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.
Krisna et al. (Fri,) studied this question.