THE IMPACT OF HRM PRACTICES ON EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND GUEST LOYALTY IN SERBIAN HOSPITALITY

Despite the hospitality industry reeling under the impact of COVID-19, few studies provide practitioner-oriented perspectives capturing dimensions of guest loyalty within emerging markets. The researchers examine the influence of perception of value and experience on guest loyalty within the context of the Indian hotel industry. A random questionnaire survey of 170 occupants across three renowned hotels during the first week of COVID-19 induced lockdown in India and subsequent analysis using structural equation modeling confirm that both guest loyalty and satisfaction continue to be positively influenced by perception of value and the service experience. Both guest satisfaction and loyalty are strongest among guests who perceive high service value. Guest loyalty is also indirectly influenced by value perception and service experience through the mediation of customer satisfaction. The relationship between perceived experience and guest satisfaction is found to be stronger when perceived service value is higher. The hospitality industry, a vector of pandemic occurrence, can use this opportunity to reset business models. While micro-segmentation is called for in positioning offerings to target groups, efforts to reduce customer sacrifice by simplification of pricing and transaction procedures should be implemented across the spectrum in adjusting to the new normal.

Indonesia is known as an archipelago of islands with a wide variety of cultures and natural beauty, providing many options for tourists to visit. This research aims to investigate the influence of guest experiences on guest loyalty within the accommodation sector, focusing on Indonesian Generation Z. The study employs a quantitative method, utilizing an online survey distributed through Google Forms, to gather data from 146 valid respondents who had stayed in Indonesian accommodations within a year. The data was processed using partial least squares structural equation modeling with Smart PLS 3.2.9. The results reveal that guest experiences in pre-trip, on-trip, and post-trip directly influence guest satisfaction. Guest satisfaction significantly influences guest loyalty. Moreover, guest loyalty is indirectly influenced by guest experiences (in pre-trip, on-trip, and post-trip) that are mediated by guest satisfaction. Guest experiences in pre-trip, on-trip, and post-trip have no direct influence towards guest loyalty. These findings highlight the importance of providing excellent services and products before, during, and after the trip to increase guest loyalty through guest satisfaction. The results contribute to the development of effective strategies for enhancing guest loyalty and satisfaction, ultimately benefiting accommodation providers and the broader hospitality industry.

Purpose: This study investigated (a) the impacts of social-, economic-, and psychological relation benefits, perceived by 5-star hotel guests, on guest satisfaction and guest loyalty and (b) the moderated-mediation of the impacts by gender. Methods: A total of 426 valid responses were collected from an online survey targeting South Koreans. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, multivariate regression analysis, and moderated-mediation analysis. Results: Economic- and psychological benefits had positive impacts on guest satisfaction and guest loyalty. However, social benefits positively influenced guest loyalty only. Guest satisfaction partially mediated the impacts of economic- and psychological benefits on guest loyalty, and these indirect impacts of moderated by gender. Specifically, the positive impacts were more salient among males than females. Conclusion: It is inferable that economic- and psychological benefits are more closely associated with service quality, the key factor of service experience, whereas social benefits play a more supplementary role. Even if males and females perceived the same level of economic- or psychological benefits, males are more likely to turn that into greater levels of guest satisfaction and guest loyalty. The findings help expand the understanding of how relational benefits differ based on gender and how gender shapes consumer perceptions or behaviors in tourism and hospitality contexts. The findings can also be used to seek a more effective use of relational benefits.

