Social Media Marketing For The Hotel Industry

Honors Thesis

Social Media Marketing in the Hotel Industry

By: Emily Wilson

Faculty Advisor: Udo Schlentrich

Spring 2010

Table of Contents

Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Key Words .............................................................................................................................................. 3
Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 4
Literature Review ................................................................................................................................ 5
Method ...................................................................................................................................................15
Results....................................................................................................................................................18
Discussion & Conclusion..................................................................................................................33
Limitations ...........................................................................................................................................35
Index of Tables & Exhibits...............................................................................................................36
Appendix A. Internet search Twitter Data.................................................................................37
Appendix B. Survey Responses......................................................................................................39
Works Cited..........................................................................................................................................50

1
Abstract

Social media marketing is a relatively new term for hotel companies. There is very little
quality research available specifically to hotel companies to assist them in their social
media marketing campaign. Much of the industry published material lacks hard data and
just touches the surface of the real issues. After conducting an extensive literature search
on social media in general, an Internet search was conducted on ten luxury brand hotel
companies to evaluate their current use of Facebook and Twitter. Next, a survey was
conducted to get an overall feel for what companies find important for their social media
campaigns. Through the research, it was found that all companies have some presence on
one or more social media networks, and that there is no industry wide standard for
conducting a marketing campaign through these networking sites. The results show that
more academic research is needed to see whether or not using social media for marketing
is a worthwhile investment for hotel companies.
2

Key Words

Social Networking -‐ the use of a website to connect with people who share personal or
professional interests, place of origin, education at a particular school, etc.
Social Media -‐ the type of media that is based on conversation and interaction between
people online; where media means digital words, sounds & pictures, which are typically
shared via the Internet and the value can be cultural, societal or even financial.
Facebook – a social networking website designed so users can create and customize their
own profiles with photos, videos, and information about themselves. Friends can browse
each other’s profiles and write comments to each other.
Twitter – a social networking website where users post status updates up to 140
characters long that can be shared with their followers.
Tweet – a post or a status update on Twitter.
Retweet – when one Twitter user reposts someone else’s tweet.
TripAdvisor – a free travel guide and research website that assists customers in making
travel decisions by allowing other users to blog about their experiences.

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Introduction

Facebook
Facebook is a free social networking website that allows people to communicate and
share information with their friends, family, coworkers, and strangers. Mark Zuckerberg,
together with a few of his Harvard classmates, founded Facebook in 2004. The company
currently employs over 1200 people and there are over 400 million active users of the site.
According to Facebook’s factsheet, the average user spends more than 55 minutes per day
on the website. More than 20 million people become fans of pages every single day,
creating a huge marketing opportunity for businesses. Also, more than 100 million active
users are accessing Facebook from their mobile devices on a regular basis. Facebook is
available to users in over 70 different languages (Corbett, 2010).
Hotel companies use Facebook heavily in their social media marketing campaigns.
Facebook pages and groups are used to create a two-‐way conversation between the
company and their guests. Hotels have embraced this social networking platform as a way
to promote specials, post pictures, and develop stronger relationships with their guests.
The guest experience no longer ends at checkout; people continue to give feedback on their
hotel stays when they arrive home. This avenue of customer engagement marketing is
relatively new, not just to the hotel industry, but in business overall. Some companies have
capitalized on the opportunities Facebook offers, while others are still just trying to keep
their heads above water in the vast world of social media marketing.
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Twitter
Twitter is a social networking platform where people or businesses post short
status updates of 140 characters or less. It is, again, a free service (for now), and acts much
like a microblog that allows users to send and read other users’ updates, which are known
as tweets. It is a way for businesses to relay quick bits of information to their customers in
a timely manner. Twitter users have grown exponentially just in the past year alone.
According to Twitter, about 50 million tweets are sent each day, which means total tweets
sent since January 2009 has gone up 1,400%. Currently, Twitter is ranked as the number
12 website both in the world and in the United States. This exponential growth is only
expected to continue through 2010 and beyond, especially with the use of mobile device
applications that allow people to tweet on the move (Wilhelm, 2010).
Hotel companies are using Twitter in a similar way as they are using Facebook – to
create a two-‐way dialogue with their guests. Hotels can tweet about news and events. They
are able to respond to guest praise and complaints in a very timely manner. The best use of
Twitter for hotels may be to promote last minute deals on rooms and restaurant offerings
to people who are already in the area. This helps with that extra push when the week’s
occupancy may be distressed.
Literature Review

