Abstract
The branded hotel industry is increasing every year in the world therefore many hotel groups are
developing their brand portfolio to match the demand of the world market. (Harvey, 2007) So the
main question for this dissertation is: why does generation Y chooses to stay at branded hotels?
What is it that makes them choose branded and not independent hotels? The answer to this question
could be very beneficial for professionals in the hotel sector worldwide as well as for the researcher
who has a genuine interest about brand loyalty and the hotel industry. The research is focusing on
three European countries: Ireland, Spain and Sweden.
The primary data collection consists of a mixed method approach. The quantitative data were
collected from 155 questionnaire answers from the selected countries and the electable generation
group. The qualitative data were extracted from three different interviews, which were gathered from
hotel professionals with high managerial positions in marketing and sales from each one of the
selected countries. The data program that was used to analyze the quantitative data was SPSS.
The result showed many interesting findings regarding the question why generation Y chooses
branded hotels, the main reason being the security that comes with a branded hotel. Generation Y
knows what to expect before entering the hotel because of the reputation that the brand is creating.
Also because of the services and the unique atmosphere that a brand can radiate. Some conclusions
that can be done are: generation Y chooses branded hotels for special occasions and 92 percent of the
generation Y respondents prefer to stay at branded hotel than an individual hotel if the hotels are
having the same price and standard. Author keywords: Hotels, Generation Y
