Social Media Impact on Hospitality

This assignment examines the significant influence of social media on the hospitality industry. It analyzes how businesses like Pimgate Lodge Hotel utilize social media to connect with customers, understand their needs, build brand image, and gain a competitive edge in the market. The document delves into the benefits and limitations of social media marketing within the hospitality sector, highlighting its role in shaping modern customer experiences.

Small and Medium Hospitality
Enterprise

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................1
CASE STUDY ................................................................................................................................6
ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDY .....................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
OUTLINE OF THE NEW SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY..........................................................11
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................12
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Social media has create huge impact on hospitality industry. Through this process firm
can easily build their own value and importance toward customers. This process is basically used
to build relationship with customers in direct manner. Customers of a specific organisation are
engage with them through social media to analyse information about their new decision, trend
and various offers that they want to provide in market (Buhalis and Schertler, 2012). In this
internet marketing also provides specific contribution through advance technology to attain
different kind of opportunities easily. It is also help to provide various advantages as digital
payment, advance booking, different promotions and other specific informations that are needs to
provide in target market. For a small and medium scale business organisation it is very important
to build their values and importance inn target market through advance technology. In this
modern world each and every individual is totally updated through social media that helps to
connect them with new world. This project report is based on “Pimgate Lodge Hotel’’
Manchester which is located in UK. This report will representing their current social media
strategy and Develop a social media strategy for the organisation. Main part of this assignment is
covers through literature review and case study.
LITERATURE REVIEW
According to Boyd, 2014, social media can refer to the group of applications based on
internet which built on the technological and idealogical foundation Web 2.0. This allows to
exchange and creation of content generated by user. This permit the user a two way
communication platform enabling the brands to meet and accumulate the response of clients or
consumer. Social media deals an abundance of service on internet which is optimised for various
purposes and objectives. Social media is utilised by various business organisation in the recent
market scenario, that is increasing rapidly each and every day (Butcher, 2011). There are various
mediums on social media with high number of user and reach at worldwide. These mediums
have different types of users with different preferences and purposes. Here are the major
applications or websites of social media which is used most: Facebook: This is one of the most used and biggest networking site on social media with
great recognition and brand image. This was founded on February 4, 2004 that have been
successful to accumulate more than 1.59 billion active responder within the last 12 years.
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This is considered as one of the biggest medium which now owns Whatsapp, Instagram
and other website under their ownership. This is best suitable medium to reach consumer
using it as marketing tool. Twitter: Twitter is also one of the best and most used websites that allows to express
one's expression in creative manner within 140 characters. This contains more than 320
active users each months which is used for media marketing, promotion and
advertisements as well. It was founded in March 21, 2006. LinkedIn: This was established in 14, 2002 and launched in 2003, May 5 which is still
considered as one of the most professional networking sites. This function in more than
24 language which has more than 400 million registered users (Cocker, 2013). YouTube: The most popular and largest streaming video application or social media
website, YouTube, which was established on 2005, 14 February by 3 former worker of
PayPal. Later in 2006, Google bought this for 1.65 billion Dollars that now have being
accessed or used on each location of world with more than 1 billion users each day. This
is also considered as 2nd largest engine after Google. This is good medium of marketing
and promotion of business asset or function which is also used for the purpose of
branding management.
 Instagram: Trending social media website can support in reaching new and advance
audience. Hospitality industry whereas aims over traveller and curious people. This was
owned by Facebook in 2010 that has more than 800 million active user. This is majorly
used for marketing and promotional activities by business organisation and commercial
enterprises.
Social networking has vast scope in business organisation that used to build values for
them and customers also. Hotel industry needs to connect with their clients and tourist in direct
bases son for them social networking play a important role to build their values easily. Social
media is term that used to allow individual person who belongs to same interest to share specific
information on same platform. These kind of informations are commonly belong to user-
generated content that is very helpful for each and every individual. According to (Degago,
2014) social media is a platform that used to build values for each and every organisation to
enhance values in market and in front of customers to identify their values and recent trend that
they offer to them. In this process mobile industry and social networking sites provide effective
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services easily. Mobile industry has getting effective growth in new generation that requires to
attend appropriate information of each and every sector that belongs to services sector. Social
media platform is engage through mobile industry that provide particular information to them
through a specific devices. Social media is rise values of specific organisation through their
offers, its details and recent trends.
