The Experiential Marketing, Experience Engagement, Reference Group, and Customer Satisfaction Toward Purchase Intention of Virtual Hotel Operators (VHO): Indonesian Context

Abstract

Budget traveling has developed to become a potential niche market in the hospitality industry as an increasing number of backpackers and domestic tourists with limited disposable income. This niche market has grown to become a multi-billion dollar market globally as its ability to develop the economy through more job opportunity, enforce small accommodation service with low overhead-cost and shift local product increase of destination country such as Virtual Hotel Operators (VHO). This business model provides rented accommodation in which services are accessible on the official website and mobile application. As a marketplace, it enables guest and hotel operators to meet, deal, and finalize accommodation booking transactions online. This study analyzes the influence of experiential marketing, experience engagement, reference group and customer satisfaction on repurchase intention of VHO consumers. The result shows a positive relationship between experiential marketing, experience engagement, VHO consumer reference groups, customer satisfaction, and purchase intention. These results support previous research investigating a so-called "experience profile," which consumer summarize and evaluate memory experiences by combining their sequential experiences received by their senses which provided by company’s experiential marketing channels.