Very little academic research has been conducted in the area of social media
marketing in businesses, let alone specifically in the hotel industry. Studies are more
prevalent on Internet use by teens and children than how social media platforms are being
utilized by businesses to market their products and services, or even to gain additional
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revenue. The use of social media for marketing purposes is relatively new. Facebook has
only been around for six years and has been used by businesses for an even shorter period
of time. Twitter just started to gain momentum in January of 2009. Individuals are trying to
figure out the lingo and logistics themselves before the technology can be applied to a
company-‐wide policy. There are many individual agencies that try to track usage of these
social media sites, but there is just too much data developing at too high a rate for anyone
to really understand the full picture.
Industry professionals, consultants, and bloggers have written hundreds of industry
articles and blurbs about the effects and best practices of social media in both general
business and specifically the lodging industry. One could spend hours sorting through these
articles that have little data to back them up. A gap is seen in real, academic research being
done on social media use by hotel companies. Some studies exist that have explored other
aspects of online marketing and e-‐commerce, but they do not specifically pertain to social
media networks.
Peter O’Connor at Cornell University published a study in February of 2008 called
“E-‐Mail Marketing by International Hotel Chains.” The aim of the study was to see if
international hotel chains adhered to the CAN-‐SPAM Act of 2003 regarding use of e-‐mail for
commercial marketing. The overall findings showed that hotel companies were highly
ethical in using consumers’ personal data, and the industry may even serve as an example
of best practice for other businesses. At the time of the study, social media networks were
in their infancy and e-‐mail was the best online marketing tool. E-‐mail was, and still is, used
to notify guests of promotions, as well as develop and continue ongoing dialogue with
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consumers, many of the same objectives that are being accomplished now through social
media (O’Connor, 2009)
O’Connor entered false but functioning personal data on the top fifty worldwide
hotel brands, as identified in the July 2003 issue of Hotels magazine. Over a period of a
year, he received 397 e-‐mails, of which 92 percent originated from the companies that
were part of the study and not from third parties. His research shows that hotels tend not
to sell personal data to third parties. Also, 84 percent of the e-‐mails received were
promotional in nature, similar to the nature of Facebook posts and Twitter tweets
(O’Connor, 2009)
While O’Connor’s research is mainly about the legal issue of sharing electronic
personal data, his findings on e-‐mail use by international hotel companies before 2008
closely mirrors how hotel companies are now using social media networks.
While the main goal of any hotel marketing campaign is to bring in more guests and
therefore more revenue, very little data is available on whether the relationships created
through social media networks actually lead to an increased bottom line for the company. A
study published by the Department of Computer Science at the University of California at
Santa Barbara attempted to evaluate the impact of social connections on business
transactions. While this study is not specifically related to the hospitality industry, it does
shed light on the sociology behind business transactions and social networks.
This research used Overstock Auction as a case study to evaluate how their social
networking component establishes and maintains a web of trust between the company and
their users. On Overstock, buyers and sellers are able to create profiles and rate one
another at the end of each transaction. This social network is designed to build a
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community of buyers and sellers, improving trust between them, and therefore “improving
transaction satisfaction.” The study found that 86 percent of the Overstock users did not set
up a personal network (Swamynathan, 2008), showing they are more interested in the
financial transaction and are either unaware or uninterested in the social networking
component. The study also showed that 93 percent of users had only made transactions
with a small number of partners (Swamynathan, 2008). While the amount of transactions
between users with profiles is low, the satisfaction rate for those transactions was found to
by high. The writers of the study believe that connections through the social networking
component sift out fraudulent users, inherently improving the trust factor.
Although this study focuses on product transactions on the Overstock Auction
website, similar principals hold true for service transactions in the lodging industry, maybe
even more so. The stronger the relationship between the customer and the company, the
more loyal they will be and the more likely they are to be repeat customers. Social media
networks are the newest way to develop the two-‐way relationships needed for satisfaction
and loyalty to occur.
A study from Purdue University, published in the Journal of Hospitality Marketing &
Management, looks into travelers’ attitude and use patterns of mobile technology in
tourism. The study goes in depth into travelers’ mobile technology use intention and their
performance and effort expectancy. The general use of mobile technology has been studied;
including mobile travel guides, reservation systems, and other PDA based systems. This
research aimed to evaluate how travelers’ previous technology use is a predictor of their
intention to use mobile devices for future travel decision making. Secondly, it looked at
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how travelers’ previous trip experiences are predictors of their intent to use mobile devices
for their future travel as well.
To conduct the study, an online survey was sent to 2,000 panel members, with a
total of 283 completed responses, a response rate of 14.15 percent. The survey found that
88 percent of the respondents use mobile devices during travel. The authors of the
research think, “Hospitality marketers should target their marketing toward frequent
travelers,” because these are the people who are most likely to use mobile devices during
their trips (Oh, 2009).
This study on the use of mobile technologies for tourism, published in 2009, shows
how important it is for hotel companies to market to this specific segment of travelers. Now
that social media applications are available for smart phones, frequent travelers can follow
their favorite hotel in the area they are traveling to and learn about special promotions
while they are in town.
Industry studies on social networking, done mainly by consulting companies, seem
to contain the most up to date and relevant information possible. It is difficult to obtain
accurate data on this topic when the numbers of users are growing exponentially on a daily
basis, but the following three companies have compiled reports that give businesses a good
inside look on how the social networking world is shaping up.
The Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group recently released a publication called The
Conversational Corporation: How Social Media is Changing the Enterprise. The aim of the
publication is to educate company managers on social media and the best practices. Dow
Jones is pushing companies to focus on their social media campaigns. According to
eMarketer, 95 percent of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 are active online. Dow
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Jones believes that this Internet use will become habit for the next generation of
consumers, and that companies should hone their social networking skills now before
these adolescents become their main demand generators. A project sponsored by SAP, the
world’s third-‐largest software company, shows how young people are driving social media
adoption. A global usage report completed in March 2008 by Universal McCann stated that
57 percent of all Internet users were active in social networks (Scoble, 2010). This number
has most certainly climbed in the past two years.
Dow Jones argues that many corporations are using private social networks within
their company, used for knowledge sharing, training, and ongoing dialogue between
