Linen Quantity and Customer Satisfaction in Star-Rated Hotels in Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract

The universally accepted minimum recommended par of three for a bed enables linen not to be overstretched, which guarantees comfort. The purpose of the study was to investigate the quantity of linen used by star-rated hotels in the Upper East Region of Ghana, its relationship with customer satisfaction, and to test the existence of the association. A descriptive survey research design was employed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. A sample size of 381 comprising 52 hotel staff, 327 guests drawn from 24 star-rated hotels, and two key informants (the director of the Ghana Tourism Authority and the president of the Hoteliers Association), all of the Upper East Region, were used. Data collection was through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Means and standard deviation were used for the descriptive statistics. To test the hypothesis at a 5% significance level, simple linear regression was used. The findings indicated that the minimum par level of three for a bed was difficult to provide if hotels were fully booked, but not with the provision of two bath towels for each room. The hypothesis testing showed that linen quantity significantly predicted customer satisfaction (β = .08, p = .036). Consequently, linen quantity use had a significant relationship with customers' satisfaction (R2 = 0.017, F(2, 324) = 2.89, p = 0.036). The hypothesis that no significant association existed between linen quantity used and customer satisfaction was rejected (P = 0.036< 0.05). The study recommended that the Ghana Tourism Authority should educate and monitor par levels in hotel operations and stress the importance of par levels to improve linen quality.

Keywords: Linen Quantity, Customer Satisfaction, Star-Rated Hotels, Upper East Region, Ghana