A STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE SELECTION OF HOTELS AND RESRORTS IN CHANTHABURI PROVINCE

Abstract

This study aimed at comparing the selection of hotels and resorts in Chanthaburi Province categorized by personal factors and customer behavior and studying the relationship between the marketing mix and the selection of hotels and resorts in Chanthaburi. The samples were 385 tourists who used hotel and resort services in Chanthaburi. Samples were randomly selected by the multi-level method. The statistics used in the research were percentage, mean, standard deviation, the t test, the F-test, and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient.

The research findings showed that the tourists who used hotel and resort services in Chanthaburi rated their opinions at a high level in terms of marketing mix, and at a high level in terms of the overall selection of hotels and resorts. The differences among the samples in terms of personal characteristics, which consisted of gender, age, education, occupation, and income resulted in the differences in the selection of hotels and resorts. Additionally, the tourists who used hotel and resort services in Chanthaburi differed in terms of customer behavior, which consisted of the number of visits to Chanthaburi, the purpose of traveling to Chanthaburi, accommodation type, duration of each visit, the nature of the visit, the location of the hotel and resort, the average room rate per night, the appropriateness of the room rate, communication with the reservation desk, and the reservation method. This all resulted in differences in hotel and resort choices. The differences in marketing mix, which consisted of products, prices, distribution channels, marketing promotion, the service mind of hotel staff, service process and physical environment, also influenced the differences in hotels and resorts choices in Chantaburi.