摘要：Consumer behaviour is based on choice and needs. Customer loyalty is paramountfor the long-term success of a hotel. This paper reviews the consumer behavior and theeffect of consumer choice with regards to attributes they used to differentiate amonghotel choices are discussed in the literature review. The review will continue with whatcomprises a competitive advantage and how they are created. It concludes with a reviewof competitive strategies developed from competitive advantages and how understandingconsumer preferences can assist in developing competitive advantages and theimplementation of competitive strategies to exploit those competitive advantages.Hotel owners expend finite capital resources pursuing alternative strategies in anattempt to differentiate them selves in their market niche. Understanding what theprospective customer’s preferences are will enhance the hotels ability to attract them.“With advanced statistical methods, one can estimate individuals or market segmentspreferences, rather than work with aggregates” (Verma, Plaschka and Louviere, 2002,p.19). This research has significant relevance to the hospitality industry in regards to theirallocation of resources and their long-term strategic plan. It is critical to understand whatselection criteria consumer’s use in their choice of a hotel. The priority magnitude ofdifference among the criteria determines which criteria are most relevant to the hotelcustomer of today.
