Assessing service quality using fuzzy numbers and TOPSIS: an application to self-contained and serviced apartments

Abstract

This research paper proposes a methodological framework to assess the service quality (SQ) of self-contained and serviced apartments (SCSAs). The study is based on 2,753 surveys administered in a SCSA resort located in the south of Gran Canaria Island. SQ is based on a questionnaire that contains a list of 48 attributes. The answers' format is based on a four-facial expressions scale that cannot be easily transformed in a numeric scale. Thus, the ambiguity and possible biased analysis has partly overcome applying the fundaments of the fuzzy set theory. TOPSIS approach is then employed to obtain a synthetic SQ indicator. Finally, an observation-attribute relative performance analysis is developed to identify the operational areas that need improvement or can keep up the good work. The findings of this study may assist managers and policy planners with important insights about the attributes that tourists value more.