DETERMINANTS OF HOTEL GUESTS PREFERENCES AND ITS RELATION TO FREQUENCY OF VISITS

A Research Proposal Presented to the College of Hospitality Management and Tourism Dr. Yangas College Inc. Wakas Bocaue, Bulacan

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Course in HRM Research Methods and Techniques (HRMT1) For the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management

Submitted by: Joe Eduard C. Loya Jogie Zarenth M. Dela Cruz Gellie Marie B. Gonzales Michelle Domingo Rod Mhark Cariaga

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Hotel industry is part and parcel of tourism sector. The tourists are honored guest and the hotels offer them the demanded hospitality. Hence the two form a correlated industrial sector. Which is growing and flourishing fast, with promises for future. With the multi-dimensional growth and expansion of travel and tourism globally, Hotel industry has come up with bright prospects. As such was felt the need of trained manpower for Hotel industry. Hence the degree and diploma course started in Hotel Management and allied fields. According to J.David (2005), Management is an integral part of the hotel industry. It is such an important part of the hotel industry. Management is both science and art. It can be defined as a technique of getting things done through the efforts of others. Although this is not a right and complete definition because people cannot achieve the ends of the organization. In fact, management is a technique for the attainment of some objective or objectives Tourism and hotel industry are the true significant sectors of modern day. Hotel industry is one of the oldest endeavors in the world. Ellsworth Statler created Statler hotel in buffalo New York is the first hotel chain. Steven hotel is the largest hotel in the world. In the year 1930 hotels went bankrupt. (Wikipedia.Org 1923)

According to Andrews (2010), an existing hotel wants to attract more customers from its existing market segment. The attempt will be to woo the customers from other competing hotels in the location. According to Gray (2003), Guest usually stays or went to a hotel for strong motivation in a highly stressed work of life. People just want to relax. Another classification where hotels specifically gear themselves according to short-term and long-term stay of guests. It is also made up of those businesses that do one or more of the following: provide accommodation, prepared food and beverage services, and/or entertainment for the traveler. According to Ligouri (2003), in a hotel front office is the first point of contract. It is considered as the heart and soul of any property and nerve center of any hotel operation. It enhances guests services by constantly developing services to meet guests needs. It refers to that area of activity of a hotel which has administrative responsibility for guests and potential guests from before their arrival and on their arrival, to their departure and after departure. In this study, the researchers would like to know the criteria or preferences of hotel guest in choosing hotel. This will be correlated to their frequency of visit in a hotel.

Research Paradigm

Hotel guests preferences: 1. Amenities 2. Accommodation 3. Location 4. Customer service 5. Price

Frequency of guests visits: 1. Once a week 2. Once a month 3. Once a year 4. Twice a year 5. Trice a year

Figure 1: Determinants of hotel guests preferences and its relation to frequency of visits

Theoretical Framework

Figure 1 shows the paradigm of the study. The research paradigm shows the relationship of the independent variables and dependent variables. The independent variables include the amenities, accommodation, location, customer service and price. The dependent variables such as once a week, once a month, once a year, twice a year and trice a year shall be tested if there is a correlation of the two.

Statement of the Problem This thesis aims to answer the general problem determinants of hotel guests preferences and its relation to frequency of visits. To solve this, the following specific problems are raised: 1. What is the profile of hotel guests in terms of: a. gender b. age c. civil status d. income 2. What are the important factors, as perceived by the respondents when choosing a hotel: a. amenities b. accommodation c. location d. customer service

e. price 3. What is the frequency of visit in a hotel of the respondents? a. Once a week b. Once a month c. Once a year d. Twice a year e. Trice a year 4. What are the factors prevalent to the respondent in returning? a. Price b. Amenities c. Customer service d. Location e. Ambiance

Statement of Hypothesis

a. Null Hypothesis The preferences of hotel guests have no significant effect in the frequency of their visit. b. Operational Hypothesis The preferences of hotel guests have significant effect in the frequency of their visit.

Significance of the Study

The study will be beneficial to the following: The guests itself, for smoother of the right choosing of a hotel for their accommodation. The purpose of this study is to let people enhance

the relation to frequency of visits in a hotel. It may also give them the idea of what is a hotel and how frequent guests visits in a hotel. It also helps in the field of academe most especially in the hospitality industry. To know the factors on hotel guests preferences and its impact to frequency of visits. Through this research, the students will become aware widely in the field of hotel industry. The study will also help the hotel management to help them to improve more about their business. It may also help them to know what are the needs, wants and demands of the guests in a hotel. It will contribute to the hotelier on how to improve their categories of services.

