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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 11, No. 2
Publication Date: February 25, 2024
DOI:10.14738/assrj.112.16255.
Alhassan, S., Bariham, I., & Olu, E. L. (2024). Effects of Front Desk Staff Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in Some Selected
Hotels in Tamale Metropolis. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(2). 471-485.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Effects of Front Desk Staff Service Quality on Customer
Satisfaction in Some Selected Hotels in Tamale Metropolis
Shafawu Alhassan
Department of Family and Consumer Sciences,
Faculty of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences,
University for Development Studies, Ghana
Iddrisu Bariham
ORCID: 0000-0002-5027-7003
Department of Humanities and Social Science Education,
Faculty of Education, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
Ellen Louisa Olu
Department of Hospitality and Tourism Education,
Faculty of Technology Education, Akenten Appiah Menka
University of Entrepreneurship and Skills Training, Kumasi, Ghana
ABSTRACT
The hotel sub-sector provides a plethora of services to stimulate the growth of the
tourism sector. As a result, numerous governments offered a lot of incentives to
support the growth of the hotel businesses in Ghana. However, it seems most of the
hotels in the hospitality industry including those in Tamale Metropolis are not
meeting the quality standards expected of them in connection with service delivery,
good customer relationships, sufficient facilities, and provision of confidence and
trust of services offered. The study, therefore, examined the effects of front desk
staff service quality on customer satisfaction in some selected hotels in Tamale
Metropolis. The SERVQUAL Model served as the study's foundation. The study
employed cross-sectional survey design. Multi-stage sampling strategy was used. A
convenient sampling approach was employed to select the 2 hotels in the
Metropolis for the research. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version
22 was used to analyze the data. The study found that guests had a positive
perception of front desk staff at the two hotels. However, most of the guests did not
have confidence that front desk staff inspire visitors, and that information about the
two hotels was not sufficiently available. It was further revealed that front desk staff
service quality significantly affects customer satisfaction. However, treatment
equality, attention to details, and front desk staff language proficiency were the
factors the front desk staff lack. The study recommends hoteliers engage highly
motivated front desk staff; capacity building of front desk staff on how to inspire
visitors to attract more customers; and training of front desk staff on how to be
more attentive to guests' needs and preferences in order to improve the guest stay
and overall experience.
Keywords: Customer Satisfaction, Front Desk Staff, Lodging Quality Index, SERVQUAL,
Quality Service.
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INTRODUCTION
The hospitality industry, a service provider, plays a critical role in the socio-economic
development of Ghana. As a result, the ambition of various governments over the years is to
develop the tourism industry which witnessed a significant growth in the number of hotels in
Ghana from 420 in 1986 to 5,634 in 2022 (Ghana Tourist Board, 2022). The qualitative and
quantitative characteristics of the supply of tourism accommodation services influence the type
of tourism and tourists attracted to a particular destination. The hotel sector in Ghana is 100
percent private ownership. The total number of registered hotels in Ghana as of 2008 was 1,510
and only 3 percent of these hotels have more than 50 rooms with 69 percent having less than
15 rooms (Ghana Tourist Board, 2009 cited in Joseph, 2017). The hotel sub-sector contributed
44% of employment in the tourism sector in 2008 (Ghana Tourist Board, 2009). Similarly, in
2010, the service sector contributed 51.4% to Ghana’s GDP, followed by agriculture and
manufacturing which contributed 29.9% and 18.6% respectively (United States Central
Intelligence Agency Report, 2012 cited in Poku, Zakari & Soale, 2013). A critical examination of
the demand markets illustrates that demand from the ten top foreign tourist markets to Ghana
has increased from 2020-2022 as illustrated in Table 1.