employees. For example, Best Buy has a closed community of 20,000 retail staff, called
BlueShirt Nation. The staff talks about customer needs and complaints and give suggestions
for where improvements can be made. Due to this online, internal social network, the
company no longer has to compile in store surveys. The online community has also raised
morale for the retail staff and created an overall better working environment (Scoble,
2010).
The majority of the Dow Jones publication gives corporate examples of social media
use as well as tips for companies trying to get their social media campaign off the ground or
make it more effective. It is not an actual research study, but it does site recent studies on
social media use. It could be a useful tool for companies looking to enhance their use of
social media, but it may lack solid research. Bloggers and technology gurus, not academics,
wrote it, but it is more approachable for corporate companies than much of the academic
literature.
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Burston-‐Marsteller, one of the largest public relations agencies in the world,
recently published their study on social media use among the top 100 companies of
Fortune’s Global 500 companies (2003). Titled The Global Social Media Check-Up, the study
polled these top 100 companies on their use of social networking sites. Their main point is
that success measurement with social media marketing is not just the sheer numbers of
followers and fans, but that those users must be highly engaged for the marketing to be
effective. The data is the most up to date information available to the business world, as the
study was completed in January 2010.
Of the Fortune top 100 companies, 65 percent have active Twitter accounts, 54
percent have Facebook fan pages, and 50 percent have YouTube video channels. Compared
to other regions of the world, the United States had the highest percentage of companies
using social media. In Asia, the trend is more towards writing corporate blogs to
communicate to the consumer. The United States also has the highest percentage of
companies using all four of the social media platforms at 28 percent. The survey broke
down usage patterns by platform type as well. The percentage of Twitter accounts with
activity in the past week was 82 percent. This is high, but also means 18 percent of
accounts are inactive, and Twitter is really about quick, up to the minute bits of
information. The more often content is posted, the more often the consumer sees that
brand on their live feed. Over all geographical areas, 38 percent of companies were
responding to other people’s tweets and 32 percent were retweeting. The average in the
United States for both of these is 5-‐10 percent higher. Overall, other Twitter users are
tweeting about 42 percent of the Fortune Global 100 companies (Byrne, 2010).
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According to the same survey, the United States companies are not as strong in their
Facebook campaigns as are companies other parts of the world. Only 32 percent of U.S.
companies have posted content that has comments from fans, whereas that percentage for
European companies is 56. The survey rated the tone of the comments on a scale of 1-‐5,
with five being highly positive. Overall, the tone of fan comments on company pages
skewed slightly positive at a rating of 3.7. Most comments were found to be either strongly
positive or negative, but few were neutral (Byrne, 2010).
Only 11 percent of the U.S. companies had corporate blog posts, as opposed to
European companies at 83 percent and Asian companies at 77 percent. This shows that
Americans are moving away from blogs and posting more content on Twitter. Also, United
States companies had an average of 6.6 Twitter accounts per company. This makes it
unclear for stakeholders on which account to follow, and may promote mixed messages
about the company. The high number of accounts also leads to abandoned accounts, which
are “denigrating to the company’s presentation of itself in the social media space” (Byrne,
2010). The final section of the study gives advice for companies looking to enhance their
social media campaign.
The Burson-‐Marsteller study paints a very good picture of the current social media
scene in top companies around the world. This research will be built upon to examine
usage trends specifically among hospitality companies, although this research will be
limited to mainly the United States and will not take a global look at the situation.
Tom Chapman, a Social Media Strategist for the social brand agency, Headstream,
did another intensive social media study. This research focused more on the user side of
social media platforms, but provides important insight for companies on how to manage
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their marketing campaigns to engage consumers. Chapman wanted to know if Facebook
and MySpace were effective platforms for social network marketing from the user’s point
of view, as well as how effective page advertisements are in enhancing brand reputation.
The study found that companies should focus more on the quality of the conversations they
are having with their customers and less on the “friend” and “fan” metrics. Engagement
should be planned both pre and post campaign launch to offer value to the consumer after
the first transaction.
The research was conducted through quantitative online surveys of social media
users and qualitative in-‐depth interviews with brand executives. According to the research,
less than 5 percent of Facebook users said they were likely to remain a friend/fan of a
brand if they continually sent promotional information and advertisements, and zero
percent of Facebook users said they were likely to purchase a product or service from a
brand via their Facebook profile page. Thirty-‐five percent of Facebook users also said they
think advertisements appearing on their profile are slightly obtrusive (Chapman, 2008).
This shows that Facebook is not an effective platform for creating immediate purchase
decisions or transactions.
On the other hand, users were more likely to support a brand if they held two-‐way
communication. When asked how strong their relationship toward a brand would be if the
brand responded to the user’s message and listened to what they said, 43 percent
responded slightly stronger and 25 percent responded much stronger (Chapman 2008).
Consumers are looking to build a trust relationship with the brands before they make a
buying decision. Conversations and engagement that take place beyond just becoming a
friend or fan of the brand have the most value and are where true brand loyalty exists.
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Chapman’s research is beneficial to all brands trying to forge their way on social
media platforms. It is particularly relevant to the hospitality industry when it is so
important to create that trust factor with a guest before they decide to purchase what in
essence is an experience and not a product. More than ever before, hotels need to keep up
the activity of discussion on their Facebook pages rather than simply advertise to users
who feel it is obtrusive.
After sorting through all the research that has been conducted on social media
recently, a gap is seen in research relating specifically to the hospitality industry. The
nature of the industry is vastly different from that of basic consumer products. Hotels are
selling an experience and memories that people will carry with them for the rest of their
lives. Companies that sell shoes are always selling the same exact product, and a person is
not going to buy a pair of shoes if they already own the same ones. Hotel and travel
purchases can be made on a much more frequent basis, and people rely on other people’s
recommendations when planning.
The aim of the following research was to fill that gap between general knowledge of
social media marketing, and social media marketing for lodging companies. The goal was to
find out how hotel companies are currently using various social media platforms that may
be different from other industries. It was also to get a feel for which companies have the
strongest social media campaigns at the moment, and how that may be affecting their
brand equity. The ultimate goal of any marketing campaign is to create a return on the
investment. There is not a lot of money needed to conduct a social media campaign, but
time is a huge factor. Is it really worthwhile for a hotel to have an employee spend their
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whole day on Facebook and Twitter? Are these actions really creating any increase in
revenue?
Method