Scope and Delimitation The coverage of the study involves the categories of hotel guests preferences in Bulacan in terms of frequency of guests visits. Variables such as amenities, accommodation, location, customer service and price will be used in determining. The data will be gathered through survey or set of questions and an interview to the hotel management, who will be the respondents of this study. The preferences of the hotel guest. 100 customers will be the respondents of this study. Actual guests of the hotel will be the respondents. A self-made questionnaire will be the instrument in gathering data. A suitable statistical methods will be applied to interpret the gathered data.

Definition of Terms

Amenities - are the facilities of the hotel that are provided for guests convenience, enjoyment or comfort. Accommodation - its a room where guests stay. Customer service - a service that provide by the hotel to satisfy guests. Frequency of visits - how many times the guests visit in a hotel. Guest - a person who pays for the services of an establishment. Hotel - A commercial establishment providing lodging, meals, and other guest services. It is a place where people stay not for so long. Location is a site where the hotel establishments locate. Price - the rate charged to the guests.

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Related Studies

Amenities

Things that make you comfortable and at ease all comforts of the hotels. In real property and lodging, amenities are any tangible or intangible benefits of a property, especially those that increase its attractiveness or value or that contribute to its comfort or convenience. Tangible amenities might include attractive guest rooms (lodging), dining, parks, swimming pools, golf courses, health club facilities, party rooms, theater or media rooms, bike

paths, community centers, services, or garages.

Room Rates

This is the listing rooms at the destination you have selected includes a description of each rooms and the rooms daily rate an asterisk will appear next to the daily rate if additional rate changes apply during the length of your staying.

Hotel Location

Space comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and may be located in free standing buildings enclosed malls, strip shopping centers, downtown shopping districts, or mixed used facilities. You may also find retail space in airports and other transportations facilities, hotel lobbies, sports stadium, and temporary or special events venue.

Supply of the rooms

It is of extreme importance to ascertain not only the existing supply of the rooms but also the future supply. The existing supply should be charted by first setting down the names of the current properties, chains, or other affiliations and the number of the rooms that have available, then forming an opinion as to whether the overall locations are good or bad. Facilities should be examined and charted as to type and size. In particular, present facilities for convention or a group business should be analyzed and a determination made as to their quality. Similarly, an investigation should be made of all proposed future hotels, their affiliations and the number of the rooms. There facilities too much be charted and graded.

Hotel Ambiance

The special atmosphere or good mood created by a particular environment. The noir ambiance is dominated by low-keys lightning. and deep shadows, creating feelings of disorientations , loneliness and entrapment.

Rate Structure

In a new hotel, the original room rate schedule is set up before the opening. In sense, it is pre determined b the owner in the initial planning stage of the buildings, since the style and type of the hotels to built, the appointers and facilities to be provided, and class of guest to be serviced all affect the rates that can and should be charged. Using this original guideline developed in the feasibility study regarding the locations, availability of rooms and potential volumes of business, rates are established. The schedule can

be set up either in the general manager and submitted to the assigned home-office executive for approval, or by the home office staff with the assistance of the general manager. Subsequent changes are normally made by the general manager with the knowledge and consent of the home office supervisor. The same comments apply to the original food and beverages menu prices and subsequent changes in them. Guidelines must also be established for the type and length of lease and the rent to be charged for any stores and concessions available for rental.

Related Literature The site according this book without a doubt, the most important factor in success or a failure of proposed hotel is the site location. The economic environment of the area must be considered zoning laws must be research and of course the size of the rooms that can be built on a given area of land in city projects heights restrictions and parking requirements are determining factors in the amount of land required. The access of the site to the necessary utilities such as water and electricity is vital. If water and electricity are not already available the provision of power lines water pipes and so on from the nearest source of supply to the site can be major cost. Similarly if it is necessary for the hotel to built generating plant to provide its own electricity or to dig wells for adequate water again construction cost rise the lack of nearby sewer lines can also contribute to an increase in cost. The site must be reviewed in relation to existing access to roads by which the guest can arrive at and depart from the hotel if the site does not have the proper access roads they must be built resulting in further cost increase. The natural advantages of the site must be considered particularly as they provide additional incentives for the guest to stay at hotel nearby beaches, ski slopes and similar natural

attraction are very desirable and this geographic contours of the site are important as they relate to the accessibility of such attractions a smooth stroll from the hotel to the beach is obviously much more desirable than a climb down 80 or 100 feet of cliffs. In considering natural attractions the directions in which they face can often determine to what degree tat will be used by the guest a beach facing east will provide a combination of morning sunshine and afternoon shades which will probably be more desirable than a beach that faces west. It follows therefore that the first site in any study of potential project should be careful detailed examinations of the site.

Room rates-room demand At this juncture in the preparations of the feasibility study the site has been evaluate to determine he suitability for a hotel the market has been analyzed to determine the potential demand for a hotel in the locations and this supply of existing and future rooms that is a competition gas been evaluated. Based on the analysis made of the statistics on arrivals and room nights projection should now be made of future demand for accommodation it should be measured in numbers of future room nights which can be set down and matched against the combination of currently available rooms and future which there will probably be a future market.

