Analyzing Social Media's Influence on the Hotel and Tourism Industry

This report examines the significant impact of social media on the hotel and tourism industry. It begins with an introduction highlighting the changes brought about by the internet of things (IoT) and the definition of social media, followed by a literature review exploring social media strategies, factors affecting social media, and customer brand perception. The methodology chapter outlines the research design, philosophy, and data collection methods. The findings chapter presents descriptive and inferential statistics, including correlations and regression analyses. The investigation and discussion chapter analyzes the study's findings, discussing the impact of social media on customer brand perception and tourism. The conclusion summarizes the study, discusses limitations, future scope, and recommendations for leveraging social media to improve hotel operations and increase tourism. The report also includes an executive summary, table of contents, and a comprehensive reference list.

Running head: HOTEL INDUSTRY
HOTEL INDUSTRY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The hotel industry has been changing considerably and in line with this, it can be rightfully
comprehended that the hotel industry is greatly affected by the different aspects like social media
and the perception of the different customers. With reverence to this, the given paper focused on
the general mode in which the social media has an impact on the general success of the
hospitality industry. With regard to this, the paper was divided into six chapters whereby the
Introduction threw light on the topic which was then followed by the discussion of the theoretical
concepts and related discussion on the key topics. In line with this the findings chapter
represented the results of the SPSS and this was then followed by the investigation of the way in
which the social media can be utilized as a tool to improve the operations of the hotel industry.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................6
Overview......................................................................................................................................6
Background of the study..............................................................................................................6
Key trends....................................................................................................................................8
Problem statement.......................................................................................................................9
Research aim..............................................................................................................................10
Hypothesis.................................................................................................................................10
Research rationale......................................................................................................................11
Structure of the paper.................................................................................................................11
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................14
Social media...............................................................................................................................14
An appropriate social media strategy for a hotel.......................................................................15
Factors affecting the social media of the hotels.........................................................................19
Customer Brand Perception.......................................................................................................21
Factors affecting the Customer Perception of Brands...............................................................21
Comprehending what Accounts for Success in Tourism...........................................................23
Factors Contributing to Tourism Success..................................................................................24
Gaps in the Literature Review...................................................................................................26
Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................28

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Overview....................................................................................................................................28
Outline of the Research.............................................................................................................28
Research Onion Framework......................................................................................................28
Research Philosophy..................................................................................................................29
Research Approach....................................................................................................................30
Research Strategy......................................................................................................................30
Research choice.........................................................................................................................31
Time Horizon.............................................................................................................................31
Systems, Procedures and Research Instruments........................................................................32
Data sources...............................................................................................................................33
Research Sampling....................................................................................................................33
Research ethics..........................................................................................................................34
Research Limitations.................................................................................................................34
Research Reliability and Validity..............................................................................................35
Research Budget........................................................................................................................35
Summary....................................................................................................................................36
Chapter 4: Findings........................................................................................................................37
Overview....................................................................................................................................37
Descriptive investigation...........................................................................................................37
Demographic and general perception........................................................................................37

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Inferential statistics....................................................................................................................46
Correlation.................................................................................................................................47
Regression..................................................................................................................................51
Hypothesis testing......................................................................................................................57
Summary....................................................................................................................................58
Chapter 5: Investigation and Discussion.......................................................................................59
Overview....................................................................................................................................59
Findings of the study.................................................................................................................59
Discussion..................................................................................................................................61
Impact of Social Media on Customer Brand Perception...........................................................61
Impact of Social Media on Tourism..........................................................................................63
Chapter 6: Conclusion...................................................................................................................65
Overview....................................................................................................................................65
Limitations.................................................................................................................................66
Future scope...............................................................................................................................66
Recommendations......................................................................................................................67
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................67
Ways by which Social Media can be used to Change Customer Brand Perception..................67
Ways by which Social Media can be used to increase Footfall in the Tourism Industry..........69
References......................................................................................................................................71

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Chapter 1: Introduction
Overview
The social media has created a huge effect on the operations of the tourism industry.
When the different consumers engage with the firm via the social networking sites in order to
research the trips, to make informed decisions about the travel and to engage in decisions
regarding the travel and to make a personal experience revelation about hotel or an airline, the
consumers expect that their response would be rightfully comprehended by the different firms
(Alarcó-del-Amo, Lorenzo-Romero & Gómez-Borja, 2011). The social media has had a wide
reaching effect on the operations of the industry and has a reach out of 50 million unique
monthly visitors who often seek out to engage in travel information and take in considerate
advice from the various sources which the trust to a great extent. The medium of the user
generated content is often viewed as one the most critical ways in which the firm reaches out the
audiences and attracts the right number of customers for the general operations. As there are
general 200 million reviews which have been posted on social networking sites till data and more
than 800 million active users on Facebook, posting of the updates and sharing images and other
content can be taken to be dominating the industry. Hence, the first chapter of the study will
outline the general research aims and throw light on the background of the paper. The structure
which will be adopted for the dissertation will also be provided.
Background of the study
The social media can be viewed as an integral tool which is generally made use of for the
investigation of the attitudes of the tourists and this can be comprehended to be confirmed by the
increase in the number of purchases and the general recommendations which are provided to the