In other hand social media provide new opportunity from raising consumer interest and
sharing values. As per the words of (Egger and Buhalis, 2011) digital media is easily automotive
started consumers value and create specific platform that helps ton transmitted information to
each other. In this processes organisation can easily grab new values and opportunity that
provide effective sources to attain higher business advantages easily. When a organisation
connect with their customers they can easily understand their expectation and interested from
specific firm after this process they can provide specific services that helps to build higher
satisfaction in consumer's mind. Social media is builds a specific platform where consumers and
business organisation can easily sharing their own content and experience through pictures,
videos, feedback, ratings and other terms which can reach a substantial audience easily.
Social media and digital marketing also create specific image of influencer marketing. On
the bases of works of (Garay, 2012) they provide brief information on Influencer marketing they
how this is directly impacting on customers buying process and their nature. This an individual
expertise that involves marketing products and services that needs to sway over the things that
influence customers to purchase them. This is a promotional activity that used to build values of
organisation's new services and activities that requires to build a image in market through
effectiveness. In this term social media also play a most important role to engage with direct
customers to direct world. Influencer marketing is also a marketing tool that build values of
organisation and its services in front of customers. It used to build a specific image and goodwill
in front of each individual. It is batter tool then paper marketing because in new era each and
every person is totally updated with social networking as Facebook, twitter, you tube and others.
It provides clear information in broad range and also in clear form because bloggers and content
writer needs to make things clear on their official website that helps to attar more customers
toward their services easily. So it provides clear and specific information about new services
through their website.
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For small and medium scale hotel industry as “Pimgate Lodge Hotel’’ social media and
digital technology helps to provide a specific services easily. Through these a firm can easily
improve their services method after using various technologies. As per the words of (Grant,
2014) they have stated that internet also help to promote digital payment platform that enable to
reduce risk factor and getting effective income. It is most likely concept which is uses by various
firms and customers to improve payment methods and reduce extra timings as well. Through this
firm can build online services as payment, order and some other services that provide
effectiveness easily. In their process digital technology as well as mobile services contribute
their own services through different application and standard time facilities. In this process
advance technology also build negative approach because for this industries adopt new
equipment and advance features and it loose valuation of existing information and services as
well. Sometimes mobile phone raises are negatively impacts on human body so this is negatively
affect on environmental level of a economy. So organisation needs to build their values through
online marketing tool.
Social media is not only helps to build organisational value but also provide employment
services to individual person who want to build their career in same sector. According to (Jaafar,
2011) Digital technology helps to provide effective path to those who wants a career path to
build their future easily. These technologies garb step forward to attain higher business success
easily. Sometimes these can be calculated as risky factor that Strategy of firm provides ability to
reach the goal of business plan. These can be for new objectives, technological changes and
customers demand etc. A business is always starts with many risks of market and business such
as investors, stakeholders, manufacturing. But theses are make them strong to achieve success
with different strategy. So Pimgate Lodge Hotel can build opportunity through advance
technology and social networking sites to getting effective benefits easily. It is a kind of
beneficial thing that grab affective quality in hospitality industry to build their values and
goodwill in target market. This platform is very specific and not very expensive that helps others
to afford thinks easily. Through this organisation can build string connection with customers on
direct bases for a long term benefits.
According to Asad Sadi and Henderson (2011), social media and their marketing
strategies render the opportunities to involve with the consumer forming an interactive
communication level in the hospitality industry. Through using different mediums or means of
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social media, organisation can meet different types of consumer or service users. In the hotel
industry, there are distinct style of using the social media channels as the ideas should be creative
and meaningful in order to attract consumer. Though, there are various types of strategies, that a
business entity of hospitality industry can optimised such as: Community Building: When it comes to social media, an organisation can develop huge
audience through building community and targetting certain types of consumer. Through
this, the user of service can be attained or met in more effective manner. Content Strategy: Whether it be social media or traditional media advertising, the
hospitality sector majorly focus over more luxury and facilities showcasing in order to
attract consumer through photographs. Content are not bound to food or beauty of an
organisation but run far away to travel and tourism sector, ambiance of place etc.
