Signaling effects of branded amenities on customer-based brand equity

ABSTRACT

Hotels often use branded amenities to upgrade products. However, given the importance, branded amenities are scarcely studied as a tool to manage hotel brands. Signaling theory explains how branded amenities fit into an ingredient branding strategy for hotels. A series of ANOVA were conducted to analyze the effects of branded amenities on hotels’ customer-based brand equity (quality, image, and loyalty) using an experimental design. The results confirm that an ingredient branding strategy is beneficial for enhancing hotel brands. The effects of the ingredient branding on the CBBE vary by economy, midscale, or luxury hotel segments. Midscale hotel brands yield the most potent advantages, while luxury hotel brands offer partial benefits from the strategy. The study provides essential implications for ingredient branding practices in the hotel industry. To achieve maximum benefits of ingredient branding, hotels need enough capacity to grow and minimum levels of CBBE.

酒店经常使用品牌的便利设施来升级产品.但是，鉴于其重要性，几乎没有研究过将品牌便利设施作为管理酒店品牌的工具.信号理论解释了品牌便利设施如何适合酒店的成分品牌战略.进行了一系列ANOVA评估，通过实验设计分析了品牌便利设施对酒店基于客户的品牌资产（质量，形象和忠诚度）的影响.结果证实，成分品牌战略有利于提升酒店品牌.成分品牌对CBBE的影响因经济，中型或豪华酒店细分而异.中型酒店品牌发挥最大的优势，而豪华酒店品牌则从该战略中获得部分收益.该研究为酒店业中的成分品牌实践提供了重要的启示.为了获得成分商标的最大利益，酒店需要足够的增长能力和最低的CBBE水平.

KEYWORDS:

• Amenity
• co-branding
• alliance
• ingredient branding
• customer-based brand equity
• hotel branding

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Harrah College of Hospitality.