Facebook & Twitter Page Search
The first step in the project was to do a simple Internet search on how hotels are
currently using Facebook and Twitter to market themselves. Ten hotel companies were
chosen that represented a good mix of geographical locations. Companies were chosen
based on their categorization of an overall property rating of four or five stars. A fact sheet
for the companies researched can be seen below in Table A.
Table A. Companies included in Internet search

Company Headquarters Properties Countries Launched Employees
Four Seasons Toronto, Canada 83 35 1960
Ritz Carlton Maryland, USA 70 24 1927 38,000
Mandarin
Oriental Hong Kong, China 41 26
Buckinghamshire,
Intercontinental UK 166 65 1946
Hilton Virginia, USA 520 80 1919
JW Marriott Maryland, USA 39 *22 1984
Hyatt Chicago, USA 424 45 1957 80,000
Shangri La Hong Kong, China 66 1971
Westin New York, USA 160 37 1930
Peninsula Hong Kong, China 9 6 1928

First, the company’s name was typed in to a Google search to see if any social media
platforms were noted under their homepage listing. Next, the company’s homepage was
visited and it was noted as to whether or not they had any social media links on the
homepage. If there were no direct link to social media platforms or information on the
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homepage, a visit would be made to the site map of the page to locate any information they
may have regarding their social media campaign. As will be discussed in further detail in
the results section – many companies did not make their social media links apparent to the
average Internet user.
If there was a link on the hotel’s website to their Twitter or Facebook accounts it
was followed. If there was no link, an additional search was made on each of the respective
social media platforms. Once the company’s account was located on Facebook or Twitter,
their content, fan base, and usage was recorded, along with any other aspects of their
campaign that may have stood out. All data collected has been compiled into a chart
(appendix A) and the findings will be discussed in the results section.
Research Survey
It seemed imperative to conduct some type of primary research on this topic, as so
little has actually been done and published. To dig a little deeper behind the scenes of social
media marketing by hotel companies, a survey instrument was developed. The main goal of
the survey was to find out the most important, beneficial aspects of social media marketing
that hotel companies are using. It was also used to compare sentiments of managers at
different levels within the company.
The original survey questions were based off the study done by Burson-‐Marsteller.
Data from the study was collected between November 2009 and January 2010, so it is the
most up to date, comprehensive data available regarding corporate use of social media. The
study sampled 29 US companies, 48 European companies, 20 Asia-‐Pacific companies, and 3
companies from Latin America.
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The original intent of our primary research was to ask very similar questions as
asked in the Burson-‐Marsteller study and compares the hotel companies we surveyed to
the global companies they surveyed. This would show if the hotel industry was
participating in the same way as other global industries. Through the continued
development of our survey instrument, the questions and focus shifted away from the
Burson-‐Marsteller study to fit our own goals and objectives.
Three faculty members in the Whittemore School of Business at the University of
New Hampshire, as well as six industry experts, many of who are UNH alumni, reviewed
our survey instrument. Through the review process, questions were added and changed to
fit the needs and objectives of those people who were interested in the results. At first, the
plan was to send the survey to only managers and executives at 4-‐5 star properties. We
found this would limit our sample field significantly. In order to widen the sample field but
still be able to sort the data based on hotel category, more questions were added to the
survey to differentiate between the types of properties.
Once the survey instrument was completed and input into the WSBE Qualtrics
survey tool, we sought approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the Office of
Sponsored Research. This step was necessary because the survey involved human subjects
and there are certain responsibilities and safeguards that come along with that. Once
approval was granted from the IRB, we were able to begin distributing the survey.
The survey was initially sent to fifteen industry executives of international hotel
companies. Next it was sent to seventeen industry executives known personally by either
Professor Udo Schlentrich or myself. Overall, only six responses were generated from this
initial distribution. With the assistance of the University of New Hampshire Alumni Center,
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the survey and accompanying cover letter was blasted to eighty hospitality management
alumni. There is no concrete proof if any of these people responded to the survey. With the
advice of a local software company, I tried distributing again through a twitter blast. By
mentioning individual hotel companies, the survey was distributed to over forty
companies. This tactic resulted in nine more responses. Unfortunately, time was becoming
an issue and we had to stop distributing the survey so we would gather the results and
analyze the data. Overall, data was collected from sixteen participants in the budget, 3, 4,
and 5 star hotel categories.
Results

