Strategic branding and customers' visitation intentions in the accommodation industry: a focus on motels

Abstract

A number of practitioners have noted that the function of branding is not as widely applied in service marketing as in tangible product marketing. Although branding was once regarded as unimportant in the industry, it has recently attracted increased attention. However, limited research has been undertaken to examine how branding strategies may positively affect Customer Visitation Intention (CVI). As a major participant in the service industry, however, it is necessary for accommodation enterprises to take into consideration the role branding may play in developing service strategies.

This study investigated the key influences on customers' motel choice, and explored how branding strategies may affect CVI for the motel business, based on a modified Aaker and Joachimsthaler's (2000) brand identity model. Brand identity is a set of brand associations that imply a promise to customers from the organisation members and its four perspectives of the brand identity are Brand as Product, Organisation, Symbol, and Person.

The primary data was collected from fifty randomly selected motels in Christchurch. Results demonstrated that location, convenience, previous visiting experience, and price were four key influences in selecting a motel over other types of accommodation. Motel information in guidebooks and friends' recommendations were another two key influences on selecting a particular motel over others.

Analysis demonstrated that three out of four brand identities positively contributed to CVI. Brand as Symbol was the only identity without significant influence on CVI. The results also showed that the branding model was more applicable to females and leisure travellers than males and business travellers. This study may help moteliers apply branding strategies in order to stimulate CVI, therefore increasing total motel occupancy as well as motel competitiveness in the marketplace.