Joint effect of service recovery types and times on customer satisfaction in lodging

Abstract To determine whether hotels use the right service recovery strategy at the right time, how service recovery time affects completion of the service recovery life cycle, and customer satisfaction, this study examined types of service recovery strategies and service recovery times on customer satisfaction. Using a 3 (service recovery strategies) × 2 (service recovery times) experimental design, the study draws upon a scenario-based online survey of 495 participants. The study's most notable findings were the interaction effect of joint service recovery in 30 min had the greatest positive effect on hotel guests' satisfaction, and the main effect of shorter service recovery times (30 min) had a greater positive effect on hotel guests' satisfaction levels than longer service recovery times (2 h) across the three service recovery strategies. Further implications and recommendations for future study were also discussed.