Zeitschrift für Tourismusforschung und Gastgewerbe

Dual Dimensions of Attitudinal Loyalty and Behavioral Loyalty among Hotel Customers

Soo K Kang

Dual Dimensions of Attitudinal Loyalty and Behavioral Loyalty among Hotel Customers

Abstract
This study examined the correlations between two additional loyalty concepts, individual’s propensity to be brand loyal and brand specific loyalty, and identified a significant attitudinal loyalty dimension(s) in predicting behavioral loyalty among hotel guests. While behavioral loyalty has been popularly studied in the consumer behavior literature, it is widely known that using both attitude and behavior in a loyalty measurement substantially increases the predictive power of the concept of consumer loyalty. This study employed a self-administered survey with guests who were staying at the international chain hotels. Results of the study revealed that two components of the attitudinal loyalty were correlated to a certain degree, by complementing each other in measurement and interpretation. This finding proves that these two dimensions are not distinctive but rather overlapping in the hotel segment. Of these two dimensions, brand specific loyalty contributed more in predicting behavioral loyalty items, which is strongly consistent with the previous studies. Implications related to understanding these two important concepts are discussed.