1. The effects of atmospheric elements on
customer impression: The case of hotel
lobbies
Presenter: Anne Chen
Instructor: Dr. Pi-Ying Teresa Hsu
Date: April 8, 2013
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2. Citation
Countryman, C., & Jang, S. (2006). The effects of
atmospheric elements on customer impression:
The case of hotel lobbies. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 18(7),
534-545.
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3. Contents
Ⅰ Introduction
Ⅱ Literature Review
Ⅲ Methodology
Ⅳ Result & Conclusion
Ⅴ Limitation
Ⅵ Reflection
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4. Introduction
If the physical environment had an effect on
human behavior, it would also influence the
behavior of individuals in consumer settings
such as retail stores.
(Kotler ,1973)
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5. Introduction
A hotel lobby could be considered one of the
most important servicescape because of its
impact in forming many of the first
impressions by guests.
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6. Purpose
To identify which elements of physical
environment significantly influence a
customer’s impression on hotel lobby
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7. Literature Review
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8. Literature Review
The architectural style of a hotel did have an
impact on the profitability and success of the hotel.
(Siguaw & Enz ,1999)
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9. Literature Review
Architectural design books argue that the layout is
contingent on several factors including the size of
the hotel, grade or standard, patterns of arrivals
and departures, tour and convention bookings,
length of stay, and seasonality.
(Lawson, 1976; Rutes &
Penner, 1985)
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10. Literature Review
Color has the ability to attract customers and
the ability to create pleasant feelings among
customers.
(Bellizzi et al., 1983;
Bellizzi & Hite, 1992)
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11. Literature Review
As for perceived image, soft incandescent lighting
is usually associated with a higher quality
environment, while bright fluorescent lighting is
associated with a discount image.
(Baker et al., 1994;
Sharma and Stafford, 2000)
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12. Hypotheses
H1: Style has a significant impact on customers’
impression of the hotel lobby.
H2: Layout has a significant relationship to
customers’ impression of the hotel lobby.
H3: Colors have a significant effect on customers’
impression of the hotel lobby.
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13. Hypotheses
H4: Lighting has a significant influence on
customers’ impression of the hotel lobby.
H5: Furnishings have a significant association with
customers’ impression of the hotel lobby.
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14. Methodology
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15. A scenario approach
The researcher use 2 color photographs of hotel
1 lobbies.
2 The name of the specific hotel was not given.
No identification was visible in the photographs
3 to control for the influence of branding.
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16. Methodology
Different university
Randomly shown one
faculty by convenience
of four hotel lobbies
sample
Participants
105 responses Online survey
102 valid
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17. Result
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18. Table I. Atmospheric elements and items
Atmospheric elements and items Mean (scale:-3~+3) Standard deviation Reliability Alpha
Style 0.86
Current 1.09 1.52
Refined 1.26 1.10
Artful 0.76 1.52
Beautiful 1.01 1.30
Impressive 0.90 1.40
Layout 0.85
Graceful 0.66 1.63
Proportionate 0.70 1.67
Accommodating 0.80 1.66
Uncluttered 1.19 1.82
Colors 0.95
Beautiful 0.89 1.48
Soothing 0.73 1.36
Pleasant 0.95 1.41
Lighting 0.95
Appropriate 1.42 1.46
Inviting 1.25 1.55
Positive 1.33 1.50
Furnishings 0.73
Beautiful 0.73 1.48
Comfortable 0.87 1.43
High quality 1.12 1.33
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19. Table II. Measurement model results
Average
Standardized variance
Atmospheric elements and items t-value
factor loadings extracted(AVE)
(%)
Style 58.56
Current 0.59 -
Refined 0.79 5.99*
Artful 0.69 5.50*
Beautiful 0.91 6.47*
Impressive 0.81 6.22*
Layout 62.98
Graceful 0.90 -
Proportionate 0.84 10.93*
Accommodating 0.85 11.33*
Uncluttered 0.53 5.70*
Colors 84.77
Beautiful 0.90 -
Soothing 0.89 14.13*
Pleasant 0.97 17.45*
Lighting 86.55
Appropriate 0.90 -
Inviting 0.96 16.88*
Positive 0.93 15.36*
Note:*p≦0.001
The first path of each construct was set to 1, so no t – value was given to the first path 19

20. Table II. Measurement model results
Average
Standardized variance
Atmospheric elements and items t-value
factor loadings extracted(AVE)
(%)
Furnishings 47.55
Beautiful 0.75 -
Comfortable 0.60 5.89*
High quality 0.71 6.90*
Overall lobby impression 87.49
Good 0.94 -
Beautiful 0.90 16.23*
Inviting 0.97 21.97*
Comfortable 0.93 18.92*
Model fit statistics
X2(194): 365.4(p=0.00)
X2 /d.f.: 1.88
Normed Fit Index(NFI): 0.891
Tucker-Lewis Index(TLI or NNFI):
0.908
Comparative Fit Index(CFI): 0.923
Root Mean Square Error of
0.079
Approximation(RMSEA):
Note:*p≦0.001
The first path of each construct was set to 1, so no t – value was given to the first path
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21. Figure 1. A structural model for lobby impression
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22. Figure 1. A structural model for lobby impression
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23. Table III. Structural model results
Path Standardized parameter estimate(β) t-value
Style → Lobby impression(β11) 0.32 2.63*
Layout → Lobby impression(β12) 0.03 0.34
Colors → Lobby impression(β13) 0.39 3.49**
Lighting → Lobby 0.26 3.46**
impression(β14)
R-Square 0.799
Model fit statistics
X2(142): 279.2(p=0.00)
X2/d.f.: 1.97
Normed Fit Index(NFI): 0.903
Tucker-Lewis Index(TLI or 0.919
NNFI):
Comparative Fit Index(CFI): 0.933
Root Mean Square Error of
Approximation(RMSEA): 0.079
Note:*p≦0.01,**p≦0.001
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24. Hypotheses Supported or Unsupported
H1: Style has a significant impact on customers’ impression of the hotel
lobby. 
H2: Layout has a significant relationship to customers’ impression of the
hotel lobby. 
H3: Colors have a significant effect on customers’ impression of the hotel
lobby. 
H4: Lighting has a significant influence on customers’ impression of the
hotel lobby. 
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25. Conclusion
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26. Conclusion
The atmospheric elements for the style, colors,
and lighting significantly influence lobby
impression.
Colors appeared to be most influential,
suggesting that hoteliers need to take special
care in selecting the colors used in their
facilities.
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27. Limitation
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28. Limitation
The study focused only on the hotel lobby, so
the application of the results has to be
confined to the hotel lobby.
This research primarily focused on business
hotels, which is one classification of hotel.
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29. Reflection
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30. Reflection
The color is first impression for customers
so that hotel practitioner need to careful the
color.
Due to many researchers research familiar
atmospheric elements in the past time,
further research can focus on rare elements.
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31. Thank you
for
listening.
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