Social development in modern society has greatly improved the quality of life, and modern people are focusing on the value of mental and physical health and rest. This soon significantly increased the demand for wellness tourism, and this phenomenon was further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this study, we focused on Wellness Hotels among the wellness tourism industry. Through a survey of expert groups, we conceptualized Wellness Hotels and developed a service quality scale to provide service management tools for hotel companies. As a research method, a Delphi Technique was conducted by selecting 17 experts from various organizations such as industry, academia, and government agencies as a sample. Through the first Delphi survey, the concept of a wellness hotel was defined and service quality measurement questions were composed. In the second Delphi survey, the final measurement scale was completed through supplementation and modification of the constructed scale.
The completed final scale consisted of a total of 20 items, 5 for tangibility, 5 for reliability, 3 for responsiveness, 4 for confidence, and 3 for empathy. At this time, the tangibility dimension consisted of wellness specialized facilities and programs, eco-friendly elements, etc., and the reliability dimension consisted of clear and prompt service elements. The responsiveness dimension focuses on the employee's ability to cope with each customer, and the assurance dimension focuses on wellness efficacy. Lastly, the empathy dimension was composed of a customer-tailored service index.
This study has academic significance by providing basic data in the field of wellness hotel research by developing a service quality index for wellness hotels, and has a practical purpose in establishing a company's quality superiority strategy by utilizing the relevant indicators.