Hotel Guest Complaint Behaviors and Their Relationship to Motives, Personality Traits, and Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Since a service provider’s response to failures can either reinforce customer relationships or exacerbate the negative effects of the failure, it is imperative to understand how to respond customers’ complaints based on interpersonal characteristics. In a service setting, different personality traits and emotions may affect how people express their feelings when they are dissatisfied. This study examines the relationships between hotel guests’ complaint motives, complaint behaviors, personality traits, and emotional intelligence. This empirical study applied a quantitative research method to survey a sample of hotel guests in the online environment. Findings in this study indicate that hotel guests with different level of personality traits and emotional intelligence do have different complaint motives and behavior intentions. Theoretical, managerial implications, and recommendations for future research are discussed.