Abstract :

Digital advertising has become a critical strategic tool for hospitality firms seeking to influence customer behavior and enhance competitiveness in increasingly digitalized markets. This study aims to examine the effects of multiple digital advertising channels—namely e-mail marketing, mobile marketing, social media marketing, search engine marketing, affiliate marketing, and website marketing—on customer purchase decisions at different stages of the decision-making process in the hospitality industry. A quantitative research design was employed using a survey method, with 170 customers who had stayed at Hyatt Hotels in Indonesia within the past 6–12 months selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results of the measurement model assessment confirm that all constructs demonstrate satisfactory validity and reliability. The findings indicate that digital advertising channels exert differentiated effects across the customer decision journey. E-mail marketing, social media marketing, and search engine marketing significantly influence the information search stage, while mobile marketing and search engine marketing affect the evaluation of alternatives. Notably, affiliate marketing exhibits a significant positive effect across all stages, including the final purchase decision, highlighting its critical role in driving conversion. Conversely, website marketing does not show a significant impact at any stage of the purchase decision process. These findings underscore the importance of aligning digital advertising strategies with specific stages of customer decision-making. The study provides managerial implications for hospitality firms to adopt an integrated, channel-specific digital advertising strategy to enhance customer engagement and improve purchase conversion in competitive hospitality markets.

---

Keywords :

Customer Purchase Decisions, Digital Advertising, Digital Marketing Channels, Hospitality Industry, Hyatt Hotels

---

References :

