Towards the Development of a Lodging Service Recovery Strategy
Towards the Development of a Lodging Service Recovery Strategy
John W. O’Neill Anna S. Mattila
ABSTRACT. This article presents findings from a survey of 613 hotel guests and indicates that guests’ overall satisfaction regarding service failure and service recovery are higher when they believe that service failure is unstable and recovery is stable. Moreover, guests indicate they are more likely to return to the same hotel when they believe that service failure is unstable and recovery is stable. Finally, our results indicate that guests are actually more satisfied with their guest room when they believe that recovery is stable. Implications for managers’ strategies are discussed. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website: © 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]
KEYWORDS. Service failure, service recovery, hotel, strategy
John W. O’Neill, PhD, is Assistant Professor, School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management, The Pennsylvania State University, 233 Mateer Building, University Park, PA 16802-1307 (E-mail: jwo3@psu.edu). Anna S. Mattila, PhD, is Assistant Professor, School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management, The Pennsylvania State University, 224 Mateer Building, University Park, PA 16802-1307 (E-mail: asm6@psu.edu). Address correspondence to John W. O’Neill at the above address. The authors gratefully acknowledge Sookyung Kim’s assistance with data entry and management. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual CHRIE Convention in Orlando, Florida in August 2002 (Best Paper Award). Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing, Vol. 11(1) 2004 http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sku=J150 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 10.1300/J150v11n01_04
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JOURNAL OF HOSPITALITY & LEISURE MARKETING
INTRODUCTION Service recovery is now recognized as a significant determinant of customer
John W. O’Neill Anna S. Mattila
ABSTRACT. This article presents findings from a survey of 613 hotel guests and indicates that guests’ overall satisfaction regarding service failure and service recovery are higher when they believe that service failure is unstable and recovery is stable. Moreover, guests indicate they are more likely to return to the same hotel when they believe that service failure is unstable and recovery is stable. Finally, our results indicate that guests are actually more satisfied with their guest room when they believe that recovery is stable. Implications for managers’ strategies are discussed. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website: © 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]
KEYWORDS. Service failure, service recovery, hotel, strategy
John W. O’Neill, PhD, is Assistant Professor, School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management, The Pennsylvania State University, 233 Mateer Building, University Park, PA 16802-1307 (E-mail: jwo3@psu.edu). Anna S. Mattila, PhD, is Assistant Professor, School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management, The Pennsylvania State University, 224 Mateer Building, University Park, PA 16802-1307 (E-mail: asm6@psu.edu). Address correspondence to John W. O’Neill at the above address. The authors gratefully acknowledge Sookyung Kim’s assistance with data entry and management. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual CHRIE Convention in Orlando, Florida in August 2002 (Best Paper Award). Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing, Vol. 11(1) 2004 http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sku=J150 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 10.1300/J150v11n01_04
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JOURNAL OF HOSPITALITY & LEISURE MARKETING
INTRODUCTION Service recovery is now recognized as a significant determinant of customer