Abstract:
There is room for improvement when it comes to customer retention in the hotel industry in South Africa. This
study explores the importance attributed to customer retention practices by the managers of group or
branded hotels, as opposed to private or owner-managed hotels. For group or branded hotels, as well as for
private or owner-managed hotels, the overall importance attributed to customer retention activities does not
differ significantly. It is hoped that the findings of this study will add to the relatively limited research into
services marketing in the hospitality industry – and specifically in the hotel sector.
