Negative Customer Experience in Lifestyle Hotels

The primary purpose of the present research is to develop a methodology which can accurately analyse online public reviews on Google using Netnography studies combined with text mining analyses. By analysing the current techniques applied to a lifestyle hotel brand in nine properties in different countries and carefully studying how negative reviews are expressed online by costumers, this study aims to create a pattern of lifestyle customer complaints. This research seeks to demonstrate patterns of consumer behaviour that are not fully satisfied with the hotel service and how it can negatively affect the brand. This study identifies the areas that five stars lifestyle hoteliers and hotel managers need to pay attention to improve services, considering online reviews on online platforms, such as social networks and other tourism sites. Today, online reviews and customer experiences have a significant impact on the choice of a hotel.

Excellent Cuisine Worth a Detour

Luxury restaurants are expected to offer outstanding culinary talent and expertise; be authentic, creative and consistent; and provide exciting quality food. Currently, culinary art discourses include a social dimension in which social networking sites are used to share gastronomic experiences and check recommendations. User-generated reviews are thus an intersection of participatory culture and ‘foodie' discoures. This study's main objective was to examine this phenomenon by analysing web reviews to identify the expressive dimensions that describe guests' experiences. Mixed-method content analysis was selected for this research, using qualitative text interpretation to supplement quantitative word counts and factor analyses. Content analysis of reviews of the top three Michelin-starred restaurants (i.e., two stars) in Portugal identified concepts used to assess haute cuisine experiences from the client's perspective. The results include a concept map encompassing the following dimensions: ‘food', ‘restaurant', ‘experience', ‘menu', ‘wine', ‘special (dinner)', ‘view', ‘beautiful (food)', ‘friendly (staff)', ‘chef', ‘visit' and ‘dessert'.

Enhancing Consumer-Brand Relationships Through Luxury Brand Experiences

The extant research highlights that the strength of consumer-brand relationships is very much shaped by consumers' experiences with brands. Given the inherent characteristics of luxury brands, it is no surprise that luxury consumers expect much more intense experiences, and thus the delivery of a superior brand experience is a necessity in the luxury market. Therefore, both marketing scholars and brand managers in the luxury market need to acknowledge the power of brand experiences as a way to strengthen consumer-brand relationships. However, despite the need for a deeper understanding of brand experience in the context of luxury brands, still much remains unknown regarding the factors that can be used to enhance brand experience. Building on this gap in the literature, this chapter investigates the relational outcomes of brand experience and subsequently discusses the various drivers that luxury brands can use to enhance luxury brand experience and thus develop stronger consumer-brand relationships.

Inconspicuous Luxury Consumption

With luxury consumption still growing fast despite various challenges such as increasing competition, rise in rental luxuries, and in counterfeits, luxury brands are challenged with an additional and complex development: consumers' interest towards inconspicuous luxury products. Being one of the major characteristics of luxury goods, conspicuousness is losing its value among some luxury shoppers necessitating a new definition for luxury and a new value proposition for luxury brands. This chapter initially provides a review on luxury and on the different motivations that determine luxury consumption. Next, socio-economic changes that trigger the shift from conspicuous to inconspicuous luxury consumption is examined briefly. And finally, a discussion on why inconspicuous consumption is valued by consumers is followed by a theoretical framework on the motivations for inconspicuous luxury brand usage. The chapter then concludes with theoretical and managerial implications.

The Rise of Islamic Luxury

As one of the essential elements of culture, the role of religiosity in consumer behavior has long been established and number of consumer research on Muslim individuals has been increasing rapidly in recent years. With the rapid increase of the Muslim population and the developing welfare level of the Islamic countries, it is observed that Islamic luxury consumption has also become widespread too. In this chapter, it is aimed to determine the conceptual framework of Islamic luxury consumption together with current trends. Three halal concepts which are considered as include more explicit examples of Islamic luxury are chosen and analyzed: halal fashion, halal cosmetics, and halal tourism. Throughout the text and in the conclusion part, it is aimed to create insights for marketers who interested in Islamic luxury.

Consumer-Brand Relationship and Use of the Website in Virtual Communication in the Luxury Furniture Industry

Luxury management can be considered the management of paradoxes between intangibility and functionality, rationality and emotion, modern technology with traditional craftsmanship, showing that luxury comes from creation, timelessness, emotion, excellence, heritage, and authenticity. This chapter results from two methods, a qualitative analysis, which presents an analysis grid with the most varied characteristics; these are divided into six groups: identification, content, product page, utility, entertainment and complementary relationship, speed and other presences visible on three websites of luxury furniture brands. The other method is the quantitative one, which was a questionnaire with the understanding the perceived quality of the website using the WebQual scale, as well as understanding the purchase intention and the importance of the internet in the purchase decision process.

Understanding the Luxury Brand Consumer

The definition of luxury brands has been long debated among marketing scholars; however, understanding how consumers perceive luxury is important too. This research presents a new framework that includes antecedents reflecting external and internal points of reference, luxury accessibility levels that ultimately impact consumer behavior toward luxury brands. It is understood that consumers have different lived experiences and may also have access to different goods in the marketplace. Hence, the proposed framework contributes to the luxury marketing literature by highlighting these important antecedents which induce various perceptions of luxury. Three propositions are presented to summarize the framework, which also supports future research aims.

Luxury Counterfeiting

Luxury counterfeits are appealing to certain shoppers because they provide the signaling value of luxury brands at a lower price. Because of the myriad challenges facing policymakers and law enforcement, the stigma of using counterfeits has been diminishing and counterfeit sales have been on the rise. Research has been conducted on the characteristics of those more likely to purchase counterfeits, and investigations into the social and emotional motives that underlie counterfeit use have also been undertaken. Despite all of this attention, it is still unclear which levers can be utilized by law enforcement to enact demand-side limitations that will reduce the on-going proliferation of counterfeits. The chapter reviews the literature, particularly in marketing, in order to provide some insight to brand managers, policymakers, and law enforcement agencies who are attempting to curb counterfeit consumption.

The Usage of Social Networks and Websites in International Luxury Brand Communication

Today, there are different digital communication opportunities that companies use to communicate with their customers. These are especially web sites and social networks. International brands are adapting to all changes in this communication environment while determining their communication strategies and then they communicate with their target audiences. Brands communicate with their target audiences and potential or unfamiliar audiences through communication opportunities without borders. This is also seen in the luxury brand market and consumers. In this study, luxury brand, luxury brand consumption, and finally website and social media applications used in international luxury brand communication are explained. In addition, comparative content analysis of corporate web sites and social media environments of Ferrari and Porsche companies, in which they are producing and marketing luxury products, were conducted and evaluations were made in the context of international luxury brand communication.

New Luxury vs. Old Luxury

Understanding the concept of luxury and knowing what luxury means is still necessary and pertinent research because the definition of what luxury is has not proved to be consensual, and those that exist leave out the understanding of how fragmented meanings of today's society appear and influence consumers' perceptions of luxury. While the terms of new and old luxury have gained popularity in the literature, there remains little empirical research comparing consumers' perceptions of new and old luxury brands. Therefore, it can be said that previous research on luxury contributes to improvements under the point of view centred on the product of the meaning of luxury while the current era of popularization and democratization of luxury causes confusion and, what luxury means today, remains unclear. This research intends, through an extensive literature review, to clarify the main differences between the concepts of new and old luxury brands.