Human resource management (HRM) practices have been recognised as a key function in enhancing organisational productivity and sustaining competitive advantage for organisations. It has been noted that most studies that are based on the relationship between HRM practices and performance indicators (e.g., service quality) in hotels hide an important element that tells hoteliers which factors to concentrate on in cases of poor performance. There is a lack of qualitative studies to highlight the effect of HRM practices on service quality in Canadian hotels. Therefore, this research aimed to examine the influence of HRM practices on service quality in the Canadian hotel industry. This study aims first to propose a working definition of service quality in hotels and then to develop a conceptual model to help hotel managers improve service quality in the light of HRM practices. This study seeks to investigate how employee recruitment and selection, training, rewards and incentives, and internal career opportunities help to improve the quality of service in the hotel sector. An exhaustive review was conducted to establish existing facts about the concept of service quality and its significance for the hospitality sector. Likewise, sources that addressed issues in the HRM discipline were analysed to assess the role of HRM practices in ensuring service quality. The qualitative research method was employed in the study. Three sets of semi-structured interviews were designed to obtain a perspective on the relationship between HRM practices and service quality from the top to the bottom of the hierarchy within hotel organisations in Canada. They were semi-structured and face-to-face. The sample was made up of 6 HR managers, 6 supervisors and 22 non-management employees. The findings of the research indicated the presence of a strong association between recruitment and selection and service quality. The themes obtained from interviewees suggested that an established process of hiring of induction for new employees is an effective first step in ensuring that any new person joining the organisation is aware of service quality standards and expectations. The findings further indicated that recruitment and selection help in hiring and selecting skilled people to deliver service quality. This suggested that recruitment and selection play a key role in impacting the service quality. It was found that training and development, incentives and rewards, and internal career opportunities have an effect on service quality. Moreover, the relationship between all the HR practices as a bundle and service quality was reported as having an effect to improve service quality. A key contribution of this study that it offers a workable definition of service quality and then a robust model for the relationship between HRM practices and service quality that contributes to enhance knowledge of the causal relationship between them. In addition, this study contributes by identifying which HRM practices a hotel could adopt to gain a service quality advantage in the marketplace. Moreover, the proposed conceptual framework contributes by improving our understanding of the causal relationships between HRM practices and service quality. Managerial implications, research limitations and research avenues were then captured.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a very significant impact on all aspects of the economy in Indonesia including tourism, as a result the number of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia decreased sharply and the ban on tourism activities caused the Indonesian tourism industry to experience a significant decline. To attract tourists to Indonesia, the world of tourism has improved a lot, one of which is hospitality. Hotel business actors must try to display different offerings and services by creating uniqueness and distinctiveness that can attract visitors to stay. This study aims to determine whether service quality and price affect customer loyalty through guest satisfaction at the Hotel Grand Cityhall Medan. The research method used is quantitative. The samples taken in this study were 98 respondents. This research is sourced from primary data obtained through questionnaires. The data analysis technique used in this study is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis using the Partial Least Square (PLS) program. The results in this study indicate that service quality and price have an influence on customer satisfaction, service quality has no influence on customer loyalty while price has an influence on customer loyalty, customer satisfaction has no influence on customer loyalty, service quality has no influence on customer loyalty through guest satisfaction and price has no influence on customer loyalty through guest satisfaction.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices bundles and organizational commitment, and find answers for questions on which of these bundles contribute how to the employees’ performance and loyalty according to their demographic characteristics in maritime market.Design/methodology/approachTwo separate surveys were applied to 104 employees of international maritime companies. Factor and reliability analyses were carried out to ensure the surveys’ validity and reliability. Then, correlation analysis was conducted to determine whether there is a relationship between HRM practices and organizational commitment. Finally, independent groups t-test was used to determine if perceptions of employees on HRM practices and their organizational commitment vary according to their demographic characteristics.FindingsModerate positive and negative linear relationships between HRM practices bundles and organizational commitment were found. Also, significant differences between the organizational commitment levels of employees and their perceptions on the effects of HRM practices to their performance were determined.Research limitations/implicationsSurveys were conducted only on Turkish employees in maritime sector and companies only that published annual and social responsibility report were examined.Practical implicationsHR managers should pay attention on HRM practices bundles to increase the level of employee’s organizational commitment and performance. While doing this, they also should take their employees’ demographic characteristics on account. This study can give clues about management of employees with different perceptions on performance and commitment.Originality/valueThe authors add the literature by identifying the link between HRM practices bundles and organizational commitment. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study, which reveals the link between HRM practices bundles and organizational commitment dimensions, separately. Also, an original new questionnaire was produced, which measures the employees’ perceptions on the effects of HRM practices to performance.

This study aims to analyze the influence of price perception and service quality on guest loyalty with satisfaction as an intervening variable at Sunday Hotel & Resort Bali. This study uses a quantitative, survey-based approach. The study population comprised Sunday Hotel & Resort Bali guests who stayed during the study period, namely November - December 2025, with a sample of 200 respondents selected using purposive sampling, namely guests who had stayed more than twice. Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method through SmartPLS 3 software. The results showed that price perception and service quality had a positive and significant effect on guest satisfaction. Furthermore, satisfaction also had a positive and significant effect on guest loyalty. This finding confirms that satisfaction plays a role as an intervening variable that strengthens the influence of price perception and service quality on guest loyalty.

