SHA546: Digital Media's Importance in Marketing the Hospitality Brand

This assignment analyzes the role of digital media in marketing, specifically within the context of the hospitality industry. The student conducted research on hotel booking websites, documenting the search terms used, the order in which hotels appeared in search results, and the key information presented on landing pages. The assignment examines the booking process, including the number of clicks required to start a reservation and the availability of special offers or packages. The student explores various websites, including search engines and online travel agents, to understand the customer journey and the impact of digital marketing strategies on the booking experience. The analysis highlights the importance of brand promise, website content, and the use of offers in attracting and converting customers. This assignment provides valuable insights into how hotels utilize digital media to enhance their marketing efforts and improve customer engagement.

Running head: IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL MEDIA IN MARKETING
IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL MEDIA IN MARKETING
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL MEDIA IN MARKETING
Q1. What websites did you use for your trip planning?
Many websites were being searched for the planning of the trip. Search engines like that
of Google were being used to find staying options in more specific places. Online agents of
traveling like the Expedia, bookings.com, Priceline were being used. A site named Trip Advisor
was also being used to see the ratings of the lodgings (Mohammad Arif and Du 2019).
Kayak.com, booking.com, FerryHopper are some of the other websites, which were being used
for the planning of the trip.
2. What search terms did you use to locate potential hotels?
To locate the potential hotels, specific words in connection to the brand name and
promise were being used. For example, for the hotel Ritz-Carlton, terms that were being used in
the search were ‘luxury’ as it claims to give the luxury experience to its customers. Other terms
like that of “Santorini hotel with a pool,” “Hotel in Boston for roof deck,” and “ romantic hotels
in Boston” were being searched. Along with this, “the best hotel for families” was also being
used for searching potential hotels.
3. What hotel and other listings appeared first in the search results?
The hotels with a higher number of ratings and views appeared first in the search engines.
The hotels which have a variety of content all over the website were also among the first few
hotels that were being seen in the search results. However, steady maintenance of the
descriptions and images that are being given to the traveling agents along with the representation
of the promise of the brand must be ensured by the hotels to appear first in the search engines
(Zia and Rao 2019). On the other hand, the reviews that are being given by the guest and are in
co-relation with the brand promise also seem to appear first in the search results.

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4. What key information did you see on the landing pages of the hotel sites you visited?
The landing pages of the hotel were not very complicating. It was focused on the brand
promise, which made the customer engaging in their website instead of causing too many
distractions. There was a specific option of booking noted on the page, after which only four
clicks were required for booking the hotel. Dates, in which the hotel rooms are required, the
number of rooms required and the type of rooms needed to be selected after which the booking
was completed.
Offers in connection to the hotel also appeared on this landing page of the hotels like the
other hotels with the correct landing page (Wang, Chaudhry and Pazgal 2019). Various discounts
like the discount offer were being provided when queries were being asked. Offers like
providing unlimited free breakfast, were also included. New offers were also there for the
weekend plans but in such a case, the price of the booking is higher. New offers are seen when
the website is being opened later again as the hotel authorities intend to include many offers as
per the wants of the customers to attract him and convince them for booking.
5. Could you start to book a reservation on the landing pages? If not, how many clicks
would it take until you could start to book?
No, the reservation was not possible to be completed from the landing pages. The landing
pages of the hotel gave the idea and importance of the hotel and showed the experiences that the
hotel would be providing to the customers. It took around four more clicks to start to book the
hotel. One-click was needed to open the booking option; another three clicks were being needed
for selecting the dates in which booking is required, for selecting the number of rooms and for
selecting the type of room after which the final booking gets confirmed.

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6. Were there any special offers or packages pushed to you when you make a query?
Yes, special offers were being provided when the query was being pushed. Offers like
discount in the total expense and free unlimited breakfast was accessible. It enabled me to get
confirmed with my decision and choose the hotel with the offer

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References
Mohammad Arif, A.S. and Du, J.T., 2019. Understanding collaborative tourism information
searching to support online travel planning. Online Information Review, 43(3), pp.369-386.
Wang, Y., Chaudhry, A. and Pazgal, A., 2019. Do Online Reviews Improve Product Quality?
Evidence from Hotel Reviews on Travel Sites. Evidence from Hotel Reviews on Travel Sites.
(January 22, 2019).
Zia, M. and Rao, R.C., 2019. Search advertising: Budget allocation across search
engines. Marketing Science.