Service quality facets and hotel customer retention in Ghana: Evidence from the Volta Region

Service quality and customer retention remain essential issues in the service sector. This research delves into unravelling the complex relationships between the facets of the SERVQUAL model (reliability, responsiveness, tangibility, assurance, and empathy) and the retention of hotel customers in less-urban areas of Ghana. A cross-sectional survey of 450 customers of hotels in the Volta Region produced data for descriptive and regression analyses using Smart PLS 4. The results show that service quality was rated moderately, only assurance and empathy significantly affect customer retention, while tangibility, reliability, and responsiveness do not. Generalizability of our findings to other regions of Ghana and elsewhere might be questioned because the study was limited to only one region. However, this seeming limitation provides novelty and value in several ways. Firstly, while SERVQUAL is widely used, its application to less-urban geographical areas like the Volta Region is uncommon. Moreover, the study provides a deeper understanding of how service quality affects customer retention by focusing on a specific, narrow regional area. Further, by differing from the usual broader hospitality research, this distinctive approach offers valuable insights into local customers' unique preferences and behaviours that larger-scale studies may overlook. © 2024 by the authors. Licensee SSBFNET, Istanbul, Turkey. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).


Introduction
Customer retention is important for service entities like hotels precisely because in their absence, sales and profitability are impossible (Bó, Milan, & De Toni, 2018).In other words, acquiring new customers while retaining new ones is fundamental to hotel sustainability through the sales and profitability they generate.Consequently, customer retention has attracted increased attention from researchers, practitioners and policy makers.At the same time, like in any rapidly growing industry, the hospitality industry faces heightened competition, particularly in emerging markets like Ghana.And in this dynamic landscape, meeting customer expectations of service quality naturally emerges as a pivotal factor for hotels in attracting and retaining customers for sustained success.For hotels, nothing can be more appropriate in stressing the importance of service than the profound saying "quality is essential when service is what is being sold" (Berry, Zeithaml, & Parasuraman, 1985 pp 44) because most their offering is service.Drawing on Oliver's (1980) Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT), this study explored the relationship between service quality, as assessed through the SERVQUAL framework, and hotel customer retention in Ghana.
Due to increased competition for clientele, hotels in Ghana are challenged to comprehend factors influencing customer retention and invest in customer retention strategies (Ofosu-Boateng & Acquaye, 2020).In the service sector, quality is fundamental to customer retention (Venetis & Ghauri, 2004).This view is corroborated by Anabila et al. (2022), who observed that the need for service excellence has added significant momentum to the quest for quality hotel service.

Literature Review
The purpose of a literature review for this research is manyfold.The first is to locate this research in the canon by discussing existing studies and theories related to customer retention through service quality in the hospitality industry, particularly focusing on the SERVQUAL model, which assesses service quality across various dimensions like reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness.Furthermore, the review is intended to identify research gaps thus justify the research, build a theoretical and conceptual framework, and help in formulating the research methodology by reviewing methods used in similar studies, thus aiding in the choice of an appropriate approach for this particular study.For this purpose, the section is divided into the theoretical framework, conceptual review and hypotheses development subsections.

