Rethinking Sustainability Hotel Branding: The Pathways from Hotel Services to Brand Engagement

Abstract

Brand experience has received attention from scholars and researchers, especially in experiential marketing and management. Due to the high market competition and sustainability branding trends, hotel brands need to improve and enhance their hotel services to meet customers’ expectations and retain their engagement and loyalty to the brand. This study explores the relationships between hotel services (servicescape and employee service), brand experience (internal and behavioral responses), brand engagement, and brand loyalty. Web-based and paper-based surveys were used to collect data from the customers who have experienced hotel services in Vietnam. A total of 390 responses were used and analyzed by AMOS. The results show that there are positive relationships between hotel services, internal responses, and brand engagement. In addition, the moderating effects of brand loyalty on the relationship between brand experience and brand engagement were found. Although prior studies have been conducted in the servicescape and employee service fields, there remains less empirical research addressing the relationships between hotel services and brand experience. In addition, the examination of brand loyalty playing a moderator in the relationship between brand experience and brand engagement has not been adequately explored, so this study contributes to the brand loyalty literature.