Locals' Experiences of Hotel Special Event Packages and their Purchase Intention of Hotel Room Nights

Abstract

Hotels strive for differentiating themselves from the competitors, and unique event packages are used to attract more local customers by providing them special experience opportunities in their ordinary life. The local residents are alternative revenue sources to hotels while experiencing the recent economic downturn, but research on local resident customers is scant and hospitality studies have given little attention to exploring the importance of special event packages. This article aims to examine locals' experiences at special events offered by hotels, and to evaluate locals' intention to purchase special event packages that include room nights. By employing Pine and Gilmore's dimensions of experience economy, this study identified escapism experience as the most influential factor to positive satisfaction, memory, and room purchase intention. In addition, positive memory showed the strongest relationship with locals' purchase intention of hotel room nights as a part of hotel event packages. This article further discusses the potential of local markets as revenue generators and findings provide practical implications in developing hotel's special event packages.