Tourists’ characteristics in relation to expectations, satisfaction and loyalty in hotel industry

Abstract

Objective: This paper makes an effort in combining the hotel subsector with a specific geographic location and with three determined constructs. Methods: This article uses a unique individual level dataset collected in Spain hotels and attempts to shed more light on three phases of consumer evaluation: expectations, satisfaction and loyalty. In order to relate the evaluation scores in these areas to sociodemographic characteristics of the consumers, we employ regression analysis. Results: The results show that all dependent variables in hand are related to explanatory variables; often in directions assumed by theory or previous empirical studies. Specifically, we find that age, economic status and country of origin are statistically significantly related to consumer evaluation. One of the novelties of our study is inclusion of “exceeded expectations” variable that intends to measure positive or negative surprise with the service. Conclusion: The knowledge of the existence of incidences of demographic variables on satisfaction, loyalty and expectations could not only, but should, lead to the formulation and implementation of differentiated strategies, segmented according to groups of individuals, focused on improving these indicators, adapting services to the demographic characteristics of the clients.