Investigating Social Media's Role in Crisis: UK Hospitality Sector

This research report investigates the role of social media as a digital technology for ensuring crisis management within the UK hospitality industry, focusing on a case study of Premier Inn during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study outlines the background of the research, aims, objectives, and rationale, followed by a literature review covering themes such as the role of social media during the pandemic and current practices employed by the hospitality industry. A qualitative research methodology was adopted, involving a survey of 30 top management members from Premier Inn. The report analyzes the challenges faced by Premier Inn in using social media for crisis management and concludes with recommendations for better strategies to manage crises during pandemics, highlighting the benefits and limitations of social media in such situations.

Research Project-role of social media as a
digital technology for ensuring crisis
management at the time of Covid-19 within UK
hospitality industry

ABSTARCT
The present research is based on the role of social media as digital technology in managing the
crisis within the hospitality industry in UK. The research has included the background of the
study, aims and objectives of the study with the rationale behind selecting the topic. Literature
review has also conducted regarding the themes that is based on the objective. Research
methodology has also been conducted in which qualitative method has been adopted with the
helps of conducting survey through questionnaire of 30 members of the top management from
the Premier Inn Hotel.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
......................................................................................................3
...........................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
Background of the study .............................................................................................................4
Background of the organization...................................................................................................4
Aims and objectives ....................................................................................................................4
Rationale......................................................................................................................................5
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................5
DATA ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................11
Reflection ......................................................................................................................................20
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................21
RECOMMENDATION.................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1
Appendix..........................................................................................................................................3

Topic: “To investigate the role of social media as a digital technology for ensuring crisis
management at the time of Covid-19 within UK Hospitality industry : A study on Premier Inn”
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
With the changes and advancement in the technology in the business
environment ,various companies have adopted new and advanced software in their system and
for the promotion of their products and services adopted various digital marketing methods such
as different social media platforms within the hospitality industry. On the other hand due to
emergence of Covid-19 companies suffered from various financial crisis due to lock down and
several restriction imposed by the government. During this situation the role of social media
increased and various practices were implemented by the company operating in Hospitality
industry in UK in order to manage the crisis. Furthermore, Premier Inn also faced various issues
while adopting the various social media technology in order to manage the financial crisis at the
time of Covid-19.
Background of the organization
Premier Inn is one of the British limited service hotel chain and is also UK's one of the
largest brand . The hotel has more than 72,000 rooms and also has expended it business in
various other countries of more than 800 hotels. The company is started its trading in 1987 with
the name Travel Inn and later renamed by Premier Inn.
Aims and objectives
The aim of this project is to investigate the role of social media as a digital technology for
ensuring crisis management at the time of Covid-19 within in Premier Inn.
Objectives
 To identify the role of social media during pandemic
 To assess the current practices of social media employed by hospitality industry to
manage the crisis.
 To investigate the challenges faced by Premier Inn while using social media as a digital
technology to manage the crisis at the time of Covid-19.

 To be able to recommend better strategies that helps to manage the crisis at the time of
pandemic
Research Questions
 What is the role of social media as a digital technology during pandemic?
 What are the current practices of social media employed by hospitality industry to
manage the crisis?
 What are the challenges faced by Premier Inn while using social media as a digital
technology to manage the crisis at the time of Covid-19?
Rationale
The rationale behind choosing this topic is to analyze the current situation that is existing
in the market and the impact of Covid-19 crisis on the economy of the country and especially in
the hospitality industry in UK. The purpose behind selecting this topic for the study that it will
also help in increasing the knowledge about which will help in achieving the future career goals.
It has been observed that hospitality industry was affected due to pandemic and various
challenges was faced by the industry. The advantage for conducting the study for the scholar is
to improve the research skills and helps in understanding different ways through which the crisis
can be managed.
The other reason behind conducting the analysis id to find out the role of social media in
managing the crisis faced by the company during the pandemic. This study can be beneficial for
the whole hospitality industry of UK to understand the benefit of the social media in order to
manage the crisis. Furthermore, Premier Inn can also execute various measures in order to
successfully manage the crisis and this study has also helped the scholar to collect reliable
information which makes the research more effective.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theme:1 Role of social media during pandemic
According to Tsoy, and et.al., (2021) in the time of Covid-19 various people discovered
the importance of social media in order to stay connected with the friends and family. Covid-19
hit the entire world especially the companies operating in hospitality industry. Lockdown and
several restrictions imposed by the government has resulted into loss and shut down of the
various business. On the other hand Wiederhold, (2020) the role of social media has increased
rapidly over the past decade. The creation of various social media platforms such as Facebook,

