An Evaluation of Taiwanese B&B Service Quality Using the IPA Model
According to a December 2011 report released by Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau, there were 3,763 bed-and-breakfast guesthouses (B&B) in Taiwan, 3,367 of which were legal with a combined 13,389 rooms, increasing by 96 percent from December 2006. It seems that the B&B sector is quite a popular target for investors. As the word-of-mouth advertising has been considered one of the most influential marketing methods, those who invest in B&Bs must manage to utilize their limited resources to improve customer satisfaction in a fast-growing and competitive market. The best marketing approach in reaching out to B&B customers, as suggested by this study’s author, would be word-ofmouth adverting. A PZB framed questionnaire is used in this study to explore the expectations and satisfaction of B&B customers both before and after the accommodation period, with the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) model applied to analyze and measure the service quality. Findings from the questionnaire survey showed 3 out of the totally 23 service factors falling in the “concentrated concerned” quadrant (i.e., tidiness, architectural characteristics, and reasonable rates); 6 factors falling in the “continued maintenance” quadrant (i.e., adequate parking place, commitment to customers, handling of customers’ opinions, legality of B&B, grievance handling, and the local specialties-ordering service); 10 factors falling in the “low priority” quadrant (i.e., modern facilities, safety devices, availability of breakfast, security of online reservations); 4 factors falling in the “over-strived” quadrant (i.e., the availability of custom-made services, the ability to grasp customers’ needs, the availability of tour packages, and the availability of experiences regarding local industries).
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