Wanjiku Ng’ang’a Kinyanjui

The study was a conceptualization of four key variables; service encounter quality, customer expectations, perceived value and satisfaction of hotel guests. The specific objectives were to explain the statistically significant link between service encounter quality and customer satisfaction; the moderating effect of customer expectations, the mediating outcome of customers’ perceived value and the joint effect of service encounter quality, customer expectations and perceived value on customer satisfaction. The study adopted a descriptive cross sectional research design. Sampling was done using systematic random technique and a sample of 376 hotel guests was used in the study. Results showed that the influence of service encounter quality on customer satisfaction was partially mediated by perceived value and moderated by customer expectations. The joint influence of service encounter quality, customer expectations and perceived value on customer satisfaction was statistically significant. The study recommends that policy makers and management of hotels in Kenya should improve on service encounter quality and actively pay attention to guests’ expectations.  The study has made contribution to the theory of consumer behavior by integrating service encounter quality to customer expectations and perceived value.