the impact of interior design on guests’ preferences and

12
S.R.S.D. Memorial Shiksha Shodh Sansthan, Agra, India UGC Sl. No. 64548 Abstract Interior design considered as art and science of enhancing the interiors and often the exterior of a space (designed landscape) or building/ planned construction, to achieve improved and more aesthetically pleasing surroundings for the end user. Interior design is basically a profession which is multidimensional and finally the execution of design took place. In this research the research scholar is to examine the effect and prospect of interior design in the hospitality industry (hotel lobby) and how interior has faced in the wake of its problem and whether interior design would be able to tie together these challenges into opportunities that ensure proper aesthetic and guest satisfaction in the hospitality industry. This research study will measure the interaction between participants’ preference levels and various design elements, basically four major elements like; scale, finished materials, furniture and it’s arrangement and daylight access in hotel spaces where primary data was collected and analyzed through “t” test, Multiple regression etc, and statistical tool used for this study are MS Excel, SPSS. This study will also help in polishing people’s orientation about decorations and design. The study findings suggest that the guests’ preferences and satisfaction are important parameters to design and decorate hotels and in turn various design elements contribute in the development of hotel industry. Key words: Hotel industry, Interior design, Design elements, physical environment, customer satisfaction Introduction In today‟s world Interior decoration has assumed great importance; there are various aspects of interior decoration such as color texture, pattern, lighting, heating, ventilation etc. Interior design in the hospitality industry especially hotels which enhance the aesthetics of entire establishment is an important factor for guests satisfaction. It can also act as a benchmark for the levels of facilities, quality and comfort that an organization offers to its guests and related services accordingly for guest satisfaction. Therefore, eye appealing and quality hotel interior design is more important than ever before. One of the key considerations for hotel interior design is to find a balance between operational functionality and the physical environmental elements. The lobby is the first space guests will encounter, and quite possibly the first impression guests will form of the hotel, based on the physical environment (Andorka, 1997). We generally consider ease-of-use, economics and safety requirements as operational functionality and furniture, fixtures, furnishings, equipment, plants, art etc. as physical environment to create the required ambience for guests. By understanding and assembling the requirements of these two ANNALS OF ART, CULTURE & HUMANITIES A Peer Reviewed Refereed Research Journal ONLINE ISSN-2455-5843 Volume IV, Issue II, August 2019, pp. 48-59 UGC Sl. No. 64548 The impact of interior design on guests’ preferences and satisfaction in commercial hotels of Kolkata, West Bengal-India Dr. Pralay Ganguly Assistant Professor- NSHM Knowledge Campus- Durgapur, W.B.

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S.R.S.D. Memorial Shiksha Shodh Sansthan, Agra, India

UGC Sl. No. 64548

Abstract

Interior design considered as art and science of enhancing the interiors and often the exterior of

a space (designed landscape) or building/ planned construction, to achieve improved and more

aesthetically pleasing surroundings for the end user. Interior design is basically a profession which is

multidimensional and finally the execution of design took place. In this research the research scholar is to

examine the effect and prospect of interior design in the hospitality industry (hotel lobby) and how

interior has faced in the wake of its problem and whether interior design would be able to tie together

these challenges into opportunities that ensure proper aesthetic and guest satisfaction in the hospitality

industry. This research study will measure the interaction between participants’ preference levels and

various design elements, basically four major elements like; scale, finished materials, furniture and it’s

arrangement and daylight access in hotel spaces where primary data was collected and analyzed through

“t” test, Multiple regression etc, and statistical tool used for this study are MS Excel, SPSS. This study

will also help in polishing people’s orientation about decorations and design. The study findings suggest

that the guests’ preferences and satisfaction are important parameters to design and decorate hotels and

in turn various design elements contribute in the development of hotel industry.

Key words: Hotel industry, Interior design, Design elements, physical environment, customer

satisfaction

Introduction

In today‟s world Interior decoration has assumed great importance; there are various

aspects of interior decoration such as color texture, pattern, lighting, heating, ventilation etc.

