Hotel

The hit-film slumdog millionaire is a well-known film about three children from the slums. Many people have watched this film, and although its storyline is thrilling, the perceptions it gives about India as a whole being poor and dirty and that everyone is a thief, killer or prostitute are misleading; although the slums are poor and dirty, not everyone in India lives in a slum. Not everyone who does live in a slum is a thief and will do anything for money, and many people in India are well-enough off and have ‘normal’ lives like the western world does.

Fashion is becoming a huge part of New India and the western fashion is becoming more and more popular than traditional Indian clothes. India’s fashion imports are rising by 11% a year. This shows that India’s economy is expanding because the country can now spend money on luxury clothing like Gucci and Giorgio Armani where as before they could not. 350 million Indians also speak English as well as their native language and as English is the world’s main trading language; this means that they can easily trade and communicate with more economically developed countries (MEDCs) who can help them develop.

India is a huge part of the IT industry; 40% of the world’s IT industry is based in Bangalore. This and other factors mean that India’s economy is rapidly expanding. You may have heard it said that India is at the centre of the world and this is true geographically and economically. India has had an open economy since 1991, meaning that Trans-national companies (TNCs) can set up centres and factories there. This generates a lot of income for India as 30 major multi-national firms like Lloyds TSB have Indian call-centres and lots of TNCs like Chanel and Coca-Cola have factories there.

India is an attractive place for TNCs to set up a factory because in India there are over 1. 1 billion people and a high percentage of these people are of legal working age. Many of these people work for little amounts of money meaning that the TNC will get more. The factories that are being built in India are creating lots more jobs for people to work in. These jobs are being created in the city so many people who live in rural areas and do farming work, are moving to the global cities like Bangalore and Mumbai.

An example of one of these people is Ganesh RC who moved from a rural area of India to Bangalore and is now the manager of the Royal Habitat Hotel. Ganesh says that globalisation and the building of factories in cities means that his hotel is getting more customers and money. Ganesh also told us that the traditional Indian food which used to be a favourite is now less popular and the children who stay at his hotel just want KFC and pizza all the time so they have to order it in.

However although globalisation affects Ganesh positively and his attempt to gain employment and money by moving from his rural home to Bangalore paid off, not everyone’s does. Many farmers and families from rural areas of India move to global cities in the hope of getting a job and then being able to educate their children. However many people find that once they have moved to the city they don’t have the skills required for the jobs available, for example IT skills to work in an IT call-centre or another part of the hugely successful IT industry.

Because of this lack of skill that they previously did not require, they cannot work and have no money or house. This leads to them having to live in a slum. The rate at which India’s economy is expanding is causing a great increase in the wealth for many of India’s people. However many people are also being left behind, meaning that the rich and poor live literally side by side and the wealth gap is colossal. In India 300 million people live in absolute poverty in slums and one third of the world’s malnourished children live in India.

The quality of life in slums is poor and disease ridden with several hundred thousand children dying each year from dirty water. However in some slums life is better. For example in the Dharavi slums the 19 million people that live there make 700,000 pounds a year from recycling the city’s waste. That’s a lot of money to make from something that other people just threw away! However whether you think that this makes up for the fact that they are living in or right next to the waste, is up to you! India is 12 times the size of the UK; covering over 3. million sq km.

This means that throughout the country there is not only a huge difference in wealth and living conditions but also in the landscape. These different environments change how the people there react and survive in them. For example, in India there is a desert outside the city of Jaisalmer in Bikaner but also in India is Cherrapunji which is one of the wettest places in the world, getting 11,000mm of rainfall per year. The people who live in Jaisalmer have adapted to life in the desert and the people who live in Cherrapunji have adapted to rain.

In Cherrapunji the people face a lot more problems than in Bangalore because Cherrapunji can often get flooded which means that people can’t get to work or school and also might have their drinking water polluted. This is another example of a place which is facing huge challenges and not really getting much of the advantages or rewards from the expanding economy. [pic] In conclusion, the new India is giving some people huge advantages and more money through providing jobs, using/learning skills and by starting to develop the country generally from a newly industrialised country (NIC) to an MEDC.

However most of these advantages aren’t trickling down from the cities to the people who now need it the most and are living in rubbish, by recycling rubbish. In the future it is possible for India to help the people who really need it and overcome the problems facing parts of the country and then they can use advantages that they have by being at the centre of the world to its full extent. New India is fast developing and gaining more money and status but is it leaving people and old traditions behind in order to?

INTRODUCTION

Both the domestic and foreign arrivals have shown a rapid increase with India emerging as a vibrant and varied tourist destinations. The domestic tourism industry grew at a rate of 10. 7 % in whereas foreign arrivals at 8. 1% in 2010 (Indian Tourism Statistics,2010). To feed this splurge in arrivals hotels are booming across India and this most importantly has not been restricted to just metros. Even second tier cities like Bhopal, Amritsar, Surat, Ranchi etc are being looked upon as potential feasible destinations of upscale star brands.

The hotel industry in India can be divided into eight segments based on the norms set by the Ministry of Tourism. They are 5-Star Deluxe, 5-Star, 4-Star, 3-Star, 2-Star, 1-Star, Heritage and Unclassified. However, the 3-star, 2-star, 1star and unclassified hotels in India are spread across the length and breadth of the country and are highly fragmented in nature, whereas, the upscale, mid market and heritage categories are highly organized. Domestic tourist arrivals are the backbone of Indian Hotel Industry as the number of Domestic Tourists is more than 100 times (Indian Tourism Statistics, 2010) as compared to Foreign Tourists.

Domestic tourists are of 2 types, Leisure travelers and Business travelers. Growth in leisure travelers is driven by rising personal discretionary income, evolving lifestyle, growing number of multi earner families, weekend vacation culture, improvement in rail, air as well as road connectivity, diverse topography and rich cultural heritage. Drivers of domestic business traveling are rise in trade and commerce, increasing geographical spread of companies, growing MICE culture. Players like Lemon Tree, Ginger have identified that there is dearth of quality rooms in the mid market segment.

Entry of organized players is expected to improve the quality of offerings and bridge the wide gap between midmarket and upscale category. The competition in hotels has undergone drastic changes from being dependent on service or price advantages to increasingly relying on brand management. This change has been typically accompanied by the accelerating effects caused by the massive entries of foreign brands into India. Since all hotels basically offer the same products and services customers do tend to rely on established brands or where they have visited for easy selection.

As Prasad and Dev (2000) stated, the stronger the hotel brand equity, the more customers will prefer that hotel brand. Brand equity had been widely recognized as the most valuable asset to companies and has become a top management priority since it can more easily retain customer loyalty, launch product extension and be synonym with price premium (Aaker, 1991; Lassar et al. , 1995; Keller, 1993). It is due to this fact that hotels prefer acquiring an existing brand for expansion rather than developing a new in-house brand.

Example Marriott international took over Ritz-Carlton by adopting an acquisition strategy rather than developing a new luxury segment. In marketing aspects, building a strong brand yields a number of marketing advantages. This includes greater customer loyalty, higher resiliency to endure crisis, and increased marketing communication effectiveness. Ambler et al. (2002) argued that great effort should be exerted for creating and sustaining customer-based brand equity, in that the recognition of the importance of customers? value to a firm? s asset has been increasing in recent days.

Farquhar (1989) argued that the brand has value only if it has meaning to the customer. Cobb-Walgren insisted (1995) that “it is important to understand how brand value is created in the mind of the consumer and how it translates into choice of behavior” (p. 26). Moreover in India brand equity as concept is very different. Customers may perceive an unclassified hotel to be a stronger brand, which they can associate themselves to than a 3 star rated hotel. The categorization of the brand may be based on their familiarity with the staff, the ambience offered, price etc.

Thus measuring brand from the customer? s point of view becomes very important. Krishnan (1996) contended that an investigation of customers? mindsets should be conducted before measuring any other aspects of brand equity because customers mindsets about brand is a starting point for understanding the brand. Barwise (1993) stated that the only way to predict marketing actions of brand is measuring the brand equity from the customers? perspectives. By measuring these customer perspectives tactical and marketing decisions can be made and brand extended.

Aaker (1991) established five components of brand equity; brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality, brand associations and other proprietary brand assets. Figure 1 shows the five dimensions of brand equity.

The five dimensions of brand equity affecting value to the customer have the potential to add value for the firm. Brand loyalty is both one of the dimensions of brand equity and is a consequence affected by brand equity. While brand loyalty is an attitudinal concept as one of the components of brand equity, it can also be a behavioral concept adding value to the firm.

In this study, just the first four dimensions of Aaker? s brand equity will be adopted because the fifth category representing patents, trademarks, and channel relationships address the firms? asset rather than customer perceptions and reactions to the brand. Thus, it is considered another intangible asset of the firm. This study examines whether the four components of brand equity affect customer value, and finally marketing result which is revisit intent adding value to the firm as a behavioral brand loyalty. Brand equity has been defined by many researchers according to the viewpoints of their studies?.

However, there is an agreement among researchers that brand equity is the value added to the product by the brand (Farguahr 1989). From the customers? perspectives marketing effects can be attitudes, awareness, image, and knowledge (Aaker 1991; Keller; 1993; Agarwal& Rao 1996), while from the firms? perspectives, outcomes can be price, revenue, and cash flow (Simon & Sullivan 1993).

This study assesses the four components of brand equity developed by Aaker (1991).

