The Influence of Social Media Marketing, Brand Image, and Brand Trust on Guest Loyalty at Hotel NEO+ Kuta Legian

Made Chossya Wira Mahardika; Ni Luh Putu Agustini Karta; Ni Ketut Dewi Irwanti

doi:10.63922/ijebir.v5i05.6314

Made Chossya Wira Mahardika Universitas Triatma Mulya
Ni Luh Putu Agustini Karta Universitas Triatma Mulya
Ni Ketut Dewi Irwanti Universitas Triatma Mulya

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63922/ijebir.v5i05.6314

Keywords: Social Media Marketing, Brand Image, Brand Trust, Guest Loyalty, Hospitality Industry

Abstract

This study aims to examine the influence of Social Media Marketing, Brand Image, and Brand Trust on Guest Loyalty at Hotel NEO+ Kuta Legian, a hotel property located in one of Bali's most competitive tourism areas. The background of this study is grounded in the fluctuating trend of repeater guests at the hotel despite its relatively favorable brand ratings across several Online Travel Agent (OTA) platforms, which raises the question of whether social media activity, brand perception, and guest trust are sufficient to sustain guest loyalty. A quantitative explanatory approach was employed, involving 197 repeater guests selected through purposive sampling and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) with the assistance of SmartPLS software. The analysis covered measurement model evaluation, structural model evaluation, and hypothesis testing through a bootstrapping procedure. The results indicate that Social Media Marketing has a positive and significant effect on Guest Loyalty (β = 0.103; t = 2.141; p = 0.032), Brand Image has a positive and significant effect on Guest Loyalty (β = 0.519; t = 6.426; p = 0.000), and Brand Trust has a positive and significant effect on Guest Loyalty (β = 0.332; t = 4.111; p = 0.000). The R-square value of 0.774 indicates that the three variables jointly explain 77.4% of the variance in Guest Loyalty. Brand Image was identified as the most dominant predictor, followed by Brand Trust, while Social Media Marketing plays a supporting role in reinforcing the two. These findings suggest that hotel management should prioritize brand image consistency and trust-building while positioning social media marketing as a channel that reinforces, rather than replaces, brand experience.

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