Instagram and Twitter has helped the users and companies to manage their business and
communicate with the help of various channels. Zhao, and Zhou, (2020) viewed that there has
been many limitations of the social media during the pandemic such as increase in the number of
cyber crimes and ransomware attacks which have resulted into loss suffered by the company. On
the contrary Radwan, Radwan, and Radwan, (2020)observed that with the helps of social media
organization started promoting their products on the social media platform and has also helped in
passing the information to the employees who were working in remote areas during pandemic. It
has also helped in providing the latest news updates. For the business it was great opportunity to
support the employees as well as customers. On the other hand Kaya, (2020)viewed that with the
helps of social media platform people was able to provide various solutions and regular updates
about the health. With the help of this various medical information was also conveyed to the
people. Social networking was considered as an effective medium of communication which has
helped in spreading awareness among the people regarding the infectious diseases.
As per Abbas, and et.al., (2021) it was observed that due to the pandemic there was
increase in the user on the social media platform as it has helped people to continue their
business and balance the losses suffered by the company. It has also been observed that
hospitality industry is one which is deeply affected and resulted in to shut down of various hotels
due to huge amount of loss and no income due to restriction and lock down all over the world.
On the contrary Sahni, and Sharma,(2020) observed that during this situation many hotels with
the support of social media marketing started promoting about the services offered by the
company with some addition to the services and offering discounts in order to attract large
number of customers. It has been observed that the role of social media was increased during the
time of Covid-19 it has helped people to expand their business and provide services to the
customer through online delivering the products. Apart from this the use of social media has
limitation such as increase in the crime rate such as cyber crime. Various company have made
various modifications and changes in its business model which has helped the business. to
balance their losses which they have suffered during the pandemic. It can be said that with the
increase in the technology it has helped the company to effectively implement and execute
various procedures and practices in order to effectively operate its business which can helpful not
only in short term but also in the long term.

Theme:2 Current practices of social media employed by hospitality industry to manage the
crisis
According to the Lai, and Wong (2020) of the social media is one of the leading tools for
improving the performances and allow the organization to deal with the various challenges faced
by hotel industry. At the time of the covid 19 the people avoid the services of the hotel or visiting
the places where other people are visiting in order to save themselves from being affected. In
context to that the social medias deliver huge support in increasing awareness about the brand
like the hotel is following all the precaution and safety measures of the covid 19 in order to
deliver the safe services and control the spread of the covid 19. Along with that the association
showcase all the precaution the hotel is following to attract the large numbers of customer
toward the services of the hotel in order to increase the profitability of the company. Apart from
that it deliver assistance in encouraging the customers for the booking and obtain better
experiences in the hotel. Even in the covid 19 situations the organization stay connected with the
potential customer of the hotel and develop better relationship with patrons. According to Park,
(2021) To mange the crises with the assistance of social media the organization or the hotel
determine the taste and preference of the consumer as after the pandemic they are changing. For
instance after pandemic the covid 19 the people are becoming health conscious and shifting
toward the healthy food or diet.
As per the views of .Yu,Seo, and Hyun, (2021). the social media is the biggest trend for
dealing with the crises in effective as well as efficient manner. Due to that the origination is able
to resolve the issues of the customer and provide better solution and information to the consumer
associated with the organization. Also, people consider the social media reviews before visiting
hotel. In order to that the association engaged in improving the ratting and values of the
company to attract the customer and boost the sales of the hotel. Nowadays the social media
worked as the pillar of the organization for delivering the values to the client or visitors. So it is
essential for the hotel to manage effective profile on internet. Due to that the company is able to
draw the attention of the customer toward the brand. The employees make the customer up to
date with information of the organization that includes discount, bonuses, offers the organization
is providing to the consumer.