These four components include brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand association and brand awareness. According to Aaker? s definition, brand loyalty is “a measure of the attachment that a customer has to a brand. It is one of the indicators of brand equity which is demonstrably linked to future profits, since brand loyalty directly translates into future sales” (p. 39). Oliver (1997) defined brand loyalty as the tendency to be loyal to focal brand as a primary choice. In this study, overall attitudinal loyalty to a specific hotel brand was measured.

The other of three dimensions follow Aaker? s definition. Perceived quality is “the customer? s perception of the overall quality or superiority of a product or service with respect to its intended purpose, relative to alternatives”. Brand awareness is “the ability of potential buyers to recognize or recall that a brand is a member of a certain product category. A link between product class and brand is involved”. Finally, Aaker defined brand association as “anything linked in memory to a brand”.

SIGNIFICANCE AND NEED OF THE STUDY

The rapid transition of India to a market economy and being one of the fastest growing nations today it is getting unprecedented attention. Domestic demand for hotels has historically been higher in India a is growing at a healthy rate coupled with an increase in foreign arrivals. Indian hotels are now starting to realize the importance of brand equity and loyalty seeing their foreign counterparts who are making a beeline for Indian shores. Service and product alone are not able to capture the customer when he has no dearth of options at all price points.

Hence the importance of Brand Equity. Krishnan and Harline (2001) mentioned that service brands in the marketing literature received relatively less consideration than their product counterparts even if the service sector has dominated the economy in most advanced countries. While there is no dearth of branding literature on consumer goods yet only few researches have been carried out in the hotel industry. Moreover in the Indian context there are minimal researches. It is in this respect that this research will provide valuable insight.

Finally this study will measure brand equity and its relationship with perceived value and revisit intentions across different categories of hotels representing various price points and compare for difference.

BRAND EQUITY, PERCEIVED VALUE AND REVISIT INTENTIONS

This can test the veracity of the notion that even hotels with small inventory offering basic services at the lower price end can have brand equity more than the higher starred hotels. 1. 3 Objectives of the research The research objectives of this study are three fold : 1. To measure brand equity by adopting Aaker? (1991) four dimensions of brand equity which are brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand association and brand awareness in hotels. 2. To investigate the impact of brand equity on customer perceived value, and revisit intent in the Hotel Industry. 3. To compare the results of this study with a similar study carried out in USA.

CHAPTER – II LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

Keller (1993) defines customer-based brand equity as the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand.

Brand knowledge consists of two dimensions: brand awareness and brand image. He stated that factors such as awareness of brand, and consumer memory including favorability, strength and uniqueness in which a customer had experienced brands affected brand knowledge. Customer-based brand equity, thus, is enhanced by creating favorable responses to pricing, distribution, advertising, and promotion activity for the brand (See figure 3).

Aaker (1996) suggests brand equity ten, a specific guideline for measuring brand equity.

He groups ten sets of measures into five categories brand loyalty, perceived quality, association, awareness and market behavior measure. The first four categories represent customer perceptions and the fifth expressed the information obtained from the market. He also suggested that all measurement items did not have to be standard across different market segments. He indicated that one should take appropriate modifications according to the characteristics of each industry into consideration when adopting the measurement of this brand equity ten.

Table 1 depicts the specific measurement items of each dimension recommended by Aaker. Erdem and Swait (1998) measured the brand equity in an information economics framework which emphasized the role of credibility as the main determinant of consumer-based brand equity. In that framework, consumer-based brand equity is related to negative information as well as positive information such as high quality products, and the reduction in perceived risk and information costs attributable to brands as antecedents of brand equity, which is unlike the psychological approach.

In their study, brand is regarded as a signal conveyed by the marketing mix strategies and activities associated with that brand. The information should be credible so that a brand can create value, thus, the market process by which credibility is created is important. Therefore, the consumer? s behavior and the firm? s behavior affect brand value as signals of product positions. B

MEASUREMENT OF BRAND EQUITY

Capon et al. (1994) argued that there were two kinds of brand equities which were organizational brand equity and customer brand equity.

He stated that on organizational based brand equity, financial values such as potential earning, market value, replacement cost can be criteria for the measurement of brand equity. On customer base equity, customers? consideration sets, customer based perceived quality, and preference and /or satisfaction can be measured. Thus, the measurement of brand equity can be divided two perspectives which are financial perspectives and customer perspectives. ? Financial Perspectives Based on the financial market value of the firm, Simon and Sullivan (1993) developed a technique estimating a firm? s brand equity.

By decomposing the value of intangible asset which is one of the components of market value of the firm along with tangible asset, brand equity can be estimated. They identified three categories consisting of the value of the intangible assets; a) brand equity, b) technological advantages such as patent and R&D and c) industry structure and the regulatory environment. The following equation is the value of intangible assets of a firm. V I ? (V b1 ? Vb2)? Vnb ? V ind V I ?? value of the firm? s intangible assets V b1?? value of the “demand-enhancing” component of brand equity such as perceived quality Vb2 ?? alue of expected reductions in marketing costs that result from established brand equity Vnb ?? non-brand factors giving rise to cost advantages such as patent and R&D Vind ?? industry structures and regulatory environment Here, Vb1and Vb2 are the value of brand equity determined by the four factors which are current and past advertising, age of brand, order of entry and current and past advertising shares. By using this technique Simon and Sullivan analyzed the brand equity of each.

Industry. They found that industries which are oriented toward strong consumer products have high brand equity. They also observed the impact of marketing events on brand equity by comparing the values of brand equity of Coca-cola and Pepsi. They discovered that their technique was adequate for measuring the effect of marketing events. Customer Perspectives Kamakura and Russell? s (1993) approach is based on the actual purchase behavior using check-out scanner data to estimate brand value to the customer. Their underlying concept of measuring brand equity is a consumer choice model in which the perceptions of a brand? s attributes are related both to the characteristics of physical product and to psychosocial cues. On the basis of this conceptual model, they developed a measurement method of brand value, defining brand value (BV) as a measure of the intrinsic utility consisting of brand tangible value (BTA) and brand intangible value (BIV). BV= BIV + BTV BTV represents physical features of the product and BIV is the perceptual distortions and other responses to psychosocial cues which is a measure of the value of intangibles.

For estimating this model, they analyzed the household purchase histories in a scanner panel by employing a clusterwise logit model in which customers are segmented for each brand market on the basis of long-run brand preferences and short-run responses to the marketing mix such as the order of entry and advertising. The first step of estimation by regression analysis is specifying the number of preference segmentations of brand by relative size, price and advertising sensitivities and brand values.

Identifying a set of relevant physical features and obtaining objective measure of these features and then removing them from the brand value are crucial processes of estimating brand intangible value because of the complexity of analyzing the brand intangible value. To illustrate this methodology, Kamakura and Russell apply it to the powder laundry detergent category. They found that the order of entry is relevant to creating positive brand intangible value, but large investments of advertising does not positively impact brand intangible value.

Lassar et al. (1995), on the basis of Keller? s conceptualizing of brand equity in which consumer-based brand equity occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favorable, strong, and unique brand associations in memory, identified five important elements of brand equity; consumer perception, global value associated with a brand, global value stem from the brand name, relative competition, and financial performance. From these five characteristics, they defined brand equity as the enhancement in the perceived utility and desirability a brand name confers on a product. They developed five underlying dimensions of brand equity which are performance, value, social image, trustworthiness and commitment/attachment. Blackston (1995) stated that brand equity could be seen as two perspectives which were brand value and brand meaning. He contended that brand meaning influences and creates brand value because value depends on the meaning, changing the brand meaning is equivalent to changing the value of the brand.

Brand meaning consists of three dimensions including brand salience, brand association and brand personality. He proposed the brand relationships model in which all three were divided by two dimensions: brand image/brand personality and brand attitude. Thus, by measuring these two dimensions, he suggested that marketers could set their brand strategies. Dyson et al. (1996) proposed a consumer value model (CV) as a starting point for measuring brand equity by which the share value of requirements for each brand for each respondent can be estimated, correlating to consumer loyalty.

For underpinning the factors affecting the brand? s consumer loyalty, the BrandDynamics Pyramid developed by Millward Brown, an institution for evaluating brand equity, was used, and consequently they identified the key elements which discriminated between differing degrees of loyalty. The CV model bridges the gap between consumer and financial equity. The aggregation of the individual respondent consumer value model allows predicting market share, a familiar sales measure with a direct relationship to a brand? revenue stream. Yoo et al. (2000) investigated the relationship between the marketing mix and brand equity. Their proposition of the research stated that the marketing mixes such as price, store image, distribution intensity, advertising spending, and price deals affect each brand equity component including perceived quality, brand loyalty and brand awareness combined with brand association. They also examined how each component of brand equity affected the „overall brand equity? developed by the researchers.

They employed a structure equation model for estimating the parameters of their conceptual model, and consequently found that high price, high advertising spending, good store image, and high distribution intensity are related to high brand equity, whereas frequent price promotions are related to low brand equity. Berry (2002) stated that branding plays a special role in service companies because strong brands increase customers? trust of the invisible purchase.

However, despite the increasing importance of branding decisions in the services domain, there has been relatively little research in this area. Due to the special characteristics that service possesses such as inseparability, heterogeneity, intangibility, and perishability, an argument that the measurement brand equity in services should be different from physical goods has been rising. Yet, several researchers tried to adopt consumer-based brand equity for measuring brand equity in services. Krishnan and Hartline (2001) assessed brand equity in the context of services marketing and compare it to brand equity for goods.

They examined three types of services and one type of tangible good for their research according to three attributes that goods and services possesses, which are search, experience, and credence attributes. The result of their study is that brand equity is more important for services than for goods, which is quiet a different view from the traditional literature review. Mackay (2001) applied existing consumer based measures of brand equity to a financial services market. His study is meaningful in that it is the first attempt to adopt the measurement of consumer based brand equity to the services industry.

