Improving service quality in Malaysian hotels: Exploring the people dimension

Abstract

In Malaysia, tourism is a major catalyst for growth and development. While many Malaysian hotels are opulent, well-appointed hotels, service delivery standards are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to develop a customized, industry-wide service delivery model that could assist hotel operators to improve service quality. In-depth interviews were used to explore experts' perceptions of the importance of aspects of the people dimension in service delivery. The data obtained from this research process was then used to fashion a customised service improvement model by extracting the most appropriate service improvement dimensions from existing, empirically tested models within the literature.