The Effect of Food Quality on Customer Choice of Dining Destination in Kenya

Abstract

Food quality has received attention by hoteliers because of its effect on customer choice of dining destination in Kenya. Achieving food quality (FQ) management standards across the hospitality industry presents a challenge for governments worldwide and Kenya in particular. The specific objective of this study was to determine the effect of food quality on customer’s choice of dining destination in Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey design where 1058 guests were sampled based on 2016 data provided by the Kenya Tourism Board on bed occupancy calculated at 49%. Additionally, 54 Hotel staffs (managers and sous chef) were randomly selected from 4-star and 5-star hotels in Nairobi and Mombasa. Self-administered questionnaires and interview schedules were employed to collect data. Qualitative data collected through interview schedules was analyzed thematically. Quantitative data collected was coded in SPSS version 21 and analyzed using multiple regression. The results revealed that the top three aspects that were considered to be highly important while referring to food quality included taste (n = 426), freshness (n = 393) and good condition (n = 330). Results of the study indicated that the odds ratio of a restaurant with good food quality being selected over that with average food quality was 3.387 to 1, while the odds of a restaurant with poor food quality had the odds of 0.091 to 1 of being selected over a restaurant with average food quality. The overall effect of food quality was found to be significant since the corresponding –value for was 0.025, which was less than 0.05 (P-value = 0.005< 0.05). Keywords: Food Quality, Food Safety, Monitoring, Customer Choice, Dining Destination