He finds that the measurement is reliable and valid in service marketing, and that the best measurement of brand equity in terms of correlation with market share is brand awareness. Kim and Kim (2004) investigated the relationship between customer based brand equity and quick service restaurant (QSR) chains? performance. They measured four dimensions of brand equity: brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality and brand image. Through regression analysis they explored the correlation between brand equity and sales revenue.

Consequently, they found that brand equity had a positive effect on the performance, especially brand awareness among the four dimensions of brand equity is the most important factor affecting QSR performance. Cobb-Walgren et al. (1995) demonstrated how the consumer? s brand perception affects the brand preference and brand choice. In their study, they adapted the familiar hierarchy of effects model as a framework for studying various antecedents and consequences of brand equity from the perspective of the individual consumer.

In their study, brand equity was not measured directly. Consumers form perceptions about the physical and psychological features of a brand from various information sources. These perceptions contribute to the meaning or value that the brand adds to the consumer-i. e. brand equity. Brand equity then influences consumer preferences and purchase intentions, and ultimately brand choice. After comparing Holiday Inn and Howard Johnson, they discovered that the brand with a higher equity generates significantly greater preferences and purchase intentions.

Considering customers as the sources of all cash flow and resulting profits, Prasad and Dev (2000) developed a customer-centric index of hotel brand equity. This customer-centric brand equity index was a measure for converting customers? awareness of a brand and their view of a brand? s performance into a numerical index. This was based on: actual customer data on customer satisfaction, intent to return, perception of price-value relationship, brand preference, and top-of-mind awareness of the brand.

Kim, Kim, and An (2003) investigated the relationship between brand equity and the firms? financial performance. Based on the dimensions of customer-based brand equity which are brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality and brand image, Kim et al tried to identify brand equity? s correlation with financial performance (RevPAR) in the hotel industry. The result revealed that brand equity perceived by the customers can affect generating revenue.

Brand equity research in marketing has largely concentrated on a customer-based approach. Keller (1993) mentioned that the customer-based brand equity is more practical for managers in that it provides for them a strategic vision of customer behavior that can be adapted to brand strategy. Yet, Ailawadi et al (2003) insisted that the measuring of customer mindset cannot be objective and that it is difficult to calculate the precise figure because its measurement is based on consumer surveys. In this study, brand equity measurement from a customer perspective was adopted.

Especially, the items Yoo and Donthu (2001) have developed were mainly used because some researchers (Washburn and Plank, 2002) proved its validation. Sun et al. (2008) investigated the impact of customer based brand equity on 6 mid-price hotels in U. S. A. The results indicated that brand loyalty had the least score which they concluded showed that it was most difficult to win loyalty of the customers. Moreover apart from brand loyalty, none of the other dimensions had any effect on revisit intent but perceived value did have an impact on

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CONCEPTUAL MODEL

A model of this study has been constructed. In this model, dimensions of brand equity affecting perceived value and revisit intention will be argued. Each of the constructs in the proposed model is described and the theoretical support for the hypothesized relationships is set forth. In this paper, the approach and questionnaire developed by Sun et al. (2008) has been used. In their study, as method of measuring brand equity, four of the five dimensions of Aaker? s brand equity (Aaker 1991) were adopted.

Aaker (1991) mentioned that brand equity consists of brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality, brand association and other proprietary brand assets such as patents, trademarks, and channel relationship. However, since the fifth components was not relevant to the consumer perception, only the first four components of brand equity were adopted, and this study takes that approach forward implementing it in the Indian scenario.  Sun et al. (2008) described the four dimensions of Brand Equity with Perceived Value and Revisit Intentions in the following ways :

BRAND LOYALTY

Loyalty is a core dimension of brand equity. Aaker (1991) described brand loyalty as “the attachment that a customer has to brand” (p. 65). A strong form of attachment refers to the resistance to change and the ability of a brand to withstand bad news. Brand loyalty can be seen as two types: attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty. Gounaris et al. (2003) summarized these two types of brand loyalty in which behavioral loyalty refers to repeated purchase and attitudinal loyalty refers to a strong internal disposition towards a brand leading to repeated purchases.

Oliver (1997) defined brand loyalty as the tendency to be loyal to focal brands as a primary choice. In their study, overall attitudinal loyalty to a specific hotel brand was measured as a dimension of brand equity and behavioral loyalty which in the hotel industry can be translated into revisit intent.

PERCEIVED QUALITY

Zeithmal (1988) defined perceived quality as the consumer? s perception of the overall quality or superiority of a product or service with respect to its intended purpose, relative to alternatives.

Aaker (1991) mentioned that perceived quality could be considered two different contexts which are product quality and service quality. While product quality consists of seven dimensions: performance, features, conformance with specifications, reliability, durability, serviceability, and fit and finish, service quality dimensions are tangibles, reliability, competence, responsiveness and empathy. Since the hotel industry is one of the important service businesses, in their paper, the measurement of service quality model (SERVQUAL) developed by Parasuraman et al. (1988) was adopted.

BRAND AWARENESS

Brand awareness is “the ability for a buyer to recognize or recall that a brand is a member of certain product category” (Aaker 1991, p. 61). Aaker (1996) refers to brand awareness as the strength of a brand? s presence in the customer? s mind. Brand awareness can be measured as a brand recognition or brand recall, otherwise both of them.  In their study, Yoo and Donthu (2001)? s item scale which measures brand recognition was adopted. BRAND ASSOCIATION Aaker (1991) defines brand associations as “anything linked in memory to a brand” (p. 109).

This includes the strength, favorability, and uniqueness of perceived attributes and benefits for the brand. (Keller 1993). On the basis of this concept of brand association, Yoo and Donthu (2001) developed items for measuring brand association.

PERCEIVED VALUE

Customer value is defined as “the consumer? s overall assessment of the utility of a product based on the perceptions of what is received and what is given” (Zeithmal, 1988, p. 14). Sweeny et al(1999) interpreted this value as “the trade off of salient „give? and „get? components” (p. 79). In the same study, they found the positive effect of perceived quality on perceived value.

REVISIT INTENTIONS

It is the intention to repurchase the product or reuse the service. Washburn & Plank (2002) examined the relationship between different dimensions of brand equity including brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness and brand association and repurchase intention. They found that the correlation between the dimensions of brand equity and repurchase intention is significant. In the study, repurchase intention was modified into revisit intention.

HYPOTHESIS

The following hypothesis were made to measure the impact of Brand Equity on Perceived Value and Revisit Intention.

Hypothesis1: The four dimensions of brand equity positively affect the perceived value of the Hotels. H1a: Brand loyalty will have a positive effect on customers? perceived value. H1b: Perceived quality will have a positive effect on a customers? perceived value. H1c: Brand awareness will have a positive effect on a customers? perceived value H1d: Brand association will have a positive effect on a customers? perceived value Hypothesis2: The four dimensions of brand equity positively affect Revisit intention of the hotels H2a: Brand loyalty will have a positive effect on customers? evisit intention H2b: Perceived quality will have a positive effect on customers? revisit intention H2c: Brand awareness will have a positive effect on customers? revisit intention H2d: Brand association will have a positive effect on customers? revisit intention Hypothesis3: Perceived value will have a positive effect on revisit intention of the hotels. Hypothesis4: The perception of the people regarding Brand Equity Dimensions, Perceived Value and Revisit Intention varies across the three segments of the hotels. H4a :The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Loyalty varies across the three segments.

H4b :The perceptions of the people regarding Perceive Quality varies across the three segments. H4c :The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Awareness varies across the three segments. H4d :The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Association varies across the three segments. H4e :The perceptions of the people regarding Perceived Value varies across the three segments. H4f : The perceptions of the people regarding Revisit Intent varies across the three segments. Hypothesis5: The perception of the people regarding Brand Equity Dimensions, Perceived Value and Revisit Intention varies with age.

 H5a : The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Loyalty varies with age. H5b :The perceptions of the people regarding Perceive Quality varies with age. H5c :The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Awareness varies with age. H5d :The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Association varies with age. H5e :The perceptions of the people regarding Perceived Value varies with age H5f : The perceptions of the people regarding Revisit Intent varies with age.

Hypothesis6: The perception of the people regarding Brand Equity Dimensions, Perceived Value and Revisit Intention varies with gender. H6a : The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Loyalty varies with gender. H6b :The perceptions of the people regarding Perceive Quality varies with gender. H6c :The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Awareness varies with gender. H6d :The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Association varies with gender. H6e :The perceptions of the people regarding Perceived Value varies with gender. H6f : The perceptions of the people regarding Revisit Intent varies with gender.

Hypothesis7: The perception of the people regarding Brand Equity Dimensions, Perceived Value and Revisit Intention varies with Income. H7a : The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Loyalty varies with income. H7b :The perceptions of the people regarding Perceive Quality varies with income. H7c :The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Awareness varies with income. H7d :The perceptions of the people regarding Brand Association varies with income. H7e :The perceptions of the people regarding Perceived Value varies with income. H7f : The perceptions of the people regarding Revisit Intent varies with income.

 18 3. 3 SAMPLING : Chandigarh has more than 50 hotels at all price points. The range lies from Hotels having an ARR of just Rs. 600 to a Hotel like Marriott where the present tariff is Rs. 10400 base category room. It was decided to do this research on hotels across various price points and hotel star judgements. Thus price points for a number of hotels were taken and together with the perceptions of 10 respondents regarding their segments. Finally for this study the following 10 hotels were taken, divided into three segments.

