Effects of sensory marketing on customer satisfaction and revisit intention in the hotel industry: the moderating roles of customers’ prior experience and gender

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationships of hotels’ sensory marketing, customer satisfaction, and revisit intentions in light of the moderating effects of customers’ prior experience and gender. Data were collected from customers in hotels in South Korea, after which 286 usable surveys were processed. To investigate the data, we used descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling. The results reveal that there is a positive relationship between sensory marketing by hotels and customer satisfaction and that customer satisfaction significantly influenced revisit intentions. Also, subsequent tests for metric invariance showed differences in the moderating roles of customers’ prior experience and gender. This study discusses findings and implications for research and practice in the hotel industry.

KEYWORDS:

• Sensory marketing
• customer experience
• revisit intentions
• customer satisfaction
• hotel industry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Woo-Hyuk Kim

Woo-Hyuk Kim is an assistant professor in the Department of Consumer Science at Incheon National University. His research includes consumer behavior, service management, and big data analytics.

Sang-Ho Lee

Sang-Ho Lee is currently a Ph.D. in the Department of Tourism Studies at Gangneung-Wonju National University. His research interests include tourism marketing and management.

Kyung-Sook Kim

Kyung-Sook Kim is a professor in the Department of Tourism Studies at Gangneung-Wonju National University. Her research interests include tourism management, tourism marketing management, and service management.