THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HOTEL BRANDING AND MARKETING STRATEGIES: TESTING FIVE COMPETING EXPLANATIONS OF HOTEL PERFORMANCE

This article compares five theoretical approaches to hotel performance: brand equity, signalling, resource-based theory, governance and contracts, and market positioning. Using data from 200 hotels in five cities of Uzbekistan, Shapley decomposition explains 86.1% of RevPAR variation (83.4% out of sample). Resources contribute 48.2%, brand equity 34.2%, positioning 9.4%, signalling 5.4%, and governance 2.9%. Brand affiliation provides a larger premium when online reviews are scarce (15.3 versus 1.8 points), although the interaction is statistically insignificant. Performance remains persistent between 2022 and 2025 (r = 0.831), with 52.5% retaining their quartile and only 12% of performance gaps closing. Contract forms show no significant effects. The findings establish associations rather than causality.

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