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users as present. It is integral to build a successful a successful service based brand in the field
of tourism which assists in ensuring that a unique value proposition can be provided to the
different users. The tourists are required to see to it that, they are being able to reduce the
uncertainty and create value expectations of the place being visited by them. As the tourist can
be comprehended to have not visited the place earlier, it is important to certify that, they are able
to gain the right information regarding the right kind of decision which has to be adopted
(Alarcó-del-Amo, Lorenzo-Romero & Gómez-Borja, 2011). The modern tourists these days
tend to rely on the other traveler opinion and in relation to this, the medium of social media is
taken more seriously as compared o the commercial marketing activities which are present.
Moreover, as the medium of social media is inexpensive and is expressive, it has become easier
for the consumers to increase their influence on fellow consumers. The bias free aspect of the
social media makes it further easier to make use of.
The primary six types of social media platforms which are essentially available to the
different users and the marketers can be identified as the Facebook and LinkedIn. Along with
this, there are various blogs, content community platforms like the YouTube, Flickr, Slide share
and Delicious which are available. Along with this, there exist collaborative projects like
Wikipedia and Wikitravel and social worlds like Second life which help the consumers in
making their general view considerably popular (Mabry and Porter, 2010). Additionally, there
are various micro blogs like Twitter and the consumer and rating websites like the Trip advisor
which can be made use of by the users in order to make the corrective judgment about the choice
of the tourist destination.
The social media essentially requires making use of various marketing activities and
integration medium which engages in making use of persuasive advertising so that the marketers

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are able to gain an comprehending of this platform for the purpose of communication and also a
medium through which the customer association can be provided in the best system.
The social media as a tool is not only useful or the different users of the medium who are
the various tourists, but can also act as a useful medium for the different tourism firms which
assists in ensuring that they are being efficaciously being able to analyze the performance of
their social media advertisements and related initiatives. According to Alarcó-del-Amo,
Lorenzo-Romero & Gómez-Borja (2011), the digital technologies have contributed to the
fundamental changes which can be made in the tourism industry and have highlighted a better
comprehending of the decision making procedures as followed by the tourists, travels and their
pre and post vacation behaviors which can help in the comprehending of how the different
travelers prefer to carry out their general tourist operations. In addition to this, it assists in
conducting relevant studies which can be the basis of the decision making procedure.
Various studies and general research tasks have been conducted in the past which have
contributed towards the comprehending that the different consumers are largely influenced by
the use of social media and related postings. The Facebook, YouTube, vimeo and Pinterest are
one of the most common social media mediums which are made use of by the users and during
the vacation, the Google Maps serves as a useful medium to certify that the local weather and
restaurant related details can be found easily.
Key trends
The key trends which can be comprehended to be useful for the long run of the social media
marketing and its association to the domain of Tourism can be highlighted as follows:

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 The different social media channels are being made use of as communication channels.
The communications can be comprehended to be an effective part of the general
operations of the firm and with regards to this, these can be made use of in order to
communicate effectively with the customers and solve their general queries.
 The content management strategy has a key role to play in deciding whether the different
tourists can be attracted to the different firms or not. In line with this, it is essentially
critical to gain an comprehending that, good content attracts the customers on its own
(Constantinides and Fountain 2008).
 The search marketing technique is also very useful and assists in comprehending that, the
most relevant search queries which are present on the side of the tourists. The like and
follow buttons are very useful which will certify that the firm is being able to reach out to
a maximum number of people (Mabry and Porter 2010).
Problem statement
Hence, the primary problem which the study aims to answer can be comprehended to be
the general impact of the social media on the tourism industry. The stud seeks to throw light on
the use of social media form the side of the consumers as well as the different businesses.
According to Constantinides and Fountain (2008), social media has come as a boon to the
industry as it assess in helping the different businesses to gain an comprehending of the system
in which the operations need to be carried out online. In line with this, the study also seeks to
focus on the system in which the users can make use of the social media in comprehending how
the ways in which the peer reviews will impact the purchase of the tourism packages and will
also have an influence on the decisions taken regarding the tourist place.

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Research aim
The research aim which has been outline for the purpose of the study can be rightfully
comprehended to be to find the impact of the social media on the tourism and travel industry.
The research will analyze the system in which the social media has made it easy for the
businesses to track the performance of their social media and other initiatives and also assist the
different customers to analyze the system in which the peer posts can be judged and a decision
can be made regarding the choice of the tourist destinations. Moreover, an investigation of the
different trends in the industry will also be made.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis which has been set out for the purpose of the study can be taken to be as follows:
Independent variable: Social media
Dependent variable 1: Operations of the tourism and travel industry
Dependent variable 2: Customer brand perception
Hypothesis 1
H1 (Alternate Hypotheses): The social media has a profound impact on the operations of the
Tourism and travel industry.
H0 (Null Hypothesis): The social media does not have a profound impact on the operations of the
Tourism and travel industry.
Hypothesis 2

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H1 (Alternate Hypotheses): The social media has a profound impact on the operations of the
customer brand perception.
H0 (Null Hypothesis): The social media does not have a profound impact on the operations of the
customer brand perception
Research rationale
The reason why the research is being conducted is because, the social media advertising
as well as the usage has advanced to a great extent and hence, in relation to this, it can be
considered to be essentially important for the different businesses in the domain of the travel and
tourism industry to gain an comprehending of the fact that the social media has become
considerably important. This will also assist in determining the system in which a business will
efficaciously be able to make use of the advancements and related trends in order to certify that it
is efficaciously being able to engage in these activities to improve and grow the general
operations of the business.
Structure of the paper
The structure which will be followed by the paper in undertaking the study can be
described to be as follows:
Chapter 1: The first chapter will be the Introduction chapter whereby the background to the
paper will be provided. This background will assist in determining the trends of the industry and
the system in which the social media is being used by both the customers as well as the firms in
order to fulfill individual objectives.
Chapter 2: The second chapter will be the Review of Literature chapter which will focus on the
various theoretical concepts related to the same topic. In line with the gap in the current literature