Theoretical and conceptual background Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT)
The Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) is at the heart of this research.Oliver (1980) developed ECT to understand and explain how pre-purchase expectations influence consumers' post-purchase perceptions.The ECT posits that consumers form expectations before purchasing and that their post-purchase satisfaction is determined by the extent to which their actual experiences confirm or exceed these expectations (Oliver, 1980).In the context of hotel customer retention based on service quality, ECT suggests that customers are more likely to remain with a hotel if the quality-of-service experience (perceived or actual) consistently meets or surpasses their expectations (Oliver, 1980).In other words, when hotel customers consistently receive high-quality service that aligns with or exceeds their expectations, they are more likely to stay with the hotel, become repeat customers, and contribute to long-term customer retention (Oliver, 1980).The theory is now widely used in consumer behaviour and marketing to study various aspects of consumer decision-making, including how service quality eventually affects customer retention.
Initially developed in the context of information systems, ECT has evolved into a widely applicable framework.As such, it has seen integration with other theories, such as the Service-Dominant Logic (Vargo & Lusch, 2004) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (Venkatesh et al., 2003) and utilised for different purposes, including in service quality and consumer behaviour research.This evolution, on the one hand, reflects the complexity of consumer experiences and behaviour and the need for theoretical models that can adapt to these changing dynamics.On the other hand, it highlights the flexibility and relevance of ECT in understanding consumer behaviour in various contexts.Due to this ubiquity, ECT can be effectively utilised to analyse the interactions among service quality (SERVQUAL) factors and customer retention.The ECT thus provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how consumer expectations and experience of service quality influence post-purchase behaviours like retention and, therefore, offers a robust theoretical basis for examining the interplay between service quality of hotels and retention of customers based on the SERVQUAL model.
In this study, the expectation and perceived performance components of ECT were represented and measured respectively by SERVQUAL dimensions and customer rating of service quality based on the SERVQUAL dimensions.On the other hand, the confirmation component of ECT was represented by customer retention and measured by efforts by hotels to increase customer loyalty, improve relationships with customers, and retain customers (Palmer & Steinhof, 2019;Paul & Rosenbaum, 2020;Saputro et al., 2020).

Customer retention
Customer retention refers to the ability of a company or brand to retain its customers over some time (Ginn et al., 2010;Diaz, 2017;Ascarza et al., 2018).In other words, retention refers to how well a business, such as a hotel, can maintain a continuing relationship with its customers.
Businesses, including those in the hotel industry, engage in customer retention strategies and actions for sustained business success.Put differently, businesses focus on customer retention precisely because retention is crucial to long-term business success (Gonu & Boohene, 2016).Long-term business success due to retention is possible because it results in repeat purchases (Ginn et al., 2010;Diaz, 2017).Thus, effective customer retention strategies reduce customer churn (Gonu & Boohene, 2016) -the mirror image of retention, meaning high retention implies low churn where customers stop doing business with a company.Moreover, retaining customers is generally more cost-effective than acquiring new ones (Gonu & Boohene, 2016), as the latter often requires more resources for marketing and promotion.High customer retention rates often correlate with improved profitability (Gallo, 2014;Reichheld & Sasser, 1990).
Further, repeat customers tend to buy more over time (Gonu & Boohene, 2016) and can become advocates for the brand, attracting new customers (Mousavi, 2012).Thus, in essence, customer retention is a critical indicator of a company's health and its ability to create lasting relationships with its customers, as it is not just about making a sale but also about creating a loyal customer base that continues to choose and recommend a company's products or services (Mousavi, 2012).For these and many other reasons, it is unsurprising that businesses would use various strategies to retain customers, such as improving product or service quality.Palmer and Steinhof (2019) and Saputro et al. (2020) identify efforts by a business to increase customer loyalty, improve relationships with customers, and retain customers as good indicators.In other words, a researcher can use efforts by hotels to increase customer loyalty, improve relationships with customers, and retain customers to measure customer retention.

Service quality
As Hamadziripi and Daniels (2023) alluded, during service delivery in service organisations such as hotels, clients or customers assess service quality as they interact with a service representative.While service quality is a multifaceted concept with no single or unified definition (Parasuraman et al., 1985), it seems to be essentially concerned with the level of excellence in the delivery of a service, gauged by the extent to which this service meets or exceeds the expectations and needs of customers (Berry et al., 1995;Grönroos, 1984;Hoffman & Bateson, 2011;Parasuraman et al., 1985).Service quality is conceptualised in this study as the ability of hospitality firms to provide services that at least meet customer expectations.The multifaceted nature of the service quality concept has led to various service quality models available for hotels to use to understand customer quality expectations, evaluate performance, and identify areas for improvement.As stated above, they include the SERVQUAL, SERVPERF, the Nordic or Gronroos model, the ACSI, the Kano model, the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system, and the Six Sigma.However, the focus of this study is SERVQUAL.