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of guest perception in the selection of Airbnb in Nakuru County, Kenya. This study was anchored on expectancy disconfirmation theory. The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive research design and adopted purposive random sampling to gather data from a sample size and use of 104 respondents, from the questionnaires that were found valid. These respondents were the people who frequently patronize Airbnb. According to the study results, there is a linear relationship between guest perception and choice of Airbnb and it was examined using the regression analysis. The model indicated that guest perception could explain about 38.4 % of the variance in the choice of Airbnb. The correlation results showed that there is the existence of a statistically linear positive relationship between guest perception and choice of Airbnb (r=0.239, p=<0.05). This implies that a significant majority of the respondents were influenced by guest perception to select Airbnb, authentic experience, service quality, and guest satisfaction had a bigger influence on the development of guest perception. Guest perception relevancy in hospitality management evolves from the recognition that, customer sentiments are vital when it comes to expenditures on services rendered. Quality has been used as the critical key determinant that influences hospitality industry performance, but basic elements remained the same or as they were during the traditional times.

This study investigates the influence of human resource management (HRM) practices on the organisational commitment in hospitality industry. The study hypothesises that HRM practices (employee motivation, rewards and awards, grievance handling, employee engagement, performance appraisal and training and development) will be positively related to commitment to organisation and career. The study was conducted with randomly selected employees (300 numbers) of leading hotels in Chennai, Tamilnadu. The statistical results of the data collected from the employees of hotels reveal that majority of the six HRM practices have direct positive and significant relationships with commitment to organisation and career. The employees of the hotels felt that 'grievance handling' function of HRM practices has to be given more importance and 'performance appraisal system' has to be more effective in a manner to motivate employees to perform better.

This study investigates the influence of human resource management (HRM) practices on the organisational commitment in hospitality industry. The study hypothesises that HRM practices (employee motivation, rewards and awards, grievance handling, employee engagement, performance appraisal and training and development) will be positively related to commitment to organisation and career. The study was conducted with randomly selected employees (300 numbers) of leading hotels in Chennai, Tamilnadu. The statistical results of the data collected from the employees of hotels reveal that majority of the six HRM practices have direct positive and significant relationships with commitment to organisation and career. The employees of the hotels felt that 'grievance handling' function of HRM practices has to be given more importance and 'performance appraisal system' has to be more effective in a manner to motivate employees to perform better.

This study aims to determine the influence of service quality, facilities, and location on guest satisfaction at New Puri Garden Hotel Semarang. In the increasingly competitive hospitality industry, understanding the factors that influence guest satisfaction is crucial for enhancing customer loyalty and business competitiveness. This research uses a quantitative approach with a survey method. The population in this study consisted of all guests staying at New Puri Garden Hotel Semarang, totaling 97 individuals. The sampling technique used was random sampling, where the entire population was taken as the sample, resulting in 97 respondents. The research instrument was a questionnaire designed based on indicators of each variable. The data analysis technique employed was multiple linear regression analysis to examine the effect of independent variables (service quality, facilities, and location) on the dependent variable (guest satisfaction). The results of the analysis show that service quality has a positive and significant effect on guest satisfaction. This is evidenced by the t-value of 3.702, which is greater than the t-table value of 1.660, with a significance value of 0.005 (< 0.05). Facilities also have a positive and significant influence on guest satisfaction, with a t-value of 3.118 > 1.660 and a significance value of 0.002 (< 0.05). Meanwhile, location has the strongest influence on guest satisfaction, with a t-value of 6.468 > 1.660 and a significance value of 0.000 (< 0.05). Based on these results, it can be concluded that partially, the three variables—service quality, facilities, and location—have a positive and significant effect on guest satisfaction. These findings indicate that improving service quality, providing adequate facilities, and choosing a strategic location are essential factors in creating a satisfying guest experience. Therefore, hotel management should prioritize the development and enhancement of these three aspects to maintain and increase customer satisfaction in a sustainable manner.

Background: Human resource management (HRM) practices are essential tools employed by hotel management to achieve organizational objectives.Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate how HRM practices impact job satisfaction and employee retention in the hotel industry in Indonesia.Design/methodology/approach: This study used a completely random sample of 361 hotel employees from Indonesia. This study employed regression modeling on online survey collected data. Findings/Results: Research has demonstrated that human resource management (HRM) practices, including job security, empowerment, training, and quality of work life, have a substantial influence on employee retention rates. Furthermore, job satisfaction emerges as another critical determinant of the duration employees choose to stay with their present employer.Conclusions: Furthermore, the results of the regression analysis indicate that there is a direct link between HRM practices and employee retention. However, this connection is significantly stronger when job satisfaction levels are initially increased. As a result, effective HRM practices have been shown to enhance employee satisfaction, leading to greater loyalty and commitment to the company.Originality/value (state of the art): This study aims to enhance our understanding of the relationships between human resource management (HRM) practices, employee satisfaction, and employee retention. While previous research on the connection between HRM practices and employee satisfaction is limited, this study is noteworthy for exploring the effects of four dimensions of HRM practices on employee satisfaction, and how this in turn impacts employee retention. Keywords: employee satisfaction, hospitality organizations, HRM practices, regression analysis, retention

