HTM 3103

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR FOR

HOSPITALITY & TOURISM
CH2. CONSUMING HOSPITALITY AS SERVICES
HOSPITALITY AS SERVICE
Services are increasingly important features of economic performance.

Service industries are playing an increasingly important role in developed economies.

account for over 70 % of employment.
HOSPITALITY AS SERVICE
In this chapter, we will discover :
whether benefits consumers receive from consuming hospitality services more
difficult to evaluate than physical goods.

Whether the process of developing, planning and delivering hospitality services are
different from physical goods.

The service encounter relationship

Whether or hospitality homogeneous.

Consumer behavior within service consumption is different from physical goods

consumption.
 THE NATURE OF PRODUCTS, GOODS AND SERVICES
PRODUCT

Any bundle or combination of qualities, processes and capabilities

(goods, services, and ideas) that a buyer believes will deliver
satisfaction.

Product is multi-dimensional and dependent upon how the buyer

responds to different facets of the offering.
 THE NATURE OF PRODUCTS, GOODS AND SERVICES
PRODUCT

Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition,

use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes
physical objects, services, persons, places, organization, and ideas

Core benefit the essential benefit the customer is buying.

Relationship with the consumers

THE NATURE OF PRODUCTS, GOODS
AND SERVICES
Services encompass any activity or benefit that one party can
offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in
the ownership of anything.

GOODS SERVICES
Tangible, exist in both time and Acts or processes, exist in time
spaces only
Possessed Rendered and can only be
experienced
Devices, things or objects Deeds, performances or efforts

Produced Performed
GOODS VS SERVICES
Goods and services are intrinsically different and
that the application of models, concepts and
theories developed for goods cannot be applied
with any confidence to services.

All marketing is situation specific and allows for only

limited generalization, within common situational
boundaries
GOODS VS SERVICES
Differences between goods and services are of a
limited nature and thus marketing practice,
developed for goods can be modified to serve the
purposes of services.

High level of Human interaction.

There are only industries with more or less service

elements.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SERVICES
Intangibility

Inseparability

Heterogeneity

Perishability

Ownership
CHARACTERISTICS OF SERVICES
Intangibility Inseparability

The single most important factor Lack of distinction between delivery and

use
Inability to touch an item

The mental difficulty in accepting a Customer become part of the service

concept or idea

Can only experience their performance

CHARACTERISTICS OF SERVICES
Heterogeneity Ownership

Variability Customer only gaining access to the

activity or facility, not gaining

ownership of anything at the end of

Perishability
transaction.
Cannot be stored

Demand fluctuations management

THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON
HOSPITALITY CONSUMPTION
Culture reflects societys shared
meaning and traditions as :
Relationship
A sense of self and space
Values and norms

Communication and languages

Beliefs and attitudes
Dress and appearance
Mental processes and learning

Food and feeling habits Work habit and practices

Time and time consciousness

CHARACTERISTICS OF SERVICES
Consumer are not buying goods or services, but the
value/satisfaction of the offer Sum of the experiences
CONSUMING SERVICES
Service Encounter The moment of truth the point at which
consumers come into contact with the service company is critical to
success
Combining expectation, experience and knowledge in an interaction
Interpersonal Interaction
Service encounters have purpose and are not altruistic.
Service encounters do not assume prior acquaintance
Service encounter provides behavioral boundaries
DIMENSION IMPACT ON CONSUMER BEHAVOR

TIME

Duration of service encounter.

Offer the consumer different experiences over a

long period of time.
DIMENSION IMPACT ON CONSUMER BEHAVOR

PHYSICAL PROXIMITY

Face to Face
reception, lobby, restaurant areas

Remote
automated machine, quick checkout, billing
systems
Remote personal encounters telephone,
email, to customize
DIMENSION IMPACT ON CONSUMER BEHAVOR

PARTICIPATION

Involves customers in the product

Related to aspects of customization and physical proximity.

DIMENSION IMPACT ON CONSUMER BEHAVOR

DEGREE OF INVOLVEMENT

Engagement

Higher level of engagement with

decisions about hospitality services than
about utilities

More engaged in areas such as leisure

facilities and restaurants than at check-
in in hotels.
DIMENSION IMPACT ON CONSUMER BEHAVOR

DEGREE OF CUSTOMIZATION

The degree to which a customer interacts with the

service the degree to which a customer can intervene
in the service

The degree to which a service is altered for specific

customers the degree to which a service can be
customized.

Depends on the knowledge, confidence, risks.

Ex: Recommended menu / Trip Plan

DIMENSION IMPACT ON CONSUMER BEHAVOR

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Hospitality Staff

As embodying the attributes of the organization

SETTING

Physical design, atmospherics, ongoing activities,

aspects of the environment
CONCLUSIONS
Hospitality consumption comprises multiple interactions, often with very many people.

Hospitality are not finite; chaotic, unpredictable and changing in nature for each
consumer.

The same products evoke different responses in different consumers.

Consumers of hospitality services do not necessarily make evaluations based on the

sum of their experiences, but may generate an overall perception of the service based
on one single episode in an encounter.
Next Class
CH6. The influence of reference groups on Hospitality consumers