HOW SERVQUAL AND VISITOR SATISFACTION AFFECT LOYALTY AND POSITIVE WOM WITHIN THE INDONESIAN HOTEL SECTOR?

Sektor perhotelan merupakan salah satu sektor ataupun industri yang sangat terdampak negatif oleh adanya pandemi COVID-19 yang saat ini terjadi dan melanda hampir seluruh belahan bumi di dunia, termasuk Indonesia. Namun, penurunan jumlah kasus positif COVID-19 di Indonesia yang terjadi akhir-akhir ini telah kembali “menghidupkan” para hotel ini, yang dimana, hal ini ditandai dengan kembali meningkatnya jumlah individu yang berkunjung ataupun menginap di berbagai hotel di Indonesia. Alhasil, maka penting bagi setiap individu untuk dapat memahami berbagai faktor yang dapat meningkatkan tingkat loyalitas dari pelanggan yang berkunjung ataupun menginap di hotel tersebut, mengingat bahwa kemampuan hotel di dalam menciptakan loyalitas di benak konsumen inilah yang dapat menentukan keberhasilan hotel tersebut dibandingkan dengan para pesaingnya. Berkaitan dengan hal ini, maka studi ini dilakukan guna menganalisis secara mendalam bagaimana peranan service quality serta visitor satisfaction di dalam meningkatkan visitor loyalty serta positive word-of-mouth pelanggan terhadap berbagai hotel di Indonesia, khususnya di masa pandemi COVID-19 ini. Sebanyak 200 kuesioner disebarkan secara daring (online) kepada seluruh responden, yang dimana, dari 200 data yang telah terkumpul, sebanyak 188 data yang reliable dan valid selanjutnya dianalisis dengan menggunakan metode PLS. Selanjutnya, berdasarkan hasil pengolahan data, maka peneliti menyimpulkan bahwa service quality serta visitor satisfaction memegang peranan yang signifikan di dalam mempengaruhi tingkat loyalitas pelanggan, serta di dalam meningkatkan intensi dari setiap pelanggan hotel untuk menyebarkan berbagai informasi dan pengalaman positif yang dirasakan selama menginap di hotel yang dikunjungi. Hotel sector had become one of several sectors which was negatively affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic which had occurred worldwide, including in Indonesia, in which, various travel restriction policies implemented by the government had greatly reduced the number of occupants who are visiting and staying at various hotels, which in turns reduced the amount of revenues earned by these hotels. However, the declining trend of the new COVID-19 cases in Indonesia prompted the government to ease several travel restrictions policy, thus enabling people to travel all across the country for various purposes. In this case, such scenario had started to increase the number of visitors who are visiting and staying at various hotels in Indonesia. Therefore, it is important for hotels operator to identify factors that could significantly influence the formation of loyalty on consumers’ mind, since loyalty is one of the most crucial factor which could determine the success and failure of a hotel. Thus, this study was commenced in order to assess the impact of both service quality and visitor satisfaction toward both visitor loyalty and positive word-of-mouth. A total of 200 questionnaires were virtually-distributed to all respondents who participated in this study, in which, a 188 of them were deemed valid and usable. Using PLS-SEM to analyze the data, authors concluded that both service quality and visitor satisfaction had significantly affected consumers’ loyalty toward the hotel, while also affected consumers’