Facebook & Twitter Page Search
Of the ten lodging companies researched, all had some presence on Twitter, either at
the corporate or property level. Although the number of tweets or number of followers is a
telling sign of success, the quality of the content is even more important. We found a wide
range of content tweeted, anything from event promotions, packages, corporate
information, questions posed to followers, responses to followers, retweets, future plans,
thank you’s, and welcomes.
Overall, the Four Seasons had the strongest social media presences on Facebook and
Twitter, as well as information available on their website. Although nothing regarding
social media was included in their Google listing, both the Facebook and Twitter links were
visible on the company’s homepage. They also had an easy to find page dedicated to their
social media campaign called “Social Media At-‐A-‐Glance.” This page included a short
description of what each of their accounts pertained to or was capable of and the link. This
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page also included a YouTube link and mobile device applications. The page makes it easy
for guests to understand how the company uses each platform. It also makes it much easier
to find the official Four Seasons accounts on these platforms instead of searching for them.
At the time of research, the Four Seasons corporate Twitter account had 1962
tweets, more than any other company researched. They also had a separate Twitter
account for each property location as well as a careers account. All of their Twitter and
Facebook accounts are listed on their social media information page, so they are easy to
find. Four Seasons has one main Facebook Fan Page in addition to the individual property
pages. At the time of this writing in April 2010, their fan page had over 17,000 fans, up from
13,000 in February 2010. Four Seasons uses the fan page primarily for feedback from their
guests and to promote specials. Overall, Four Seasons not only had a very strong presence
on the social media platforms, they also integrated that aspect of marketing in their
webpage.
As for Ritz Carlton, there was no mention or link to any social media platforms on
their website. To find out what they are doing in terms of social media marketing, you must
do an individual search on each of the platforms. There was one Facebook group found, but
it consisted mainly of ex-‐staff members of the company. The content was not related to the
promotion of the brand or any properties. There was also one Ritz Carlton fan page with
2,753 fans. Fans posted all content that was present; there was no interaction and no
oversight by the company itself. There were only six fan photos posted and the information
page was left blank.
A Twitter search for Ritz Carlton revealed a bit stronger showing than their
Facebook presence. They had a global account as well as a few individual property
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accounts. Even though they had 2,040 followers on the global account, the last update was
two weeks old. This defeats the main purpose of Twitter of providing quick, up to the
minute bits of information.
Overall, the social media campaign for Ritz Carlton is lacking. If they wish not to
embrace this avenue of marketing, they should delete all their accounts and monitor when
people create new under the company name. Little oversight provides for weak and not
cohesive messages to their guests. With their current pages and accounts, they are doing
the opposite of creating a two-‐way dialogue with their guests, they are just confusing them.
Peninsula hotels have an even worse showing on Facebook and Twitter. This is most
likely because the company is based out of China, where they participate in other social
media platforms not widely known in the United States. Peninsula hotels did have a few
Twitter accounts set up, but there was not a single tweet on any of them. There was a
Facebook group established as well, but it only had 355 members. They may have a strong
social media campaign through platforms not widely used in the United States, but if they
wish to capitalize on the US market, they should look into using social media networks that
traveling Americans use.
Hyatt Hotels had no social media link under their Google listing or anywhere on
their website. There was no official Facebook group or fan page found, just a few dwindling
employee groups, which are ineffective in promoting the brand.
On the other hand, Hyatt Hotels have a very strong presence on Twitter. The Hyatt
Concierge account had the most followers of any company researched, at 9729. The Hyatt
Concierge was also following the most accounts, which means they have more of an
opportunity to hold two-‐way conversations and respond to tweets that are posted about
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their company. They use the Concierge Twitter account mostly to respond to other people’s
tweets, while the individual property accounts focus more on promotional material and
upcoming events. It is anyone’s guess why Hyatt has one of the strongest Twitter
campaigns and virtually no use of Facebook.
JW Marriott seems to be fledging along when it comes to a social media campaign.
There was one user generated Facebook group lacking in content and with only 165
members. They did have a number of fan pages for individual properties, but nothing to
promote brand as a whole. Their strongest property page, for Medan, Indonesia, has a good
balance of company and fan posted content, although not all is in English. Again, there is no
company wide Twitter account for JW Marriott, but a few individual properties have
accounts, while there is not much activity on them. It seems as though JW Marriott is just
starting to get their feet wet in the social media realm, but they have a lot of work to do to
develop a cohesive campaign company wide.
Hilton Hotels also have no social media link through their Google listing or on their
homepage. By doing a keyword search for Facebook within their page did turn up a “Stay
Connected” page with links to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. The official Hilton
Facebook page is holding strong and continuing to grow a fan base, up to 36,832 since
February when it was at 31,488. The majority of the content posted is from Hilton, but they
have very strong guest feedback and engagement occurring. Their photo albums highlight
the different property locations. They have posted a handful of quality videos showcasing
certain properties or aspects of the company. The most interesting thing about Hilton’s
Facebook page is the tab labeled “Hilton Moments”. They have published short stories told
by Hilton staff about memorable moments when they really went above and beyond to
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exceed guest expectations. Publishing these stories in a public space shows their
commitment to the guest experience. The Facebook platform is an excellent place to tell
these stories.
There are two main Hilton Twitter accounts – Hilton OnLine and Hilton GoSocial.
The Hilton OnLine account is just like any other corporate hotel Twitter account. They only
have about 2300 fans, but that is up almost 23% in just under two months. Hilton has a
high response rate to other tweets and have an overall good balance of responses,
information, and promotions. The Hilton GoSocial account is the main account for all Latin
America & Caribbean properties. The content is similar to that of Hilton OnLine, but it is
solely focused on one specific geographic region. It currently has 997 followers
Westin Hotels, a brand of Starwood, have no social media link on their Google listing
or on their webpage. A Facebook search returns a company fan page with over 8000 fans.
Westin posts the majority of the content, but they do have many fan comments and
feedback. Individual Westin properties have posted content on the main Westin page to try
to gain fans for their own fan page. The Westin Facebook fan page only has 2 photo albums
and 12 fan photos posted, some of which are not necessarily relevant in promoting the
brand.
Westin does not have a main company Twitter account, but many of the individual
properties have fairly strong accounts. Most property accounts have well over 1000
followers. Some give links to Facebook posts, promote events, respond to guests, and
promote restaurant specials for the day.
Mandarin Oriental does not have a social media link on their Google listing, but they
do have Facebook and Twitter links on the bottom of their homepage. Clicking either of
22
these links brings you to their overall Social Media webpage. This page gives you lists of
their different property’s Facebook & Twitter accounts. They also have a small newsfeed on
the side of the page to show updates that are currently being posted on those particular
platforms. In addition to Facebook & Twitter, Mandarin Oriental has links to their Flickr
and YouTube accounts.
On Facebook, they have the option for people to become a fan of Mandarin Oriental
in general, or one of 19 specific properties. The company page has over 7,000 followers,
with many of them posting comments on the company’s wall. Mandarin Oriental has
certain Facebook applications that set their site apart from other hotel Facebook pages.
They offer an interactive map showing where all of their properties are located. One tab is
dedicated to special promotions, and you can check reservations directly through the
Facebook page. They have a FAN Club page that highlights the celebrities who have
endorsed the company and awards that the company has received. They have also added a
“Tempting Offers” page – which is new between the time of research in February 2010 and
the time of writing in April 2010. This shows they are fine-‐tuning their social media
campaign. They continue to change and update their pages based on what the guests are
asking for and after finding out which applications are most effective.
Mandarin Oriental’s Twitter account is average compared to other hotel companies.
They are not doing anything with Twitter that sets them apart. They have just over 1,000
followers and tweet about special events, awards, promotions, and responses to guest
tweets. It seems most of their focus is on Facebook at this point.
Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts do not have a social media link on their Google
listing. The only social media mentioned on their homepage is a blog that highlights events
23
and attractions in one of their locations, but the last time it was updated was over four
months ago. The only Facebook group is for people who work at one of the hotels. They do
have a Facebook Fan page but it is very difficult to find through a search. It has about 3300
fans, but the fans post basically none of the content. It is a basic fan page with none of the
extras that Mandarin Oriental has. It does have 27 photo albums promoting different
events. Four of these albums are devoted to the release of the Ipad at different locations.
There are also about 70 fan photos posted on the page.
Again, Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts have a less than stellar campaign on
Twitter. They have a World Concierge account in addition to a few individual property
accounts. Many of the individual accounts have less than 300 fans, making them basically
ineffective forms of marketing.
Shangri La Hotels & Resorts have an almost non-‐existent presence on the social
media networks that are so prevalent in the United States. They have no official Facebook
group or fan page. The only Twitter accounts are for the Austin and Vancouver properties.
Each account is lacking followers and quality content. There are only two Shangri La
properties in North America, so it is possible they do not focus on Facebook and Twitter
because the majority of their guests do not use these platforms.
It is interesting to note that most of the companies based out of China have a much
smaller presence on Facebook and Twitter than do companies based in North America and
the UK. That is not to say that the Chinese population does not use social media sites. There
are other social media networks that are utilized in China that were not researched for this
project, including Renren, Kaixin001, 51.com, QQ, Cyworld, and Mixi.
24
Survey Results
Companies/properties who responded:

1. Mandarin Oriental Boston
2. Charles Hotel
3. Hotel Murano
4. Luxor Las Vegas
5. Tiara Hotels
6. Westin Bonaventure
7. Omni Hotels
8. Millennium Hotels
9. Four Seasons
10. Marriott (responses from 3 different levels of management)
11. Sheraton Portsmouth
12. Starwood
13. Two unknown sources
Exhibit A. Categories of company respondents:

The online social media survey was distributed to 152 individuals and companies
within the lodging industry. Of those 152, we received 16 completed surveys, for a
response rate of 10.5 percent. Of the respondents, twelve were categorized 4-‐5 star
companies, 6 were mid range (3 star), and only one was a budget property. Some
respondents chose more than one category because they represented national chains with
25
more than one brand. The main market segments of the companies surveyed were business
travel and groups and convention business. To better differentiate the knowledge of the
individual taking the survey, they were asked to rank their knowledge of social media in
general. One respondent was a novice, two were advanced beginners, three claimed to be
competent, nine proficient, and one claimed expert status on social media. It is good to see
that most people feel confident in their knowledge of social media so it can be applied to
their perspective companies.
Exhibit B. Does your organization have a defined social media policy?
Of the companies surveyed, 50 percent did not have a dedicated position
responsible for overseeing social media. The 50 percent of companies who did, either had
that position at the corporate level, property level, or both. Eighty percent of companies
surveyed did have a defined social media policy, either at the corporate or property level.
So even if there isn’t a specific person at a property responsible for overseeing social
media, the company has some type of guidelines for everyone to follow. The actual position
26
that was responsible for social media varied from company to company. In six companies,
the Corporate VP of Marketing was responsible for social media, while the Property
Director of Marketing was also a common title, and sometimes both had some
responsibility. Some newer positions include VP of eCommerce and Director of Interactive
Media. When asked if they use an outside agency to assist with their social networking
campaign, 69 percent of companies responded no. It may take some time before companies
are willing to invest in outside help to promote themselves through social media. They first
need to see if social media is an effective form of marketing before investing in it.
Exhibit C. Frequency of social networking site comment monitoring
As far as monitoring comments on social networking sites, 75 percent of companies
monitor their sites every day, and the rest monitor every week. Searching on their own was
the most common form of monitoring comments on sites. Many companies are beginning
to employ dedicated software as well. Some companies use a combination of their own
search, dedicated software, and even outsourcing the task. Information collected from
27
social media, such as guest feedback or reviews, are reported at company meetings, both at
the corporate and property levels.
Exhibit D. Internal use of social networks
Companies were asked about their use of social networks both internally (within
the company) and externally (Facebook & Twitter). Sixty-‐three percent of companies feel
using social networks internally for knowledge sharing was important, while 12.5 percent
felt it was not at all important. Fifty percent of companies feel it is important to use internal
social networks for training purposes. Fifty-‐six percent of companies felt it was important
for ongoing dialogue – similar to the Best Buy BlueShirt Nation community. Companies had
mixed opinions on the use of internal social networks for recruiting purposes.
28
Exhibit E. External use of social networks
When asked about the importance of using social networks to respond to guests,
100 percent of the companies felt this was either important or extremely important. This
shows they understand the need to create the dialogue with guests. Eighty-‐one percent of
companies felt using social networks for promotions is either important or extremely
important. Sixty-‐Three percent of companies felt using social networks for advertisements
is important or extremely important. This goes against the findings in Chapman’s study of
social network users who felt advertisements by brands were obtrusive.
29
Exhibit F. Benefits; Social networking sites:
Interestingly, only 38 percent of companies strongly agree that social networking
sites are an integral part of their marketing strategy, while 60 percent strongly agree they
should be an integral part of the marketing strategy. This shows a gap in actual versus ideal
practices. Fifty-‐six percent of companies strongly agree that social media provides valuable
feedback and two-‐way communication with their customers. Ninety-‐four percent of
companies surveyed either somewhat or strongly agree that social media generates
positive word of mouth about their company, and only 31 percent strongly agree that it can
result in negative brand perceptions. When asked whether or not using social media can
result in increased revenue, 13 percent somewhat disagreed, 31 percent were not sure, and
56 percent somewhat or strongly agreed. Opinions are still mixed as to whether using
social media can increase the bottom line.
30
Exhibit G. Social networking sites are used:
Of the companies surveyed, 56 percent said they somewhat agree that their
company uses social networking sites to increase brand loyalty, promote special events,
promote special offers or pricing, communicate corporate news, and to adapt their
offerings. Ninety-‐four percent of companies use social networking sites to respond to guest
feedback.
31
Exhibit H. Importance of social networking sites

Companies were asked to rate specific social networking sites on a scale from 1 to 5,
from not at all important to their company to extremely important to their company.
Overwhelmingly, the most important social networking site to hotel companies is
TripAdvisor, with a rating of 4.94. The second most important was Twitter at 4.50,
followed closely by Facebook, at 4.31. The least important social networking site to hotel
companies is MySpace, with a rating of 2.33. Corresponding to that, 93 percent of
companies never or rarely post content on MySpace. 56 percent of companies post content
on Twitter every day, and 37 percent tweet at least every week.
32
Exhibit I. Success measurement
As for success measurement, most companies seem to be on the right track. 63
percent say they use customer engagement, that is fans posting to them, as a success
measure. Only 25 percent of companies are still using fan base numbers to measure their
success. A detailed report of the survey findings can be founding appendix B.
Discussion & Conclusion

