Intangible but Effective: The Role of Hotel Lobby Music Background on Customer Satisfaction

Abstract

Background music is considered an intangible element but has a close attachment to emotional reaction and memory. Background music is constantly present in our everyday lives, whether for distraction, recreation or mood enhancement. It can be heard in the supermarket, in lifts, cafés or hotels. Music has been identified as important in the construction of autobiographical memories and emotions of individuals. Many premises use music to enhance customers' emotions, and hoteliers try to use music in their lobby to increase the likelihood of customer experience. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the impact of background music as an intangible element in hotel lobbies on customer satisfaction. More specifically, this study aims to draw a connection between the musical variables (musicscape) in hotel lobbies with regard to the gender and age of guests and how hotel businesses can make use of this intangible element to enhance their guest's satisfaction. Sound marketing is an overlooked area in hospitality and tourism research. A mixed-method approach has been employed in this study, including a questionnaire and online interviews. The result shows that background music in hotel lobbies has a significant impact on customer satisfaction and the time they are willing to spend in the lobby. Moreover, different musical variables have obvious influences on the experience of guests of different ages and genders. The results of this study provide theoretical and managerial recommendations on the importance of sound marketing in a hotel lobby setting.

Citation

Wu, Y. and Tabari, S. (2024), "Intangible but Effective: The Role of Hotel Lobby Music Background on Customer Satisfaction", Tabari, S., Chen, W. and Kladou, S. (Ed.) Marketing and Design in the Service Sector, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 35-50. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83797-276-020241004