Through effective marketing and promotion on different channels of social media such as
Facebook, Snapchat etc. Thus, through aiming to promoted content, one can thrive their
service user and other potential buyer conveniently. Consumer Engagement Strategy: Engagement of consumer is the most effective
technique which a consumer can use for their development and proper promotion.
Through using interactive medium of social media, online marketing campaign, launch
and other involvement activities, can help in meeting the public attention as well as
support new audience or clients to the organisation.
 Consumer Service Strategy: Through aspiring and suggesting clients various benefits
along with resolving the issues and problems related to the services and products, an
organisation can achieve their values and potential consumer in better way. Satisfied
consumer is the way of success.
According to Amidu, Effah and Abor (2011)., Social media has wide scope when it
comes to business sector and commercial industry as this render support to the business through
providing cheap medium of marketing as well as promotion. But including the various benefits
and advantages provided by the social media, this has some limitation that should be undertaken
while using this social media strategy. Social media misrepresent the activities and things
exaggerating their meaning. Though this have render two way communication and open the
minds, this can lead to miscommunication and lack of communication in real life decreasing
socialisation face-to-face. This can also increase the chances of theft, virtual online world,
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unrestricted have been observed that 20% of social media users has been victimised of illegal
activities in different manner. Hence, this lead to low reliability of clients or consumer along
with less credibility. There are various methods and techniques through which these limitations
can be reduced by an organisation (Lavia, 2014). As the social media has wide range of
consumer, in case of misinterpretation or miscommunication of any disseminated message or
information, the company may have to face huge loss in their clients or consumer and also can
lead to loss in their brand identify that can cause of crisis in the company. Hence, various issues
and conflicts need to be identified within certain time period in order to manage success through
using social media strategy.
CASE STUDY
In “Pimgate Lodge Hotel’’ Manchester thinks become change according to advance
technology. This is small scale hospitality industry who uses digital technology and social media
support to spread awareness in target market. Main strategy of this hotel is to build specific
relation with customers to engage with them for long term. This hotel industry did used
traditional technology to build awareness for customers but now they internet marketing such as
social media that helps them to build direct connection with customers easily. Social media is a
platform that helps for both organisation and customers to build direct connection easily. For
customers this is helps to provide specific information of organisation's policy, values, new
offers and attendant services (Rosli, 2011). For Pimgate Lodge Hotel, social media helps to
provides specific information about what their customers wants from them and their market
values a dwell that helps them to build new strategy that needs to be more specific and impactful
that should easily grab attention of customers toward their services and changes. Digital
technology and e-Tourism is not only helping to provides specific information but also help to
build new image in goodwill in market that provide higher competitive advantages easily. All
these things are based on hotel's past and present changes that can easily affect their future
objectives and goals as well.
ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDY
Adaption & Benefits of Social media by SME's- Pimgate lodge hotel
The effectiveness of adopting the use of social media by Pimgate Lodge hotel is evident
from the following importance:-
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 Today is the time of social networks and messaging platforms as people tend to spend
most of their time in surfing social media,thus making it essential for hotels to present
their brand online as well for the customer to have its knowledge. Utilizing this
opportunity pimgate lodge hotel make use of social media for increasing public
awareness by displaying hotel's location, rooms inside view,bookings and all the other
details that a customer might be curious to know.
 By making use of SEO , the hotel can be ahead of its competitors and thus can reach
larger audience more easily and beforehand its customers. Making presence on most
search engines through SEO will have a long lasting effect on the minds of your
customer (Salim and Sulaiman, 2011).
 Through online media promotion the hotel now keeps on updating all its coming
events,offers, promotions time to time which helps in not only retaining old clients but
also to attract new potential customers. In addition to this, pimgate lodge hotel also
making use of professional bloggers to publicize about hotel and its quality services and
food on social media sites like twitter as their views and content are perceived to be
authenticated by the customers.
 A satisfied customer is a happy customer ,working on this notion Pilgrimage Lodge hotel
provides a number of online options like online inquiry ,booking rooms , active customer
portal to report any problem faced by any client and getting immediate redressal from
hotel staff. It also provide a section for customer feedback comprising their stay
experience, quality of food and services provided, and any area they feel that hotel needs
to improve (Scott, 2015).
