Servqual Model for Customer Satisfaction in Hotels in Jhapa, Nepal

Abstract

Jhapa District in Nepal is one of the key strategic tourism and business gateways, but its hotel sector has some long-term issues concerning the standardisation of service quality and its largely absent systematic measurement systems. This study uses the SERVQUAL model to find out the relationship among five popular major dimensions of service quality, including tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, to determine their influence on customer satisfaction. A cross-sectional survey research design based on a quantitative approach was used to gather the data involving 384 customers linked to 17 hotels in some of the largest regions of Jhapa, such as Birtamod and Damak. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 25, and it was found that all five dimensions are strongly and positively related to customer satisfaction (i.e., p < .001). The multiple linear regression analysis also suggests that the model of SERVQUAL accounts for 82.7% of the variation in satisfaction (R² = .827). Among the predictors, responsiveness (b = .257) is discovered to be the strongest dimension, with tangibles (b = .236) and assurance (b = .231) next and last. These results imply that the timely service, professionalism of the staff's behaviour, and properly maintained facilities are the main indicators of customer satisfaction in the context of Jhapa. The study recommends that the managers of the hotels concentrate on setting response time standards, improve the staff training to instil trust with the guests, and maintain high standards of hygiene to ensure that customers have a good first impression. Finally, the study applies the SERVQUAL model to a local South Asian context, and the hotel managers can be presented with evidence-based measures that help to improve their competitiveness and resource distribution.