Brides’ expectations of their hotel stay: An exploratory study

Abstract

This qualitative exploratory study is an examination of service-quality determinants in hotels from the perspective of brides staying at hotels before and after the wedding ceremony. Twenty semi-structured interviews revealed that the brides’ perception of the hotel experiences is composed of technical and functional factors, with emphasis on the quality of service. Findings indicated that hotels paid only minor attention to brides' wishes and desires regarding hotel-room features and critical service components. The brides expressed a clear expectation that the hotel servicescape would enable them to be at their best (physically and emotionally) in their center-of-the-show position. The findings have clear and immediate practical implications for the hotel industry to better tap the potential of this significant market segment, one all but ignored by scholars and practitioners.