Interior design in the hospitality industry especially hotels which enhance the aesthetics of entire

establishment is an important factor for guests satisfaction. It can also act as a benchmark for the

levels of facilities, quality and comfort that an organization offers to its guests and related

services accordingly for guest satisfaction. Therefore, eye appealing and quality hotel interior

design is more important than ever before. One of the key considerations for hotel interior design

is to find a balance between operational functionality and the physical environmental elements.

The lobby is the first space guests will encounter, and quite possibly the first impression guests

will form of the hotel, based on the physical environment (Andorka, 1997). We generally

consider ease-of-use, economics and safety requirements as operational functionality and

furniture, fixtures, furnishings, equipment, plants, art etc. as physical environment to create the

required ambience for guests. By understanding and assembling the requirements of these two

ANNALS OF ART, CULTURE & HUMANITIES

A Peer Reviewed Refereed Research Journal

ONLINE ISSN-2455-5843 Volume IV, Issue II, August 2019, pp. 48-59

UGC Sl. No. 64548

The impact of interior design on guests’ preferences and satisfaction in

commercial hotels of Kolkata, West Bengal-India

Dr. Pralay Ganguly

Assistant Professor- NSHM Knowledge Campus- Durgapur, W.B.

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approaches, the hotel‟s interior design will need to be considered long-term operational and

functional objectives.

If a unique brand identity is trying to be created or supported comprehensive planning is

crucial for any design proposal and needs to be based on the knowledge of hotel operations and

accurate cost data. Many hotels are not replacing the old items and managing the operation

through a combination of bad planning, under investment and poor or inappropriate design. As

per Richard Garland (Managing Director-Hotel Industry Magazine, UK), successful hotels are

generally those that have avoided these pitfalls through careful pre-planning, detailed

feasibilities, comprehensive market research, disciplined financial management and controlled

realistic programming to meet their investment and operational objectives. Many establishments

felt that interior design is a one-way expense but fail to realize that it could enhance the business

and ROI can be effectively measured. So, hotel interior design should be measured by both

aesthetic and financial sense. The statement “first impressions are the most lasting” is always

applicable in hospitality industry where guests who decide to go inside the establishment will

notice even the few little details of the establishment possess and the same is considered as

selling point for customers when looking for a hotel is how they feel about its interior design.

Problem statement

Many establishments are not taking the design and interior criteria as one of the prime

concern of their business and in most of the cases considered it as one way expense. Properties

are very keen to spend on technology and the areas where they could make the profit in easy

way. To know the perception of customer and their need on interior and design criteria is very

much important to generate business but at the same time it is very difficult to judge as the

behavior and the need is changing every time. So, it‟s a problem for the owners to finalize it by

considering one particular aspect of demography of end users or little consideration on aspects of

design features. So, the purpose of the study is to make a plan to judge the effect of interior

design and importance of interior design for customer satisfaction in hospitality industry. This

idea leads to the research question on preferred design elements for the guests in hotel lobbies.

Objective of the study

The study helps to examine the effect and prospect of interior design in the hospitality

industry and how interior has faced its problems and whether interior design would be able to

exploit these challenges into opportunities for customer satisfaction and repeat business.

The objectives are as follow:

(a) To examine guests satisfaction on present development of interior design in five star

hotels of Kolkata

(b) To know how the decoration and design aspects affects the profile base of guests.

(c) To examine the outcome and contribution of interior design in hospitality industry

Scope & study area

West Bengal, located in the eastern part of India and bordered with 4 Indian states

(Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Sikkim and Assam) and 3 countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal).

