Customer satisfaction and SERVQUAL: The case of Invercargill’s 4 star-plus motels

This research studies the service quality and customer satisfaction with four 4-star plus motels in Invercargill. The three research questions are: first, find the source of high customer satisfaction, then find the source of low customer satisfaction, and finally give suggestions on the aspects of low customer satisfaction. The research adopts a positivist research philosophy. The explanatory research uses questionnaires based on SERVQUAL(Service Quality) to collect quantitative data with 91 valid questionnaires received. The research results distinguish respondents between those with low and high customer satisfaction with the service. Four aspects of low satisfaction and eight aspects of high customer satisfaction are identified. This study found that high-star motels did an excellent job of intangible services, which is in line with the 4-star plus rating given by Qualmark. The difference from previous research findings is that 4-star plus motels have more significant problems in physical facilities. The study recommends that the managers of motels can make improvements based on low customer satisfaction, pay attention to the investment and improvement of tangible facilities, and maintain good aspects of intangible services. Future researchers can study the differences in customer satisfaction in different accommodation industrie