.

Investigate the effect of reliability on hotel patronage in Lagos State.

Evaluate the impact of technical facilities on hotel patronage in Lagos State.

1.4 Research Questions

Is there a significant impact of tangibility on hotel patronage in Lagos State?

What is the effect of reliability on hotel patronage in Lagos State?

What is the impact of technical facilities on hotel patronage in Lagos State?

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study is highly beneficial to students and scholars in the field of hospitality management and tourism. The reviews made in this study will add significantly to their knowledge with respect to hospitality management in Nigeria. The findings and recommendations made in this study will serve as a guide to stakeholders in the hospitality industry to implement the necessary measures aimed at improving hotel management services. This action will in turn bring about increased profitability.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This study covers an assessment of factors influencing hotel patronage in Lagos State. Precisely, the study covers hotels located in Ikorodu Lagos State. Factors such as tangibility, reliability and the availability of technological equipment were used as the major factors determining customer patronage of hotels in Lagos.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

This study was constrained by factors such as the allocated time required for its completion, the non-availability of materials both online and offline as well as the non-cooperativeness on the part of the participants and hotels surveyed in this study.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Hotel:

An establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs, a flat screen television, and en-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, business centre (with computers, printers, and other office equipment), childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts, gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and B&Bs) to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities.

The precursor to the modern hotel was the inn of medieval Europe. For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century, coaching inns served as a place for lodging for coach travelers. Inns began to cater to richer clients in the mid-18th century. One of the first hotels in a modern sense was opened in Exeter in 1768. Hotels proliferated throughout Western Europe and North America in the early 19th century, and luxury hotels began to spring up in the later part of the 19th century.

Hospitality:

The relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes hospitality in the Encyclopédie as the virtue of a great soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity. Hospitality is also the way people treat others, that is, the service of welcoming and receiving guests for example in hotels. Hospitality plays a fundamental role to augment or decrease the volume of sales of an organization.

Tourism:

Travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours.[2] The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes".[3] Tourism can be domestic (within the traveller"s own country) or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country"s balance of payments.

Management:

The administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.

Management includes the activities of setting the strategy of an organization and coordinating the efforts of its employees (or of volunteers) to accomplish its objectives through the application of available resources, such as financial, natural, technological, and human resources. "Run the business"[1] and "Change the business" are two concepts that are used in management to differentiate between the continued delivery of goods or services and adapting of goods or services to meet the changing needs of customers - see trend. The term "management" may also refer to those people who manage an organization-managers.

Some people study management at colleges or universities; major degrees in management includes the Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.), Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA.), Master of Business Administration (MBA.), Master in Management (MSM or MIM) and, for the public sector, the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree. Individuals who aim to become management specialists or experts, management researchers, or professors may complete the Doctor of Management (DM), the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), or the PhD in Business Administration or Management. In the past few decades, there has been a movement for evidence-based management.

1.10 Organization of the Study

There are five chapters in this study, the first of which discusses the background, statement of the research problem, aims, research question, and research hypotheses as well as the study"s significance, scope, and limitations. Chapter 2 contains conceptual, theoretical, and empirical reviews. The study methodology is covered in Chapter 3. This chapter covers the research design, the study"s population, the sample size and methodology, the data collection source and method, the study"s instruments, the data analysis method, and the validity and reliability of the study. Chapter four covers data presentation, data analysis and discussion of findings. Chapter five encompasses the summary, conclusion and recommendations.

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