The State is well connected with all parts of country through rail, road and air. International

airport at Dum Dum- Kolkata, Domestic airports at Kolkata, Andal and Bagdogra serves the

purpose of visit for domestic as well as foreign guests. West Bengal is rich with its tourism

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products like Himalayas, Religious Sites, Forest, Mangroves, Historical Sites, Cultural Hot

Spots, Fairs & Festivals, various dance & art forms. Total tourist footfall in the State was 71.69

million in 2015-16 contributing 4.9% of Indian tourist visits. West Bengal was retained its rank

8th

in the field of domestic tourism and climbed to rank 5th

in 2015-16 (Ministry of tourism,

Govt. of India). INR 2570 Million tourism budget was allocated for 2015-16. Total number of

room supply is approx 3000 with an occupancy rate of approx 70% (2016-17) whereas per West

Bengal Tourism Policy-2016 the target number of branded hotel accommodation rooms to be

available in the State by 2020 will be 10,000. Kolkata is the capital of the state W.B. Kolkata has

around 2000 upscale hotel rooms spread across domestic hotel chains like Taj Group‟s Taj

Bengal and Gateway, ITC, Park, the Lalit Great Eastern and Oberoi and International hotel

brands like Swisshotel, Hyatt, Carlson Rezidor‟s Park Plaza and Accor‟s Novotel (all are situated

in Kolkata). All these hotels are renowned for their interiors which brings the satisfaction of their

customers. Upcoming hotels in West Bengal are- ITC Hotel Kolkata II, The Park II International,

Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, JW Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Park Hyatt etc.

Source: Maps of India

Literature review

Tourists' overall satisfaction, together with tourists' affection, devotion, priority selection

etc. can be measured respectively in the aspect of compassion, scenery, construction, design,

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activity and overall image, (Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003). Guests are generally attracted by the

ambience and design of a physical environment which directly affects guest satisfaction levels

leading to positive behavioral intentions such as recommendation (Han & Ryu, 2009). The

limited available literature on hotel interior which affects user preferences of hotel spaces can be

divided into four relevant areas like; hotel and lobby design, consumer preference, psychological

comfort, and methodological support (Rutkin, 2005). A hotel construction is the direct result of

thoughtful and successful planning, design and construction where the guests stay as per their

preferences (McDonough, Hill, Glazier, Lindsay & Sykes, 2001);( Jones, Lockwood, 2004).

According to McDonough et al. (2001), hotels are in the “business of memories” where owners,

architects and interior designers must work carefully to ensure a good and lasting memory for

hotel guests. The guest‟s first and last experience in the hotel should be a reminder of the

brilliance of the experience as a whole (McDonough et al., 2001, p.2). Hotel lobby is the place of

the hotel where guest faces their first and the last experience during check-in and check-out

(Miller, 1995, Lawson, 2007 p.199; Berens 1997 p.xiii, Curtis 2001, p.8). The stability of a hotel

depends on host, guest, and place, and over time this stability has shifted from one component to

another. There are several trends that can be seen in hotels today as a result of the current state of

stability and balance. Today‟s modern trends include increases in technology; increases in guest

sophistication; and emergence of cultural and eco-hotels (McDonough et al., 2001). These trends

demands the right design features in lobby space with a balance between the aesthetic interior

design and operational needs to avoid too much human traffic, noise, and an inhibited flow of

circulation. (Lawson 2007, p.213, 220; Collins, 2001, p.59; Mundy, 2008) Leisure, visual appeal

and inherent enjoyment are important in creating design features which influenced pleasure and

customer satisfaction (Han & Ryu, 2011); (Y.Lin & Matilla, 2010); (Wu & Liang, 2009).

Customers are getting idea from digital world, specially from television and internet

about the modern trends and wide variety of designs available and generating their preferences

and expectations (McDonough et al., 2001). In turn, guests at hotels of every level are expecting

more in terms of the incorporation of style and design in each and every areas of the hotel, from

guest rooms to lobbies. Baker‟s (1986) model of a three-component typology of environmental

elements: ambient, design and social elements in consideration with growing expectations and

guest preferences. Baker and Cameron (1996) expressed lighting level preferences are related

social conditions and the level of activity-specific visual attention. For comfort, lighting and

other component of decoration like; colour concept, floorings, wall covering etc. having positive

effect on room interior decoration (Hopkinson, Petherbridge & Longmore, 1966). Thus there is

an innate conflicting challenge in hotel lobby architecture; this has been emphasized again by

Markowitz (2007).

Socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, marital status, and income level all relate

to the decoration and design, meaning and use / satisfactory parameter of interiors. For example,

aged people do not use as much new technology in comparison to younger. Again, kitchen is

usually viewed as the woman‟s space, and design decisions accordingly to her preference

(Lawrence, 1987)., The interior of the home determines the personal and group identities of

people and this could be consummate through the interior decoration and design features of the

home and the personal possessions in it (Eleb-Vidal, 1987). Hubbard expressed that education

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and social position influence how someone recognizes an environment (Hubbard, 1996). Some

authors have argued that fondness for styles in art and design are influenced by the social

structure and division of society, determined by factors such as people‟s age and education level

and income (Bourdieu, 1979/1984; Holt, 1998 & Vyncke, 2002). Davis studied the living room

atmosphere as a symbol of status and social decision. According to Davis, living rooms reflect

the differences between the occupants‟ tastes (Davis, 1955).

Research methodology

Research Design

The scope of the study is adequate to analyze the guests‟ attitude on their preferences and

satisfaction about interior decoration and design features of best commercial hotels l (mainly 5

star hotels & the decoration/design of lobby) in Kolkata as those hotels are having high standard

of design and aesthetics. The type of data was collected directly from sample group (guests) who

have visited/stayed in those hotels. Interviews, enquiries and meetings were conducted at Netaji

Subhas Chandra Bose airport- Kolkata after the stay in those 5 star hotels (Brand- Taj, Oberoi,

Hyatt, ITC, Park, Novotel) and at the time of returning. Data on guests‟ preferences and

satisfaction, basically the opinions on different design and decoration impacts like scale,

materials, furniture & its arrangement and daylight access were derived from questionnaire and

collected through enquiries, interviews and meetings. The target population was the guests of

five star hotels of Kolkata were considered for the study. Though, due to a heavy tourist traffic it

was difficult to follow proportionate sampling, however for a survey, a total of 120 guests were

considered which could provide reasonable representations to the major five star hotels

(Selection of guests as per investigators judgment based on demographics and the hotel from

where they checked out). The researcher followed random sampling based on systematic manner.

Finally, the researcher managed to collect 105 (88%) usable completed questionnaires after

deleting the response error. An in-depth interview was conducted with guests who stayed in five

star hotels in Kolkata on four main aspects of decoration and design features like- scale,

materials, furniture & its arrangement and access to daylight to know the impact of Interior

decoration and design in five star hotels of Kolkata. The survey instrument was self-

administered, and in order to get correct information Questionnaire was divided into three parts.

The questions in the first part include respondent's socio-demographics on decoration and design

criteria. A couple of studies had demonstrated (Lawrence, 1987, Bourdieu, 1979/1984; Holt,

1998 & Vyncke, 2002) had considered demographic criteria of end users on decoration and

design impact. In second part, 12 items attitudinal index for decoration and design impacts were

considered which were grouped into 4 major categories viz. Scale (Sc), Materials (Ma), Furniture

& its arrangement (FA) and Daylight access (DA). Finally, it was the overall attitude

(satisfaction and preferences) on design and decoration impacts. Study like (Rutkin, 2005),

demonstrated same categories on decoration and design features.

Here, in this study research investigator considered three attitudinal index for each four

category considering demographic character of guests first and then properties, characteristics

and elements of decoration and design features; finally, overall attitude on all 4 major categories.

For each item, respondent used five point Likert scale to rate their opinion and attitude, where '1'

indicates strongly disagree to '5' indicates strongly agree (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-

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Undecided, 4- Agree, 5- Strongly Agree). The pilot survey was conducted with an initial fifteen

guests, to find out the scope needed for improvement in the research instrument but found no

major improvement was required and the data was collected as per the set instrument. Finally

researcher conducted the reliability test (Cronbach's Alpha on the same set of questionnaire for

pilot survey on design and decoration impacts by 'SPSS software'. The values for four factors

(Scale, Materials, Furniture & its arrangement and Daylight assess) ranked within 0.73 to 0.81

and as per Andy Field (2005), any value “between” 0.7 to 0.9 considered as highly reliable and

satisfactory. Data thus received was systematically arranged, tabulated and analyzed. Analysis of

data was performed using SPSS software version 16.0. The 't' test has been used to know the

impacts of design and decoration (overall attitude) and how it is significant on profile base of

guests. Multiple regression techniques have been used to study the joint influence of selected

group variable of guests‟ attitude on overall attitude.

