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A cross-cultural study on perceived quality in upscale hotels in Italy and Croatia


Purpose
Most of the cross-cultural empirical research in hospitality has focused on Western and Eastern differences and has neglected cultural diversity in Europe. As cultural differences in Europe do exist and have important implications for managers operating in hotel industry, the purpose of this paper is to examine perceived quality in upscale (four- and five-star) hotels in two Mediterranean countries: Italy and Croatia.


Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected among 335 guests in upscale hotels in Italy and 475 hotel guests in Croatia. This work adopts a cross-cultural approach in two different ways. First, perceived quality is assessed in hotels in two different countries. Second, national culture of guests is considered in their evaluations of perceived quality in each country.


Findings
Surprisingly, hotels in Croatia, an emerging tourist destination, performed better than hotels in Italy, a top worldwide destination. The results show significant differences in perceived quality evaluations according to national cultures of hotel guests in each country. However, while in Croatia domestic guests perceived higher levels of quality than other guests, in Italy, perceived quality was rated lower by Italians than by their American counterparts.


Research limitations/implications
The results of this study contribute to better understanding of perceived quality in cross-cultural research in hospitality.


Practical implications
Implications are discussed for both Italian and Croatian hotel managers, two direct competitors in the Mediterranean area.


Originality/value
This paper covers several research gaps: lack of cross-cultural research in hospitality marketing, poor examination of perceived quality in hotels from the cross-cultural perspective, and poor consideration of cultural diversity within European countries.