Customer Services

In this provision of service o the customers before during and after a purchase.

According to Turban customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customers expectation. Its important varies by product, industry and customers; defective or broken merchandise can be exchanged, often only with a receipt and within a specified time frame. Retail stores often have a desk or counter devoted to dealing with returns, exchanges and complaints, or will perform related functions at the point of sale; the perceived success of such interactions being dependent on employees who can adjust themselves to the personality of the guest. From the point of view of an overall sale process engineer effort, customer service plays an important role in an organizations ability to generate income and revenue. From that perspective, customer service should be included as part of an overall approach to systematic improvement. A customer service experience can change the entire perception a customer has of the organization. Some have argued that the quality and level of customer service has decrease in recent years, and that this can be attributed to a lack of support or understanding at the executive and middle management levels of a corporation and/or a customer service policy. To address this argument, many organizations have employed a variety of methods to improve their customer satisfaction levels.

Hotel Ambiance

Always exceeding in service quality by attractive look, originality, sincerity, hospitality and pleasant atmosphere in the city centre turns you business trips meetings and rest into the moments of pleasure.

Hotel Amenity

Is something of a premium nature provided in additional to the room and its basics when renting a room at a hotel, motel or other place lodging. The amenities provided in each hotel vary. In some places of lodging, certain amenities may be standard with all rooms. In others, they may be optional for an additional cost.

Related Literature

Amenities

Features that add material, comfort convenience, or smoothness to social interaction.

Room rates

Performing break even calculation using a hotels average room rate ideally the room rate should be high enough to generate a healthy profit for the company , but not so high as to discourage guest from staying at or returning to the hotel. Optimal revenue management practices determine the relationship between occupancy and average rate positioning. Often management must decide whether or not to take lower rated business in order to increase occupancy. Most hotels charges different rates at different times for the same room, depending on a specific condition in the marketplace, hotel that cater to the business traveler usually offer lower rates on weekends. Rate vary by the seasons in areas were recreational travel is whether

dependent. Length of stay and prepayment may also influence room rate. Groups who book many rooms at the same time may negotiate special rates because they bring substantial food and beverages revenue. (Alan T. Stutts.hotel and lodging management.2005)

Location

Lodging facilities may even be classified according to their location-airport, downtown, suburban, highway or resorts. This research describes the features of this sites, their limitations and the types of the hotels and motels typically built at each location to attract particular groups of guest.(Alan T. Stutts.hotel and lodging management.2005)

Customer service

For the hotel, the process includes all interactions between the employee and the guest design of the services operation the hiring and the training of service personnel, and the collection of information to understand customer needs, wants and expectations one way to monitor the process is the use mystery shoppers. Another way is to conduct focus groups with customers. A third way is to undertake large-scale survey research with both current and fast customers. (Alan T. Stutts.hotel and lodging management.2005)

Ambiance

The natural advantage of the site must be considered particular as they provide additional incentives for guest to stay at the hotel. Is considering natural attraction, the direction in which they face can often after determine to what degree they will be used by the guest. Various

methods are used by the hotel developers to purchase furniture fixture and equipment. (Alan T. Stutts.hotel and lodging management.2005)

Related Literature

The hotel can use the following strategies: Reduce the room rack rate to make it cheaper than competition; Giving value for money by giving some free facilities like free breakfast, free use of recreation facilities, or free use of the business centre; Be more aggressive in its advertising by increasing the advertising budget; Improve the advertising message; Introduce a loyalty programmed giving benefits for loyalty to the hotel. This approach believes that consumer favor those products and services that meet their needs and wants more precisely. In this approach, the organization puts the customers needs as the main focus as against the selling concept that puts the sellers needs in focus. In a fiercely competitive market place, most organizations are putting the customers and their needs as the main driving force. The hotel industry has slogans such as The customer is Always Right or The Customer is King (or Queen). The hospitality industry uses market feedback as a cornerstone to their activities. Hotels have guest comment forms in every room while restaurants include guests feedback forms enclosed with the bill to get to-date feedback.

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter represents the research design, the research instrument, the sampling techniques, the data gathering procedures and statistical treatment of data.

Research Design The study, entitled Determinants of Hotel Guests preferences and its relation to frequency of visits uses descriptive type of research. According to the book of Hotel Management by J. David (2005) if the research is to the point of view of the respondents the method use will be Descriptive to gain more information about a particular characteristic within a particular field of study. Descriptive research on the other hand is a type of research that is mainly concerned with describing the nature or condition and the degree in detail of the present situation. This method is used to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the cause/s of particular a phenomenon. The aim of descriptive research is to obtain an accurate profile of the people, events or situations. With this research type, it is essential that the researcher already has a clear view or picture of the phenomena being investigated before the data collection procedure is carried out. The researcher used this kind of research to obtain first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study. The descriptive approach is quick and practical in terms of the financial aspect.

Research Instrument

In gathering data, the researchers will use survey questionnaire. The researchers developed their own questionnaire and present it to their adviser for approval. Through this, the researchers will gather primary and reliable data directly coming from the sentiments, views and perspectives of the people involved. The questionnaire attempts to provide the basis guideline for the respondents to be comfort and ease in answering the questions.

Table 2 Descriptive Equivalent and scale of the survey questionnaire

Descriptive Equivalent Highly satisfactory Satisfactory Moderately satisfactory Needs improvement Not evident

Scale 5 4 3 2 1

the parts of the questionnaire. Part I is about the equipments of the hotel. Part II is about the amenities of the hotel. Part III is about the services includes in a hotel. Part IV is about the conditions of the rooms.

Sampling Techniques

Simple Random Technique sampling will employed because a simple random technique is a sample of a subject chosen from a population for investigation. Simple random sampling means that any location, person, or object can be equally selected and that selection choice does not influence the next selection. Joshua P. (1998). The respondents of this study will be the guests of different hotel establishments in Bulacan. The distribution of respondents is presented in Table 1.

Table 1 Distribution of Respondents

Hotel Establishment Hotel 1

Respondents 20

Percentage 20%

Hotel 2 Hotel 3 Hotel 4 Hotel 5 Total Population

20 20 20 20 100

20% 20% 20% 20% 100%

Data Gathering Procedures

Data Gathering will be done through survey questionnaire method. Thus, a survey instrument has been administered amongst the participants. Through this, the sentiments, views and perspectives of the people involved. Through this, the researcher will gather primary and reliable data directly coming from the sentiments, views and perspective of the people involved. This activity will take place for a week.

The procedure in doing the survey

1. Formulate the survey keeping in mind your overall substantive and analytical needs. 2. Determine specifically what mode of collecting the data will be used. 3. Determine an appropriate sampling plan. 4. Develop the questionnaire. (The survey instrument) 5. We will use personal interviews, to make sure that the Interviewers are carefully assisted. 6. Conduct an early pretest of the survey, whenever possible. 7. Execute the survey in the field, and be ready to deal with problems. 8. Edit and process the data. 9. Analyze the data.

Statistical Treatment of Data

The following statistical formula will be used in treating data gathered through a survey questionnaire. The information gathered on the respondents will be computed using the frequency, percentage distribution and chi square test.

A. Frequency Distribution

B. Percentage Distribution

The data gathered were treated in percentage distribution by computing the frequencies of responses, using the formula

P= f n

(100)

Where in: f= frequency response for each time. n= total number of respondents P= percentage of respondents

C. Chi square test (x)

This will used to test the significance of the given variables. The chi square are expressed in the form of frequencies which represents the number of item within specified qualitative description of categories.

The formula is:

x = (fo-fe)/fe

Where in: fo= expected or ideal frequency fe= expected or ideal frequency fe is computed by multiplying the total frequency (n) by the known proportion of the category. Results of the statistical treatment will be presented in tabular and graphical form, to be interpreted in textual form so that inferences/ conclusions can be deduced before recommendation can be expressed or formulated.

Bibliography

Alan T. Stutts.Hotel and Lodging Management. 2005

Dr.Lino,Ed Lim and Patty Martin. Setting up and Managing a small Hotel. 8007-13 pioneer street,brgy. Kapitolyo pasig city 1603,Philippines. 2008-2009

J.David. Textbook of Hotel and Management. 4347, Ansari road,daryagan. 2005

Kaye Chan and Raymond sparrow. Welcome to the Hospitality: An introduction C Dubuque,IA: delmer publishers. 1995

William S. Gray and Salva Tore C. Liguori. Hotel and Motel Management and Operations. Pearsan Educations INC. publishing as prentice hall. 2003

www.google.com

www.hotelstyle.com

www.lc.iastate.edu

Read the following statements according to the scale below:

5-Highly Satisfactory 4-Satisfactory 3-modorate Satisfactory 2-Needs improvements 1-Not Evident

Statement

Equipments

1. There are complete set of equipments in the Hotel room. 2. All equipment used are well maintain Cleaned and ready to use.

Amenities

1. Lobby when well managed

2. Guest are comfortable to convenience in the room 3. Cafeteria

4. Restaurant has a good quality of food service 5. Conference facilities are comfortable atmospheres

Service includes

1. Special Request

2. Massage

3. Salon

4. Gym

Room condition

1. Comfort room

2. Bed room