THE IMPACT OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY IN LUXURY HOTELS

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to determine the key dimensions of relationship marketing that influence customer satisfaction, as well as the impact of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty in a luxury hotel context. A survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 311 Croatian citizens who stayed in 5-star hotels in the year prior to the study. The research results show that not all dimensions of relationship marketing influence customer satisfaction. Competence, trust, and communication, as relationship marketing dimensions, have a statistically significant impact on customer satisfaction. The findings also suggest that customer satisfaction has a statistically significant influence on customer loyalty. This study contributes to the theory of relationship marketing. In addition, the obtained results have implications for hotel managers seeking to implement relationship marketing strategies to achieve customer satisfaction and loyalty.