THE FACTORS INFLUENCING OVERALL GUEST EXPERIENCE IN HOTELS IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE

The subject of this research is guest experience in hotels. We started this research with the initial hypothesis that individual aspects of hotel products and services influence overall guest experience. The aim was to show which aspects of hotel products and services have the strongest impact on guest satisfaction. Another aim was to find out whether there is a difference between the periods before and during the Covid-19 pandemic where factors influencing guest satisfaction are concerned. Guest satisfaction is one of the main goals of a hotel and its business philosophy. Numerous papers investigating the attributes determining guest satisfaction are referred to in the literature review. Data for this research was collected by analysing the 590 surveys sent to guests following their stay in hotels during 2019 and 2021. Via these surveys, guests rated their overall experience during their stay, as well as different individual categories related to the stay. According to the results of the study, guestroom experience has the most significant impact on overall guest experience. Therefore, hotel management should pay attention to room attributes that could be a competitive advantage in differentiation strategy. Cleanliness should be considered one of the most important room attributes, as it now has a stronger impact on overall guest satisfaction than was the case before the outbreak of Covid-19.