An exploratory study of decision makers for choosing wedding banquet venues: push and pull motivations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify push and pull factors that motivate decision makers to choose wedding banquet venues, and to explore the relationships between the motivational factors and demographic information. Design/methodology/approach – The initial questionnaire was pre-tested involving a sample of six graduate students in a hospitality management program of a major university in the Midwestern USA. The wordings were changed based on their feedback. The final survey was consisted of three sections: push motivations, pull motivations, and demographic information. In the first section, 13 push motivation statements were employed to investigate decision makers' reasons for selecting a wedding banquet venue. Findings – The four push factors identified included “seeking relaxation and knowledge,” “fulfilling prestige,” “escaping from daily routine,” and “social networking.” The six pull factors were composed of “budget,” “atmosphere,” “facilities,” “wedding services,” “transportation,” and “service and quality.” Originality/value – The study helps event industry practitioners understand consumers’ motivations of choosing wedding venues and predict consumers’ behavior. It further suggests marketing strategies to effectively communicate with existing and potential consumers.