The data collected by the researcher include various types of guests‟ response and was divided

into several of phases as follows-

Table I: Research stages and data collection methods

Round Timing Respondents & Numbers Method

Preliminary

study

February 2018 Hotel guests Hotel (five

star- Kolkata) executives

Literature Review &

Discussion

First Round April 2018 65 Interviews &Meeting

Second Round June 2018 55 Interviews& Meeting

The study is confined to the guests‟ opinion (preferences and satisfaction) towards Hotels

interior decoration and design features of respondents is depicted in table II.

Table II: Profile of Respondent; hotel guests (Sample size=105)

Description No of

Respondents

Percentage of

respondent

Age

18- 25 Years 25 23.80

25-45 Years 49 46.66

Above 45 Years 31 29.52

Marital Status Unmarried 33 31.42

Married 72 68.57

Gender Male 67 63.80

Female 38 36.19

Hotel visited 1-2 times 83 79.04

3- more 22 20.95

Household

Monthly Income

(Rs)

Below Rs. 50,000 31 29.52

Above Rs. 50,000 74 70.47

Reason for visit

Business 39 37.14

Leisure 55 52.38

Other 11 10.47

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Of the total 105, approximately half of the survey guests were from the age group of 25-45 years

(46.66%), followed by above 45 years which comprised 29.52% and the rest of the age groups

i.e. below 25 represents about 24% of the respondents. Surveyed guests represents more married

(68.57%) than unmarried (31.42%). In terms of gender, male (63.80%) outnumber female

(36.19%) as it was difficult to interact with female guests and they were little hesitant. Guests

visited five star hotels one or two times 79.04% more than the guests who visited three or more

times 20.95%. Leisure travelers were more (52.38%) than the business travelers (37.14%) and

other purpose travelers (10.47%). It is surprising that the majority of the respondents (70.47) had

monthly income more than Rs. 50,000 while only 29.52% reported less than Rs. 50,000.

Further efforts were made to conduct the reliability test for the responses of hotel guests

questionnaire) on design and decoration impacts (Table IV) by SPSS version 16.0. Value of

Cronbach‟s Alpha for environmental factor is 0.789, economic factor is 0.817 and socio-cultural

factor is 0.824 which is highly satisfactory. The details are as follow:

Table III: Reliability of the Questionnaire

Tourism Impacts Number of items Cronbach’s Alpha

Scale 3 0.789

Material 3 0.747

Furniture & its

arrangement

3 0.824

Daylight access 3 0.763

Table IV presents the opinion based aspects of hotel guests towards preferences and

satisfaction on Hotel (lobby) interior decoration and design in terms of 13 items broadly

grouped under four categories of scale, material, furniture & its arrangement and daylight

access with three statements within each subhead. The last statement measures the overall

attitude towards the impact of design and decoration (combination of all four subheads) on

hotel guests. Of the total 12 variables, 14 statements have recorded mean value more than mid

value (3) on five point scale, along with the overall attitude having mean value above 4, results

to the acceptance of the fact the interior design and decoration has positive impacts on hotel

guests. The one impact statements, which reported mean value less than 3 but more than 2 is;

hard finished materials in lobby (marble, tile, metal) ensures easy maintenance which the

guests were not very much sure.

Table-IV: Guests attitude towards decoration and design impacts

A. Scale Mean SD

Sc1 Large scale lobbies with high ceiling, large reception desk,

comfortable and bigger sized furniture ensures more comfort for

guests.

3.77 1.07

Sc2 Small scale lobbies brings congestion and operational inadequacy 3.46 1.15

Sc3 Large scale lobbies accommodate adequate guests and provide

information through personal service or with the help of technology.

