African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure (Jan 2015)
Family friendly services and customer satisfaction in Zimbabwean resorts
Abstract
Hospitality establishments are lacking in the aspect of family friendly services and facilities. There is not much research of family friendly services in the hospitality industry. This may affect the satisfaction of families on vacation. Family tourism is increasing worldwide such that it is now a huge market which should be given attention. In Zimbabwe very few hotels are servicing families who come for holiday vacation. This shows that lack of family friendly services, activities and facilities could affect customer satisfaction resulting in low volumes to hotels. Kariba was used as the research area, which is one of the popular destinations in Zimbabwe. The purpose of the research was to explore the level of satisfaction for families with family friendly services offered by hotels in Zimbabwe. The researchers used qualitative research design for hotels and tourists (supply and demand). The researchers established that the level of satisfaction was low based on the limited choice and variety. Key findings revealed that there is still extensive research lacking in the area of family friendly service provision. The services provided were also noted to be of poor standard where quality was concerned. Hence hotels need to improve the quality, quantity and variety of the family services so as to increase guest frequency and satisfaction levels and thus become more sustainable.
