FACTORS AFFECTING SERVICE QUALITY AND INTENTION TO USE ENGLISH OF HOTEL STAFF

Abstract

Thailand is among the primary tourist destinations for foreign travellers, having approximately 19 million tourists for the first half of 2025. However, the country also faced heavy competition from other tourist destinations due to the shift in global economy, increased expense, and perceived destination image and value. The goal of this study is to examine the factors that contribute toward service quality and intention to use English of the Hotel Staff, which factor into the communication between the hotel employee and the guest, and the perceived service quality by the employee. The research model was developed by integrating Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with Knowledge-Attitude-Behavior Model (KAB) and was empirically tested with questionaries obtained from 174 employees of a hotel on Phi Phi Island, Krabi Province. The result indicated that attitude toward using English, subjective norm, and English skill all have statistical influence toward both service quality and intention to use English of the employees, while perceived behavioral control only has statistical influence toward service quality. Moreover, integrating TPB with KAB Model allows the exploration of knowledge as an additional important factor contributing toward service quality and intention to use English, increasing the predictive power of the models and the depth of understanding of the two dependent factors. In conclusion, the research findings provide a detailed understanding for the factors contributing toward service quality and intention to use English, which could prove to be beneficial in improving the value and experience of the hospitality and tourism industry as whole.