Comfortable seating: The influence of seating comfort and acoustic comfort on customers’ experience of hospitality in a self-service restaurant

Abstract

Does comfort in a restaurant influence people's experienced hospitality? Effects of seating comfort and acoustic comfort on the experience of hospitality were examined by means of a 2 x 2 between subjects experiment among 262 customers of a self-service restaurant, using the EH-scale measuring the experiential factors care, comfort and inviting. In line with theory on embodiment, MANOVA and mediation analysis showed that comfortable seating positively influences mental comfort, which subsequently increases the experience of hospitality (comfort factor). Extra ambient sound (acoustic discomfort) cancels out this effect. Also, people's desire to sit matters: people with a low desire to sit interpret comfortable seats as more caring instead of comfort. Regarding the discussion on (dis)comfort: seating comfort, not discomfort, accounted for the effects. Altogether, the hospitality experienced in a restaurant may be enhanced by offering comfortable seats, making customers feel more comfortable, physically and mentally.

Development of Comfort and Safety Performance of Passenger Seats in Large City Buses

“…Seating comfort is one of the most important indicators of automotive seat performance [1][2][3]. Around the world, there have been many studies on seating comfort, including car seats, truck seats [4], and bus and train seats [5].…”

The embodied experience of hospitality in service environments

“…At the one hand, high noise levels may cause discomfort because of the high cognitive load. This was the effect we expected but did not find (Chapter 6, Pijls et al, 2019), probably because the sound levels were not uncomfortable enough. On the other hand, low acoustic privacy may also cause physical discomfort during privacy-sensitive conversations because of the absence of background noise or the absence of a soundproof room.…”

“…Furthermore, the experiential factor comfort may be related to the embodied concept of comfort; physical comfort is expected to activate mental comfort, which subsequently leads to the experience of hospitality. An experimental study in a self-service restaurant on the role of seating comfort and acoustic comfort showed that comfortable seating indeed triggered mental comfort, which in turn increased the comfort factor of the experience of hospitality (Pijls, Galetzka, Groen, & Pruyn, 2019). Thus, for both the care factor and the comfort factor of the experience of hospitality embodied cognition seems to play a role.…”

“…Chapters 2 and 3 formed the basis for a published article on the development of the EH-Scale (Pijls, Groen, Galetzka & Pruyn, 2017). Chapter 6 is a modified version of an article (Pijls, Galetzka, Groen & Pruyn, 2019). The Chapters 5 and 7 formed the basis for two separate articles that have been submitted to scientific journals.…”

“…We showed that hot drinks activated mental warmth which positively impacted the experience of care (Chapter 5). Furthermore, seating comfort triggered mental comfort and in turn the comfort factor of hospitality (Chapter 6, Pijls et al, 2019). Finally, visual transparency activated mental ease of access and subsequently increased the experience of all factors of hospitality (Chapter 7).…”