3.44 1.21

B. Material

Ma Hard finished materials in lobby (marble, tile, metal) ensures easy and 2.57 1.23

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Table V: Significantly different scores of Overall Attitude on the bases of profile of guests

Table V depicts the statistically significant difference of Overall Attitude (OA) on the bases of

profile of respondent (hotel guests) using„t‟ test.

Description N Mean SD t P

Value

Marital Status Married 172 4.22 0.93

2.36* 0.02 Unmarried 83 3.94 0.90

Monthly Income Above Rs 50,000 74 4.16 0.93

1.81 0.12 Below Rs 50,000 31 3.98 0.91

Gender Female 38 4.33 0.84

-2.59** 0.01 Male 67 3.97 0.96

Reason for visit Business 39 3.91 1.01

-2.78*** 0.00 Leisure 55 4.32 0.84

* -p ≤ 0.05, ** - p ≤ 0.01 *** - p ≤ 0.001

The demographics for which overall attitude for decoration and design impacts was found

positive are married (4.22), female (4.33), leisure tourists/guests (4.32) in comparison to

unmarried (3.94), male (3.97), business class tourists/guests (3.91) with the t value for all

significant at 0.01 & 0.001, i.e. p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.001. In terms of the monthly income of the

guests with interior impact, mean value of above Rs. 50,000 monthly incomes (4.16) is higher

than, below Rs. 50,000 monthly income guests (3.98) with t= 1.81. From the above table it was

1 safe movement.

Ma

2

Combination of hard (marble, tile) and soft finished materials (carpet,

upholstery) in lobby improves image of the hotel.

3.69 1.17

Ma

3

A balance between visual appeal & necessary amenities brings

comfort for the guests.

3.73 1.12

C. Furniture & its arrangement

FA1 For group seating in lobby couches and loveseats are the good option. 3.57 1.23

FA2 Chairs arranged/placed in lobby which does not support interaction

between guests is good for individual sitting.

3.33 1.34

FA3 Furniture design and arrangement in lobby ensures operational

efficiency

3.27 1.31

D. Daylight access

DA

1

Sufficient inlays and outlays with decorative finishes (glass, lead sheet

etc) made the hotel lobby healthy and attractive

3.62 1.14

DA

2

Blue print and construction helps to bring the right interiors 3.07 1.35

DA

3

Insufficient daylight access leads to pollution and health hazards 3.41 1.26

Overall Attitude

OA Overall impact: Interior decoration has positive impacts on hotel

guests.

4.13 0.92

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clearly understood that demographics for which overall attitude for decoration and design related

impacts was found positive “t” value reaches to significant level in most of the cases which

proves that the “Significant difference exists for guests‟ opinion (satisfaction and preferences)

towards hotel (lobby) interior in terms of demographics of the hotel guests”.

Further, multiple regression techniques have been applied to study the joint influence of

selected group variable on overall attitude. All the identified variables of decoration and design

features were grouped into five major categories on the basis of similarities i.e. Scale (Sc1-3),

Material (Ma1-3), Furniture and its arrangement (FA1-3), Daylight access (DA1-3) and Overall

Attitude (OA). Regression coefficients have been tested with the help of most powerful “t” test.

Table VI shows the strength of relationship between the dependent variable OA and all

the independent variables taken together. The coefficient of determination (R2) for the perceived

overall attitude indicated that 61.4% of the variation in guests‟ perceived impacts (OA)

demonstrated a statistical correlation with the determinants (independent variables). Overall

attitude (OA) was indicated by the value of R square- 61.4%. It is approximately 61.4% interest

in overall attitude is influenced by the different independent variables (Sc, Ma, FA, DA) while

the remaining approx. 48% are caused by other factors that were not taken into account in this

study. When the decoration and design component –scale related impacts are increased by one

unit, OA increases by 0.368. For one-unit increase in finished material related impacts, OA

attitude increases by 0.296 which is significant at 1 percent level. Furniture and its arrangement

related impacts are increased by one unit, OA increases by 0.435. Impacts of daylight access are

increased by one unit, OA increases by 0.302. Multiple correlation co-efficient between

dependent variable OA and independent variables (R=0.768) indicate that OA is influenced by

independent variables. It is also evident from the value of R²=0.614 of variation in OA accounted

by joint variables of Scale, Finished materials, Furniture and its arrangement, Daylight access.

