The Influence of Guest Perceptions of Service Fairness on Lodging Loyalty in China *

Abstract

This research is motivated by an important but largely unexamined question: how do guest perceptions of service fairness influence loyalty in a lodging context? To address this question, this study presents a conceptual model of service fairness and loyalty and tests that model using data collected from 601 customers of six hotels in China. Results support a multidimensional view of service fairness that comprises three dimensions. Two of those dimensions, distributive justice (fair outcomes) and interactional justice (fair treatment by staff), have larger effects on customer loyalty than does the third dimension, procedural justice (fair processes and procedures). A key implication is that hotel managers should train their employees to understand that guests’ evaluation of a service (and subsequent trust and loyalty) depends not only on specific service outcomes, but also on how guests feel they have been treated by employees.