INFLUENCE OF ARRIVAL EXPERIENCE ON REPEAT PATRONAGE AND REFERRAL RATE OF HOTELS IN ABA, ABIA STATE
Abstract
This study examined the influence of guest arrival experience on repeat patronage and referral
rate among hotels in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria. The study was motivated by the growing recognition
that guests' first impressions significantly shape their overall hotel experience and subsequent
loyalty behaviors. Specifically, the study investigated the influence of arrival experience on repeat
patronage and referral rate. A survey research design was adopted. Since the actual population
of guests cannot be ascertained, the study adopted infinite sampling, therefor using Cochran’s
(1977) formula to arrive at 196 as the sample size. Data were collected through structured
questionnaires administration to 196 hotel guests selected using convenient sampling. Descriptive
statistics comprising frequencies, percentages, mean, were used to analyze the research questions,
while multiple regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 significance level
using SPSS. The findings revealed that guests generally rated arrival experiences positively, with
grand mean scores of 3.23 for repeat patronage and 3.26 for referral rate. Regression results
further indicated that arrival experience had a significant positive influence on repeat patronage
(β = 0.278, p < 0.05) and referral rate (β = 0.268, p < 0.05). The study concluded that warm
reception, efficient check-in procedures, courteous staff, and a welcoming environment
significantly enhance customer loyalty. It recommended continuous staff training and improved
front-office operations to strengthen guest satisfaction, repeat patronage, and positive word-of-mouth referrals.
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Published in JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND VALUE CREATION
ISSN: 2315 – 8212
This article appears in our peer-reviewed academic journal
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