 Talking from expense point of you, the social media promotion proves to be cost
effective tool for the industry. Through these sites hotel reaches a wider audience in
comparatively much less expense as compared to those on other advertisement
campaigns and promotions. Adding to these benefits these sites helps provides offer like
getting paid by reaching specified no of likes, customers, leading to greater ROI besides
being a popular tool of mouth publicity by its followers and clients.
 Popular sites like snap chat,where people share their stories through images and videos,
Instagram etc. add on to the advantage by attracting those specific clients who believes
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in value of money and thus view or do a total background check before making booking
in any hotel.
 The use of digital payment sites like e wallet, we chat etc which allows guests to send and
receive money online any time at any place also add on to customers satisfaction leading
to customer delight .
Social media not only beneficial for hotels just from customer point of view but when it
comes to management functions like hiring proficient candidates having some specific
professional skills social apps like LinkedIn proves to be a very useful portal to get connected
with the best suitable candidate in less time and efforts.
Develop a social media strategy for the organisation
E-tourism can be characterized as design, examine, implement and application of
Information Technology (IT) and e-Commerce solutions in both hospitality as well as travel and
tourism sector. This can also be defines as analysis of respective economic and social processes
as well as market composition and customer relationship management. Whether it's Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram or YouTube (Seilov, 2015). Or any other social media platform, social media
strategy must be formulated and implemented for better marketing of products and services of
hotel groups.
Objectives- set out reasons for using social media : This is foremost important step
before starting or formulating about content i.e. first decide what is a purpose behind social
marketing or promoting about products and services of hotel group. Are a company looking for
enhancing sales of its group or want brand awareness throughout worldwide or wants to
maintains customer relationship.
Targeting- what type of customers wants to reach : In today's digital world, social
media platform is an important and easiest tool for targeting a large amount of peoples in a very
short duration of time in a very cost effective manner. Through this platform, each and every
category of peoples can be targeted in a very efficient an effective manner, irrespective of caste,
religion, age, sex, city, country, color and many more things (Sigala, 2012).
Resources- how much time, how many people and how much money : This is also
most important factor when it comes to build or formulate strategy which is followed by Pimgate
lodge hotel for marketing its products and services on social media platform. How much budget
is allocated for manage a social media channel on different platforms, who is the authority
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behind managing these social pages and how much time are spend by authorities on social media
pages or platforms.
Planning- how is being to execute : This step is being formulated with the help of
expertises because this is one of the most important field for any organisation to promote its
products and services. First step create content calender about organisation yearly functions or
activities.
Monitoring- what does success look like : This is also important step because after
monitoring what outcomes are come from social media platforms, an hotel group will be able to
knew reality about its products and services customers perspective, what are limitations in their
social media pages way of displaying and sharing information. After that Pimgate Lodge Hotel
group will solves and improve its limitations in a more better way (Singh and Padhy, 2015).
Non-profit social media strategy
There are some non profit strategy of social media are given below that help to build their
own image in market to getting higher benefit easily. All these strategy helps to build
organisation's value and goodwill in front of customers through their own services such as-
Create social media content – When a organisation build their own page on social
media then they needs to understand value of content that makes specific image of their
organisation's home page. Through this process they can easily attract lots of customers toward
different kind of offers and services that they want to provides to them . This is a specific thing
that build values of organisation's services and new offers they want to offer to customers. For
this content witter needs to show their skills to make website more attractive and write all thinks
about Pimgate Lodge Hotel, their offer and other attractive features that connect them directly
with customers (Smith, 2011).
Planing and strategy – This is a key element of each and every process that needs to
done through different kind of services. Some strategy of social media like increased emails and
sign ups, values of event participation, values of websites traffic and all. Through this process
hotel industry can easily build long term connection with their customers to getting effective
benefits easily. After this process management of organisation needs to evaluate their website
values and connection with customers to build effective strategy for future benefits.
Get organised – Things needs be in organised form and through social networking it is
essential requirement that a hotel organise their strategy in effective manner to getting higher
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benefits. After making effective strategy it is require to organise them in exact manner so them it
helps to provide desired outcomes easily. This process is started through exact date when
organisation start their process and after this recording and tracking activity take place.
