Hotel Design and Facility Competitiveness in 3-5 Star Hotels in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The lack of competitive designs may result in a loss of attractiveness and potential customers. Therefore, this study sought to explore whether and how hotel designs may influence hotel facility competitiveness in 3-5 star hotels in Nairobi hotels, Kenya. The specific objectives were; to establish whether hotel lobby design affects the level of customer satisfaction, to determine the relationship between hotel ambiance and repeat visitation, and to develop design features that have the potential to enhance destination attractiveness. This study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive design utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods. The plan was preferred since data collection was at one point in time, and the target population was from one study area. The sample for the analysis consisted of general hotel managers, marketing managers, and guests selected from a list of three to five-star hotels in Nairobi using convenient sampling techniques. Questionnaires and oral interviews were administered and conducted with guests, hotel managers, marketing managers, and the facility, respectively. Factor analysis was used to identify the correlation among the independent variables. ANOVA was applied to determine the coefficient and the magnitude amongst the independent variables, which attained a 95% confidence level hence high reliability. In addition, single regression analysis was used for individual independent and dependent variables, i.e., hotel design and facility competitiveness. The findings show that the hotel lobby design contributed to guests’ attachment in terms of satisfaction with the hotel to a great extent (91%). According to the findings temperature of the hotel and its ambiance affected customer satisfaction and repeat visitation to a large area (72%). The findings further show that external appearance (55%) and landscape design (54%) were hotel design features with the most significant potential to enhance destination attractiveness. The study hypothesis indicated no important relationship between hotel design and facility competitiveness, in which the model attained a p-value of 0.003, therefore rejecting the null hypothesis. Thus, the study recommended that hotel owners consider improving their lobby design and ensuring they are spacious and attractive to guests. The study revealed that ambiance in the hotel industry is significant as a variable of hotel design and facility competitiveness. Keywords: Hotel Design, Facility, Competitiveness, 3-5 Star Hotels, Nairobi County &nbsp