Upsurges of Consumer Brand Loyalty towards Online Travel Websites: Case of booking.com

Chaichi, Kamelia; John, Leei; Sebian, Ben; Maritz, Gareth

Abstract

In the last decade, the internet has radically changed the hospitality tourism industry. (Pencarelli, 2020; Chiang, 2020; Capriello & Riboldazzi, 2020). The internet has become a Powerful tool for communication and sales for travel companies. Online travel websites have become a platform for promoting various services, products, and packages between seller and consumer to generate revenue by attracting more customers and retaining existing customers. Across many industries, brand loyalty is essential in assisting companies in gaining and maintaining more customers. There are many online travel websites available for customers. It is critical for an online travel website to not only attract new customers but only enhance existing customer loyalty to improve the website's image and generate revenue. Therefore this research aims to find out factors that affect brand loyalty among consumers of online travel websites. The variables considered in this study were selected after profound research on the literature review and review of the recent customers' feedback on the "booking.com website" (from 2021-2023). Consequently, researchers tried to develop a framework to include the most important factors mentioned by actual customers. A framework has been designed to discuss the brand loyalty concept. The current study tests a model of antecedents (Price, Convenience, Experience, and Interaction) in predicting consumer satisfaction and the impact on brand loyalty among online travel website customers. Data was collected from 420 users of an online travel website (booking.com) and analysed through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings show that all the aforementioned influence consumer satisfaction toward online travel websites and consequently influence customer brand loyalty. The research results will give awareness to the group of entrepreneurs, organisations, and researchers to improve marketing strategies and enhance customer retention and brand loyalty. The paper provided practical implications are to improve customer brand loyalty towards online travel websites. For instance, the website needs to consistently deliver high-quality packages and services to stay on top of trends and build trust with customers by providing good service. Live customer service is one of the most significant implications since interaction with the website significantly affects customer satisfaction. Websites need to be available in real-time for the customers to enhance brand loyalty. The website can provide more value through personalisation and suggestion varietY of options to loyal customers by understanding what exactly drives them and why they chose or liked the website in the first place. Following up with customers was another factor in establishing long-term relations with customers and can prevent future issues. The websites need to listen to their customers to make them feel more connected to the brand. Another critical factor is that the website needs to make sure they improve the operating system and accessibility of the website and make sure the business run very smoothly and anticipate customers' need beyond and above expectation. The research outcomes can be helpful to generate more revenues gained through the website.

Citation

Chaichi, K., John, L., Sebian, B., & Maritz, G. (2023, May). Upsurges of Consumer Brand Loyalty towards Online Travel Websites: Case of booking.com. Paper presented at Consumer Behaviour in Tourism Symposium 2023, Breda, The Netherlands

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Consumer Behaviour in Tourism Symposium 2023
• Start Date: May 31, 2023
• End Date: Jun 2, 2023
• Acceptance Date: May 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jul 5, 2024
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed