Building Customer-based Brand Equity For International Hotel Brands

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate brand equity of the international luxury hotel brands from the Chinese customers' perspective.This study combines the pioneering concepts from the previous branding models;and subsequently develops and investigates an extended service brand model for hotel industry.The proposed model suggests that consumer direct experience and consumer indirect experience with a hotel brand have a significant impact on creation of brand awareness and brand image;further,brand awareness and brand image determine brand loyalty;and finally this study proposes that brand awareness,brand image and brand loyalty create the overall hotel brand equity.This study is focused only on luxury and upscale international hotel brands.The reason is that building brand equity for high-end hotel segment requires different approaches and strategies compared to building brand equity for mid-scale or budget hotel segment.Design/Methodology/Approach: This research adopts a quantitative methodology;therefore a survey questionnaire for measuring the proposed research model was developed.A pool of 44 items were generated from the literature and included in a survey questionnaire.The survey questionnaire was first developed in English and then translated in Chinese language,since the respondents of this study are exclusively Chinese consumers.Specifically,the sample of this study comprises EMBA students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University,who have previously stayed with four or five star international hotel brands.The survey took place in the period between September – December,2015.The final sample consisted of 115 respondents.Findings: The results of the study indicate that customer direct experience with a hotel brand has a strong impact both on creation of brand awareness and brand image,while customer indirect experience has a much stronger influence on brand awareness than on brand image.Word of mouth was found to be the most influential dimension of indirect experience construct,which confirms the importance of word of mouth communications for hotel industry.Brand image was found to be the most important source of brand equity and brand loyalty.Practical implications: The findings of this study will help international hotel brand managers understand how to create,measure and manage customer-based brand equity in the Chinese market,and design successful branding strategies.Originality/Value: This research provides new theoretical insights into the topic of service brand equity,particularly in the hospitality sector.Moreover,since many scholars focused the research on this topic on Western customers,this study will enrich the research on brand equity by taking into consideration the Chinese customers' perspective.