Build terms and policies – This is a important key feature that used to build values of
organisation and their policy. It is require that customers understand values of organisation's
policy and its terms that can regulated to follow in exact manner. Through this process some
legal terms of organisation can be helping to create positive relation with customers. For this
organisation can easily provides training to their employees who helps to build some rules and
policy for firm that helps to enhance their values easily (Rosli, 2011).
Choose channel – It is all about how a firm choose their channels to implement policy
on different channels that provide effective values in market. In this process pay per clicking also
play a most importation role to provide information of one organisation's to another page.
Through this a firm can easily increase customers value and their effectiveness to visit their own
page and getting detailed information easily. All these internet channels build values of a specific
organisation through licensing that provide by principle website.
Verification and feedback – This strategy of firm helps to increase policy and services
of firm according to customers expectation from firm. In this organisation provides a specific
comment box in which customers and tourist can easily drop their thoughts and ideas that
helping to increase their values in front of target market. Through this organisation also build
strong competition for their rivalry.
Build visualisation – This is transmission process of organisation and customers that
build direct connection between each other to communicate in exact manner. It is helping them
to easily build visualization and trust in customers mind to provide them long term services.
Through this firms can easily build long term relation with customers easily (Salim and
Sulaiman, 2011).
CONCLUSION
Social media are computer based technology that provide the formation and sharing of
data,. Information, thoughts, idea and career interest and several other types of expression via
networks and virtual communities. Basically social media is an interactive services application
which is based on web 2.0 internet. Other side, Social media marketing the platform of social
media and websites in order to promote a product or services. Individuals assess their social
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media via web based tools such as laptops, desktop and computers. The social media marketing
is formally known as e- marketing or can be known as digital marketing too. The report is based
on Pimgate Lodge hotel which is a hospitality industry located in the UK. The hospitality sectors
is border then seems as they are are largest in service industry in involves event planning,
lodging, transportation and so on. Now a days this sectors is using social media though which
they are able to promote their product or hotel and able to creates awareness for their services
and capture larger numbers of people's mind. Social media helps in making more buyers through
advertisement on the other side hotel will be able to create interaction with their clients and have
feedback for their quality and other services.
OUTLINE OF THE NEW SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Social media plays crucial role specially in this high tech digital world. Nowadays, social
media platform is extremely essential and powerful tool for marketing of Pimgate Lodge Hotel
products and services to a extreme large population at a time in a more cost effective way. Once
a reason is cleared then strategy for objective behind creating a social media platforms if
formulated and implement. Second step what publishing processes is to be followed by Pimgate
Lodge Hotel and last but not the least what content is to be displayed on different channel and
last who's going to report.
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REFERENCES
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Amidu, M., Effah, J. and Abor, J., 2011. E-accounting practices among small and medium
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Asad Sadi, M. and Henderson, J. C., 2011. Franchising and small medium-sized enterprises
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Buhalis, D. and Schertler, W. eds., 2012. Information and communication technologies in
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Springer Science & Business Media.
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hospitality firms in Australia. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
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Cocker, F. and et. al., 2013. Psychological distress, related work attendance, and productivity
loss in small-to-medium enterprise owner/managers. International journal of
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Degago, E., 2014. A study on impact of psychological empowerment on employee performance
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medium sized enterprises (SMEs). International Journal of Information Management.
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Jaafar, M. and et. al., 2011. Entrepreneurship in the tourism industry: Issues in developing
countries. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 30(4). pp.827-835.
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Singh, M., Brueckner, M. and Padhy, P. K., 2015. Environmental management system ISO
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APPENDIX
Social media has create huge impact on hospitality industry. Through this process firm can
easily build their own value and importance toward customers. This process is basically used to
build relationship with customers in direct manner. In “Pimgate Lodge Hotel’’ Manchester
thinks become change according to advance technology. For Pimgate Lodge Hotel, social
media helps to provides specific information about what their customers wants from them and
their market values a dwell that helps them to build new strategy that needs to be more specific
and impactful that should easily grab attention of customers toward their services and changes.
Digital technology and e-Tourism is not only helping to provides specific information but also
help to build new image in goodwill in market that provide higher competitive advantages
easily. The social media marketing is formally known as e- marketing or can be known as
digital marketing too.
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