The SERVQUAL model in perspective
The SERVQUAL model is a renowned tool and a practical benchmark for measuring or evaluating service quality.The refined SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman et al. (1988) identifies five key dimensions of service quality that can be applied to improve and measure service quality performance, including in the hotel industry.The model suggests that hotel customers use a personal standard to evaluate a new service experience (Parasuraman et al., 1985(Parasuraman et al., , 1988)).Their perception of the service is determined by how well it meets this standard.It suggests that hotel service quality requires a blend of physicality, aesthetics, and competent human resources, encompassing empathy, assurance, responsiveness, and reliability (Parasuraman et al., 1988).This combination is essential for meeting customer expectations and achieving high service quality.
The reliability dimension refers to the consistent and precise delivery of services, involving executing correct actions from the outset and maintaining commitment throughout all procedures (Parasuraman et al., 1988;Sadek et al., 2010;Nooni et al., 2015).As such, it means providing promised services dependably and accurately.From this perspective, service reliability becomes crucial for customer retention and involves staff delivering high-quality services consistently.In the context of Ghana's hotel industry, it means services such as room bookings and dining, to name a few, are delivered consistently and as advertised.It also means staff efficiency and dependability, maintaining operational procedures that guarantee service accuracy, and ensuring all hotel customer commitments are fulfilled.
Tangibility is defined by Kheng et al. (2010) and Panzer et al. (2013) as the physical evidence of service, including facilities, equipment, staff appearance, and communication materials.It is about creating a well-maintained physical infrastructure that conveys commitment to clients.Strategies for achieving tangibility in the hospitality industry include regular maintenance of facilities, ensuring safety and security, and providing convenient access to amenities.For hotels in Ghana, focusing on tangibility means maintaining clean, well-decorated, and up-to-date facilities.This process also includes ensuring that staff are well-groomed and professionally dressed and that all marketing and communication materials are high quality and reflect the hotel's standards.
Assurance involves displaying competence and courtesy in service provision (Parasuraman et al., 1988;Zeithaml & Bitner, 2003;Sadek et al., 2010).It includes having courteous employees, a positive work environment, and efficient access to information.In other words, the assurance dimension of SERVQUAL covers the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence.Thus, achieving assurance requires continuous staff training, creating a welcoming work environment, and instilling a culture of professionalism.In Ghanaian hotels, this may be addressed by providing comprehensive training to staff, ensuring they have adequate knowledge about the hotel's services and local attractions.Hotels can also focus on hiring experienced staff who can competently handle guest inquiries and issues, thereby building guest confidence in the hotel's services.
The next component, responsiveness, is the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service (Parasuraman et al., 1988;Murray et al., 2019).It includes aligning hotel operational hours with customer needs, minimising waiting times, and implementing efficient reservation systems.This requires hotel staff to be attentive to customer needs, ensuring quick and effective responses to service requests and complaints.It also means optimising the hotel's operational processes to reduce waiting times for check-ins, dining, and other services.
Finally, empathy, as highlighted by Bahadur et al. (2018), involves individualised customer attention.It is about understanding customer needs and offering exceptional service, which can enhance customers' perception of service quality and their decisionmaking process (Parasuraman et al., 1988).For hotels in Ghana, empathy can be showcased by personalising guest experiences, such as recognising returning guests or providing tailored recommendations for local activities.Training staff to be attentive to guest needs and preferences and to show genuine concern and understanding in all interactions is also crucial.
Based on the above literature, the fundamental question for this research is twofold.Firstly, how do customers evaluate the quality of services provided by hotels in the Volta Region of Ghana based on the SERVQUAL dimensions?It also begs the question; how do these perceptions influence their retention?While the first question is addressed directly, the second question requires hypotheses formulation.

