Choice Processes of Luxury Hotels in China

Abstract

By applying the Fishbein and Ajzen behavioral intentions model to examine the process of choosing luxury hotels in Beijing, China, this empirical study has generated a number of salient findings. Firstly, a comparison between pleasure and business travelers reveals that the former have relied heavily on both attitudinal and normative factors for choosing hotels; whereas the latter have counted mainly on attitudinal factors. This divergence reminds hotel executives of the danger of treating these two customer groups as completely identical by adopting the mass marketing approach. Secondly, the findings show that business travelers consider responsive, competent and empathetic staff (staff quality), reliable service delivery and well-conditioned hotel facilities as the most important criteria for choosing hotels. Thirdly, in addition to staff quality, views of friends visiting Beijing before have also been found to have a significant bearing on pleasure travelers' hotel choices. This finding draws hotel executives' attention to the promotional effectiveness of the word-of-mouth effect in the leisure travel market. While hoteliers are serving their existing customers, they are also in the course of either cultivating or jeopardizing their future business potential.