Table 1: Top 10 Arrival Countries in Ghana from 2020-2022
2020 2021 2022
Country Arrival % Country Arrival % Country Arrival %
USA 39,028 11 USA 92,139 14.8 USA 118,369 12.9
Nigeria 33,394 9.4 Nigeria 59,193 9.5 Nigeria 72,786 8.0
Britain 20,538 5.8 Britain 34,073 5.5 Britain 47,962 5.2
Germany 8,103 2.3 Germany 14,785 2.4 India 22,261 2.4
Cote D’ ivoire 6,210 1.7 Netherlands 11,923 1.9 Germany 22,159 2.4
China 6,129 1.7 Canada 8,475 1.4 Liberia 16,149 1.8
Netherlands 6,028 1.7 Cote D’ivoire 8,413 1.3 Netherlands 14,541 1.6
Canada 5,522 1.6 China 8,088 1.3 Cote D’ivoire 14,284 1.6
South Africa 5,283 1.5 South Africa 7,591 1.2 Canada 13,051 1.4
France 5,219 1.5 France 7,048 1.1 South Africa 12,674 1.4
Source: Ghana Tourism Authority (2022)
Arrivals from the United States (14.8%), Nigeria (9.5%), Britain (5.5%), Germany (2.4%),
Netherlands (1.9%), Canada (1.4%), Cote D'Ivoire (1.3%), China (1.3%), South Africa (1.2%),
and France (1.1%) in 2021 are shown by the results in Table 1. This increased in 2022 with the
USA recording (12.9%), Nigeria (8.0%), Britain (5.2%), India (2.4%), Germany (2.4%), Liberia
(1.8%), Netherlands (1.6%), Cote D'Ivoire (1.6%), Canada (1.4%), and South Africa (1.4%)
(Ghana Tourism Authority, 2022). A more thorough examination of the data on foreign visitor
arrivals reveals that 41% of all visitors were from the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) sub-region, which includes Ghanaians living abroad. Ghana contributed 13%,
Nigeria contributed 11%, Cote D'Ivoire contributed 6%, Liberia contributed 4%, Togo
contributed 4%, and Burkina Faso contributed 2% of this total. The numbers above
demonstrate how crucial regional travel is to Ghana's tourism industry growth (Joseph, 2017).
Since the restrictions placed by the COVID-19 epidemic were loosened, there has been a
significant increase in the number of international arrivals in Ghana. The number of foreign
arrivals in Ghana increased from 623,523 in 2021 to 914,892 in 2022, a growth of around 47%.
The UNWTO reports that "Every global region recorded notable increases in international
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Alhassan, S., Bariham, I., & Olu, E. L. (2024). Effects of Front Desk Staff Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in Some Selected Hotels in Tamale
Metropolis. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(2). 471-485.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.112.16255
tourist numbers" in their research "Tourism Set to Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels in Some
Regions in 2023," which was posted on their website on January 17, 2023. While immigration
in Africa and the Americas rebounded to roughly 65% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022, arrivals
in the Europe region reached almost 80% of pre-pandemic levels. The recovery of arrivals in
Ghana was 81% from pre-pandemic levels, which is comparable to the recovery levels in
European markets and much higher than seen in most African countries (Ghana Tourism
Authority, 2022).
Furthermore, the recent opening of Tamale International Airport coupled with the
refurbishment of some tourist sites in northern Ghana comes along with a huge influx of people
into the metropolis requiring some kind of service from the hotel industry. Although attempts
have been made by successive and current governments to promote tourism in Ghana, little
attention has been given to the quality of service provided by the hotels. It appears the Ghana
Tourist Board is unable to adequately monitor and enforce the code of ethics governing the
tourism sector (Munkaila, Zakaria & Clifford, 2018). As a result, most of the hotels in the
hospitality industry including those in Tamale Metropolis are not meeting the quality standards
expected of them in connection with service delivery, good customer relationships, sufficient
facilities, and provision of confidence and trust of services offered (Berman, 2002 cited in
Munkaila et el., 2018). Service quality is an important component of customer satisfaction and
directly affects an organization’s success, especially those in the hotel sub-sector (Yilmaz, 2009
cited in Amissah and Amenumey, 2015). The supply of tourist accommodation is highly
influenced by the political and investment climate created by prevailing government policies,
demand conditions as well as the culture and attitude of the host population (Joseph, 2017).
Since customers participate in the consumption of the services provided by the hotels, they
interact closely with the various aspects of the hotel business including the Front Desk Staff,
which places them in a better position to be able to critically evaluate service quality by
comparing the services they receive with the expectations of the service they desired.
Therefore, to ensure an appropriate assessment of service quality offered by the hotels, there
is a need for the service providers in the hospitality sector to have a better appreciation of the
dimensions clients use to judge the quality of their service.
However, most of the literature on the guest’s perception of service quality dimensions of Front
Desk Staff such as (Joseph, 2017; Amissah & Amenumey, 2015; Poku, Zakari, and Soale, 2013)
tends to be limited to the context of southern Ghana. Though these contributions are valuable
and enhance the understanding of tourism businesses in Ghana, it is argued that researchers
need to guard against context myopia and expand knowledge about the differences rather than
concentrating on the similarities (Joynt and Warner, 1996 cited in Morrison, Carlsen, and
Weber, 2009). This notwithstanding, research by Amissah (2013) which explored guests’
satisfaction with hotel services in Elmina and Cape Coast found that; limited understanding,
inadequate operational procedures, lack of training, and management's inability to understand
customers’ needs were factors affecting tourists’ satisfaction of hotel services. A similar study
by Eric (2014) that examined the satisfaction of hotel services in Kumasi Metropolis uncovered
that the correlation between guests’ characteristics and various measures of service quality
(security and safety, physical facilities, and courtesy of staff) including guests’ gender, age,
marital status, country of origin, and number of visits to Ghana were significantly related to
guests’ security and safety. But again, Eric’s study was limited to southern Ghana making it
suffer from context deficits. Yeleduor (2009) had earlier researched the level of guests’
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satisfaction with hotel services in the Northern Region of Ghana and discovered that poor hotel
service, the unacceptable behavior of front desk staff, insufficient qualified staff, and unhygienic
conditions of the region were factors that discouraged tourists from visiting the metropolis.