Hypotheses development: service quality dimensions and hotel customer retention
Past studies have pointed to a positive relationship between service quality and customer retention in various geographical contexts (Ahmed et al., 2010;Al-Ababneh et al., 2020;Ali et al., 2010;Choi & Chu, 2015;Lee & Hwang, 2015;Nguyen et al., 2018;Nsiah & Asantewaa 2015;Omotayo & Joachim, 2008;Venetis & Ghauri, 2004).Venetis and Ghauri (2004) found that service quality significantly contributes to long-term customer retention.Ahmed et al. (2010) also found a positive relationship between service quality dimensions (tangibility, reliability, responsiveness and assurance) and customer retention.Ali et al. (2010) also revealed a significant positive relationship between customer retention and service quality.In a study conducted by Omotayo and Joachim (2008) in Nigeria, it was discovered that an increase in service quality produces a corresponding positive impact on customer retention levels.In another study conducted in the Ghanaian banking industry by Nsiah and Asantewaa (2015), it was found that a significant positive relationship exists between service quality and customer retention.In the hotel sector, Lee and Hwang (2015) found a positive correlation between empathy and assurance in customer retention.
Similarly, Al-Ababneh et al. ( 2020) conducted a study in the hotel industry in Jordan and found a positive relationship between assurance, empathy and customer retention.Tangibility and reliability were positively associated with customer retention in a study conducted by Choi and Chu (2015) in the Korean hospitality industry.Furthermore, a study by Nguyen et al. (2018) in the Vietnam hotel industry found that responsiveness was positively associated with customer retention.
Based on the above literature, it was hypothesised that a significant positive relationship exists between service quality dimensions and customer retention with the following subsidiary hypotheses.H1: Service reliability has a significant positive influence on hotel customer retention.H2: Service tangibility has a significant positive influence on hotel customer retention.

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H3: Service assurance has a significant positive influence on hotel customer retention.H4: Service responsiveness has a significant positive influence on hotel customer retention.H5: Service empathy has a significant positive influence on hotel customer retention.

Conceptual framework
This above hypothesis is illustrated in the following conceptual framework.

Research & Methodology
The primary objective sought to assess the relationships between service quality factors (reliability, responsiveness, tangibility, assurance and empathy) on customer retention among hotels in the Volta Region.This research followed the positivist paradigm to achieve this objective.The study employed the quantitative design and deductive reasoning approach, consistent with the positivist philosophy.A 57-item Likert type 7-point rating scale survey questionnaire ranging from 1=strongly disagree to agree 7=strongly was used to collect primary data.The questionnaire consisted of two sections, namely quality and retention.Service quality was measured by 51 items (see Table 3), while six (6) items measured retention (see Table 4).Multiple regression analysis was performed on the data collected using Smart PLS 4.
As stated earlier, the theoretical basis of analysis is the ECT (Oliver, 1980).According to Oliver (1980) pre-purchase expectations influence consumers' post-purchase perceptions and behaviour.Based on this premise, it is argued that hotel customers form expectations before service encounter and that their post-service satisfaction with quality is determined by the extent to which their actual experiences confirm or exceed these expectations (Oliver, 1980).Therefore, based on ECT, hotel customer are more likely to remain with a hotel if the quality of service experience (perceived or actual) consistently meets or surpasses their expectations (Oliver, 1980).Put differently, when hotel customers consistently receive high-quality service that aligns with or exceeds their expectations, they are more likely to stay with the hotel, become repeat customers, and contribute to long-term customer retention (Oliver, 1980).
In this study, the expectation and perceived performance components of ECT were represented and measured respectively by SERVQUAL dimensions and customer rating of service quality based on the SERVQUAL dimensions.On the other hand, the confirmation component of ECT was represented by customer retention and measured by efforts by hotels to increase customer loyalty, improve relationships with customers, and retain customers (Palmer & Steinhof, 2019;Paul & Rosenbaum, 2020;Saputro et al., 2020).

Findings and discussion
We first present and discuss the descriptive statistics results, which consist of the response rate, validity and reliability statistics, the independent variables (service quality dimensions: reliability, responsiveness, tangibility, assurance, empathy) and the dependent variable, customer retention.The items for the dependent and independent variables were measured on a 7-point Likert scale where 1=strongly disagree and 7=strongly agreemeaning a mid-point of 4.

Response rate
Four hundred fifty questionnaires were administered to hotel customers in the Volta Region of Ghana.Of this number, 389 were retrieved, giving a response rate of 86.4%.This rate was considered satisfactory, considering that Saunders et al. (2019) posit that a response rate of 70% or higher is suitable for quantitative studies.

