The Impact of Relationship Marketing on Millennial Customer Loyalty in the Bangkok Hotel Industry
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate and explore the effects of relationship marketing and demographic characteristics on millennial customer loyalty in the hotel industry in Bangkok. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 440 millennial travelers who stayed in Bangkok hotels during 2019. Analysis showed that most elements of relationship marketing—trust, commitment, communication, service quality, products, pricing, technology, and the social network—had a significant effect on millennial customer loyalty. However, customer courtesy did not have a significant effect on customer loyalty. There was no significant effect of gender or marital status on loyalty; however, education level, income, and occupation had significant effects on it. It is thus recommended that hotel management should recognize the importance of millennial customers and put their efforts into understanding the unique characteristics and preferences of this generation. They might implement relationship marketing to create good relationships with these clients and cultivate customer loyalty. Future research efforts might expand the scope of the sample to represent more millennial customers in Thailand. To reach different generations, such as Generations X and Z, other independent variables than those used in this study–such as social networks, online marketing, and mobile marketing–might be successfully employed.
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