The Determinants of Loyalty in Hotels

TLDR

The hotel industry is a major global economic contributor, yet research on what drives customer loyalty, especially the role of brand, is scarce. The study evaluates how service quality, perceived value, and customer satisfaction relate to behavioral loyalty in hotels. The authors extend the model by adding brand trust and brand attitude to examine their interactions with service quality and satisfaction. Service quality, mediated by customer satisfaction, is the strongest predictor of loyalty, while brand trust, mediated by brand attitude, significantly moderates this relationship.

Abstract

The hotel industry is a large industry contributing substantially to global economies and providing employment for many million people worldwide. Given the size and economic significance of the industry, it is important to understand the aspects of business performance that persuade customers to become repeat purchasers, and to exhibit behavioral loyalty. Despite the significance of the industry, there has been little research to investigate the antecedents of, and influences on, behavioral loyalty. The major global hotel corporations place considerable emphasis on the brand for marketing but there has been little research found that has investigated the role of the brand in determining behavioral loyalty in hotels. This article provides an evaluation of the linkages between service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction and behavioral loyalty. The impact of brand trust and brand attitude is added to the model and provides new understanding on the interactions between the constructs within a service sector context. Findings indicate that service quality, mediated by customer satisfaction is the largest determinant, but that brand trust, mediated by brand attitude, is a significant moderator of behavioral loyalty.