Customer retention practices of group, or branded hotels, as compared to private or owner-managed hotels : an exploratory study

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.