Effect of Customer Satisfaction on Performance of the Hotel Industry in the Western Tourism Circuit of Kenya

Abstract

The hotel industry is one of the fastest growth sectors of the global economies; its significant contribution is seen to be on an upward trend, as evidenced even here in Kenya where international hotel chains are opening its branches to reap the market rewards from this competitive industry. The purpose of this research project was to find out the effect of customer satisfaction in this industry. The researcher employed descriptive research design, simple random sampling was used, questionnaire as the research instrument was used for data collection, and descriptive statistics was used in analyzing data. Presentation of data was done through use of bar graphs, pie chart and frequency tables. The research findings showed, hotels strive to meet the expectations of the hotel customers through provision of excellent services in pursuit of customer satisfaction, and the customers appreciate this by becoming not only regular, but also loyal clients’, hence good performance of the hotel. The hotel industry in western tourism circuit of Kenya has low performance as compared to what other tourism regions has, yet the tourism circuit has unique and great potential to offer. These research findings suggested some appropriate hotel strategies that may enhance customer satisfaction

Key Words: Customer, customer satisfaction, hotel performance