Developing a customer loyalty model for guest houses in China: a congruity-based perspective

Abstract

Purpose Although the number of guest houses in China is increasing rapidly, many of them are not performing well in developing customer loyalty. Self-congruity and functional congruity represent two cost-effective but inadequately researched ways for guest houses to maintain customers. In view of the lack of empirical research explaining the post-purchase behavior of guest house customers, the purpose of this study is to develop a congruity-based customer loyalty model for this specialized type of accommodation. Design/methodology/approach Based on a review of relevant literature, a robust conceptual framework of customer loyalty comprising satisfaction, self-congruity, functional congruity, perceived value and attractiveness of alternates was constructed. By means of an online panel survey, 828 valid questionnaires were obtained from customers who had stayed in a Chinese guest house within the previous year. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the conceptual model and the hypothesized relationships among the constructs. Findings Significant relationships were found between the two congruity constructs in guest houses, which both led to positive customer post-purchase behaviors. The authors found that self-congruity, functional congruity and the attractiveness of alternates did not affect customer loyalty directly; rather, they influenced loyalty indirectly through customer satisfaction. Originality/value This study developed a unique, congruity-based model of customer loyalty in the context of guest houses. It enhances the body of knowledge regarding congruity in the field of tourism and hospitality, and it discusses relevant implications of the findings for tourism marketing researchers and for owner-managers of guest houses.

A Study of Emotional Solidarity in the Homestay Industry between Hosts and Tourists in the Post-Pandemic Era

“…A very limited number studies of the homestay industry have adopted the concept of emotional solidarity to measure the perceived closeness of guests to their hosts [1,34,42]. Furthermore, although customer loyalty receives much academic attention in the homestay industry [83][84][85], the prediction of customer loyalty from the perspective of emotional solidarity is still lacking. Thus, this study complements the related research of adopting emotional solidarity theory in discussing the relationship between hosts and tourists to explain tourists' loyalty towards homestay industry.…”

Influence of Experiential Consumption and Social Environment of Local Tourists on the Intention to Revisit Tunisian Guesthouses: Mediating Role of Involvement in the Experience

“…Second, this study found that the experiential consumption and the social environment perceived by the tourist and involvement in the experience are essential components for tourists, which inform their intention to return to the guesthouse. Preceding researchers have shown that tourists' decision to revisit a specific place is largely based on their satisfaction [75] regarding this place during their previous visits, but our research has shown that their decision also depends on the involvement that a client may experience during their experience in a guesthouse. Hence, it is necessary that managers aim to involve their tourists by fostering long-term collaborative relationships with them, as well as offering them new and distinctive experiences.…”

“…The results presented in Table 4 demonstrate an adequate discriminant validity founded on both approaches. In the second step, we recognized the values of experiential consumption and the social environment as secondorder formative constructs applying the score of their correlated dimensions from the first step [75]. Utility, social connection, knowledge, escape, experiential stimulation, and spiritual value established the value of experiential consumption [23,76], while enchantment and hospitality established the concept of the second-order social environment.…”

Entrepreneurial responses to uncertainties during the COVID-19 recovery: A longitudinal study of B&Bs in Zhangjiajie, China

“…Pandemic-related uncertainty spawned marketing concerns that inspired innovations as the hospitality industry adopted advertising channels such as TikTok ( Altinay & Arici, 2021 ). However, most bookings were still completed via OTAs; tourism entrepreneurs and tourists alike deem these sites trustworthy and reliable ( Wang et al, 2020 ). Available marketing channels also afforded entrepreneurs opportunities to choose the most appropriate platforms to raise awareness of their businesses, representing an incremental marketing innovation ( Huang & Farboudi Jahromi, 2021 ).…”