Theme:3 Challenges faced by Premier Inn while using social media as a digital technology
to manage the crisis at the time of Covid-19.
According to the Breier, and et.al., (2021) the organization face many challenges while
using social media with the purposes of increasing the business. For instance, it is the
challenging process of posting the images and videos relevant to the hotel in order OT satisfy
large numbers of the customers in effective as well as efficient manner. The hotel can tear post
anything or in informal manner it is hard to deliver the professional and accentuate pictures or
content on the internet. As par Horng, and et.al.,( 2022) It delivers competitive advantages in
the marketplace. along with that for the five star hotel like Premium inn it is challenging for the
organization to defeat the competition as the competitors are continuously increasing in the
marketplace. Along with that it is challenging for the company to consider the taste and
preferences of each the customer as it is dynamic in nature. In context to that the association
determine the taste and preferences of majority of the people in order to satisfy them. Along
with that the organization need to refresh the page and update information on the regular bases
even in the busy schedule for attracting more customers. Along with for the organization it is
challenging for the organization to store the data or the personal information of the client. Due
to hat reason many of the visitor are hesitated in trusting the hotel and provide personal
information to the consumer. Because of that reason the company is unable to detect the choice
and perception of obtaining services by the customers.
As per the views of Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül, (2022) for the company it is the
challenging delivering effective content on the internet which change the perception of
acquiring services and develop the interest of the consumer in the organization. With the
utilization of social media the company is able to measure and track the performance of the
company in domestic as well as international marketplace. Sometimes the social media show
wrong predication on the internet which affect the brand name and image in the marketplace. It I
the challenging process for the organization to form the strategy and address the issues of each
and every customer of the organization and respond them on time. Along with that it is also
challenging for the organization to manage the presence of the company on the internet and
operate various travel and tourism sites together with the various social media platform. For that
the company need to keep looking for the changes which are required in the organization.

REARCH METHODLOGY
Research methodology refers to the specific procedure or techniques that is used to identify ,
select and process the information that is relevant to the topic. With the help of this it helps the
researcher to critically evaluate the reliability and validity of the study.
Research type:The research type is classified into two parts that is qualitative and quantitative .
In the current study, qualitative study has been adopted by the researcher in order to collect the
data(Gregory, and et.al., 2021). With the help of this method help to understand the various
theoretical approaches of the social media as digital technology.
Research approach: Research approaches refers to the plan and procedures that consist of series
of steps associated with broad assumptions to detail methods of the data collection. Furthermore,
research approaches is classified under two heads: inductive approach and deductive approach
that enable the scholar to collect appropriate data for conducting the study(Mohajan, 2018). For
the present study , scholar has adopted the inductive research approach that has helped in
contributing in making the qualitative approach more effective and also fulfill the requirements
of the study.
Research philosophy: It is considered as the basis of the research which includes the respective
strategy has to selected data collection and for analysis. The research philosophy also refers to
the belief about the way which the data of the research should be gathered and evaluated. The
are two types of philosophy i.e. interpretivism and positivism(Al-Ababneh, 2020). In the
present study interpretivism method is used for evaluating the qualitative data. Positivism on the
other hand is not applied as it is related to the quantitative data. Furthermore, interpretivism is
used for analyzing the role of Artificial intelligence in managing the crisis within the
hospitality industry and also helps in collecting the information in order to make the study more
effective.
Data collection: Data collection refers to the process of collecting, analyzing and measuring the
information related to the research in order to find the insight of the research and alos to
establish the systematic review which helps in finding the solution to the questions and analyzing
the outcome from the information gathered. There are two methods of data collection i.e.
primary and secondary methods(Säfsten, and Gustavsson, 2020). Primary data is information
that is gathered directly and not from any source by the scholar by conducting the survey such as

