Customer experience in the hotel industry: a systematic literature review and research agenda

Abstract: In the highly competitive restaurant industry, prioritising customer satisfaction is crucial for establishments pursuing differentiation and repeat business. Within this context, creating unique and memorable experiences has evolved from a marketing trend into a strategic imperative, compelling restaurants to deliver encounters that transcend mere functional service and quality. However, prior research has primarily examined quality factors and satisfaction in isolation, overlooking the mediating role of experiential realms in this relationship. This study offers a novel contribution by integrating service quality and experiential marketing within a single empirical model, addressing a gap in the hospitality literature. Specifically, few studies have empirically examined how tangible and intangible quality cues translate into the four experiential realms of the Experience Economy—aesthetic, escapist, entertainment, and educational—and how these, in turn, influence satisfaction and revisit intentions. Drawing on the Experience Economy framework, this study develops and tests a conceptual model linking quality antecedents—physical environment, food quality, and customer service—to the four experiential realms (aesthetic, escapist, entertainment, and educational) and subsequent satisfaction and revisit intentions. Using data collected from 312 restaurant customers, the hypotheses were tested through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings reveal that quality antecedents significantly influence experiential realms, which in turn enhance satisfaction and revisit intentions—offering a more nuanced mechanism than previously theorised. By being among the first to empirically test these relationships in the sit-down restaurant context, this study adds theoretical and practical insight into experience-based brand differentiation. Moreover, it provides actionable insights for restaurant managers seeking to transform quality delivery into memorable, loyalty-building experiences.

TL;DR: The TE scale is a valid and generalizable measure of consumer experience with H&T technology across different sectors. However, the composites of TE are formed differently across sectors, highlighting the differences in consumers’ experiences across the H&T industry sectors.

TL;DR: This qualitative literature review (2003-2023) identifies key factors in hotel marketing and guest satisfaction, revealing two clusters that highlight the importance of effective human resource management and organizational culture adaptation for competitive advantage in the hospitality industry.

TL;DR: The factors of customer experience that affect loyalty at Novotel Hanoi Thai Ha Hotel are service product, quality service, service price, brand image, service space, customer loyalty program and customer care.

TL;DR: This chapter discusses a wide variety of variables that proved instrumental in affecting the elaboration likelihood, and thus the route to persuasion, and outlines the two basic routes to persuasion.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue for the recognition of important experiential aspects of consumption, such as the symbolic, hedonic, and esthetic nature of the experience of consumption.

TL;DR: The authors offer five design principles that drive the creation of memorable experiences that engage all five senses to heighten the experience and thus make it more memorable.