Upscale: J. W. Marriott, Mount View and Bella Vista. Mid-Price Segment- Amara, Maya Hotel, Western Court Budget – Aroma, The Piccadily, Sunbeam and Himani Residency. The sampling method used was Stratified Random of the people visiting these 10 hotels for their stay in Chandigarh. The sample size was estimated to be 225, taking around 20-25 respondents from each of these hotels. The data collection process was carried out over the months of November, December and January and a total of 215 filed questionnaires were collected from these properties.

INSTRUMENT DESIGN

A self-administered survey questionnaire was used as the data collection tool, as suggested by Crimp and Wright (1993) that it is a valuable tool that is flexible, fast, accurate and easy to be used in statistical analysis. Miller et al. (2002) believe that a large sample size obtained via questionnaires can provide unbiased statistical results and can be implied as the representatives of the whole population. The questionnaire as mentioned earlier was taken from the one developed by Sun et al. (2008). It consisted of 2 sections.

The first statement provided specific statements for each dimension. The items for measuring brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness and brand association followed by perceived value and revisit intent constituted this section. The demographic information was the second section of the questionnaire. The questionnaire had 31 total items. Brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness and brand association are measured on a five point Likert scale, with 1 for “strongly agree” and 5 for “strongly  disagree”.

Except perceived quality, all items were modified to a hotel context from the original format of other studies. Parasuraman et al. (1988) developed the SERVQUAL model for measuring service quality in which all items were divided into five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. This study will adopt Gabbie and O? Neil (1996)? s tool for measuring hotel service quality. In their study, the first four dimensions were assessed because the empathy dimension of SERVQUAL was less important and even irrelevant in hotel service quality.

Brand loyalty is considered as perceptual/ attititudinal loyalty consisting of one of the components of brand equity. However, as Aaker mentioned (1991), brand loyalty is regarded as both one of the dimensions of brand equity and is affected by brand equity. Therefore, this behavioral loyalty can be used to estimate the consequences of brand equity.

PRETESTING

In Churchill? s (1995) term, the pretest, a stage during the questionnaire design process, is usually conducted after the completion of the initial questionnaire, but before the data collection procedure.

Its basic objective is to ensure that the structure and language used in the questionnaire are appropriate enough to enable the instrument to actually collect the data required from the target population (Reynolds and Diamantopoulos 1996). Compeau et al. (1995) recommend that a pretest should be conducted prior to the real distribution of the questionnaires in order to find out the deficiencies and validate the instrument. In this study pretesting was done on a convenience sample of 20 respondents. It was observed that the respondents found no ambiguity while filling up of the questionnaire.

Moreover the Cronbach alpha calculated for these 20 respondents in SPSS yielded an Apha of 0. 834, which was more than acceptable level of 0. 7. Hence the questionnaire was retained as it is in its current form and used further up for data collection.

STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES USED

The research data collected was analyzed using SPSS V. 19 and the following statistical techniques were employed. Correlation Analysis The preliminary analysis of the degree of linear association between the variables has been done with the help of correlation.

Correlation is a statistical device which helps in analyzing the co variation of two or more variables. Correlation analysis determines the degree of relationship between two or more variables. In other words it? s a technique that is used to measure the closeness of the relationship between two or more variables. The correlation analysis can be broken into two steps: 1. Determining whether a relationship exists and if yes, the measuring it. 2. Testing whether it is significant. There are different methods of measuring of measuring the correlation but the two prominent methods are: 1. Karl Pearson? s coefficient of correlation. . Spearman? s coefficient of correlation. For the purpose of the present study, Karl Pearson? s coefficient of correlation has been used. The following are the general rules for interpreting the value of r:  When r = +1, it means there is perfect positive relationship between the variables. When r = -1, it means there is perfect negative relationship between the variables. When r = 0, it means there is no relationship between the variables i. e. the variables are uncorrelated. The closer the value of r is to +1 or -1, the closer the relationship between the variables and the closer r is to 0, the lesser is the relationship.

The coefficient of determination i. e. r2 is defined as the ratio of the explained variance to total variance. Coefficient of determination = Explained Variance/ Total Variance Regression Analysis Regression analysis focuses on techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. More specifically, regression analysis helps understand how the typical value of he dependent variable changes when any one of the independent variables is varied while the other independent variables are held constant. Most commonly, regression analysis estimates the conditional expectation of dependent variable given the independent variables- that is, the average value of the dependent variable when the independent variables are held fixed. The estimation target is a function of the independent variables called the regression function. ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) ANOVA is a statistical technique designed to test whether the means of more than two quantitative populations are equal.

It consists of classifying and cross classifying statistical results and testing whether the means of a specified classification differ significantly.

DATA ANALYSIS

The hypotheses constructed on the basis of literature review are tested using various techniques in this stage of data analysis. SPSS version 19. 0 was used for analyzing the data by employing various tests that are explained in this Chapter. Before the data analysis begins, the data is first edited and coded.

Editing involves checking the data collected through questionnaires for completeness, omissions and legibility. Since the data forms were self administered, care was taken to get omissions and illegibility in forms simultaneously corrected from the respondents. Despite that in 8 forms it was noticed discrepancy in the nature of some variables not being answered. They were marked 3 signifying a neutral score or undecided one. A lower score for the variables indicated a better positive response and a total of 215 usable questionnaires were obtained from the data collection process. . 1 Demographic Profile of the Respondents Demographics regarding gender, age, income level and the segment of the hotel where they stayed has been shown in this section. Table 4. 1 Gender-wise distribution of respondents Hotel Segment * Gender Crosstabulation Gender Male Hotel Segment Budget 46 Female 34 29 17 80 Total 80 75 60 215 Mid-Price 46 Upscale Total 43 135  Chart 4. 1 Bar-graph of the gender wise distribution of respondents An analysis of the table and chart reveals that a majority, 62. % of the respondents were male and the rest female. Moreover whereas there was almost an equal distribution of males throughout the 3 segments, most of the female respondents were taken from the Budget segment. Table 4. 2 Age-wise distribution of respondents Hotel Segment * Age Crosstabulation Age 54 0 2 2 4 Total 80 75 60 215 Mid-Price 12 Upscale Total 10 50  24 Chart 4. 2 Bar-graph of the age wise distribution of respondents An analysis of the above reveals that a majority of the respondents totaling to 92. 1% were below the age of 44 years.

The highest number of the respondents were from the 25-34 year bracket while the lowest, just 4 respondents above the age of 54. Moreover it is noticeable that as the age went higher there were more respondents opting out for Mid-Price and Upscale hotels. Table 4. 3 Income-wise distribution of respondents Hotel Segment * Household income per month Crosstabulation Hotel Segment Budget Household income per month 100000 Total 6 21 28 25 80 12 11 44 22 19 69 28 27 80 75 60 215 Total Mid-Price 13 Upscale 3  Chart 4. 3 Bar-graph of the income wise distribution of respondents

An analysis of the above reveals that the majority 37. 2% of the respondents had a household income greater than 1 lakh per month while 32. 1% in the 50001-100000 bracket. 20. 5% of the respondents were earning between Rs. 20000-50000 while just 10. 2% below Rs. 20000. Also it is noticeable that with the rise in income there is an increasing number of people preferring Mid-Price and Upscale hotels. Table 4. 4 Segment-wise distribution of respondents Hotel Segment Cumulative Valid Percent Percent 37. 2 34. 9 27. 9 100. 0 37. 2 72. 1 100. 0 Frequency Percent Valid Budget 80 37. 2 34. 9 27. 9 100. 0 Mid-Price 75 Upscale Total 60 215

Chart 4. 4 Bar-graph of the segment wise distribution of respondents Thus, the majority of the respondents were taken from the Budget Segment representing 37. 2 % of the total sample. While 34. 9 % and 27. 9 % were taken from the Mid-Price and Upscale Segments. 4. 2 RECODING Reverse coding is a procedure where some questions in a survey are worded such that high values of a theoretical construct is reflected by high scores on the item, while other questions are worded such that high values of the same construct is reflected by low scores on the item.

Reversing the order of the codes for negative statements so that their codes reflect the same direction and order as the positive statements? codes requires a simple transformation which is available in SPSS. The formula for the same is New Value = (Scale minimum + Scale minimum) – Old value The following two questions were recoded : 1. I have difficulty in imagining the hotel in my mind. 2. The price shown for the hotel is unacceptable. Thus these two questions were thereby positively stated in SPSS.

RELIABILITY

Reliability is the degree to which the measures are free from errors and therefore yield consistent results. Two dimensions underlie the concept of reliability: one is repeatability and the other is internal consistency (Zikmund, 2009). The internal consistency measure is the most preferred one because it requires a single administration and establishing reliability through the other measures is difficult since once a subject has been put through some test, it will no longer remain neutral to the test.

