(Determination of the Establishment with the Most Ideal Service Quality Criteria by AHP and MAUT Method: A Research on Ordu Hotels)

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to determine which service quality criteria are important for hotel managers' perceptions and to determine the importance of these criteria for the hotel establishments. In this respect, the research is important that the hotel management could provide information about service quality criteria which are very effective on tourism demand. In addition, the managers will be able to obtain a significant competitive advantage in reducing operational costs and selecting appropriate service quality criteria to the needs and desires of tourists. It is also aimed to contribute to the improvement of the existing service quality criteria in hotel establishments by sharing the results of the research. Design/methodology/approach – Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and MAUT technique were used in the research. These two methods, which are multi-criteria decision-making methods, have been applied both in order to rank the quality of service criteria according to their importance and to determine the hotel service offering the most ideal service quality. The service quality criteria which is more important was determined by taking expert opinions. Findings – As a result of the research, it was determined that the most important criterion among the ten criteria of service quality was the “cleaning” criterion in the data obtained with AHP technique. However, the other most important criteria are “kindness and respect, reliability, ease of operation and access”. According to these criteria, the results of the analysis obtained by MAUT technique have been shown which hotel business offers the most ideal service quality. Discussion – It is determined that cleaning is the most important service quality criterion in the perceptions of four- and five-star hotel managers operating in Ordu. According to this result, it is possible to conclude that the cleanliness of the hotel is the first thing that attracts attention in the perception of the service quality standards of a hotel. It was determined that housekeeping, front desk and restaurant services are in the back row in the presentation of service quality by hotel managers.