Abstract
Propose This paper aims to measure the relationship between online experiential marketing (during the purchasing process involving information search and booking) and offline experiential marketing (during the stay) with hotel brand equity. In addition, the study attempts to determine if there is a significant link between the online hotel experience and the subsequent offline hotel stay experience. Desing/methodology/approach A self-report survey was conducted in a series of four-star hotels in Granada city. The questionnaire was focused on measuring online experience, offline experience and brand equity. For the analysis of the data, a structural equations model was developed. Findings The results suggest that the experience during the hotel stay, contrary to that of the online purchase process, has an influence on hotel brand equity. Nonetheless, the online experience has a significant impact on the hotel stay experience. Practical implications This study is of particular utility for hotel management given that, although it is a sector that for several years has integrated experiential marketing in its service strategy, there is little research analyzing the impact of such actions on the variables that are of interest to the hotel. Originality/value There are no hotel sector studies that have jointly analyzed the role of the online and offline tourist experience and its role in contributing to brand equity. Recognizing the previous notions will allow hotels to identify where to focus marketing efforts so as to increase brand equity.
Highlights
Since the 1960s, the concept of experience has been the object of a great deal of marketing research. Holbrook and Hirschman (1982), in a pioneering study on experiential consumption, advanced the belief of the development of experience based on consumption through pleasure, a notion that contrasts with the traditional conception of consumption rooted in processing cognitive information
Offline experience and brand equity served as second-order constructs
The relationship between online experience and brand equity of hotels, in turn, is not significant (p-value = 0.956), so H2 does not obtain empirical support. These results suggest that the offline experience is more important than the online experience when it comes to engendering brand equity
Summary
Since the 1960s, the concept of experience has been the object of a great deal of marketing research. Holbrook and Hirschman (1982), in a pioneering study on experiential consumption, advanced the belief of the development of experience based on consumption through pleasure, a notion that contrasts with the traditional conception of consumption rooted in processing cognitive information. Holbrook and Hirschman (1982), in a pioneering study on experiential consumption, advanced the belief of the development of experience based on consumption through pleasure, a notion that contrasts with the traditional conception of consumption rooted in processing cognitive information. According to these authors, this type of consumption seeks amusement, entertainment, fantasy, interest and sensory stimulation. The experiential dimension of tourism, has seen a great boom due to its link to nurturing the psychological well-being of tourists and their personal development (Hoffman et al, 2012; Tinsley and Tinsley, 1986)
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