The Influence of Tourist Characteristics on the Perceived Quality of Hostels in Portugal

Abstract

The hostels sector in Portugal, despite its late appearance compared to other countries in the world, has registered an expressive development. However, the observed growth is not properly accompanied by research that supports and helps in understanding the sector and its future perspective. The chapter intends to be a contribution in this area, having as central focus the analysis of the influence of the characteristics of the tourists in relation to the expectations and perceptions regarding the service quality provided in a hostel in Portugal. The methodology used is a descriptive nature of a quantitative nature, based on an online questionnaire survey. The questionnaire essentially applies the SERVQUAL model, not fully following the original structure, presenting reformulated statements that are adequate to the hostel service in dimensions such as tangible aspects, reliability, empathy, promptness, and security.