Researchers commonly use Cronbach Alpha coefficient, which is an indicator of the internal consistency of the scale, for establishing scale reliability. A high value of Cronbach alpha coefficient suggests that the items that make up the scale measure the same underlying construct. A value of Cronbach alpha above 0. 70 can be used as a reasonable test of scale reliability. Thus Alpha was measured for each dimension of the scale separately and then for the whole scale i. e. for the 26 items. Table 4. 5 Cronbach’s Alpha co-efficient of reliability for Brand Loyalty Reliability Statistics Cronbach’s Alpha . 17 N of Items 3 The value is acceptable being over 0. 7 and hence Brand Loyalty is internally consistent. Table 4. 6 Cronbach’s Alpha co-efficient of reliability for Perceived Quality Reliability Statistics Cronbach’s Alpha . 938 N of Items 1 The value for Perceived Quality is over the acceptable level of 0. 7 and hence the items are internally consistent. Table 4. 7 Cronbach’s Alpha co-efficient of reliability for Brand Awareness Reliability Statistics Cronbach’s Alpha . 842 N of Items 3 The value for Brand Awareness is over the acceptable level of 0. and hence the items are internally consistent. Table 4. 8 Cronbach’s Alpha co-efficient of reliability for Brand Association Reliability Statistics Cronbach’s Alpha . 706 N of Items 3 The value for Brand Association is just over the acceptable level of 0. 7 and hence the items are internally consistent. Table 4. 9 Cronbach’s Alpha co-efficient of reliability for Perceived Value Reliability Statistics Cronbach’s Alpha . 731 N of Items 3 The value for Perceived value is over the acceptable level of 0. 7 and hence the items are internally consistent.  9 Table 4. 10 Cronbach’s Alpha co-efficient of reliability for Revisit Intention Reliability Statistics Cronbach’s Alpha . 857 N of Items 2 The value for revisit intentions is over the acceptable level of 0. 7 and hence the items are internally consistent. Table 4. 11 Cronbach’s Alpha co-efficient of reliability for the Whole Scale Reliability Statistics Cronbach’s Alpha . 926 N of Items 26 Thus for all dimensions of the scale the alpha is above the acceptable threshold of 0. 7. In fact the alpha for the whole scale signifying a value of 0. 926 is excellent. Moreover it is oticeable that for scales which have fewer items the alpha is comparatively lower. This simply follows from the fact that value of alpha is directly proportional to the number of items on the scale and one of the ways to increase alpha has been to increase the number of items. 4. 4 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS Descriptive statistics reveal the mean value and the standard deviation of the variables. They also show the general direction of the variables i. e. towards the positive side or negative side. The following tables first give descriptive statistics of the total 26 items of the scale.

In the second part a comparison has been made between the individual dimensions and the 3 segments of the hotels.  Table 4. 12 Descriptive statistics for Brand Loyalty Descriptive Statistics N Minimum Maximum Mean I consider myself to be loyal to the 215 1 5 2. 37 hotel. The hotel would be my first choice. 215 1 5 2. 27 I will not visit other brands if the 215 1 hotel has no room available. Brand Loyalty Valid N (listwise) 215 1. 00 215 5 3. 48 Std. Deviation 1. 081 1. 038 1. 147 5. 00 2. 7054 .81970 Table 4. 3 Descriptive statistics for Perceived Quality Descriptive Statistics N Minimum Maximum The physical facilities at the 215 1 5 hotel are visually appealing. Staff at the hotel appears neat. 215 1 5 Quality of food /beverage at the hotel satisfies me. When I have problems, the hotel shows a genuine interest in solving them. The hotel performs the service right the first time. The hotel insists on error free service. Staff at the hotel is able to tell patrons exactly when services would be performed. 215 215 1 1 5 5 Mean 2. 18 2. 05 2. 12 2. 20 Std. Deviation . 795 . 853 . 927 1. 002 215 215 215 1 1 1 5 5 5 2. 17 2. 34 2. 6 .991 1. 047 . 949 Staff at the hotel is always 215 willing to help me. Staff at the hotel gives prompt 215 service to me. Staff of the hotel is consistently 215 courteous with me. The behavior of staff at the 215 hotel instills confidence in me. I feel safe in my transaction. Perceived Quality Valid N (listwise) 215 215 215 1 1 1 5 5 5 1. 99 2. 11 1. 98 .962 1. 071 . 927 1 5 2. 36 .994 1 1. 00 5 5. 00 1. 96 2. 1345 .888 . 73543 BRAND EQUITY, PERCEIVED VALUE AND REVISIT INTENTIONS 31 Table 4. 14 Descriptive statistics for Brand Awareness Descriptive Statistics N I know what the hotel? s physical appearance looks like.

I am aware of the hotel. I can recognize the hotel among other competing brands. Brand Awareness Valid N (listwise) 215 Minimum Maximum 1 5 Mean 2. 07 Std. Deviation . 783 215 215 1 1 5 5 2. 06 1. 93 .923 . 812 215 215 1. 00 5. 00 2. 0202 .73349 Table 4. 15 Descriptive statistics for Brand Association Descriptive Statistics N Some characteristics of the 215 hotel come to my mind quickly. I can quickly recall the symbol 215 or logo of the hotel. I do not have difficulty 215 imagining the hotel in my mind. Brand Association Valid N (listwise) 215 215 Minimum Maximum 1 4 Mean 2. 13 Std. Deviation . 921 1 1 5 5 . 38 2. 14 .968 1. 351 1. 00 4. 00 2. 2171 .77835 Table 4. 16 Descriptive statistics for Perceived Value Descriptive Statistics N The hotel is good value for money. The price shown for the hotel is acceptable. The hotel appears to be a bargain. Perceived Value Valid N (listwise) 215 215 215 215 215 Minimum Maximum 1 1 1 1. 00 5 5 5 5. 00 Mean 2. 23 2. 48 2. 67 2. 4589 Std. Deviation 1. 023 1. 380 . 990 . 82235  32 Table 4. 17 Descriptive statistics for Revisit Intention Descriptive Statistics I plan to revisit the hotel. N 215 Minimum Maximum Mean 1 5 2. 2 1 5 2. 05 Std. Deviation . 940 . 918 The probability that I 215 would consider revisiting the hotel is high. Revisit Intentions Valid N (listwise) 215 215 1. 00 5. 00 2. 1372 .86926 The following points are noticeable from the above tables. Firstly for the individual variables the best positive score is for the question – “ I can recognize the brand among competing brand” while the most negative score was for the question – “I will not visit other brands if the hotel has no room available” which actually signifies the urgency of staying in any hotel accommodation if there is no room available in this brand.

Secondly in comparison of each of the dimensional score Brand Awareness had the best positive score followed by Perceived Quality, Revisit Intention, Brand Association, Perceived Value and Brand Loyalty in this order. This signified that people? s perception were most positive towards Brand Awareness and the least towards Brand Loyalty.

COMPARISON AMONG THE THREE SEGMENTS

Now a comparison among the three segments has been shown through the following 3 tables: Table 4. 18 Descriptive statistics for the Budget Category Descriptive Statisticsa Minimum Maximum 1. 00 5. 00 1. 58 5. 00 1. 00 4. 00 1. 00 4. 00 1. 33 3. 98 1. 00 5. 0 1. 00 5. 00 a. Hotel Segment = Budget  Brand Loyalty Perceived Quality Brand Awareness Brand Association Brand Equity Perceived Value Revisit Intentions Valid N (listwise) N 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 Mean 2. 9500 2. 4969 1. 9958 2. 1833 2. 4065 2. 4833 2. 3438 Std. Deviation . 82694 . 72726 . 64630 . 72702 . 57637 1. 03239 1. 01443 Table 4. 19 Descriptive statistics for the Mid-Price Category Descriptive Statisticsa N Brand Loyalty Perceived Quality Brand Awareness Brand Association Brand Equity Perceived Value Revisit Intentions Valid N (listwise) 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 a.

Hotel Segment = Mid-Price Minimum 1. 00 1. 00 1. 00 1. 00 1. 25 1. 00 1. 00 Maximum 5. 00 4. 42 5. 00 3. 67 3. 67 5. 00 5. 00 Mean 2. 5333 1. 9833 1. 9956 2. 2533 2. 1914 2. 4889 2. 0333 Std. Deviation . 81833 . 75162 . 75036 . 79003 . 54355 . 73180 . 82746 : Table 4. 20 Descriptive statistics for the Upscale Category Descriptive Statisticsa N Brand Loyalty Perceived Quality Brand Awareness Brand Association Brand Equity Perceived Value Revisit Intentions Valid N (listwise) 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 a. Hotel Segment = Upscale Minimum 1. 33 1. 00 1. 00 1. 00 1. 29 1. 00 1. 00 Maximum 4. 33 3. 75 5. 00 3. 67 3. 60 4. 00 3. 50 Mean 2. 944 1. 8403 2. 0833 2. 2167 2. 1837 2. 3889 1. 9917 Std. Deviation . 74179 . 49983 . 82482 . 83885 . 47957 . 58919 . 64105 The above tables have important ramifications. It reveals that for Brand Loyalty the best score is for the Mid-Price and worst for Budget. For Perceived Quality following in the logical order the best score is for Upscale and the least for budget. For Brand Awareness the best score is for the mid-price and the worst surprisingly for the Upscale segment. For Brand Association the best positive score is for the budget and the least for the upscale segment.  Overall if we notice Brand equity as a sum of these 4 dimensions the best positive score is for the Upscale category with a mean of 2. 1837 followed by Mid-price and then Budget. Moreover for Perceived value surprisingly the perceptions are most positive for Upscale hotels and least for mid-price properties. Lastly the revisit intention is most positive for Upscale hotels and least for Budget Hotels.

 COMPARISON CORRELATION OF THE THREE SEGMENTS THROUGH

Bivariate correlation tests were used to compare the 4 dimensions of brand equity, perceived value and revisit intentions across the three segments.

