This paper relies on responses from randomly selected guests seeking boarding and lodging services in
three different classes of hotel in Ghana: a 4-star, 3-star and a 2- star. The study shows that the satisfaction
levels of guests are not based solely on the classification of the hotels which are generally based on the
tangibility variable (Ghana Standards Board, 2005). Thus, from the study, guests of Miklin Hotel, a 3-star
hotel were more satisfied than guests of Golden Tulip hotel, a 4-star Hotel, followed by guests of Lizzie‟s
Hotel, a 2-star hotel. It is believed that the quality of service which provides value for money is critical to
the satisfaction of guests to these hotels (Lovelock, C. and Wirtz, J. 2004). Additionally, this satisfaction
trend also translates unto the loyalty levels of guests; where guests of Miklin Hotel were impacted greatly
by the service quality variables, followed by Golden Tulip Hotel and Lizzie‟s Hotel, respectively as shown
in tables 3 above.
The relationships and impact of the service quality variables are further buttressed by the results of a simple
Probit Regression Model where the elements of service quality as against customer loyalty status are fit
into a regression model. Here, in addition to the “responsiveness" variable for the 3-star hotel, “empathy”
and “assurance” variables play significant roles in generating customer loyalty for the 4-star and 3-star
hotels, while “reliability” generates loyalty for Lizzie‟s hotel, a 2-star hotel. Guest however, were least
satisfied with the “tangibility” variable which does not also make any significant impact on their loyalty to
the respective hotels. A key policy message is for the framers of the classification measures of hotels in
Ghana is to consider service quality variables that impact on customer loyalty and not focus on just the
tangibles since that variable can be taken for granted by hotel guests who are generally characterized as
looking for different environments all the time.