M. Tech. (Tourism and hospitality Management, Faculty of Human Sciences)|cVaal University of Technology / The growth of the tourism industry led to the development of various different types of tourism products. In order to remain competitive it is important that tourism products provide high-quality services for tourists. Tourists are, however, becoming more demanding due to higher education levels, more sophisticated tourists that travel more and are more exposed to various types of experiences. It is therefore important that tourism products satisfy the expectations of the guest to increase loyalty levels as well as return to the product. It is difficult today to exceed the expectations of the guest but high levels of service quality can make a difference in the customer experience and it is thus worthwhile to go the extra mile for guest. Although service quality has been measured in various research studies it has not been measured for the guesthouses in Kimberley and this information can be to the advantage of the tourism products as well as to that of Kimberley as a destination. The main aim of this study was to measure service quality levels of guesthouses in Kimberley based on the SERVQUAL instrument to gain a competitive advantage over similar tourism products and to assist these products in meeting and exceeding guest’s expectations. Questionnaires were distributed at participating guesthouses in Kimberley. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed among guests guest of which 450 were used in the analyses. The questionnaire was divided into four sections, namely socio-demographic information, the expectations of guest, the perceptions of guest and the overall service quality of the guesthouse. The data resulting from the questionnaires was captured and analysed by means of descriptive and exploratory analyses in SPSS. A factor analysis was applied to the 29-attribute scale measuring service expectations and perceptions. The paired-samples t-tests were used to determine the differences in the expectations and the perceptions. The multiple regression analysis was done to determine the aspects best predicting the overall service quality levels in the guesthouses. From the descriptive analyses it was clear that the two main expectations from guests include the following: employees will be willing to serve and that employees will always be available when needed. The highest mean value was obtained for the first aspect mentioned. In terms of the perceptions, the main perceptions of the guest included: employees gave individualised attention, the operating hours of the guesthouse are convenient and the guesthouse provides a safe and secure environment. In the case of perceptions, the aspect that yielded the highest mean was: employees are always available when needed. The paired t-test revealed very few differences in expectations versus perceptions and this indicated that respondents are satisfied with the service levels and that the guesthouses did better than expected. The factor analyses revealed the following five factors: Tangibles, Adequacy, Understanding, Assurance and Convenience. Before visiting the guesthouse it was clear that Assurance made the strongest contribution to overall service quality but after visiting the guesthouse Understanding and Convenience made the strongest contribution to overall service quality; thus indicating what is important to the guests. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in guesthouse management but also to service quality in accommodation establishments such as guesthouses. Knowing that service levels in the participating guesthouses adhered to the needs of the current guests guest is encouraging, but these establishments need to plan strategically for when these guests guest overnight again and might expect something additional, extra or even different. / National Research Foundation

<p>Syfte: Som blivande fastighetsekonomer ville vi finna mer kunskap om ämnet outsourcing och om hur fastighetsföretagen tänker och agerar kring detta.</p><p>Outsourcing känns för oss verklighetsförankrat och inspirerande, och vi hoppas vår studie ska bidra med förståelse för vad som styr valet av outsourcing samt ge en inblick i hur dess framtid kan komma att se ut.</p><p>Metod: För att få en användbar teori i denna uppsats har vi undersökt litteratur om outsourcing och fastighetsförvaltning. Vår studie sträcker sig över Gävleborg och Dalarna. Vi har skickat ut en enkät om trenden för outsourcing till 85 företag och fått svar av 52. Utifrån dessa enkäter har vi sedan valt ut ett antal företag som använder sig av outsourcing och sedan intervjuat dem mer ingående.</p><p>Resultat & slutsats:</p><p>Outsourcing är vanligt förekommande bland fastighetsföretagen i Gävleborg och Dalarna. 89 % av de svarande företagen använder sig av outsourcing i någon form. Kostnadsminskning, ökad flexibilitet samt fokusering på kärnverksamheten är viktiga motiv. En faktor som påverkar valet av outsourcing är att företagen vill undvika för stora och kostsamma organisationer.</p><p>Förslag till fortsatt forskning:</p><p>Vi tror att fortsatt forskning, utifrån denna studie, skulle kunna ta upp fastighetsföretagens kunder och hur de ser på outsourcing och hur det påverkar deras upplevelse av företaget i fråga. Vår studie kan också användas som jämförelsepunkt för att studera trenden för outsourcing och dess eventuella upp- eller nedgång i framtiden.</p><p>Uppsatsens bidrag:</p><p>Vi hoppas att vår studie ska bidra med kunskap om ämnet outsourcing och ge företagen i regionen en förståelse för hur andra företag ser på ämnet och hur de tror att framtiden kommer att utvecklas. Då outsourcing kan vara en stor del i ett företag och innebära stora beslut har vi också valt att visa på de faktorer som påverkar valet av outsourcing i fastighetsförvaltning.