The lower values of R² indicates that although there exists a positive relationship between

decoration impacts and OA but overall attitude toward interior design and decoration impacts is a

function of a number of variables other than the selected group variables taken in the study.

Table VI Regression Equation of Overall Attitude (OA) on environment, Economic and

Socio-cultural factors

Variable

constant

Regression

Coefficients

T

value

Multiple

correlation

Scale 0.368

3.612

*** R= 0.768

Materials 0.296

4.105

*** (R²) =0.614

Furniture

& its

arrangem

ent 0.435

4.417

***

Adjusted R²

=0.607

Daylight

access 0.302

2.944

*

*** - p ≤ 0.001, * -p ≤ 0.05, ** - p ≤ 0.01 1= Strongly Disagree, 2=

Disagree, 3=Undecided, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly Agree

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Below are the mean values for four variables of decoration and design statements (ID1,

ID2, ID3 & ID4) as response mechanism variables to respond to the challenge of the impacts

caused by Interior decoration. In view of the resulted research findings the following conclusion

is drawn on the basis of the responses of surveyed sample.

Table VII: Guests perception towards Interior decoration (decoration & design features)

S.N. Variables of Decoration and design features Mean

1. ID1 Decoration and design features ensures satisfaction to guests 4.33

2. ID2 Design and decoration features of five star hotels in Kolkata meet

the standard.

4.09

3. ID3 Design and decoration features brings the cultural advancement

of the region and overall promotion of tourism

3.82

4. ID4 Stakeholders‟ opinion and preferences help to set and maintain

the design and decoration elements in hotel (lobby).

4.02

It is clear that ID1 and ID 2 & ID4 statements have accorded mean value above 4 on 5-

point scale, which implies that interior decoration plays a major role on guest satisfaction where

the quality and modern decoration brings the standard in turns ensure repeat business.

Attitude/opinion on guests‟ preference and satisfaction is also a point to be considered while

setting up the properties. ID 3 variable recorded the mean value above 3.5 (more than mid

value) acclaiming the contribution of interior decoration for tourism development.

Conclusion:

Subsequent research findings reveal that interior decoration in the leading five star hotels

(lobby) in Kolkata, West Bengal has a positive impact on customer/guests satisfaction.

Significant differences related to decoration and design aspects have been observed in terms of

demographics of surveyed guests. Impact analysis recommends that furniture, fitting-fixture and

sitting arrangement of design and decoration issues should be given top priority followed by

finished materials, scale and daylight access in creating or setting interior design in hotel lobby.

Guest‟s preferences and satisfaction felt necessary to ensure proper design and decoration in the

five star hotels in Kolkata for sustainable business and economic growth of the state.

One should consider a proper balance between visual appeal (furniture, wallpaper, light,

fixtures) and necessary amenities (safety requirements and general functionality of basic

requirements) while implementing hotel interior design. As per the guests preferences it could be

a modern lobby with geometric, brightly colored furniture and large, steel floor lamps or a cozy,

home-style lobby with lacy, floral furniture and polished, wooden table tops need to be

implemented.

Finally, this research study has produced significant results where it has been determined that

there are clear relationships between scale of the hotel lobby, materials (soft and hard) used,

seating type-furniture and its arrangement, access to day lighting and views and the overall

preference for spaces. Perhaps more importantly, this study found that each of these design and

decoration elements has a different size of effect on guests‟ satisfaction and preference for a

lobby space. If the decoration and design guidelines/principles are implemented by hospitality

designers and architects, then the developed space may improve for both- host & guest. The

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impact of décor and design on customer satisfaction will help the stakeholders / hospitality

service providers to know the task and position the brand through experiential marketing.

Expectantly, in future there will be more studies to further enhancement and expand upon these

findings.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interior_design

https://www.wbtourismgov.in/assets/contents/west-bengal-tourism-highlight.pdf

https://www.mapsofindia.com