Please stay with us again: Investigating the mediating roles of hedonic well-being and tourism autobiographical memory in customer retention at Chinese resorts

Customer retention possesses strategic significance in achieving an essential competitive advantage for hotel enterprises. This study aimed to introduce the psychological mechanism of customer retention by investigating the mediating roles of hedonic well-being and tourism autobiographical memory on the theoretical basis of the stimulus–organism–response schema. Surveys were conducted with 445 Chinese guests in the resort hotel sector. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was performed to examine the relationships between the guest experience, hedonic well-being, tourism autobiographical memory, and customer retention. Mediation and moderation effects were highlighted through data analysis. The results indicated significant mediation effects of hedonic well-being and tourism autobiographical memory between the guest experience and customer retention. The moderating role of hotel brand attachment concerning customer retention was not confirmed. This study offers empirical support for how the guest experience in resort hotels can improve hedonic well-being, facilitate personal memory, and encourage customer retention.