Total Quality Management Practices and Customer Satisfaction in Selected Hotels in Nsukka, Enugu State

The hospitality industry's capacity to retain customers and sustain competitive advantage is increasingly linked to the rigour and consistency of total quality management (TQM) practices deployed at the operational level. This study examines the relationship between TQM practices and customer satisfaction in selected hotels in Nsukka, Enugu State. The study is anchored on the SERVQUAL Model developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, which evaluates service quality across five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. A descriptive survey research design was employed. The population comprised hotel guests and service staff across 12 registered hotels in Nsukka. A sample of 120 respondents was selected using convenience and stratified random sampling. Primary data were collected via a structured questionnaire, and the data were analysed using Spearman's rank correlation and multiple regression. Findings indicate that continuous staff training, process standardisation, and complaint resolution mechanisms are the TQM elements most strongly associated with high customer satisfaction scores. The study further reveals that empathy and responsiveness dimensions of service delivery exert the greatest influence on customer loyalty intentions among hotel guests in the study area. It is concluded that hotels in Nsukka that institutionalise TQM as a core operational philosophy consistently outperform peers in customer satisfaction indices. It is recommended that hotel management invest in staff development programmes and establish systematic feedback mechanisms to monitor and continuously improve service quality delivery.

Keywords: Total quality management, customer satisfaction, hospitality, SERVQUAL model, Nsukka hotels