</p> / <p>Aim: As proposed real estate economists, we wanted to find more knowledge about outsourcing and about how the real estate companies intend and acts around this. Outsourcing feels reality anchored and inspiring, and we hope our study will contribute with understanding what governs the choice of outsourcing and give an insight in how the future will be.</p><p>Method: In order to find an applicable theory in this essay we have examined literature about outsourcing and real estate administration. Our study stretches over the area of Gävleborg and Dalarna. We have sent out a questionnaire about the trend for outsourcing to 85 companies and got replies of 52. On the basis of these questionnaires, we have chosen a number of companies that use outsourcing and interviewed them in more detail.</p><p>Result & Conclusions:</p><p>Outsourcing is commonly occurring among real estate companies in Gävleborg and Dalarna. 89% of the replying companies use outsourcing in some way. Cost reduction, increased flexibility and focus on the core activity are important reasons. A factor that influences the choice of outsourcing is that the companies want to avoid big and expensive organizations.</p><p>Suggestions for future research:</p><p>We believe that continued research, on the basis of this study, could include the customers of the real estate companies and their perspective on outsourcing and how outsourcing influences their experience of the company in question. Our study can also be used as comparison point to study the trend for outsourcing and its possible progress or decline.</p><p>Contribution of the thesis:</p><p>We hope that our study will contribute with knowledge about outsourcing and to give the companies in the region an understanding for how other companies see on the matter and how they believe that the future will be developed. Because outsourcing can be a big part in a company and involve big decisions we also pointing on the factors that influence the choice of outsourcing in real estate administration.</p>

Syfte: Som blivande fastighetsekonomer ville vi finna mer kunskap om ämnet outsourcing och om hur fastighetsföretagen tänker och agerar kring detta. Outsourcing känns för oss verklighetsförankrat och inspirerande, och vi hoppas vår studie ska bidra med förståelse för vad som styr valet av outsourcing samt ge en inblick i hur dess framtid kan komma att se ut. Metod: För att få en användbar teori i denna uppsats har vi undersökt litteratur om outsourcing och fastighetsförvaltning. Vår studie sträcker sig över Gävleborg och Dalarna. Vi har skickat ut en enkät om trenden för outsourcing till 85 företag och fått svar av 52. Utifrån dessa enkäter har vi sedan valt ut ett antal företag som använder sig av outsourcing och sedan intervjuat dem mer ingående. Resultat &amp; slutsats: Outsourcing är vanligt förekommande bland fastighetsföretagen i Gävleborg och Dalarna. 89 % av de svarande företagen använder sig av outsourcing i någon form. Kostnadsminskning, ökad flexibilitet samt fokusering på kärnverksamheten är viktiga motiv. En faktor som påverkar valet av outsourcing är att företagen vill undvika för stora och kostsamma organisationer. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vi tror att fortsatt forskning, utifrån denna studie, skulle kunna ta upp fastighetsföretagens kunder och hur de ser på outsourcing och hur det påverkar deras upplevelse av företaget i fråga. Vår studie kan också användas som jämförelsepunkt för att studera trenden för outsourcing och dess eventuella upp- eller nedgång i framtiden. Uppsatsens bidrag: Vi hoppas att vår studie ska bidra med kunskap om ämnet outsourcing och ge företagen i regionen en förståelse för hur andra företag ser på ämnet och hur de tror att framtiden kommer att utvecklas. Då outsourcing kan vara en stor del i ett företag och innebära stora beslut har vi också valt att visa på de faktorer som påverkar valet av outsourcing i fastighetsförvaltning. / Aim: As proposed real estate economists, we wanted to find more knowledge about outsourcing and about how the real estate companies intend and acts around this. Outsourcing feels reality anchored and inspiring, and we hope our study will contribute with understanding what governs the choice of outsourcing and give an insight in how the future will be. Method: In order to find an applicable theory in this essay we have examined literature about outsourcing and real estate administration. Our study stretches over the area of Gävleborg and Dalarna. We have sent out a questionnaire about the trend for outsourcing to 85 companies and got replies of 52. On the basis of these questionnaires, we have chosen a number of companies that use outsourcing and interviewed them in more detail. Result &amp; Conclusions: Outsourcing is commonly occurring among real estate companies in Gävleborg and Dalarna. 89% of the replying companies use outsourcing in some way. Cost reduction, increased flexibility and focus on the core activity are important reasons. A factor that influences the choice of outsourcing is that the companies want to avoid big and expensive organizations. Suggestions for future research: We believe that continued research, on the basis of this study, could include the customers of the real estate companies and their perspective on outsourcing and how outsourcing influences their experience of the company in question. Our study can also be used as comparison point to study the trend for outsourcing and its possible progress or decline. Contribution of the thesis: We hope that our study will contribute with knowledge about outsourcing and to give the companies in the region an understanding for how other companies see on the matter and how they believe that the future will be developed. Because outsourcing can be a big part in a company and involve big decisions we also pointing on the factors that influence the choice of outsourcing in real estate administration.