The Role of Hotel Staff in Enhancing Customer Retention in Three-Star Hotels in Port Harcourt (Published)
This study investigated the role of hotel staff in enhancing customer retention in three-star hotels in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Specifically, it examined the influence of guest service roles and facility maintenance roles on returning customers’ patronage decisions. A descriptive survey design was adopted, involving 96 hotel staff and 99 returning customers selected through stratified random sampling. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent samples t-test). The study was anchored on the SERVQUAL model and the Expectancy-Disconfirmation Theory. Findings revealed that hotel staff performed highly across guest service indicators, with mean scores ranging from 3.86 to 4.05, while returning customers also reported satisfactory experiences with mean scores between 3.42 and 3.72. Similarly, staff reported high performance on maintenance roles (M = 3.98) while customers agreed positively (M = 3.51). Independent t-tests showed significant differences between staff and customer ratings on guest services (t(193) = 2.99, p = 0.003) and maintenance roles (t(193) = 3.29, p = 0.001), indicating that both guest service and maintenance practices significantly influence customer retention. The study concludes that staff conduct and operational competence remain critical levers for sustaining guest loyalty in three-star hotels.
Keywords: Customer retention, Port Harcourt, facility maintenance, guest service, hotel staff, three-star hotels