The impact and the importance of variables was studied and compared. Table 4. 21 Correlation for Budget Category Correlationsa Brand Perceived Brand Associatio Perceived Revisit Quality Awareness n Value Intentions . 652** . 489** . 338** . 432** . 652** Brand Loyalty Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Brand Loyalty 1 .000 .000 .002 .000 .000 Perceived Quality N Pearson Correlation 80 . 652** 80 1 80 . 500** 80 . 347** 80 . 520** 80 . 818** Sig. (2-tailed) . 000 .000 .002 .000 .000 Brand Awareness N Pearson Correlation 80 . 489** 80 . 500** 80 1 80 . 645** 80 . 401** 80 . 588** Sig. 2-tailed) . 000 .000 .000 .000 .000 N 80 80 80 80 80 80 35  Brand Pearson Association Correlation .338** .347** .645** 1 .486** .494** Sig. (2-tailed) . 002 .002 .000 .000 .000 N 80 80 80 80 80 80 Perceived Value Pearson Correlation .432** .520** .401** .486** 1 .631** Sig. (2-tailed) . 000 .000 .000 .000 .000 N 80 80 80 80 80 80 Revisit Intentions Pearson Correlation .652** .818** .588** .494** .631** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) . 000 .000 .000 .000 .000 N 80 80 80 80 80 80 **. Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (2-tailed). a.

Hotel Segment = Budget This table shows the correlations between the 4 dimensions of brand equity, perceived value and revisit intention for the Budget segment. For Perceived Value the correlation is strongest with Perceived Quality in the Brand Equity domain while with Revisit Intention it is 0. 631 which is the strongest of all components. With respect to revisit intention the strongest correlation has been with perceived quality while the weakest with Brand Association. Moreover all the correlations are positive and significant. 6 Table 4. 22 Correlation for Mid-Price Category Correlationsa Brand Perceived Brand Brand Perceived Revisit Loyalty Quality Awareness Association Value Intentions Brand Loyalty Pearson Correlation 1 . 619** . 000 75 1 . 251* . 030 75 . 486** . 000 75 1 -. 035 . 764 75 . 240* . 038 75 . 377** . 001 75 1 . 268* . 020 75 . 416** . 000 75 . 283* . 014 75 . 448** . 000 75 1 . 549** . 000 75 . 707** . 000 75 . 486** . 000 75 . 514** . 000 75 . 508** . 000 75 1 Sig. (2-tailed) N Perceived Pearson Quality Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Brand Pearson Awareness Correlation Sig. 2-tailed) N Brand Pearson Association Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Perceived Pearson Value Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Revisit Pearson Intentions Correlation 75 . 619** . 000 75 . 251* . 030 75 -. 035 . 764 75 . 268* . 020 75 . 549** 75 . 486** . 000 75 . 240* . 038 75 . 416** . 000 75 . 707** 75 . 377** . 001 75 . 283* . 014 75 . 486** 75 . 448** . 000 75 . 514** 75 . 508** Sig. (2-tailed) . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 N 75 75 75 75 75 **. Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0. 05 level (2-tailed). a. Hotel Segment = Mid-Price 75

This table shows the correlations between the 4 dimensions of brand equity, perceived value and revisit intention for the Mid-Price segment. For Perceived Value the correlation is strongest with Brand Association in the brand Equity domain while with Revisit Intentions it is 0. 508. With respect to revisit intention the strongest correlation has been with perceived quality while the weakest with Brand Awareness. Moreover apart from the correlation between Brand Awareness and Brand Loyalty all the correlations are positive and significant.  7 Table 4. 23 Correlation for Upscale Category Correlationsa Brand Loyalty Brand Loyalty Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Perceived Quality N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N 60 . 438** . 000 60 . 173 . 186 60 -. 183 . 161 60 . 100 . 448 60 . 064 . 627 60 1 Perceived Brand Brand Perceived Revisit Quality Awareness Association Value Intentions . 438** . 000 60 1 . 173 . 186 60 . 407** . 001 60 1 -. 183 . 161 60 . 309* . 16 60 . 428** . 001 60 1 . 100 . 448 60 . 378** . 003 60 . 502** . 000 60 . 634** . 000 60 1 . 064 . 627 60 . 329* . 010 60 . 509** . 000 60 . 739** . 000 60 . 652** . 000 60 1 Brand Awareness 60 . 407** . 001 60 . 309* . 016 60 . 378** . 003 60 . 329* . 010 60 Brand Association 60 . 428** . 001 60 . 502** . 000 60 . 509** . 000 60 Perceived Value 60 . 634** . 000 60 . 739** . 000 60 Revisit Intentions 60 . 652** . 000 60 60 **. Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0. 05 level (2-tailed). a. Hotel Segment = Upscale

This table shows the correlations between the 4 dimensions of brand equity, perceived value and revisit intention for the upscale segment. For Perceived Value the correlation is strongest with Brand Association in the brand Equity domain while with Revisit Intentions it is 0. 652. With respect to revisit intention the strongest correlation has been with Brand Association while the weakest with Brand Loyalty. Moreover the glaring part in this category is that the correlations between Brand Loyalty and Perceived Value and Brand Loyalty and Revisit Intention have not been found to be significant.

 38 Table 4. 24 Correlation for all the three segments Correlations Brand Loyalty 1 Perceived Brand Brand Perceived Revisit Quality Awareness Association Value Intentions . 618** . 293** . 048 . 306** . 517** . 000 215 1 . 000 215 . 409** . 000 215 1 . 486 215 . 256** . 000 215 . 474** . 000 215 1 . 000 215 . 432** . 000 215 . 362** . 000 215 . 485** . 000 215 1 . 000 215 . 703** . 000 215 . 498** . 000 215 . 527** . 000 215 . 590** . 000 215 1 Brand Loyalty Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. 2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Perceived Quality 215 . 618** . 000 215 . 293** . 000 215 . 048 . 486 215 . 306** . 000 215 . 517** . 000 Brand Awareness 215 . 409** . 000 215 . 256** . 000 215 . 432** . 000 215 . 703** . 000 Brand Association 215 . 474** . 000 215 . 362** . 000 215 . 498** . 000 Perceived Value 215 . 485** . 000 215 . 527** . 000 Revisit Intentions 215 . 590** . 000 215 215 215 215 215 **. Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (2-tailed). 215

This table shows the correlations between the 4 dimensions of brand equity, perceived value and revisit intentions in the three segments combined that is for the whole sample. For Perceived Value the correlation is strongest with Brand Association followed by perceived quality in the brand Equity domain while with Revisit Intentions it is 0. 590. With respect to revisit intention the strongest correlation has been with Perceived Quality while the weakest with Brand Awareness. Apart from the correlations between Brand Loyalty and Brand Association, rest are significant.

TESTING THE IMPACT OF BRAND EQUITY

In this section Regression has been used to study the impact of Brand Equity Dimensions and Perceived Value and Revisit Intentions. In regression the Stepwise Method has been used to stepwise ascertain which all dimensions of Brand Equity have the highest impact and

The Travel and Hospitality Industry India’s travel, tourism and hospitality industry is one of the fastest growing service industries in the country thanks to a burgeoning middle class, increasing purchasing power, a rising inflow of foreign tourists, and successful government campaigns promoting ‘Incredible India’. In 2011 alone, travel and tourism contributed to 6. 4% of the GDP, and is forecast to rise by 7. 3% in 2012. In terms of employment, travel and tourism directly supported 24,975,000 jobs (5% of employment) in 2011, and is expected to rise by 3% in 2012.

Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) from tourism in 2011 were $16,564 million with a growth of 16. 7% over 2010. 14 Clearly, India is fast becoming a popular tourist destination world over. Between April 2000 and December 2011, the hotel and tourism sector generated a total of $3,195. 70 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). 15In 2011 alone, the country welcomed 6. 29 million foreign tourists, compared to 5. 78 million in 2010. 16By 2022, international tourist arrivals are forecast to total 11,276,000, generating an expenditure of `1,382. 6 billion. 7 In 2010-11, the travel and hospitality industry faced the challenge of a significant decline in corporate travel due to serious cost cutting by global corporate houses, as well as the fear of terrorism, and a lack of a sense of safety post the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. However, the hospitality sector has shown resilience, improving its security management and performance. With the growth of budget hotels along with low cost airlines, online travel bookings, and group travel, SMEs in the travel and tourism sector have shown rapid progress.

They have been targeting niche markets specializing in corporate travel, leisure travel, and even hitherto unheard services like wedding travel and planning. “IATA statistics show that today, maximum business is generated in Asia. Asia and particularly India now have a major role to play in shaping this sector while also enjoying maximum share. However, with more disposable income, Indians prefer to travel overseas rather than within the country.

We have over 14 million Indians traveling overseas, but the figure for inbound tourism stands at a dismal 6 million – this can definitely increase if we begin to seriously promote India as a destination to be explored and discovered. ”, says Vivek Dadhich, Managing Director of Noida-based Bluemoon Travels, a new age travel company offering leisure travel and MICE – travel planning services for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions. As per an analysis done by retail consultancy Technopak, at the end of 2010 the Indian hotel industry’s worth was estimated around US$ 17 billion.

The share of hotel and restaurant sector in the overall economy is still below 2 per cent. For the last five years the total contribution of the hospitality sector has remained stagnant. Although the overall share increased from 1. 46 per cent in 2004-05 to 1. 69 per cent in 2007-08, but then after the phase of economic meltdown in US the total share again decreased to 1. 45 per cent in 2009-10. India ranks in the 153rd position spending 0. 9% for tourism. The hotel and tourism industry’s contribution to the Indian economy by way of foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows were pegged at US$ 2. 5 billion from April 2000 to February 2011, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). As per an analysis done by retail consultancy Technopak, at the end of 2010 the Indian hotel industry’s worth was estimated around US$ 17 billion. The share of hotel and restaurant sector in the overall economy is still below 2 per cent. For the last five years the total contribution of the hospitality sector has remained stagnant.

