HOTEL BRAND EFFECTIVENESS – THE GOOD PRACTICE OF BULGARIA. THE CASE OF KATARINO SPA HOTEL

Hotel brand effectiveness determines the level of guest satisfaction, their desire for a repeat visit (guest loyalty) and their positive word-of-mouth. It depends on the quality of hotel superstructure and services paired with the proper use of brand destination resources. For a proper evaluation of hotel brand effectiveness it is necessary that guest perception and behaviour be considered as brands exist in guests’ minds. Successful brands ensure pleasure, even delight and create the emotional connection “brand-guest”. Brands are difficult to evaluate because they are considered to be something intangible and the choice of a brand is rather emotional than rational. This paper has the objective to analyze and evaluate the hotel brand effectiveness through a proper set of factors, i.e. criteria and indicators. The research employs a qualitative method of analysis and evaluation which entails encoding of guests’ reviews uploaded in the TripAdvisor platform including the period of Covid-19. Research results have proved a higher level of brand effectiveness according to three basic criteria – guest perception, guest behaviour and brand destination.