Sources of satisfaction with luxury hotels for new, repeat, and frequent travelers: A PLS impact-asymmetry analysis

Abstract

There are differences in service expectations according to travelers' experiences. This study aims to identify the structure of service quality factors with regard to satisfaction with luxury hotels concerned with new, repeat, and frequent travelers to Macau. The data are analyzed by a partial least squares (PLS) impact-asymmetry analysis in order to explain how the structure of factors can influence the behaviors of three visitor segments. The results of this study explore the transformation of the factor structure of customer satisfaction across different experiences encountered. This study contributes to the knowledge of life cycle theories using three-factor theories that position most of the quality attributes in the introduction stage as excitement factors; they show various types of factors in a growth stage, and they unify to performance factors when the products and services mature. Thus, asymmetrical analyses are highly appropriate for studying customer behavior throughout the customer life cycle.