Factors Affecting Guest Satisfaction in Hospitality Industry: the Case of Short-term Rentals

This study is devoted to the research of factors of customer satisfaction for the guests of daily rentals. The aim of this study is to reveal factors of satisfaction for the guests of daily rentals and to estimate its influence on the level of general customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.There were five main tasks set for this study: 1)reveal the particular characteristics of daily rentals as an accommodation object of hospitality industry; 2)reveal the factors of satisfaction of guests and to analyze the connection between satisfaction by specific attributes and general satisfaction;3) estimate the influence of general satisfaction on customer loyalty; 4) investigate difference between key factors of satisfaction for two different segments of guests (business and leisure travelers);5) elaborate recommendations for any private individuals or legal entities,operating in the sphere of daily rental business in order to increase the level of their customer satisfaction. By means of survey of 378 previous guests of daily rentals there were several conclusions derived in this study: 1) By means of criteria of importance of specific attributes, the guests of daily rentals may be divided into 4 different groups: “classic tourists”, “business tourists”, “sociable tourists”, “family tourists”. 2) By means of criteria of satisfaction caused by specific attributes the guests of daily rentals may be divided into 3 various factor groups: "atmosphere and coziness","location and safety","information and connection" 3) There are differences between business and leisure travelers in a number of factors of importance;4) Satisfaction by the factor group "atmosphere and coziness" influences the most on the level of general satisfaction; 5) It was proved that the satisfaction caused by specific attributes influences on the level of general customer satisfaction and general satisfaction has an influence both on intention to come back and intention to recommend (customer loyalty).