The effect of branding on customer buying behaviour in selected hotels of Gaborone, Botswana

Abstract

The success of any hotel depends entirely upon the satisfaction of its consumers. In order to get this right, hotels have to know the buying behaviour of their customers, hence the saying that “the Customer is King, therefore the Customer is always right!” The Botswana hospitality and tourism market has experienced remarkable changes of late. The well-known hotel brands seem to have increased their market share in the existing market, which used to be dominated by local brands. A brand is a powerful tool that attracts more consumers to buying particular products and services. Some companies may even regard it as equity, as it can add value to the products with which it is associated. It is in this regard that branded properties are important in the hospitality industry. “Brands play an intangible role in the operational effectiveness of any organisation” (Bruce & Harvey, 2008:6). “Brands are increasingly important to tourist destinations and are used by all consumers in the process of buying situations” (Kotler, Bowen & Makens, 2006:315). This study focused on exploring the research problem, which stated: What will the effect of branding be on consumer buying behaviour in the hospitality industry of Gaborone? and the sub-problem, which stated: Will there be an increase in the buying behaviour of consumers due to branding in the hospitality industry of Gaborone? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the sales managers of the three participating hotels, and two questionnaires were distributed – one for guests and one for staff. The analysis of the questionnaires and the interview results indicated that the guests and employees of the hotels were aware of the brands that were available to them in the hospitality industry of Gaborone, Botswana. This was shown by the results that revealed that 52.99% guests stated that the hotel brand had a very important effect in their decision making on which hotel to choose, and 76.06% of the employees thought that the hotel brand had a very important effect in the decision making of customers on which hotel to choose.