The Experiences of Persons with Physical Disability and Satisfaction in Selected Classified Hotels in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to determine the experiences of persons with physical disability (PwPDs) as hotel guests and the effects these experiences have on satisfaction in selected classified hotels in Kenya. The research was driven by five key objectives: to determine the influence of personal characteristics, trip-related factors, the physical environment within the hotels, human interactions, and policy compliance on the satisfaction of hotel guests with physical disabilities. A cross-sectional research design was selected for this study, as it permits an in-depth understanding of the relationships between different variables. The study focused on 44 hotel managers and employed snowball sampling to include 30 guests with physical disabilities. The participants were given semi-structured questionnaires, and the data gathered were then analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The statistical findings revealed an R squared value of 0.614, indicating that the independent variables under investigation jointly explained approximately 56.2% of the variance in satisfaction levels for guests with physical disabilities. Specifically, the study found that the physical environment within the hotels had a highly positive and statistically significant impact on guest satisfaction (β =.440, p=.005<.05). Personal characteristics of the guests also played a critical role, positively affecting their satisfaction (β =.282, p=.019<.05). Moreover, the quality of human interactions emerged as another important factor, with a positive and significant correlation to satisfaction (β =.284, p=.015<.05). Trip-related factors, which include elements like the purpose of the stay and length of the visit, were also found to positively influence satisfaction (β =.249, p=.046<.05). The study concluded that trip-related factors, human interactions, personal characteristics and the hotel’s physical environment positively and significant affected satisfaction of guests with physical disability in selected classified hotels in Nairobi City County. The study thus recommended that hotels in Nairobi City County adopt ADA policies to make their amenities and services more accessible to persons with physical disabilities in order to enhance their satisfaction levels. Keywords: Persons with physical disabilities, hotel guest satisfaction, accessibility in hospitality, policy compliance in Hotels, Nairobi city county hotels