Invisible and Intangible, but Undeniable: Role of Ambient Conditions in Building Hotel Guests' Loyalty

Abstract

This study was designed to find the critical role of ambient-condition factors in the formation of overall image, customer satisfaction, and loyalty intentions. The dataset was developed by conducting a survey at five-star hotels in a metropolitan city in South Korea. A series of multiple regression analyses were used to test the proposed model. The findings demonstrated the predictive ability of the proposed model to sufficiently explain the role of multidimensional ambience factors in generating the overall image, customer satisfaction, and loyalty intentions. For example, among the five ambient-condition dimensions, temperature was found to influence the overall image the most and odor/aroma appeared to have the most significant effect on satisfaction. In addition, the present study discovered the significant mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between ambient conditions and loyalty intentions. The results of this study will help hotel practitioners develop effective loyalty-enhancement strategies utilizing ambience.