Abstract:
To enhance more integration with the local culture and cuisines, tourists increasingly prefer
to stay in accommodation facilities owned by local people. Consequently, the national and the county
governments, as well as, other stakeholders in the tourism industry have continued to emphasize the
importance of homestays in tourism development. In its Vision 2030, the Kenyan government targets
to certify 1000 homestay sites to promote cultural tourism among other forms of tourism. However, the
reliability of services offered in the homestays and their effect on guest satisfaction is not well
documented. Therefore, this study used the case of Nyeri and Laikipia Counties to establish the effects
of service reliability on guests‟ satisfaction with homestay facilities. The study was guided by
expectancy-disconfirmation theory and adopted both descriptive cross-sectional survey and
explanatory designs. The study targeted 56 homestay hosts and 171 guests. Probability Proportion to
Size (PPS) sampling was used to sample 85 and 54 guests from Nyeri and Laikipia Counties
respectively. Census was used to select 56 homestay hosts. Primary data from guests and hosts was
collected using questionnaires while document analysis provided secondary information. Pre-test of
research instruments was done on fourteen guests and six hosts in Murang‟a County to ascertain the
validity and reliability of the questionnaire. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the guest questionnaire
was 0.8 while that of the host questionnaire was 0.9. Linear regression analysis was used to establish
the effects of service reliability on guests‟ satisfaction. The research findings showed that service
reliability (β= 0.216, p= 0.013) positively affects guests satisfaction in homestay facilities. The study
findings indicated reliability is an important factor that accounts for part of guests‟ satisfaction in
homestays. The research recommends the homestay hosts should have the ability to perform the
promised service dependently and accurately. Tourism Regulatory Authority should also implement
policy that guards the guests from manipulation of services by homestays in order to attain reliability.