Research purpose – This study examines the impact of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices: recruitment, training, compensation, and performance evaluation, on employees’ Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) in Moroccan companies. Research methodology – A quantitative approach was employed. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire from 209 non-HR employees across various Moroccan companies. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted to examine the measurement structure, followed by Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to assess the relationships between HRM practices and OCB. Findings – HRM practices have a positive and significant influence on OCB. Training and compensation showed notable effects, while recruitment and performance evaluation also contributed to fostering a positive work environment, enhancing employee engagement, and encouraging behaviours beyond formal job requirements. These results highlight the pivotal role of HRM in promoting organisational commitment and discretionary behaviours. Research limitations – The use of a convenience sample and self-reported data limits generalisability and may introduce bias. The quantitative design does not fully capture the complexity of employee experiences, and data collection faced constraints due to refusals and limited collaboration. The study does not investigate the relationship between HRM practices and counterproductive behaviours, suggesting avenues for future research. Practical implications – Managers should prioritise transparent recruitment, continuous training, fair compensation, and objective performance evaluations to encourage OCB. These practices help cultivate a motivated and collaborative workforce, supporting organisational productivity and a positive work environment. Originality/Value – This study contributes uniquely by examining the effect of HRM practices on OCB in the Moroccan context, which remains underexplored. By focusing on employee perceptions, it provides actionable insights for HRM research and policy, helping organisations enhance work behaviour and overall performance.

The study focused on the relationship between guest satisfaction and loyalty within standard category hotels in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Recognizing guest satisfaction as a pivotal factor in enhancing business performance, the research highlights its direct influence on guest loyalty, a crucial element for success in the hospitality sector. Utilizing a descriptive correlational research method, data were collected from 279 guests who had stayed at least one night in various hotels. The findings indicate that most guests reported satisfaction with services, particularly in areas such as front desk reception, room quality, ambiance, and overall service quality. However, notable inconsistencies were observed in food and beverage services. A high positive correlation was established between guest satisfaction and loyalty, suggesting that satisfied guests are more likely to remain loyal to the hotel. Demographically, the majority of guests were young, educated, and employed, primarily visiting for leisure or business. Price and accessibility emerged as key factors influencing hotel selection, with recommendations often stemming from family and friends. Despite expressing satisfaction, guests showed reluctance in recommending the hotels or considering them as their first choice for future stays. The study concludes that improving guest satisfaction can significantly enhance loyalty, offering practical insights for hoteliers. Recommendations include developing targeted marketing strategies based on guest demographics, ensuring service consistency, and leveraging word-of-mouth marketing to foster loyalty and increase patronage.

This study investigated the implementation of modern human resource management (HRM) practices and their influence on service delivery and administrative effectiveness in local government councils within Abia Central Senatorial District, Abia State, Nigeria. Specifically, it examined the extent of HRM practice adoption, the relationship between HRM practices and service delivery, and the effect of HRM practices on administrative performance. The study adopted a descriptive-cum-correlational research design, utilizing quantitative data collected through structured questionnaires administered to 333 council staff, complemented by qualitative insights from key informant interviews. Descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, standard deviation) were used to assess the level of HRM implementation, while Pearson Product-Moment Correlation (PPMC) and multiple regression analyses tested the study’s hypotheses. The findings revealed that HRM practices were moderately implemented, with recruitment and employee motivation being the most adopted, whereas ICT integration and performance appraisal were least implemented. A strong positive relationship was observed between HRM practices and service delivery (r = 0.672, p < 0.01). Regression results indicated that HRM practices significantly influence administrative effectiveness, explaining 55.7% of the variance, while also predicting variations in service delivery. The study concludes that strategic HRM practices are critical drivers of local government performance, though gaps in ICT adoption and performance appraisal limit full effectiveness. It recommends policy reforms aimed at strengthening recruitment, training, motivation, ICT integration, and performance management systems to enhance service delivery and administrative efficiency.