In hospitality, customer experience is largely created in frontline encounters, making employee behaviour a key channel linking organizational strategy to customer outcomes. However, hospitality research lacks multi-source, hotel-level evidence clarifying the mechanism through which internal branding translates into customer experience. Drawing on internal branding, the service–profit chain, and social identity perspectives, this study examines how Internal Branding Practices (IBP) influence Perceived Service Quality (PSQ) and Customer Loyalty (CL), and whether Employee Brand Behaviour (EBB) mediates these relationships. Using a multi-source, matched hotel-level design, data were collected from 240 frontline employees and 480 customers across 12 hotels. PLS-SEM was used given the model’s predictive orientation and mediation pathways. The findings indicate that IBP are positively associated with PSQ and CL and that EBB explains these effects through significant indirect pathways, highlighting employees’ brand-consistent enactment as a key mechanism. This study positions internal branding as a strategic HR–marketing interface and offers actionable insights for hospitality organizations seeking more consistent and authentic customer experiences
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