Validity and reliability of the measurement instrument
Construct validity was the assumption to be checked to determine the validity of the measures of quality and retention.According to Tabachnick and Fidell (2019), construct validity assesses whether the items used for measuring a construct measure what they intend to measure.Factor loadings from factor analysis help to determine which items are most appropriate in measuring a construct.Chatfield (2017) argues that factor loadings that are less than 0.6 should not be included.Customer retention and service quality dimensions had factor loadings greater than 0.6.The reliability of the measurement instrument was also checked.Reliability is the consistency with which an instrument measures construct.Dugard et al. (2022) contend that Cronbach alpha values are most appropriate for checking the internal consistencies of the items used to measure constructs.Constructs are deemed statistically reliable when their Cronbach alpha values exceed 0.7 (Dugard et al., 2022).From the results, Cronbach alpha values for each variable were attained as follows: customer retention (0.959) and service quality (0.932).

Variable Items Factor loadings
Customer retention The hotel creates strong bonds that bind the customers to the hotel 0.880 The hotel thoroughly monitors and evaluates its relationship with customers with the help of relationship surveys and customer databases 0.919 The hotel organises periodical customer loyalty programs to retain customers 0.928 The hotel has effective service recovery systems to maintain its relationship with customers 0.935 The hotel sends SMS messages on its new products and services 0.906 The hotel engages customers to understand their needs and expectations 0.895

Service quality
Fifty-one items were used to measure perceived quality in the study.Scores for each SERVQUAL dimension and composite quality score were calculated as indicated in Table 3.The composite average mean score is 4.2507 (see Table 3).Similarly, it is noteworthy that each dimension had a score greater than 4.00, the mean score.This situation should concern the hotels surveyed because a score of 4.2507 is not drastically different from 4.00, the mid-point value, and can be seen as moderately neutral or slightly positive, suggesting that respondents do not rate service quality very highly.The overall rating was then disaggregated into the five SERVQUAL facets: reliability, responsiveness, tangibility, assurance, and empathy, and the results are very revealing.
As can be seen from Table 3, although most (10) service reliability items had mean scores higher than the midpoint value of 4.00, while three (3) were less than 4.00, these figures are also not drastically higher than 4.00.But reliability, a measure of consistency and dependability of client services (Khan & Fasih, 2014), involves keeping promises related to performance and dependability, doing the right thing the first time, and ensuring that services are always available for clients, meaning the obligation to provide services to customers on time and with performance dependability or consistency (Zalfa & Siew, 2017).The findings suggest that the hotels surveyed perform slightly above customers' expected service reliability requirements.
The same trend is visible in Table 3 for the Empathy facets of service quality, where five (5) out of the seven (7) items had mean scores greater than the midpoint value of 4.00.Two items had mean score values less than the midpoint value of 4.00.Moreover, a score of 4.0632 for the Empathy component is only slightly more than the mid-point value of 4.00, which is an indictment on the quality of service provided by the hotels surveyed because empathy is a vital dimension of a firm's service quality and is characterised by excellent client service, convenient parking space, and working hours (Ndubisi, 2006).According to Khan and Fasih (2014), empathy is the ability of service delivery firms to pay attention to individual customer problems and demands and address these issues effectively.Blery et al. argue that how a company takes responsibility to address issues faced by their customers on an individual or group level is classified as empathy.Moreover, the importance of empathy in achieving a positive brand image and attaining organisational competitiveness has been recognised in the literature (Chen et al., 2018).
Encouragingly, Responsiveness (4.2613), Tangibility (4.3421), and Assurance (4.3611) all fare better because all items were greater than the mid-point value of 4.00.These findings are profound for some reasons.Firstly, the literature suggests that responsiveness is an essential dimension of service quality (Kumar et al., 2009) because it is critical to achieving competitive advantage (Zalfa & Siew, 2017).Customers continuously seek value for their money, and organisations that respond to their needs can differentiate themselves from competitors.Therefore, organisations can use responsiveness to achieve competitive advantage by providing timely services and being effective at problem-solving, particularly when customers have complaints (Zalfa & Siew, 2017).
Furthermore, organisations that respond quickly to customer needs and expectations can gain a competitive edge (Sadek et al., 2010).Secondly, tangibility, which constitutes the physical aspects of service quality, can communicate care and devotion to clients (Kheng et al., 2010).In the hotel industry, good physical structures (physical facilities and amenities) communicate care and dedication to clients.In today's globalised world, tangibility has become an essential aspect of organisational competitiveness, and the hotel industry is no exception (Panda & Rath, 2018).Additionally, tangibility is now associated with how organisations such as hotels present themselves in the digital space through websites and social media platforms (Ladhari & Michaud, 2015).Thirdly, according to Liu et al. (2015), assurance is a critical component of service quality and is characterised by the ability of service providers to convey trust and confidence to their customers.Similarly, Karatepe and Uludag (2017) found that assurance is one of the most critical dimensions of service quality for customers in the hotel industry, as it contributes to building trust and loyalty.The importance of assurance in building trust and loyalty is further supported by the work of Ryu and Han (2016), who found that service quality dimensions, including assurance, significantly impacted customer satisfaction and intention to revisit.The hotel ensured accuracy in billing 389 1.00 7.00 4.5296 5.
The hotel ensured the accuracy of food orders 389 1.00 7.00 4.7224 6.
There is accurate information about hotel services 389 1.00 7.00 4.6761 7.
The hotel provided advanced and accurate information about prices 389 1.00 7.00 4.6452
There is an un-interrupted supply of running water 389 1.00 7.00 4.3548 11.
Emergency medical care is available in the hotel if needed 389 1.00 7.00 3.1054

