The incorporation of Mainland Chinese tourists' experiences into the Taiwan hotel branding process

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose is to understand the importance of brand experience in the Taiwan hotel branding process; also, this study is to investigate the moderating effect of brand experience on the relationship between brand positioning and non-financial brand performance in Taiwan upscale hotels, focusing on mainland Chinese tourists.

Design/methodology/approach

The structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was used to conduct questionnaire analysis. This study examined data collected from Chinese tourists who stayed at Taiwan upscale hotels.

Findings

The brand experience of an upscale hotel brand can affect its brand image, product attributes, brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. By investigating the moderating effect of brand experience, the study revealed the brand image perceptions of hotel guests with a positive brand experience to significantly influence non-financial brand performance. The product attribute perceptions of hotel guests with a more positive brand experience were also found to have a more significant effect on nonfinancial brand performance.

Originality/value

In the highly competitive hotel industry, the application of brand experience to marketing practice has drawn much industry attention. There is a strong possibility that upscale hotel companies will eventually find value in adopting the measurement instruments and suggestions presented here to assess and guide their marketing practices.

Citation

Liu, K.-N. and Hu, C. (2022), "The incorporation of Mainland Chinese tourists' experiences into the Taiwan hotel branding process", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 34 No. 7, pp. 1368-1391. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-01-2021-0059