1. Kotler and K. L. Keller, Marketing Management, 16th ed. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson, 2021.
2. A. Zeithaml, M. J. Bitner, and D. D. Gremler, Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, 7th ed. New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill, 2021.
3. Chaffey and F. Ellis-Chadwick, Digital Marketing, 8th ed. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson, 2019.
4. Dhankhar, S. Kaur, and M. Singh, “Digital marketing strategies and consumer behavior: A systematic review,” J. Retail. Consum. Serv., vol. 70, pp. 1–10, 2023.
5. F. Engel, R. D. Blackwell, and P. W. Miniard, Consumer Behavior, 8th ed. Fort Worth, TX, USA: Dryden Press, 1995.
6. Hair, G. T. M. Hult, C. Ringle, and M. Sarstedt, A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage, 2017.
7. UNWTO, Tourism and COVID-19: Impacts and Recovery Strategies, Madrid, Spain, 2021.
8. M. Hyatt, “Digital transformation strategies in global hospitality brands,” Int. J. Hosp. Manag., vol. 94, pp. 1–9, 2021.
9. Rodríguez, S. Martínez, and J. Nieto, “The impact of digital marketing on hotel booking behavior,” Tourism Manag. Perspect., vol. 44, pp. 1–11, 2023.
10. Verhoef et al., “Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 122, pp. 889–901, 2021.
11. F. Hair, G. T. M. Hult, C. M. Ringle, and M. Sarstedt, A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications, 2017.
12. Kotler and K. L. Keller, Marketing Management, 15th ed. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson Education, 2016.
13. Chaffey and F. Ellis-Chadwick, Digital Marketing, 6th ed. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson Education, 2019.
14. F. Engel, R. D. Blackwell, and P. W. Miniard, Consumer Behavior, 8th ed. Fort Worth, TX, USA: Dryden Press, 1995.
15. Sembiring and D. Kurniawan, “The effect of e-mail marketing on brand awareness and information search in the hospitality industry,” J. Hosp. Tourism Insights, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 345–357, 2021.
16. Ozuem and Y. Azemi, Digital Marketing Strategies for Customer Engagement. Hershey, PA, USA: IGI Global, 2018.
17. Chinomona and M. Sandada, “The influence of mobile marketing on consumer information search behavior in service industries,” J. Retail. Consum. Serv., vol. 58, pp. 102–110, 2021.
18. Santoso, “Mobile-based promotion effectiveness in the hospitality industry: Evidence from Indonesia,” Int. J. Tour. Res., vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 456–468, 2020.
19. Varnali and A. Toker, “Mobile marketing research: The-state-of-the-art,” Int. J. Inf. Manage., vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 144–151, 2010.
20. M. Kaplan, “If you love something, let it go mobile: Mobile marketing and mobile social media,” Bus. Horiz., vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 129–139, 2012.
21. Salo and H. Karjaluoto, “Mobile marketing: Mobile promotion in business-to-consumer markets,” J. Mark. Commun., vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 181–195, 2007.
22. Grewal, A. L. Roggeveen, and J. Nordfält, “The future of retailing,” J. Retail., vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 68–85, 2021.
23. J. Lavidge and G. A. Steiner, “A model for predictive measurements of advertising effectiveness,” J. Mark., vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 59–62, 1961.
24. Kim and M. Kim, “Mobile promotion and purchase behavior in the tourism industry,” Tourism Manag., vol. 65, pp. 154–164, 2018.
25. Kotler and K. L. Keller, Marketing Management, 15th ed. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson Education, 2016.
26. Ashley and T. Tuten, “Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory study of branded social content and consumer engagement,” Psychol. Mark., vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 15–27, 2015.
27. E. Petty and J. T. Cacioppo, Communication and Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes to Attitude Change. New York, NY, USA: Springer, 1986.
28. Setiawan, M. Pratama, and L. Nugroho, “The impact of social media marketing on brand awareness, customer engagement, and purchase decision,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 172, pp. 113–124, 2024.
29. Hidayat and S. Vania, “Social media marketing strategies and consumer information search behavior in tourism and e-commerce: A literature review,” Tourism Rev., vol. 80, no. 1, pp. 45–61, 2025.
30. Laksamana, “Impact of social media marketing on purchase intention and brand loyalty,” Int. J. Bus. Innov. Res., vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 188–200, 2018.
31. Godey, A. Manthiou, D. Pederzoli, J. Rokka, G. Aiello, R. Donvito, and R. Singh, “Social media marketing efforts of luxury brands: Influence on brand equity and consumer behavior,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 69, no. 12, pp. 5833–5841, 2016.
32. D. Hollebeek, “Exploring customer brand engagement: Definition and themes,” J. Strateg. Mark., vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 555–573, 2011.
33. G. Mangold and D. J. Faulds, “Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix,” Bus. Horiz., vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 357–365, 2009.
34. Järvinen and H. Karjaluoto, “The use of web analytics for digital marketing performance measurement,” Ind. Mark. Manag., vol. 50, pp. 117–127, 2015.
35. Chaffey and F. Ellis-Chadwick, Digital Marketing, 6th ed. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson Education, 2019.
36. T. Tiago and J. M. C. Veríssimo, “Digital marketing and social media: Why bother?,” Bus. Horiz., vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 703–708, 2014.
37. Chaffey, Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice, 7th ed. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson Education, 2020.
38. Usmany, R. Khan, and A. Ali, “Search engine optimization and brand visibility: A meta-analysis,” J. Interact. Mark., vol. 69, pp. 1–15, 2024.
39. Rahul, “Search-based digital marketing and customer journey optimization,” Int. J. Electron. Commer., vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 88–104, 2025.
40. Kabir, A. Rahman, and T. Hassan, “Information search behavior in digital environments: Implications for online decision-making,” Inf. Syst. Front., vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 391–407, 2025.
41. Chen, “The impact of search engine visibility on brand credibility and consumer trust,” Electron. Commer. Res. Appl., vol. 39, pp. 100–112, 2020.
42. Chaffey and F. Ellis-Chadwick, Digital Marketing, 6th ed. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson Education, 2019.
43. Kotler and K. L. Keller, Marketing Management, 15th ed. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson Education, 2016.
44. Lee, H. Kim, and Y. Choi, “The role of affiliate marketing credibility in influencing information search and purchase intention,” J. Retail. Consum. Serv., vol. 54, pp. 102–114, 2020.
45. Moriuchi, “The impact of affiliate-generated content on consumer trust and purchase decisions,” J. Interact. Advert., vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 120–134, 2021.
46. Kotler, H. Kartajaya, and I. Setiawan, Marketing 5.0: Technology for Humanity. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley, 2021.
47. E. Duffy, “Affiliate marketing, trust, and consumer decision-making in tourism,” Tourism Manag., vol. 78, pp. 104–118, 2020.
48. Lee and J. Kim, “Affiliate information sources and consumer confidence in hospitality decision-making,” Int. J. Hosp. Manag., vol. 95, pp. 102–110, 2022.
49. Salehi, M. Mirzaei, H. Aghaei, and M. Abyari, “Dissimilarity of e-marketing vs traditional marketing,” Int. J. Acad. Res. Bus. Soc. Sci., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 510–515, 2012.
50. B. Cialdini, Influence: Science and Practice, 5th ed. Boston, MA, USA: Pearson Education, 2009.
51. Constantinides, “Influencing the online consumer’s behavior: The Web experience,” Internet Res., vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 111–126, 2004.
52. Chaffey and P. Smith, Digital Marketing Excellence, 6th ed. London, U.K.: Routledge, 2022.
53. C. Verhoef, T. Broekhuizen, Y. Bart, A. Bhattacharya, J. Qi Dong, N. Fabian, and M. Haenlein, “Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 122, pp. 889–901, 2021.
54. Filieri, F. Raguseo, and G. Vitari, “When are extreme ratings more helpful? Empirical evidence from the hotel online review context,” Tourism Manag., vol. 82, pp. 104–118, 2021.
55. M. Mariani and M. Borghi, “Online reviews, price transparency, and consumer choice in hospitality,” Int. J. Hosp. Manag., vol. 104, pp. 103–121, 2023.
56. Buhalis and R. Law, “Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet—The state of eTourism research,” Tourism Manag., vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 609–623, 2008.
57. Kim and J. Kim, “The effects of hotel website quality on consumer decision-making,” Int. J. Hosp. Manag., vol. 76, pp. 28–39, 2018.
58. Grewal, A. L. Roggeveen, and J. Nordfält, “The future of retailing,” J. Retail., vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 68–89, 2021.