12.
There is an un-interrupted power supply in the hotel 389 1.00 7.00 3.8303 13. There

Customer retention
Six (6) items measured customer retention on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree.Worryingly, the results in Table 4 show customer retention had mean scores less than 4.00 (midpoint value).The values for customer retention in Table 4 indicate that hotels in the Volta Region of Ghana perform poorly on customer retention.Singh and Dev (2015) believe that customer retention is an instrumental indicator of firm performance, while Alalwan et al. (2018) alluded that the retention of customers is associated with customer satisfaction.The low ratings on customer retention in this study could be attributed to many factors.However, the service quality rating was marginally above the mid-point value of 4 (see Table 3), indicating that, in reality, the quality of hotels in the Volta Region does not meet customer expectations.Kim et al. (2017) note that loyalty programs can improve customer retention.Yet several researchers including endorse the idea that excellent quality service eventually promotes customer retention (Chen, Jiao, & Li, 2021).

Regression analysis: Service quality dimensions and customer retention among hotels
Regression analysis assesses the predictive effect of single or multiple independent variables on a dependent variable (Arkes, 2023).Simple linear regression is used when a study checks the impact of a single independent variable on a single dependent variable (Arkes, 2023).However, multiple regression assesses the effect of more than one independent variable on a dependent variable (Arkes, 2023).In this study, multiple regression analysis was appropriate for achieving the study's objective -the relationship between service quality dimensions and customer retention in hotels in the Volta Region of Ghana.
The primary objective sought to assess the relationships between service quality factors (reliability, responsiveness, tangibility, assurance and empathy) on customer retention among hotels in the Volta Region.Regression analysis was conducted using Smart PLS 4. According to the results, an r-square value of 0.495 was attained.This value indicates that 49.5% of the dependent variable (customer retention) variation was explained by the independent variables (service quality factors).The regression model was statistically fit (F=75.196,p=0.000), indicating that at least one of the independent variables (service quality factors) has the potential to determine the dependent variable (customer retention) statistically.
The results show a significant positive relationship between assurance and customer retention (B=0.350,p=0.000).Another significant positive relationship existed between empathy and customer retention (B=0.253,p=0.000).However, non-significant positive relationships were found to exist between tangibility and customer retention (B=0.012,p=0.868), reliability and customer retention (B=0.092,p=0.147) and also responsiveness and customer retention (B=0.080,p=0.273).
In a study conducted by Lee and Hwang (2015), it was found that empathy and assurance were positively associated with hotel customer retention.In the hotel industry in Jordan, a study conducted by Al-Ababneh et al. (2020) found that assurance and empathy were positively associated with customer retention.That notwithstanding, the literature did not support the results showing that service quality indicators such as tangibility, reliability and responsiveness had non-significant relationships with customer retention.This is because, in a study conducted in the Korean hospitality industry, Choi and Chu (2015) uncovered that tangibility and reliability were positively associated with customer retention.Similarly, in a study conducted in the Vietnam hotel industry, Nguyen et al. (2018) found that responsiveness was positively associated with customer retention.

