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the process, such as the service delivery style, is not so important to male customer if they can 
gain the appropriate outcome. However, this trend is totally changed in the slow, failed service 
process. In these situations, male customers give lower satisfaction rating for the negative 
displays and higher rating for the positive displays than female customers.  
For example, in smooth service, a woman feel satisfied with the polite and helpful receptionist. 
This affect to her more than cues regarding to the service efficiency while a male customer does 
not so much pay attention on it. Another couple comes to ask the receptionist the way to the 
nearest Japanese restaurant. Only after twenty minutes of researching on internet, the receptionist 
show them the correct way. The wife does not consider it as successful service providing 
process, so eventually she gives the low satisfaction level for total service provision. The 
husband feels better because he received the correct answer for what he needs.  However, when 
the task related problems happen, the effort to find solutions and smiles in the receptionist’s face 
make a man feel comfortable and easier to accept them. The woman next to him does not feel the 
same. She wants to see the impressive management attempt; the smiling face to her is not 
enough. So, what do these customers think when task related problem is combined to the rude 
attitude of the receptionist? With the man, they seem to be unacceptable. But the woman can 
forgive the negative display because she seems to be more sympathy with the feeling of the 
receptionist in this situation; she does not require that the service employee have to be friendly 
and cheerful regardless of whether these expressions indicate actual feelings of wellbeing on the 
part of her or him. 
 
In addition, in case of service failure in the hotel industry, men are more likely complain to the 
management than women (Babakus et al, 1991 and Reiboldt, 2002). Huang et al. (1996) also 
reported that the common pattern for men is assertiveness, aggressiveness, achievement, self-
reliance and competitiveness while the common female traits are modesty, humility, nurturing 
and responsibility. Men tend to be thing and money oriented and while women tend to be people-
oriented. Therefore, men seem to want to get things straight, resulting in more complaints from 
them to the management and to third parties than from women. 
 
What is about the facilities available in the hotel? Is it the same in requirements of both men and 
women? Until now, there are still lack of evidences expressing the different between male and 

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female customers’ evaluation of the service quality in term of the facilities and leisure service 
available in the hotel. In reality, minority of hotels provide different facilities for men and 
women. One of these hotels is Plus Florence.  
Plus Florence is a hotel in the Plus brand which has appeared in 13 locations through Italy 
including Rome, Venice, etc.  In this hotel, they have not only the rooms for guests like other 
hotels all over the world but also the rooms purposely designed for women, called Plus Girl. Plus 
Girl focuses on space, privacy, relaxation of female customers such as larger bathrooms, free 
hairdryers and comfortable space. Girls who stay there also receive free personal care packs 
along with a big fluffy towel to use for the duration of the stay. 
 
3.2
 
Impact of gender on customer loyalty-the high level of customer satisfaction  
 
Loyal guests always give the high customer satisfaction level and they appreciate the service 
quality of the hotel. But a guest satisfies with your hotel service, it does not mean that he or she 
will stay in your hotel next time or he or she will be your loyal guest. So what is the loyalty? 
Why is it important to the hotel industry? And in what way a hotel can gain the retention of the 
guest?  
3.2.1
 
Customer loyalty definition 
 
There is no globally agreed definition of loyalty. Loyalty can be defined as something that 
consumers may exhibit to brands, services, product categories such as hotel's room and activities 
such as travelling (Uncles, et. al., 2003). Uncles et. al (2003) also propose three concept of 
loyalty. 
•
 
As primarily an attitude that sometimes leads to a relationship with the brand 
•
 
Express in terms of revealed behavior (for example, the pattern of past stay) 
•
 
Buying moderated by the individual’s characteristics, circumstances and/or the purchase 
situation.  
 
While Oliver (1997) defined customer loyalty as a deeply commitment to re-purchase or re-
patronize a preferred product/service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same - 

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brand or same brand - set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having 
the potential to cause switching behavior.  
 
Tideswell and Fredline (2004) reported that the guests who fit into the extremely loyalty cluster 
have such a high attitudinal attachment to the hotel that many of them are prepared to change the 
timing of their visit to ensure they are able to stay at their favorite properties. They are also not 
so sensitive to the pricing issues and are willing to pay more to stay in the preferred properties 
rather than go somewhere else in favor of cheaper room rate. 
3.2.2
 
Why is customer loyalty important in the hotel industry? 
 
It is easy to realize that the retention of the guests is proportional with the profit of the hotel - a 5 
per cent increase in the guest retention rate could lead to a 35-95 per cent profit increase 
(Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). The essence of focusing on loyalty in the hotel industry is to 
increase rent volume by raising booking or usage levels and /or increasing the range of services 
used by guests. Building a closer bond between the brand of the hotel and current customers is 
also a good way to maintain the current customer base. In addition, the loyal customers will say 
the positive things about the hotel to others. Consequently, repeat guests are the richest source of 
hotel’s revenues and profit. Hotel industry executives continue to emphasize customer loyalty as 
a key to sustaining a long term business success (Oh, 2002).  
3.2.3
 
How does gender impact on the customer loyalty?  
 
According to Simmerman (1992), the guest defection rate correlated to the way guests was 
treated by hotel employees. Almost 70 per cent of identifiable reasons why guests switched to 
competitors were associated with a dissatisfied service experience with a service provider during 
the service encounter (Whiteley, 1991). Major findings of Fu and Park (2001) showed that the 
friendly service and individual attention were more important than tangible factors of service in 
influencing the elderly guests’ behavioral intentions. Hokey Min, Hyesung Min and Ahmed 
Emam (2002) also reported that when one hotel has high performance ratings in term of the 
courtesy of hotel employees, its guests tend to show some loyalty to the hotel. Then, the attitude 

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