This study by Yeleduor seems too outdated to be relied upon as the study constructs might have
significantly changed with the passage of time. A more recent study by Munkaila et al (2018)
which investigated service quality in the Northern Region tourism industry found that
leadership styles employed the hotel managers, poor working equipment, overloaded work
plans, lack of motivation, and absence of capacity building for front desk staff were factors
affecting the provision of quality service to hotel guests in the metropolis. This research by
Munkaila and his colleagues seems too outdated to be relied upon because with the passage of
time the variables might have changed. This research was therefore conducted to bridge the
gap in the literature and to examine the perception guests have about the Front Desk Staff at
the Modern City and Mariam hotels in Tamale Metropolis and to determine which service
quality dimension has the greatest impact on guests' satisfaction with hotel Front Desk Staff
(FDS) at the two hotels.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theories of Service Quality
According to Gupta (2017), SQ is divided into two major categories: tangible services (such as
furniture, buildings, rooms, and décor) and intangible services (such as particular touches,
surprises, and making people feel appreciated). Additionally, Gupta argued that although all
hotels in the modern world provide essentially the same practical amenities, it is their
intangible services that compel guests to stay with them. Numerous studies have examined the
CS traits that guests might find important in relation to the hotel business (Nomnga, 2015). In
general, the main four models used to assess CS and SQ in the hotel business are SERVEQUAL,
HOLSERVE, Lodging Quality Index (LQI), and DINESERVE. Each type has a unique strength and
has been flexibly employed in the hotel business to display pertinent literature. The hotel
industry has creatively used each model, each of which has a special strength, to present
literature relevant to this study and provide a conceptual framework. Awara and Amaechi
(2014) studied the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty in selected eateries
in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and
analyzed the data using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) method. The study
found a statistically significant relationship between customer satisfaction and: loyalty,
customer patronage, and customer retention. It was further discovered that with an
improvement in customer satisfaction, a firm will find customers who are more loyal. However,
the limitation of this research was the fact that it was conducted within the context of Nigeria
and not Ghana. That notwithstanding, Nomnga (2015) observes that SQ is an elusive, complex,
abstract, and subjective concept that can signify various things to various individuals. Eshetie
et al. (2016) noted that in the service sector, how well a hotel satisfies the client's expectations
has evolved into a gauge of the service's quality. Forozia et al (2013) asserts that hotel
management must appropriately consider guest expectations because, in the majority of
service sectors, SQ is crucial to a company's capacity to exist and succeed.
If guests experience poor service, they might decide not to patronize the firm again in the future
or might swiftly migrate their business to other suppliers (Prentice, 2013; Cheng & Rashid,
2013). In order to evaluate SQ, Wu et al. (2014) contend that both expectations and perceptions
must be measured. A set of crucial components categorized into five categories—tangibility,
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Alhassan, S., Bariham, I., & Olu, E. L. (2024). Effects of Front Desk Staff Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in Some Selected Hotels in Tamale
Metropolis. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(2). 471-485.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.112.16255
reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. SQ is seen as a multidimensional term that
is evaluated and understood by consumers (Mauri et al., 2013). More specifically, (Rauch et al.,
2015) asserted that the SQ concept's original application was centering a framework of
marketing operations around the consumer. Numerous studies have been conducted on the
impact of SQ on CS in the hotel business, including those by Rauch, Collins, Nale, and Barr
(2015), Mbuthia, Muthoni, and Muchina (2013), Minh, Ha, Anh, and Matsui (2017), Abukhalifeh
& Mat Som (2012), Lalla, Cowden, and Karodia (2015), G/Egziabher (2015), and Eshetie et al.
(2016). The five components of the SERVQUAL paradigm tangibles, reliability, responsiveness,
assurance, and empathy have been identified in the literature. In a study by Eshetie et al. (2016)
that examined the literature on the SQ and CS in the hospitality industry particularly hotels in
Ethiopia, the Lodging Quality Index (LQI), a multidimensional scale based on the foundation of
the SERVQUAL paradigm, was highlighted. It was understood that the LQI scale was initially
developed using the 10 characteristics that were included in the first version of SERVQUAL. The
LQI scale is a general measurement of hotel service quality. Rauch et al. (2015), Mbuthia et al.
