The buying process on hospitality services and its implication to loyalty behaviour

This research aims to explore hotel brand loyalty by analysing what are the main factors that lead to it and explain the individual's reasons that lead guest decision towards a specific hotel service since operational knowledge indicates that new consumption trends as well as new market segments in tourism have specific consumption behaviours and arises with the evolution of the industry. The main goal of this paper is to provide relevant information to improve hotel marketing strategies and keep the knowledge on consumer habits updated because their motivations and actions will determine and influence the ability of hotels to adapt to new consumption realities. In this context, this research focus on service hotel marketing, quality of service and hotel brand loyalty and allowed the implementation of applied consumer research in scientific methodology, using questionnaires filled out by consumers who made hotel reservations. The authors applied a statistical inferential test, a binary logistic regression model, looking up to understand if customer loyalty behaviour may be explained by our predicted and studied variables, specially emotional and rational factors, the knowledge of guests' preferences and habits, employees' performance and the existence of a loyalty programme. This research allowed to conclude that there are five main dimensions that influence loyalty behaviour: knowledge of guests' habits and preferences, contact with hotel employees, existence of a loyalty programme, room rate and rational factors, which is an important information to improve hotel marketing strategies as hotel industry becomes more competitive each year.