SELF-SERVICE TECHNOLOGY AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF HOSPITAITY INDUSTRY IN PORT-HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between self-service technology and financial performance of selected hospitality industry in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. The survey research design was adopted for this research study. The population of the study consisted of management staff of selected four-star hotels in Rivers State, while a total of 200 designated employees from the 12 hotels constituted the sample size. Four hypotheses were proposed and tested using Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient. Results indicated that self-service technology is strong and positively related with financial performance. Thus, it was concluded that self-service technology is a managerial tool that help hotels improve their financial performance. This study therefore, recommended that hotel management should use computerized services in the reservation system to create invoices and bills, to check-in and check-out guests; to record guest expenditure and share information within and across the hotel. By using these computerized reservation systems customers can effectively communicate with the staff in real-time, and their needs are attended to immediately. These services have been confirmed by this research to improve hotel service quality and staff performance.