Conclusions
The results in Table 5 show a significant positive relationship between assurance and customer retention and between empathy and customer retention.However, non-significant positive relationships existed between tangibility and customer retention, reliability and customer retention, and responsiveness and customer retention.It is therefore concluded that service assurance and empathy are the facets of SERVQUAL that significantly influence customer retention of hotels in the Volta Region.Secondly, based on the lower than the mid-point value score for customer retention (see Table 4), it is concluded that hotels in the Volta Region perform poorly on customer retention.Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, it can be concluded that since the hotels surveyed perform only slightly above customers' expected service quality requirements, this might be the reason for the low customer retention.It might also be an indication of hotel customers' expectations of more than average service quality.

Implications and value of the study
The literature review and the empirical results and conclusions from this study have policy, practice, and further research implications.
By focusing on SERVQUAL facets, hotels in Ghana can enhance their service quality, leading to increased customer retention in the hospitality industry.As can be seen from the results, it is not surprising that customer retention is low, given the hotels' average service quality rating, especially in terms of reliability and empathy.Therefore, hotels must pay attention to service quality, and the SERVEQUAL model can be handy.However, applying the SERVQUAL model in the Ghanaian hotel industry could involve several steps.First is assessment and training.It is recommended that hotels regularly assess service quality based on the SERVQUAL dimensions and provide training to staff based on identified gaps.Hotels can also do well by the utilisation of customer feedback.This aspect involves actively seeking and utilising customer feedback to understand the hotel's performance in each SERVQUAL dimension.The third is towards continuous improvement through using the insights from assessments and feedback to implement continuous improvement in service delivery.Also, focusing on SERVQUAL dimensions can be used for benchmarking by comparing service quality with competitors and industry standards to identify areas for enhancement.Last but not least, it is towards customisation by tailoring the service experience to meet guests' unique or personal preferences, especially considering the diverse clientele in Ghana.
In terms of research, integrating local cultural aspects into the SERVQUAL model could be innovative.For example, investigating how cultural factors in Ghana influence customer expectations and perceptions of service quality can provide a more nuanced understanding of customer retention in the hospitality industry.Methodologically, our research approach was deductive only.
Employing the abductive approach with mixed methodologies (combining quantitative SERVQUAL assessments with qualitative insights from customer interviews) could add a layer of originality.Thus, overall, the originality of this research could be enhanced through the integration of regional focus, cultural contextualisation, methodological approach, and thematic explorations, all of which could contribute to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of customer retention in the hospitality industry.
While the SERVQUAL model is widely used in service quality research, its application to the hospitality industry in a developing country like Ghana, particularly in a less-studied area like the Volta Region, is novel.This novelty offers new insights into how service quality dimensions are perceived and valued in different cultural and economic settings.The specific focus on the Volta Region in Ghana represents a unique contribution, as most hospitality research generalises across broader areas and on more popular or urban regions.This regional specificity provides deeper insights into localised customer preferences and behaviours that might be overlooked in broader studies.
The study was limited to hotels in the Volta Region, making generalizability to other regions questionable.However, barring the cultural uniqueness of the Volta Region, the study offers a window of opportunity to gauge the extent to which SERVQUAL dimensions influence the retention of hotel customers in the Ghanaian setting.

Table 3 :
Descriptive statistics for SERVEQUAL dimensions

Table 4 :
Descriptive statistics on customer retention

Table 5 :
Service quality and customer retention among hotels