Hotel Inspiration: How the Substantive Servicescape Inspires Customer Satisfaction

Abstract

Facilitating inspirational experiences for customers is an emerging topic in the field of tourism and hospitality. Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response paradigm, we proposed novel effects that substantive servicescape has a positive effect on inspiration, which has a positive downstream effect on satisfaction. The present research, including a field survey with customers from 10 three- to four-star hotels (N1 = 644) and three experimental studies (N2 = 133, N3 = 115, N4 = 227), examined the effects of substantive and communicative servicescape on inspiration, the downstream effect of inspiration on satisfaction, and the moderating roles of openness to experience and prior experience. The results supported our proposed effects. Furthermore, openness to experience and prior experience moderated the effects of substantive servicescape on inspiration and inspiration on satisfaction, respectively. This research contributes to the extant literature by offering a more nuanced understanding of the drivers of customer inspiration and the boundary conditions.