Managerial guidelines to increase service capacity in the tourism accommodation sector in a developing country

developing country, i.e., Thailand 2) to propose managerial guidelines to increase service capacity in the tourism accommodation sector in a remote area in a developing country that depends on the tourism industry for a large share of the national income. Methodology: A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 400 tourists to explore their expectations and satisfaction level in terms of the accommodation services they have experienced in a remote area. Mean, standard deviation, T-Test and F-Test were used to analyse the collected data. In-depth interviews were conducted with managers and staff in charge of managing and providing services in the accommodation. Main Findings: The study showed that tourists have low expectations, but high levels of satisfaction towards the five aspects of service quality in the tourism accommodation sector in a remote area. Implications/Applications: Thus, guidelines were developed to increase service capacity for accommodations, located in a remote area in Thailand and to enhance tourists’ experience to achieve the highest satisfaction levels. Five measures are described below. First, emphasize accountability and trustworthiness. For tourists’ benefits, legal measures should be set to control and manage accommodations that cannot correctly comply with the agreements or terms and conditions of advertisements or promotions. Second, focus on responding to tourists’ demands and their curiosity, staff should always accurately serve their needs. Also, inform and provide short and clear explanations to tourists when any changes occur after finalizing agreements with the tourist. Moreover, the service procedure should be convenient, fast, and simple. Third, increase tourists’ confidence towards accommodation services and staff by pursuing the following manners: honesty, well-mannered, gentle and friendly services with service-minded attitude. Fourth, because sympathy is another key success, encourage staff to show concern, kindness, and willingness to help and treat tourists equally. Finally, highlight the tangible assets such as providing a clean and attractive environment, both inside and outside of the accommodation. Increasing the accommodation’s sense of visibility through both offline and online advertisement and media is important.