Although the overall share increased from 1. 46 per cent in 2004-05 to 1. 69 per cent in 2007-08, but then after the phase of economic meltdown in US the total share again decreased to 1. 5 per cent in 2009-10. India ranks in the 153rd position spending 0. 9% for tourism. The hotel and tourism industry’s contribution to the Indian economy by way of foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows were pegged at US$ 2. 35 billion from April 2000 to February 2011, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). www. oifc. com overseas Indian facilitation center According to the Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) research, released by World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and its strategic partner Oxford Economics in 2011: * The direct contribution of Travel ;Tourism to GDP is expected to be INR 1,570. billion (US$ 35. 4 billion) (1. 9 per cent of total GDP) in 2011, rising by 8. 1 per cent per annum (pa) to INR 3,414. 8 billion (US$ 77. 0 billion*) (2. 0 per cent) in 2021 * The total contribution of Travel ;Tourism to GDP, including its wider economic impacts, is forecast to rise by 8. 8 per cent pa from INR 3,680. 4 billion (US$ 83. 0 billion) (4. 5 per cent of GDP) in 2011 to INR 8,523. 1 billion (US$ 191. 2 billion*) (4. 9 per cent) by 2021. Total Contribution of Travel ; Tourism to GDP Source: World Travel ; Tourism Council

The TSA research also states that the sector is expected to support directly 24,931,000 jobs (5. 0 per cent of total employment) in 2011, rising by 2. 0 per cent pa to 30,439,000 jobs (5. 2 per cent) by 2021. Hotel Industry Due to increasing number of foreign tourist arrivals, together with the growth of domestic tourism in the country, the hotel industry is also witnessing continued momentum. The Indian Hospitality industry contributes around 2. 2 per cent of India’s GDP. The industry is expected to reach INR 230 billion (US$ 5. 2 billion*) by 2015, growing at a robust CAGR of 12. per cent. India will be investing around INR 448 billion (US$ 10. 1 billion*) in the hospitality industry in the next five years, according to a report ‘The Indian Hotel Industry Report – 2011 Edition’ by CYGNUS Business Consulting ; Research Firm. The industry also witnessed an increase in the number of hotel rooms with a growth of 5 per cent during the last three to four years. In the next two years, a total investment of US$ 12. 2 billion (INR 545. 2 billion*) is expected that will add over 20 new international brands in the hospitality sector.

Rise of budget hotels in the country, like Ginger Hotels, Lemon Tree, Sarovar Hotels, Fortune Hotels, Ibis and Choice Hotels clearly suggest a huge growth potential in the sector. The Growth Path Foreign tourist arrivals in the country have increased substantially during the past decade motivated by both, business and leisure needs and are further expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 8 per cent during 2010-2014, as per a research report ‘Indian Tourism Industry Analysis’ by research firm RNCOS.

In fact, the Tourism sector enjoyed strong growth during 2010, as indicated in the data released by the Ministry of Tourism in January 2011. As per the data, in 2010, the country experienced a strong rebound in the Tourism industry. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) FTAs in India during 2010 were 5. 58 million with a growth rate of 8. 1 per cent as compared to the FTAs of 5. 17 million and growth rate of (-)2. 2 per cent during 2009. The 8. 1 per cent growth rate in FTAs for 2010 over 2009 for India is much better than UNWTO’s projected growth rate of 5 per cent to 6 per cent for the world during the same period. FTAs during the month of June 2011, was 3. 96 lakh as compared to FTAs of 3. 70 lakh during the month of June 2010 and 3. 52 lakh in June 2009. There has been a growth of 7. 2 per cent in June 2011 over June 2010 as compared to a growth of 4. 9 per cent registered in June 2010 over June 2009. FTAs during the period January-June 2011 were 29. 19 lakh with a growth of 10. 9 per cent, as compared to the FTAs of 26. 32 lakh with a growth of 8. 9 per cent during January-June 2010 over the corresponding period of 2009. FEE from Tourism in INR terms during 2010 were INR 648. billion as compared to INR 549. 6 billion during 2009 and INR 507. 3 billion during 2008. FEE from tourism in US$ terms during 2010 were US$ 14. 2 billion as compared to US$ 11. 4 billion during 2009 and US$ 11. 7 billion during 2008. The growth rate in FEE in INR terms during 2010 was 18. 1 per cent as compared to the growth rate of 8. 3 per cent in 2009 over 2008. Therefore, the growth rate observed in 2010 over 2009 was substantially high. The growth rate in FEE in US$ terms during 2010 was 24. 6 per cent as compared to a decline of 3 per cent in 2009 over 2008.

Therefore, in US$ terms, also growth rate observed in 2010 was positive and substantially high. FEE in INR terms during the month of June 2011 were INR 54. 4 billion as compared to INR 47. 5 billion in June 2010 and INR 38. 0 billion in June 2009. FEE in US$ terms during the month of June 2011 were US$ 1. 2 billion as compared to FEE of US$ 1. 0 billion during the month of June 2010 and US$ 0. 7 billion in June 2009. The growth rate in FEE in INR terms in June 2011 over June 2010 was 14. 5 per cent as compared to 25. 0 per cent in June 2010 over June 2009.

Till five years ago, the sector was registering a growth of around 15 per cent but slowdown in the economy has affected the growth prospects of the sector badly and the growth rate has dropped into single digit level. The sector registered negative growth (-3. 41 per cent) in 2008–09 over the year 2007–08, which was due to the adverse global economic conditions in this year. But, the sector is back in the positive growth territory and clocked a growth of 2. 2 per cent in 2009-10. Annual growth rate (in per cent)

Source: Economic Survey 2010-11 Growth Prospects Healthy economic growth recorded in past few years, especially in the services industry, has led to increase in business travel. Higher disposable income and affordability have increased domestic leisure travel in India. Foreign tourist arrivals in India have also grown. The industry’s performance was hit in 2009 due to the global economic slowdown, terror attacks in Mumbai (November 2008) and H1N1 virus. However, the industry has shown signs of recovery in the first half of 2010.

This is a clear indicator that the long-term prospects for the Indian travel and tourism industry are bright. India is expected to witness increased tourist activity both in the business and leisure segments in the coming years. International inbound traffic is expected to grow rapidly with increasing investment and trade activity. India has been identified as one of the fastest-growing countries in terms of tourism demand. The travel and tourism demand is expected to reach US$ 266. 1 bn (` 14,601. 7 bn) by 2019. During 2004–2009 travel and tourism demand in India increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16. % to US$ 91. 7 bn (` 4,412. 7 bn) and foreign exchange earnings from tourism increased ~13% to US$ 11. 39 bn. Some prominent players : Sahara group, viceroy hotels,Carlson, UAE based Istithmar hotel, Netherlands based Golden Tulip Hospitality group, IRCTC, Leela Palace and resorts, DLF Universal Major players: Indian Hotels Company Limited (the Taj group) EIH Limited (the Oberoi group) ITC Hotels Limited Indian Tourism Development Corporation Small chains: Hotel Leela Venture Asian Hotels (Hyatt International Corporation) Bharat Hotels Public Sector Chain:

ITDC and HCI Govt initiatives: Incredible India Atithie devo bhava Porter’s five forces: Threat of substitute goods: Presence of many hotels around the corner Hotels have varying price ranges and amenities and it is difficult to predict customer’s choice of choosing a hotel. The internet makes the overall market more efficient while expanding the size of the potential market and creating new substitution threats. Another hotel chain may erode your customer base with a newly formulated internet approach or marketing campaign. Bargaining Power of Buyers:

Business persons choosing a hotel are tech savvy and find it easy to search for cheaper hotels in internet and book them. This eliminates middle men and intermediaries which in turn increases the bargaining power. The cost of switching is very low, which is again a high bargaining power on the side of buyers. This industry has numerous customers who are relatively very small in size. Loss of a single customer has little impact on a hotel company and this drives down the buyers bargaining power. Rivalry among existing competitors The rivalry among competitors in the hotel industry is fierce.

When potential customers can learn about a hotel on line, the internet reduces the differences among competitors. People tend to seek the best price for the best experience and the tendency is to reduce price to be competitive. The internet covers wide geographical areas so the market is widened increasing the number of competitors. Barriers to entry: Initial investment cost is very high. A vital barrier would be differentiation. A hotel that can differential itself by location, by service, amenities or some other quality has the potential to attract and keep its clients.

Another barrier to entry would be expertise. Unfortunately, in a mobile society employees frequently leave one hotel chain to work in another and they take that expertise in terms of training or of experience with them. It is in the areas of expertise and of differentiation that a hotel can make the greatest impact on its client and thereby on its bottom line. Economies of scale are also a huge factor in this industry. Profitability of hotel chains is drastically higher than individual operations.

A new entrant cannot compete with established players in terms or quality and price if they cannot establish significant economies of scale. High exit barriers because of the specialized assets. Bargaining power of suppliers: Two key suppliers for hotel industry are labour and real estate. The number of suppliers for the Hotel industry is quite large and each supplier is very small in size compared to the leading players in the industry. These few powerful players are indispensible to the suppliers. Substitutability of the suppliers is also quite feasible and inexpensive.

Switching between real estate agents is not going to affect a particular Hotel company significantly. However in terms of quality, training centers for employees and ICT manufacturers who provide IT systems that for property management are relatively more difficult to replace. Therefore in terms of substitute suppliers industry attractiveness is moderately high. Industry’s threat of backward integration is pretty high since large hotel chains like ITC or IHCL would have no qualms expanding into the real estate business or developing employee training facilities in-house. Technology:

Innovative designs, technological advancements and next generation interior concepts are keys to maintaining the Indian hospitality industry’s success and to attract the next generation of customers. The concept, design, plan, materials, technology each aspect used in a hotel, restaurant or any property is ever changing and breaths technology for advancement and recognition. The brand loyalty increases with the concept and luxury of the hotel, no more with names. Technology plays a vital role in helping hotels expand and provide great services to the next generation of travellers.

