The Role of Nationality and Hotel Class on Guests’ Satisfaction. A Fuzzy-TOPSIS Approach Applied in Saint Petersburg

Abstract

Although hotels usually have clients from different nationalities, the research analyses the multicultural effects on hotel customers’ satisfaction is still scant. This paper aims to contribute to the realm of hotel management by providing interesting managerial insights into how different nationalities perceive hotel attributes differently using two hotels located in Saint Petersburg as a case study. To that end, a fuzzy hybrid method based on the technique of similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS) is proposed. The results are based on a sample of 447 guests and show that: (1) nationality influences the hotel guests’ satisfaction; (2) customers are, in general, more elastic in three-star hotels than in four-star hotels; (3) welcome gifts in the room and in the bathroom are key attributes in the clients’ satisfaction; and (4) Italian and Spanish guests are the least and the most satisfied customers, respectively. The study offers a number of important managerial insights to hotel managers and practitioners. The average figures obtained by general hotel satisfaction surveys usually hinder important peculiarities that need to be addressed when managers develop strategic satisfaction enhancement programmes. In particular, our results show that managers need to adapt the programmes to the differences observed by nationalities.

A Hybrid Fuzzy TOPSIS Method to Analyze the Coverage of a Hypothetical EU Ecolabel for Fishery and Aquaculture Products (FAPs)

“…The methodology is derived from a hybrid approach based on Fuzzy Set Theory (FST) and techniques for order preference by similarity of the ideal solution (TOPSIS). TOPSIS techniques are considered appropriate tools to handle different decision-making processes and they are especially attractive when respondents make choices with multiple attributes in consideration [52]. Moreover, the essence of the human ambiguity judgement when dealing with multidimensional attributes can be captured by fuzzy methods [53], which is an important task when using Likert scales based on linguistic terms.…”

Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Intentions in Hotels During the Exchange Rate Change in Egypt: A Comparative Study Based on Demographic and Tripographic Attributes

“…Additionally, Radojevic et al (2018) suggested that hotel star classification significantly influences CS, with higher-rated hotels often contributing to overall CS with their hotel services. Martín et al (2020) stated that luxury hotels typically have a more uniform level of CS, while middle-or low-class hotels typically have more diverse opinions. Furthermore, the star-rating system is commonly used to assess the quality of hotels, with guests of four-and five-star establishments generally having higher expectations for hospitality and service (Moreno-Perdigon, Guzman-Perez & Mesa, 2021).…”

“…Furthermore, Martín et al (2020) mentioned that there are significant differences in guest behavior between different cultures. Ozdemir et al (2012) provide evidence that nationality is an effective variable for revisiting intentions among tourists.…”

“…Additionally, meeting customer expectations with services enhances repeat purchase intention (Angelia, 2019). However, customer satisfaction is a multifaceted construct (Radojevic, Stanisic, & Stanic, 2017;Martín, Rudchenko & Sánchez-Rebull, 2020), influenced by cultural, political, and economic circumstances, as well as travel experiences, preferences, and psychological profiles. Moreover, the result of Rady et al (2023) suggested that during exchange rate changes, perceptions of fairness in the distribution of benefits play a crucial role in shaping customer attitudes and behaviors.…”

Understanding the perceived satisfaction and revisiting intentions of lodgers in a restricted service scenario: evidence from the hotel industry in quarantine

“…The relative weight of the affective antecedents on perceived value and satisfaction is significant (Gallarza et al 2013), because these factors influence consumers' behaviors, including their repurchase intentions (Ali et al 2016). Perceived satisfaction affects the willingness of visitors to revisit a destination according to their own place of origin (Bonera et al 2017;Martín et al 2020). Therefore, tourism service providers need to pay attention to the factors that form the satisfaction of visitors, so that they may meet them to the highest possible extent.…”