Crucial Hoteliers and Guests' Perception on Factors Determining Pricing and Service Acceptability in Selected Hotels in Kwara State

As global tourists‟ arrival continues to increase year-on-year, the consequential impacts are largely felt by the hotel industry is an appendage of the tourism industry that is saddled with the task of accommodation provision for tourists/visitors. Expectedly, the more the number of tourists or visitors that are naturally out of their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours, there is certainly an increasing demand in the number of accommodation services for this reason. This is because; accommodation provides a base where a traveler can engage in the process of staying at a destination. Accommodation is a centre of focus when hosting guests. It is an important element that travellers considered when planning their trip and it remains a fundamental element of travel and tourism. Irrespective of travelers‟ class, types and demographic variables, travelers would naturally need accommodation, given that they will be outside their usual environment for at least one night. The hotel as a component of the hospitality industry is directly responsible for the provision of accommodation and food (Adesina & Chinonso, 2015) to visitors. Jones (2002) affirms as the author described the provision of lodging facility as the vertebrae of the hospitality industry. Although, the key service that travelers desire in the hotel is accommodation, however, additional services being offered is what clearly distinguishes the hotel from other sleeping facility provider s such as camps, hostels, inns, Air BnB‟s and so on. Abstract: Changing the price of a product/service in relation to competitor’s prices has a major influence on the marketing strategy because it affects the demand for a product and hence the sales. The purpose of this study was to examine hoteliers and guests perception of factors determining the pricing of hotel services and guests’ satisfaction of services received against prices paid. Given the key role of pricing in determining customers purchasing decision plus the lack of studies on determinants of pricing of hotel services at the local level, this empirical study was undertaken. Structured questionnaires were designed after consulting with past studies and exploration of opinions of non-randomly selected guests and hoteliers. Thereafter, data was collected from 357 guests randomly selected and 41 hoteliers from thirteen non-randomly selected hotels. Results of the analysed data show that hoteliers’ ranked hotel location (4.61), cost of raw material (4.51), hotel rating (4.49), quality of in-room facilities (4.29) and quality of service attributes (4.20) as the five foremost prices determinants. Whereas, hotel location (4.60), hotel rating (4.50), the season of the year (4.45), quality of service rendered (4.40), and government levies (4.39) are the topmost factors perceived by hotel guests as pricing determinant. Results of hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significant show that hoteliers’ perception of factors that determine pricing was significantly influenced by gender but wasn’t influenced by years of working. Guests’ perception of factors determining the pricing of services was significantly influenced by gender and income, and guests’ acceptability of the quality of service received in relation to prices paid for those services were satisfactory. Finally, there was a significant difference in hoteliers and guests’ perception of factors determining the pricing of services. The study recommended that hoteliers should incorporate guests’ perceptions into their decisions when fixing charges for their various services.