Availability enquiries, travel arrangements, local transport, gate entry, reception desks, elevators, room, in-room features and everything travellers see and touch hotel are enhanced with the right technology and concept. To harness India’s tourism potential, several efforts are being taken for opening new destinations and exploring niche segments. However, infrastructure facilities such as air, rail, road connectivity, and hospitality services at these destinations and the connecting cities are inadequate.

This remains a major hurdle for development of tourism. Roadways form a vital network in the tourist industry with almost 70% tourists in India travelling by road. Moreover, many tourist circuits depend on roads. Despite numerous efforts to improve road infrastructure, connectivity remains a major problem. There is a greater need for strengthened road and rail network, development of more expressways, and tourist-specific routes to improve connectivity to various locations across different regions.

Aviation infrastructure is also critical since it is a major mode of entry for inbound tourism. Passenger traffic is expected to increase in the coming years; however infrastructure facilities at airports are cause for concern. Expansion and development of airports at major gateway cities is underway to cater to the increasing passenger traffic. However, in addition, airport facilities at important secondary cities and tourist destinations also need to be improved to be able to handle greater passenger traffic.

References

1. http://www.amadeus.com/amadeus/goldrush2020.html
2. http://www.arabianbusiness.com/ fairmont-sees-14-more-hotels-in-mideast-by-2014-184514.html

Recommendations According to my research, brand image as direct affect customer loyalty. As a five-star hotel have a good brand image is important for customer loyalty and long-term business. Brand image also affect customer loyalty through use customer satisfaction as the medium. If you are selling to people who are willing to pay a premium price for choose your hotel, you have to have a quality in you brand. Without a hotel brand image which in some way you will get the wrong customers or in the extreme case, no customer and this will lead to you making no money and therefore no profits.

After my research have clearly relationship between hotel brand image and customer loyalty. Here I will give some recommendations to hotel. The way to improve hotel brand image Hotel should pay more attention to customer’s perceived value as they would like to get affordable price, quality service for the product and service they pay for. To attract more customers, hotel can have regular VIP or member customer’s appreciation activity. Hotel also can have advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Brand image is not fixed in customer’s heart.

It is changed every times, such as this time stay in this hotel have new feeling of brand image take over before brand image in customer’s heart. Thus, it still has some ways to improve hotel brand image. 1, First impressions which hotel give customer is important. The hotel has prominent logo with fresh color and sample design. When customers fist time see that can easy to memories. As simply speaking, human nature dictate that people will often substantiate their first decision or impression by focusing on the positives and even overriding or blocking out any negative points.

Hotel needs customer fist time to confirm their brand image. Hotel brand image should be based on what their customer expects. Hotel brand shout speak to their market in a way that they like to be spoken to. Hotel need to define their brand fonts, color, and logo shape appears. For example the Shangri-la hotel, they said that Our ‘S’ logo, which resembles uniquely Asian architectural forms, suggests majestic mountains reflected in the waters of a tranquil lake”. All these little things together will create a highly successful brand image for a five-star hotel. . Brand values are very important to improve a brand image. Creating a predefined set of values is extremely important in getting hotel brand to work. Decide which values apply first and foremost to hotel business. For Shangri-la hotel, they give the slogan is “a luxurious sanctuary for the discerning traveler”. For this sentence, not only give a promise to their customer, but also as a standard for hotel staffs. These also can instantly be able to convey to your clients how hotel operate. It will be a useful way for hotel to improve their brand image. 3.

The aim to highlight the benefit such hotel can provide quality service to customer and put it on the forefront of any marketing. This is what they’re most interested in. How will spending money with hotel benefit. According to research data analysis shows that customer think the most importance element when they choose a five-star hotels is product quality. Then hotel should highlight their quality at any marketing activity and advertisement. This means that hotel have set out why customers should choose your hotel and therefore why customers shout pay your price. 4. Hotel can share their business growing with their customer.

They can put the hotel growing history in their web side. The time will come where hotel business grows to a size where hotel brand image no longer accurately reflects and how much customer have stayed in this hotel, how long time the brand have created. At this point it’s worth looking at re-branding. It can get customer approved. Let customer feel that he joins the hotel growing and feel kind with your hotel brand image. 5. Differentiate yourself from your competitors. Nowadays have many different five-star hotel brand image. How to let customer can memories your hotel brand?

Everything from the vocabulary your use to the tone of your advertisements and the color and shape of your logo should be distinctly yours. The customer can easy find the shining point from your brand and live a deep impression in their heart. Your hotel brand image can give the different feeling to customers. Therefore, in order to create a successful brand, marketing managers should be more devoted on building brand image, customers’ satisfaction and customer loyalty as the most important parts of branding strategy. By strengthening and maintaining the brand images will hopefully position the brand positively in the customer mind.

The target market of Five-stat hotel From research, the majority of customers are middle age and the purpose is for business or leisure. It also shows a high personal income to support five-star hotel consumption. Thus, hotel should pay more attention to male, middle age customers who are 40-49 years old, and consumers who have a diploma or degree and who and high personal income for increasing market share. Look at the guest database and define your target market and desired amenities. Developing a business plan for an existing business or conducting a feasibility study for a new venture requires a through analysis of market conditions.

The correct target market is importance for success a hotel business. We can know that hotel need to focus their target market at middle age group people. List the business goals for your hotel. For these group customers, hotel need to know what is they pay attention to when they stay in a hotel. It is advisable to improve hotel meeting facilities, room facilities and quality service. Making pointed references plan for business and leisure and give many meeting or leisure package to customers. Improve customer loyalty

According to the research data analysis, brand image and customer satisfaction affect customer loyalty. As a hotel, improve customer loyalty from these two aspects. From literature review and analysis we understand that customer loyalty is important for a hotel operation and market. First of all, to improve customer loyalty need to focus on brand image. A good brand image is conducive to get more customer loyalty. Hotel finds the correct way to improve brand image, therefore the customer loyalty will increase. The customer loyalty is directly proportional to how good brand image in customer’s mind.

On the other hand, is having customer satisfaction. To get customer satisfaction, hotel should provide good service, high quality facilities to let customer feel is worthy of expense their money in your hotel. Hotel also can do some regular customer research to get fresh feedback information about customer satisfaction and can timely find problem and vulnerabilities then solve it. Conclusion The research has shown the importance of brand image benefits on customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. The finding supports H1, the five-star hotel brand image is a direct path.

For H2, brand image is also a factor that significantly affects the customer satisfaction then finally effect customer loyalty in five-star hotel. For H3, the positive hotel image increase customer loyalty in five-star hotel. Based on my research results, hotel brand image is as a determinant of customer loyalty in five-star hotels. The hotel brand image also affects customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction has strong impact on customer loyalty. With regard to satisfaction and loyalty, it is important for five-star hotels to measure customer’s satisfaction in order to analyze their product or service image performance.

Hotel satisfied customers are willing to recommend their branded hotel product and service to others as well as having the intention to purchase their product and services in the future. The research findings of this study showed that hotel brand image plays the most important role in creating and maintaining customer loyalty in five-star hotel industry markets. As a five-star hotel have to specifically focus on these factors in order to build a long-term and mutually profitability relationship with customers. Hotel also needs to create loyalty as competitive advantages in the market.

To identification of five-star hotel brand image benefits of their branded product and service will help to establish effective marketing strategies. Marketing managers should consider the roles of hotel brand image in creating customer loyalty. The brand image target in hotel business is the target customers of the brand. Nowadays, the customer oriented marketing theory requires an enterprise to take customer satisfaction into account when making decisions and establishing brand image. Establishment of brand image in hotel industry lies in customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Hotel need to improve internalize the value of brand image. Establishment of brand image in hotel industry is to firmly establish a brand image basis. Therefore, when the core value of brand image spreads to customer will the brand image in the hotel business is clearly established in the bran of the customer. This research endeavored to help hotel marketing practitioners better understand the key drivers. Creating and maintain customer loyalty in a highly competitive market. The important point of brand image in hotel industry is the customer benefit brought by brand.

When the brand positive hotel brand image was aggressively improved, the hotel business would be able to in maintain their current customers and loyalty. Truly loyal customers are manifestly satisfied. With the five-star hotel have a positive image towards the hotel. Therefore, hotel should always strive to ensure that their customers are very satisfied and improve their hotel brand image to get more customer loyalty. The second of limitations of my research is that data quality can be compromised via a number of potential routes, such as cultural and other type of bias.

We all have biases, whether we are conscience of them or not. Bias is when a place, things or person is viewed or shown in a consistently inaccurate way. It is usually negative, though one can have a positive bias as well. During my research, different people have different opinion about brand image and customer loyalty. So, it must be acknowledge that is a kind of limitation in my research. The sample was collected from a group of consumers in certain area Malaysia. Future research need to extend to diversified samples in order to ensure the full applicability to other settings in this model.

Future research In future I plan to continue to work on analysis about marketing; research could use a different design to examine the causal relationships posited by the theories, such as relationship quality or marketing mix which is 4Ps to explore other antecedents on hotel industry customer loyalty. It also continues my research will be conducted in other industry, such as transport industry, club med industry or casino industry. In addition, for my future research plan can focus other different countries or different global regions. It till can focus on a limitative group person.