Background on Consumer Behaviors and Consumer Decision-Making Process The hospitality industry is one of the leading economical sectors of the world. This can be attributed to the fact that this industry has a viable environment for career building and development of individuals, women included. The estimated value of the hospitality industry is $4 trillion in the world distributed to over fifteen different sectors that include hotels, tours and travel, bars and restaurants, casinos and cruise ships (Raymond, 2009). This accounts for around 10.7% of the worlds GDP. The industry has also created employment opportunities to around 225 million people in the world. As a result of the viability of this industry, several scholars have undertaken massive research in this sector. Notably, quite a good number of these scholars have focused on the consumer decision-making process as a key topic of research. In their studies, they have tried to explain the factors that influence the decision making process of a consumer while he/she is trying to gain maximum satisfaction from the industry. To gain relevant information with regards to this topic, several consumer decision-making models have been used in these studies. These models have not only ensured that the results from these studies are valid but they have also acted as guidelines to these studies. The focus on the process of decision-making in consumers has gained a lot of recognition in several studies that have been carried out in the recent past. Most studies in the field of consumer science have undertaken research in either consumer behavior or consumer decision-making process (Erasmus et al, 2001). Consumer decision-making has been defined as a set of pattern in behavior exhibited by individual consumers just before they make a decision to acquire either goods or services that would satisfy their own wants and needs (Du Plessis et al, 1991). Early economists developed theories that were used to determine how consumers made decisions and the factors that would influence these decisions. Through their evolution, these theories developed to what we currently refer as consumer decision-making models. These models are currently being used by researchers to specify the variables that are interrelated in decision-making process of an individual. Models are also defined as systematic flow charts used to interpret behavioral processes of an economic agent when making decisions (Du Plessis et al, 1991). Consumer behavior in the hotel and hospitality industry mainly focuses on behaviors exhibited by their consumers. Due to the diversity of this industry, the nature and characteristics of consumers are varied. The tastes and preferences of a consumer who is visiting a restaurant is completely different from that of another consumer who wants to enjoy his/her vacation in a tourist resort. Models have been used by marketers in this industry to provide an easier method of understanding different consumer needs and the factors that influence their decision-making process. These models have also been used by researchers in coming up with various theories in hospitality management. Through use of consumer decision-making models, hotel managers have been able