Exploring Brand Equity: Residents and Non-Residents’ Perceptions of Locally-Owned Versus Multinational Hotel Brands in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the perceptions of Nigerians and non-Nigerians’ on locally owned and multinational hotel brands operating in Nigeria. The influx of multinational hotels into Nigeria improves the country’s hotel industry. This study aimed to contribute to the gap in the lack of research related to branding, including perceived value and country-of-origin as antecedents of brand equity, in the context of an African country, specifically, Nigeria. The questionnaire incorporated inquiries relevant to attaining respondents’ anecdotes based on the constructs of brand equity towards purchase intent. Descriptive and inferential statistics, and regression analyses were calculated using SPSS. A total of 329 respondents participated in this study. The results indicated that, when selecting hotel brands in Nigeria; brand loyalty was the most important determinant. This study could aid Nigerian tourism officials in effectively developing marketing strategies to increase the progression of local Nigerian hotel brands.