Effect of Service Quality on Behavioral Intentions among Budget Hotels in Machakos County, Kenya

The hospitality industry through its budget hotel segment, maintains its fundamental role to boost tourism and support economic development across the globe and within Kenya. The main concern for budget hotels is retaining customer loyalty and keeping them as clients as a result of service quality. The objective of the study was to establish the influence of service quality on guest behavioral intentions among budget hotels in Machakos County, Kenya. This study investigated how the SERVQUAL dimensions of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy relate to guest behavioral intentions, which include positive word-of-mouth, willingness to recommend others, and revisit intentions. The study used a mixed-methods approach to study hotel guests among budget hotels in Machakos County, Kenya. A total of 332 from 10 selected hotel guests completed structured questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze quantitative data and to explain the connection between the guests’ experiential value and behavioral intentions. Based on the significant regression coefficient value of 4.294 and service quality produced a statistically meaningful and affirmative impact on behavioral intentions with a p-value of 0.000, which was less than the standard significance level of 0.05; thus, service quality was found to play a major role in influencing behavioral intentions among budget hotels in Machakos County, Kenya. The research results demonstrated that assurance with empathy emerged as a largely influential factor for behavioral intentions because it strengthened the personal connection between staff and customers. The research findings further showed that delivering superior quality of services in budget hotels should become a strategic business approach to create positive behavioral patterns for sustained competitiveness. Budget hotel managers should put training staff at the forefront of their initiatives, along with investments in service infrastructure and creation of policies focused on customers to create superior guest experiences.