Purpose:

This paper describes the detailed process of development of a reliable scale to measure customer perceptions of the upscale hotel servicescape that could then be used as a basis for intra and inter-hotel comparisons and to examine relationships with other variables, such as emotions, satisfaction and loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach:

A review of the existing service and hospitality literature provided a range of dimensions and attributes of the hotel servicescape which were used as the basis for a Q sort technique to determine the content adequacy of newly-developed and existing items. Testing the emergent items was done through a questionnaire that was distributed at five luxury upscale hotels in London providing 612 fully valid responses, which, using a split sample, were subjected to both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to explore the dimensionality and reliability of the instrument.

Findings:

Although the Q-sort suggested four key dimensions, the outcome of the factor analyses revealed five dimensions with high reliability - aesthetic quality; functionality; atmosphere; spaciousness; and physiological conditions. ‘Aesthetic quality’ appeared to be the most important factor, followed by ‘functionality’, ‘atmosphere’, ‘spaciousness’ and ‘physiological conditions’.

Research limitations/implications:

As this study was conducted with customers of upscale luxury hotels in London, the resulting scales need to be further tested in other hotel segments and in other locations.

Practical implications:

This study provides upscale hotel managers with an effective measurement tool which will enable them to benchmark their operation and make improvements that could lead to a better impression and evaluation of their hotel. The scale has a variety of potential applications and can serve as a framework for further research in the hotel industry.

Originality/value

Despite the wide interest in and importance of the servicescape in hotels, there are only a few studies dealing with this subject in the hotel context. This study provides a new tool for measuring customers’ perceptions.