ABSTRACT

This study examines the impact of experiential marketing on customer loyalty in hotel services in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. The research focuses on key dimensions of experiential marketing, including storytelling, interactive elements, quantifiable impact, and emotional connections, to determine their influence on customer retention. A total of 400 hotel customers were targeted, with 381 valid responses retrieved and analyzed. The study adopts a quantitative research design, utilizing structured questionnaires for data collection. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were employed to evaluate the relationships between experiential marketing strategies and customer loyalty. The findings reveal that storytelling significantly enhances customer loyalty (B = 0.537, p < 0.01), quantifiable experiences have a measurable impact (B = 0.237, p < 0.01), while interactive elements (B = 0.008, p = 0.880) and emotional connections (B = 0.061, p = 0.098) do not significantly influence customer retention. Based on these findings, the study recommends that hotels prioritize storytelling and tangible experiential benefits while integrating interactive elements strategically and not overly relying on emotional connections to drive customer loyalty. These insights provide valuable guidance for hospitality managers seeking to enhance customer engagement and competitive advantage through experiential marketing.