Abstract

With the increasing competitive environment organizations are continually looking for innovative ways to not only acquired but also to retain their customers. The aim of this study is to establish the perceptions of hotel management of all sizes of hotel regarding the importance of customer retention practices. An interviewer administered, in office survey was used to collect data from a representative sample of 56 hotels in Gauteng province, South Africa. Probability, stratified, sampling was used to separate hotels according to ownership type and size. The findings indicate that no significant associations exist between the research variables and hotel size. It is evident, however, that significant differences exist between medium and large hotels when it comes to weekend guests who stay for business, as well as leisure, purposes. The study contributes to the relatively limited knowledge of services marketing in the hospitality industry, specifically in the hotel sector.

Key words: Customer retention management, relationship marketing, compatibility management, customer defection, service failure, service recovery, hotels.