interview, questionnaire etc. While secondary data is collected form the sources that is already
established by the publisher. For the present study, both primary and secondary data is used by
the scholar by conducting the survey of 30 employees of top management of Premier Inn with
the help of questionnaire. Furthermore, secondary method is used for collecting the information
through online books, journals and articles etc.
Sampling: It refers to the process us using the statistical data for the predetermined the number
of observation form the chosen number. The sampling is further classified into two parts
probabilistic and non- probabilistic. For the present study scholar has used the simple random
sampling method under the probabilistic method(Campbell, and et.al., 2020). There are 30
employees that are selected from the top management in order to determine their views regarding
the topic for accomplishing the objective of the research.
Data analysis: Data analysis refers to the process of inspecting, modelling and cleansing the data
the help in discovering the useful information. It is also referred to the practice of working with
the data in order to evaluate the information gathered. In addition to this there are two methods
of analyzing the data such as thematic and SPSS(Tayebi Abolhasani, 2019). Furthermore, the
present study thematic data analysis technique that will enable the scholar to interpret the key
findings. Also the study includes the graphs, themes and charts that has helped the research to
present in effective manner.
Reliability and validity: It is considered as one of the most important aspect of the reaserch
methodology in order to identify the reliability of the information gathered. Furthermore in order
to improve the credibility the data has collected form the already published sources from the
websites. In addition to this various articles that is related to the contribution pf social media in
managing the crisis during the hospitality industry(Rose, and Johnson, 2020). In order to
maintain the validity and reliability of the study, scholar has used the data form the reliable
sources and also from the copyright website as they deliver relevant and reliable sources.
Research limitations: There are various limitations that is faced by the researchers such as time ,
money and unavailability of the proper resources are considered as key limitation in carrying out
the study. On the other hand this limitation cannot be avoided as they are beyond the control of
the scholar(Leatherdale, 2019). Due to the limitation of time and resources, only qualitative
method is used rather than the quantitative method as it consumes time while carrying the

research. Furthermore, in order to avoid the delay , scholar has adopted the thematic analysis for
the same.
Ethical consideration: It is also considered as important aspect while carrying out the research
and in order fulfill the ethical aspect of the study it is mandatory to fill the consent form with the
signature from the selected participants. By doing this it can be confirmed that the participants
willingly participated in the survey conducted(Ngozwana, 2018). Furthermore, while carrying
out the research, scholar has complied with all the provisions related to data protection act for
ensuring that the information of the participants is protected. On the other hand while carrying
out the study it should be ensured that the respondents have participated willingly. Throughout
the study principles of values and integrity is strictly complied in order to successfully carry out
the study.
DATA ANALYSIS
Questionnaires
Theme: awareness about the social media as digital technology
Particular respondents %
Yes 15 50%
No 11 37%
Don't know 4 13%
Total 30 100%

Interpretation: From the above graph it can be analyses that majority of the people are aware
about the social media as a digital technology as in the present era and with the advancement
in the technology has helped the organization to adopt various technology in their
management that can be helpful the company to manage the crisis during the time of Covid -
19. From the findings it can be interpreted that majority was of the employees of the
company is aware about the social media which can be helpful in managing the issues
associated within the hospitality industry in UK. Out of 30 respondents selected for the
survey it was analyzed that 15 employees are aware about the social media and its
application in the management of the crisis and on the other hand 4 employees are not aware
about the same.
Theme:2 working experience of the employs in Premier Inn