The findings from the research survey and Internet search shed light on the current
practices of hotel companies with regards to social media marketing. Most United States
companies have some presence on either Facebook, Twitter, or both. The most interesting
finding from the survey is that hotel companies feel TripAdvisor is more important than
either Facebook or Twitter. TripAdvisor is considered a social network because users
create a profile before writing reviews about hotels and attractions. It has become
commonplace for travelers to research hotels on TripAdvisor before making a travel
purchase. Unfortunately, a bad review on TripAdvisor can have lasting effects on a hotel if
33
comments are not monitored regularly. Additional research should be conducted on the
impact that TripAdvisor, a social network, has on hotels.
The volume of data available and the rapid exponential growth of social networks
sites make it difficult to accurately measure true usage patterns and practices. By the time
you collect and analyze industry data, it is already outdated. This is where it becomes
important for hotel companies to start investing in outside agencies for help with their
social media campaigns. It’s becoming too burdensome for each property to monitor
individual social media comments on a regular basis. Software has recently been developed
that can help companies cope with the onslaught of social media information. For example,
Revinate is a relatively new software application created specifically for hotel companies to
track and manage all mentions of the hotel across multiple online channels. The software
automatically tracks all reviews and social media for the company, as well as their
competition. It can change the way companies approach their social media campaign.
Current clients of Revinate include Intercontinental Hotels, Andaz, Trump Hotel Collection,
and Kimpton Hotels. At this point, there is not enough data available that shows a direct
link between social media marketing and increased revenue, so hotels are hesitant to
invest money in outside help. Unfortunately, they are spending valuable time resources by
tasking current employees with monitoring daily social media, when they could instead be
focusing on overall marketing strategy.
It seems that most hotel companies researched and surveyed are using social media
for marketing to some extent. It would have been interesting to survey hotel companies
that are not using social media, or not using it effectively, and ask why. Is it a conscious
decision to have no presence on these platforms? Do executives feel social media detracts
from the luxury brand image they are known for? If you agree with the Dow Jones
34
Enterprise Media Group publication, The Conversational Corporation, then social media
marketing for any segment of hotel chain is of the utmost importance because the
upcoming generation of guests are using social media on a daily basis. If hotel companies
do not learn how to harness this marketing channel now, while it is in its infancy, they will
be at a severe disadvantage when the upcoming generations become key demand
generators.
With the rapid advancement of technology, hotel companies have to work diligently
to stay on the top of their game. It was not long ago that it became essential for hotels to
have a webpage, and then an online reservation system, and now a social media campaign.
All of these changes have occurred in a very short amount of time, especially compared to
how long hotels have been in operation. It’s time for hotel companies to start taking social
media marketing seriously and see it as an investment in the bottom line.
Limitations

The only limitation in conducting the online survey was sample size. This
was due to time available and type of distribution. The small sample size does not provide
for results that can be generalized for the entire industry. It is possible the data may be
skewed because many respondents were either UNH graduates, or were invited through
Twitter, which shows they already use social networking. If there were more time
available, the sample size would have been larger to better differentiate and randomize the
respondents.
35
Index of Tables & Exhibits

Table A. Companies included in Internet Search................................................................ 15
Exhibit A. Categories of company respondents.................................................................. 25
Exhibit B. Does your organization have a defined SM policy? ..................................... 26
Exhibit C. Frequency of SNS comment monitoring............................................................ 27
Exhibit D. Internal use of social networking ........................................................................ 28
Exhibit E. External use of social networking ........................................................................ 29
Exhibit F. Benefits............................................................................................................................. 30
Exhibit G. Use of social networking sites ............................................................................... 31
Exhibit H. Importance of social networking sites............................................................... 32
Exhibit I. Success measurement................................................................................................. 33
36
Appendix A. Internet search Twitter Data
(As of February 2010)
Company Followers Following Listed Tweets

Four Seasons Corporate 9273 43 481 1962
Maui 1878 148 123 787
San Francisco 811 203 80 574
Las Angeles 1291 607 95 514
Austin 1630 281 131 891
Lanai 1112 291 100 1632
Seattle 1584 446 93 954
Tokyo 508 85 44 206
Palo Alto 848 62 49 437
Philadelphia 848 168 59 967
Hualalai 682 68 57 314
Boston 1123 87 85 700
Bangkok 857 782 70 600
Ritz Carlton
Global 2040 6 112 6
Laguna 1000 350 69 401
Chicago 376 43 30 7
Mandarin Oriental Corporate 548 886 46 157
Las Vegas 764 160 113 155
Miami 938 456 58 136
New York 716 559 75 491
Riviera Maya 615 323 45 491
London 446 56 39 111
Washington, D.C. 489 368 39 94
Boston 300 148 30 122
Intercontinental
World Concierge 1771 1618 115 734
Abu Dhabi 997 1306 15 17
Boston 524 82 48 251
Sydney 287 65 23 136
Kansas City 278 65 11 18
Frankfurt 300 75 34 59
Sao Paulo 258 115 7 121
Toronto 161 50 7 32
Tokyo 203 282 29 50
Houston 121 19 8 82
Hilton
Hilton Online 1768 223 172 605
Hilton GoSocial 872 682 63 712
JW Marriott
LA Live 696 59 36 217
37
Denver 724 591 39 167
Grand Rapids, MI 462 435 7 130
Concierge, Costa Rica 114 435 7 130
Hyatt
Concierge 9729 7007 428 1636
Austin 3489 3816 95 971
Vancouver 3192 3403 113 361
St. Louis 2924 3125 62 136
Irvine 1925 2097 63 1361
Shangri La
Austin 558 545 46 94
Vancouver 18 0 4 0
Westin
Las Angeles 1971 1267 112 1606
Boston 1710 2004 45 1852
Columbus 1245 1023 60 225
Kierland (Scottsdale) 1144 624 60 225
Peninsula 106 20 3 0
38
Appendix B. Survey Responses
My Report
Last Modified: 05/03/2010

1. Your position:
Text Response
Managing Director
Vice President Marketing & eCommerce
General Manager
Sr. eCommerce Manager
General Manager
Marketing Manager
Web & Communications Manager
Interactive marketing manager
Managing Director
E-‐Commerce Executive
SVP, Owner and Franchise Services
Interactive Marketing Manager
General Manager
Director of Public Relations
Director of Marketing
Controller

39

2. At which level are you a manager?
# Answer Response %
1 A Single Property 7 44%
2 Multiple Properties 3 19%
3 Regional Division 1 6%
4 National Division 5 31%
5 International Division 0 0%
Total 16 100%

3. Type of Hotel (check all that apply)
# Answer Response %
1 Independent 1 6%
2 Chain 12 75%
3 Resort 6 38%
4 City 4 25%
5 Convention 4 25%
6 Suite 1 6%
7 Other 0 0%

4. What category does your property or company fall within?
# Answer Response %
1 Full Service (4-‐5 Stars) 12 80%
2 Mid Range (3 stars) 6 40%
3 Budget 1 7%
4 Other 0 0%

5. How many properties are in the chain?
Text Response
2,500
3000+
83
In the USA, there are 15 properties.
1000
It is not a chain. I oversee the interactive marketing efforts for two Las Vegas hotels

