Standards for Sustainable Hospitality Services in Zanzibar

Abstract: The concept of satisfying customers is rooted deep in the philosophy of marketing and is key element in most marketing defi nitions. Academics and practitioners agree that customer satisfaction is a crucial concept. The success of the hospitality industry relies massively on the quality of the service delivered and customer satisfaction. One of the biggest contemporary challenges of management in service industries is providing and maintaining customer satisfaction. The importance of service quality in hospitality industry is stressed by the level of complaints raised by customers. This study is carried out with regard to identifying the factors infl uencing service quality excellence within the hospitality industry and analyzes many opinions, theories, parameters and conditions with the view of examining customers’ perceptions of service quality and thus improving Zanzibar hospitality services which for long time have been receiving negative remarks from stakeholders.The results of the study indicate the rather high expectations of hotel guests regarding service equipment. ‘Reliability,’ ‘responsiveness and assurance of customers ’ provision of information, ’ ‘empathy ’ and ‘tangibles ’ are the key factors that best explained customers ’ expectations of hotel services. The quantitative assessments of perceived service quality provide some insights on how customers rate the service quality of hotels and resorts.