(2013), and Minh et al. (2017) highlighted the LQI model's 10 dimensions, which are tangibility,
reliability, responsiveness, competence, courtesy, credibility, security access, communications,
and comprehension.
The SERVQUAL Model
The SERVQUAL model was developed in 1988 by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry as a
method for identifying SQ gaps. According to Waitiki (2014), the SERQUAL model was built on
the notion that customers might evaluate a company's SQ by contrasting their perception of
that company's SQ with their own expectations. According to Eshetie et al. (2016), a
commitment to quality increases customer satisfaction, increases revenue, and ultimately
benefits both the customer and the employee. Poor customer service can actually cost a hotel
money and hurt its reputation (Eshetie et al. (2016). When substandard services are provided,
any hotel management could feel threatened. However, dissatisfied customer typically does not
complain to a hotel's management; instead, they typically tell at least nine other people about
their negative experiences. The opposite is also true, contented guests tend to tell just a small
circle of individuals about their positive hotel experiences. The five variables employed by
SERQUAL to explain the level of customer satisfaction within the context of the hospitality
industry are assurance, reliability, responsiveness, empathy, and tangibles. Additionally, the
SERVQUAL methodology gauges client expectations and SQ perceptions. By deducting the
expectation (E) from the perception (P) value, P-E=Q, the quality gap (Q) is calculated. The sum
of all the Q values yields an overall quality rating, which serves as a measure of the relative
significance of the SQ characteristics that affect consumers' views of overall quality. A
standardized tool called SERVQUAL has been used in a variety of service-related businesses.
Two portions make up the SERVQUAL scale (Questionnaire): one measures consumer
expectations with respect to a service segment, and the other evaluates perceptions of the
company whose services are being evaluated. A 22-item Likert scale with five reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles components makes up SERVQUAL. The five
dimensions are frequently used to construct a total of 22 statements that assess service quality
and consumer expectations for the company being evaluated. Customers are typically asked to
rate how much they think the service provider should offer in order to achieve their highest
level of satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale. Researchers and scholars have paid close attention
to front desk operations in the hotel sector because they believe that they can influence how SQ
develops. The hotel sector can focus on the SERVQUAL model by comprehending SQ dynamics.
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Alhassan, S., Bariham, I., & Olu, E. L. (2024). Effects of Front Desk Staff Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in Some Selected Hotels in Tamale
Metropolis. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(2). 471-485.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.112.16255
Tangibles:
This dimension covers the outward look of buildings, staff, and correspondence materials used
to interact with clients. The location, appearance of the server, environment, cleanliness, and
space are all components of the tangibles dimension (Awara & Amaechi, 2018).
Zeithaml et al. (1990) asserted that there are additional aspects outside the dimension of
Parasuraman et al. (1988) and presented a comprehensive perception of quality assessment.
In his opinion, these aspects of service excellence include;
1. Access: It involves the ease of contacting the source. Position, hours of operation,
supplier availability, and other technical amenities belong here.
2. Communication: It is the capacity to communicate clearly with customers in a way that
comes naturally to them.
3. Credibility: This refers to the capacity to have faith in suppliers of the service or goods.
4. Courtesy: This refers to the actions of the service providers. Examples are kindness,
respect, tolerance, civility, and love.
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
This study was quantitative research that employed a cross-sectional study design to examine
how guests' perceptions of the front desk staff contribute to service quality in the two hotels in
the Tamale Metropolis. A cross-sectional survey design is used to collect social and individual
facts, attitudes, and beliefs (Kothari, 2014 cited in Sarah, Bariham & Quansah, 2023). It involves
measurement grouping, examination, appraisal, and elucidation of data, which results in the
establishment of critical philosophies of knowledge and the resolution of significant issues
(Sarah et al, 2023). Cross-sectional studies are the most ideal for determining the prevalence of
a specific occurrence, problem, scenario, attitude, or perceptions an individual or a group of
people have about a particular within a given period of time. A cross-sectional design has three
main unique features: no time dimension; a reliance on existing differences rather than change
following intervention; and, groups are selected based on existing differences rather than
random allocation (Akudugu, 2019). The population of the study were all guests who visited
the hotels in the Tamale Metropolis at the time of the study. A multi-stage sampling strategy
was adopted in this study. In the first stage of the sampling, a convenient sampling approach
was employed to select the 2 hotels in the Metropolis for the research. The hotels were selected
due to their proximity to the researchers and the willingness of their management to
participate in the research. In the second stage of the sampling, out of 296 hotel guests,
the Yammane formula for sample size determination was used to randomly sample 170 guests
from the two hotels to complete a questionnaire for the study. The Yammane (1967) formula
for computing sample size is quoted as follows:
n =
N
1 + N(e)
2
n =
296
1 + 296(0.052)
Where n=Sample size
• N=Sample frame
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• 1=Constant
• e=Margin of error (considered at 5%).
