| dc.description.abstract | The hospitality industry through its budget hotel segment, maintains its fundamental role to boost tourism and
support economic development across the globe and within Kenya. The main concern for budget hotels is
retaining customer loyalty and keeping them as clients as a result of service quality. The objective of the study
was to establish the influence of service quality on guest behavioral intentions among budget hotels in
Machakos County, Kenya. This study investigated how the SERVQUAL dimensions of tangibility, reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, and empathy relate to guest behavioral intentions, which include positive word-ofmouth, willingness to recommend others, and revisit intentions. The study used a mixed-methods approach to
study hotel guests among budget hotels in Machakos County, Kenya. A total of 332 from 10 selected hotel
guests completed structured questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze
quantitative data and to explain the connection between the guests' experiential value and behavioral
intentions. Based on the significant regression coefficient value of 4.294 and service quality produced a
statistically meaningful and affirmative impact on behavioral intentions with a p-value of 0.000, which was
less than the standard significance level of 0.05; thus, service quality was found to play a major role in
influencing behavioral intentions among budget hotels in Machakos County, Kenya. The research results
demonstrated that assurance with empathy emerged as a largely influential factor for behavioral intentions
because it strengthened the personal connection between staff and customers. The research findings further
showed that delivering superior quality of services in budget hotels should become a strategic business
approach to create positive behavioral patterns for sustained competitiveness. Budget hotel managers should
put training staff at the forefront of their initiatives, along with investments in service infrastructure and
creation of policies focused on customers to create superior guest experiences | en_US |
