Brand Positioning of Five-Star Hotels for Travel Agents

In the current competitive business environment, companies need to understand their brand position. As hoteliers have high tendency to increase their profitability through attracting their commercial/industrial customers, it is necessary to know which factors must be considered to strengthen a hotel’s position in the minds of them. This paper is intended to analyze Mashhad’s Five-star hotels’ competitive brand position from the viewpoint of Tehran travel agencies’ managers. The managers of travel agencies in Tehran city which directly provide travel services to Mashhad including accommodation, were the survey’s population. The sample size was estimated as 228 people, using Cochran formula and cluster sampling was applied. Data were collected through questionnaires, and were analyzed by SPSS and Lisrel. Structural equation models were used for analyzing the data. Also, related radar maps were drawn by Microsoft Excel. According to the results of employed statistical tests and radar maps, “the core product”, “facilitating services” & “enhancing services” were recognized as the determinant factors of hotels’ brand position. Based on the research’s variables, there is a fierce & direct competition among the hotels under study. In general, two hotels are positioned in a group and the other three hotels are direct competitors. Finally, some suggestions have been proposed, in order to improve the hotel's brands positions.