Digital Media Trends and Its Effect on Hotel Industry: Literature Review

This literature review discusses the growing presence of digital media in the hospitality industry and the necessity of incorporating it into marketing strategies. It also explores the effects of digital media on customer behavior and the importance of quality web content and mobile applications.

Student Name
INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION(S)
DIGITAL MARKETING
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Pacific International Hotel
Management School
Delivery & Assessment Schedule:
Communication 5 Lecturer – Dr Jan Lockett-Kay
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Digital media trends and its effect on hotel industry
Literature Review
The growing presence of internet in people’s everyday life have made digital media
an essential tool in marketing strategies of businesses. For gaining competitive edge and to
meet demands in hospitality industry, it has become very significant for hotel managers own
a self-organised website to make promotions along with direct interactions and using emails
as a channel for communication with customers and business partners. It also provides useful
information regarding potential clients under one platform and during any time of the day and
any place in the world. Nevertheless, Yasmin, Tasneem & Fatema says that this can be made
possible only if potential and innovative digital means and new technologies are implemented
in business processes. Therefore, it can be said that hotel industry must remain aware about
necessity of applying digital media with their marketing mix strategies to gain utmost out of
it.
According to Verma and Verma (2018), the 21st century is facing massive internet-
based messages that are transmitted through digital medias. Furthermore, these media have
become one of the major factors that effects customers’ behaviour related to product
awareness and post-purchase behaviour. According to the authors, the marketing trends have
changed severely and instead of communicating with regular customers, hoteliers nowadays
communicate with distant and new customers using digital medias. In fact, many customers
seek digital medias to communicate with corporations directly to avail their services and to
get desired information regarding products and services. Unfortunately, very little guidance is
offered to the marketing managers of small and medium sized hotel companies to incorporate

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these medias with marketing communication strategy for which they often lose their
competitive edge.
The positive or negative comments made through online ratings and reviews also have
significant effect on engaging potential customers and their purchase pattern. This furthers
help marketing managers determine their customer demographics and the intentions for
making such reviews. The fear of social media is also prominent in hospitality sector majorly
because it can determine employee’s productivity and have potential to damage reputation of
the company. Leite & Azevedo (2017) says that while digital media have positive effect on
businesses while making communication and branding in their marketing processes, it also
works against it if applied inappropriately. Therefore, digital media marketing must be
developed to provide hotel managers with deeper understanding of certain parameters and
their implications. Along with it, authors also suggest that to get a succinct knowledge of
digital media marketing, it must be explored and discovered first to find out whether digital
media tools can provide company with effective marketing and branding functions or not.
Based upon research made by Schuckert, Liu & law (2015), it can be said that despite
many constraints impede use of e-marketing and digital media in hotel industry, its increasing
trend and positive effects also makes necessary to implement digital marketing in hotel
companies. In literature, authors and researchers recommends that quality of web contents
and consistent updating of contents along with utilising mobile application sensibly can foster
organisation’s relationship with customers as well as suppliers. Although financial
suppositions may obstruct full implementation of digital marketing in hotel’s, it has become
significant to raise awareness about advantages of digital media and benefits that can be
reaped after investing in e-marketing within hospitality industries.

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References
Leite, R. A., & Azevedo, A. (2017). The Role of Digital Marketing: A perspective from Porto
Hotels’ Managers. International Journal of Marketing, Communication and New
Media, 02, 88-105.
Schuckert, M., Liu, X., & Law, R. (2015). Hospitality and Tourism Online Reviews: Recent
Trends and Future Directions. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 32, 605-621.
Verma, M., & Verma, K. (2018). Social Media a Promotional Tool: Hotel Industry. Journal
of Advances in Humanities, 05(01), 221-223.
Yasmin, A., Tasneem, S., & Fatema, K. (2015). Effectiveness of Digital Marketing in the
Challenging Age: An Empirical Study. International Journal of Management Science
and Business Administration, 01(05), 69-80.