• Therefore, using this formula, n (sampled size) =170.
The simple random sampling strategy was employed at this stage to ensure that all the
respondents at the chosen hotels had an equal opportunity to participate in the survey. For a
sampling design to be referred to as a probability or random sample, each element in the
population must have an equal and independent chance of selection in the sample so that the
findings can be generalized to the entire population (Kumar, 1996).
Profile of Study Area
Tamale is the capital town of the Northern Region. It is located between the longitudes of 0°34′
and 0°57′W and the latitudes of 9°16′N and 9°34′N, with a total area of 922 km2. The Metropolis
is bordered by the Savelugu Municipality and the Nanton District to the north, the Mion District
to the east, the East and Central Gonja districts to the south, the Tolon District to the west, and
the Kumbungu District to the north-west. Due to the rapid development of Tamale, the
Sagnarigu municipality was carved out from the Metropolis in 2018. The city has numerous
financial and insurance institutions as well as an international airport. The capital city of
Tamale serves as the entry point to northern Ghana. Football matches between local and
international teams are played in Tamale's sports stadium. The presence of an international
sports stadium and an international airport offers both domestic and foreign visitors’
significant possibilities. Therefore, the hotel sector in the metropolis should be well-prepared
to seize this fantastic opportunity. Recent data from the Ghana Tourism Authority indicates that
the Northern Region had 139 standard accommodation facilities, 2 registered car rentals, 1
entertainment center, 27 recognized food and beverages facilities, 14 hotels, and 14 travel and
tour companies (Ghana Tourism Authority, 2022).
Profile of the Selected Hotels for the Study
Two main hotels, namely; Modern City Hotel and Mariam Hotel were randomly sampled for this
research. Further descriptions of the profile of these hotels are illustrated below.
Modern City Hotel:
The Modern City Hotel is one of the opulent lodgings in Tamale Metropolis. It was built in 2007
and has modern amenities befitting its status as a 2-star hotel. The 106 staff members at the 2-
star Modern City Hotel comprise 8 security guards, 21 housekeepers, 8 office staff, 20 chefs, 6
laundry staff, 15 maintenance staff, 16 restaurant staff, and 12 front desk staff. As part of its
additional attraction, the hotel offers a pool, gym, conference rooms, Wi-Fi, and digital room
keys. International and domestic travelers frequently stay in this hotel. In January, 2024, the
hotel hosted Failatu Abdul-Razak who had cooked over 110 hours as of Friday 6, January 2024
in her attempt to the Guinness World record for a cook-a-thon of 119 hours and 57 minutes
currently held by Irish chef Alan Fisher.
Mariam Hotel:
One of the top hotels in the Tamale Metropolis is the Mariam Hotel, which was opened in 2002.
The Mariam Hotel is quite unique in its standards due to the type of local-echo environment it
is surrounded by, with a peaceful atmosphere and lovely decor. The hotel has 84 employees
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Figure 2: Reasons for Travelling
According to Figure 2, the responses showed that 40% of travelers were on vacation, 21.2%
visited the metropolis for business, 16.8% visited friends and relatives, and 12% were there for
other reasons like work. This result is similar to those by Amissah and Amenumey (2015)
whose research on service quality dimensions of selected hotels in Accra concluded that almost
54% of the respondents disclosed that the main purpose of their visit was business followed by
holidays (30%). In a similar survey by the Ghana Tourism Authority (2022) on reasons
international tourist chose Ghana as their preferred destination, it was revealed that 42.28% of
the respondents were in Ghana for family reunion, 17.45% were on vacation, 16.78% were on
tour to enjoy and experience Ghanaian culture, 12.08% were on business trip, 5.70% were
attending entertainment events, 2.01% were on educational tour, 1.68% were attending
conferences in Ghana, and 1.34% were on transit.
Mode of Hotel Booking
Respondents were asked to describe the process they used to make hotel reservations. The
majority, 57.8%, made personal reservations, followed by online reservations (24.2%) and
friend bookings (18%) as shown in Figure 3.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Tourism
Business
Visiting friends/Relatives
Holidays
Work
Reason for Travelling