Determinants of Hotel Patronage and Challenges in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The significant role of the hotel industry vis-a-vis the provision of job opportunities, foreign exchange earnings and beautification of the environment cannot be over emphasized. However, there is a dearth of information of hotel patronage and the challenges confronting the industry. It is therefore against this backdrop that this study was carried out in Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was adopted in the study to select both the staff and customers patronizing the hotels. A well-structured questionnaire and scheduled interview were used to elicit information collected. The study revealed that more males (56.82%) than females work in hotels and the ages of most (70.45%) members of hotel staff as well the ages of most (51.14%) of the customers ranged between 26 and 40years. Among others, accommodation( =3.76)is the highest factors influencing hotels patronage by customers while others are Security” ( =3.75), “Power supply” ( =3.70), “Water supply” ( =3.69), “Staff quality” ( =3.53), “Location” ( =3.45) and “Catering services” ( =3.26).It is therefore suggested that high level standard of the aforementioned factors be promoted and maintained by the hoteliers in order to maximize the benefits not just for the staff and owners but also for revenue generation for the state and to also project good image of the industry to the outside world.

Keywords: Determinant factors, hotels, patronage, challenges, Oyo State, Nigeria