40
6. Please rank your main market segments, with 1 being the
highest and 4 being the lowest:
# Answer 1 2 3 4 Responses
1 Business 8 5 3 0 16
2 Leisure 2 7 7 0 16
3 Groups & Conventions 6 5 5 0 16
4 Other 0 0 0 6 6
Total 16 17 15 6

Statistic Business Leisure Groups & Conventions Other
Mean 1.69 2.31 1.94 4.00

7. Do you have a full-time, dedicated position responsible for
overseeing social media? (check all that apply)
# Answer Response %
1 No 8 50%
2 Not Sure 0 0%
3 Yes, property level 4 25%
4 Yes, corporate level 7 44%

8. Does your organization have a defined social media policy?
(check all that apply)
# Answer Response %
1 No 3 19%
2 Not Sure 0 0%
3 Yes, property level 4 25%
4 Yes, corporate level 10 63%

9. Do you utilize an outside agency to assist with your social
networking campaign?
# Answer Response %
1 Yes 5 31%
2 No 11 69%

41
10. Whether or not your organization has a dedicated position
responsible for overseeing social media, who is the executive or
manager responsible for social media policy(check all that
apply)
# Answer Response %
1 Corporate VP Marketing 6 38%
2 Corporate PR Director 3 19%
3 Corporate Brand Manager 3 19%
4 Corporate VP Operations 0 0%
5 Property GM 2 13%
6 Property Director of Marketing 5 31%
7 Property PR Director 3 19%
8 Property Rooms Division Manager 0 0%
9 Property Other 0 0%
10 Corporate Other 6 38%
11 N/A 1 6%

Property Other Corporate Other
VP eCommerce
Director of IT
Web & Communications
VP Ecommerce
Director Marketing

11. How often does someone in your company monitor social
networking comments?
# Answer Response %
1 Every Day 12 75%
2 Every Week 4 25%
3 Every Month 0 0%
4 Rarely 0 0%
5 Never 0 0%

42

12. If your company monitors content social networking
platforms, what process do they use? (check all that apply)
# Answer Response %
1 Own search 12 75%
2 Dedicated software 9 56%
3 Outsourced 4 25%
4 Other 1 6%
5 N/A 0 0%

Other
RSS Feeds, Google Alerts

13. How does your company communicate the results obtained
from social media sources to other employees? (check all that
apply)
# Answer Response %
Corporate executive
1 11 69%
meetings/reports
2 Property executive meetings/reports 10 63%
Property departmental
3 7 44%
meetings/reports
4 Property staff meetings/reports 6 38%
5 Other 0 0%
6 N/A 0 0%

43

14. Please rate the importance of your company’s use of social
network platforms (externally - in front of firewall):
Neither
Not at Extreme
Somewhat Important
all Importa ly N/ Respons Mea
# Question Unimport nor
importa nt Importa A es n
ant Unimport
nt nt
ant
Advertiseme
1 1 3 1 6 4 1 16 3.75
nts
2 Promotions 0 2 1 6 7 0 16 4.13
Corporate
3 0 4 3 7 2 0 16 3.44
Information
Responses
4 0 0 0 5 11 0 16 4.69
to Guests
5 Other 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 5.50

Other
communicating events or activities in our communities

Statistic Advertisements Promotions Corporate Information Responses to Guests Other
Mean 3.75 4.13 3.44 4.69 5.50
15. Please rate the importance of your company’s use of social
network platforms (internally - behind firewall):
Neither
Not at Extreme
Somewhat Important
all Importa ly N/ Respons Mea
# Question Unimporta nor
importa nt Importa A es n
nt Unimporta
nt nt
nt
Knowledg
1 2 0 0 10 3 1 16 3.94
e sharing
2 Training 2 2 3 8 0 1 16 3.31
Ongoing
3 1 0 3 9 2 1 16 3.88
dialogue
Recruitme
4 2 3 4 6 0 1 16 3.13
nt
5 Other 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 5.33

Statistic Knowledge sharing Training Ongoing dialogue Recruitment Other
Mean 3.94 3.31 3.88 3.13 5.33
44

16. Social networking sites: (choose the circle that applies to
how much you agree or disagree with the following statements)

Strongly Somewhat Not Somewhat Strongly
# Question Responses Mean
Disagree Disagree Sure Agree Agree
Are an integral
part of our
1 0 4 0 6 6 16 3.88
marketing
strategy
Should be an
integral part of
2 0 2 0 4 9 15 4.33
our marketing
strategy
Provide valuable
3 feedback from 0 0 0 7 9 16 4.56
our customers
Provide two-‐way
communication
4 0 0 1 6 9 16 4.50
with our
customers
Generate positive
5 word of mouth 0 0 1 8 7 16 4.38
for our company
Can result in
6 negative brand 0 5 2 4 5 16 3.56
perceptions
Result in
7 improved 0 2 1 9 4 16 3.94
customer loyalty
Result in
8 increased 0 2 5 6 3 16 3.63
revenue

Genera
Should
Are an Provide te Result
be an Can Result
integral valuable Provide two-‐ positiv in
integral result in in
part of feedbac way e word improv
Statist part of negative increas
our k from communicati of ed
ic our brand ed
marketi our on with our mouth custom
marketi perceptio revenu
ng custome customers for our er
ng ns e
strategy rs compa loyalty
strategy
ny
Mean 3.88 4.33 4.56 4.50 4.38 3.56 3.94 3.63
45

17. Our company uses social networking sites: (choose the
circle that applies to how much you agree or disagree with the
following statements)
Strongly Somewhat Not Somewhat Strongly
# Question Responses Mean
Disagree Disagree Sure agree Agree
To increase
1 0 2 1 9 4 16 3.94
brand loyalty
To promote
2 0 1 0 9 6 16 4.25
special events
To promote
3 special offers 0 2 0 9 5 16 4.06
or pricing
To
4 communicate 0 2 1 7 6 16 4.06
property news
To
5 communicate 1 3 0 9 3 16 3.63
corporate news
To adapt our
6 0 2 2 9 3 16 3.81
offerings
To respond to
7 0 1 0 8 7 16 4.31
guest feedback
To drive people
8 1 0 3 7 4 15 3.87
to our website
9 Other 0 1 0 0 2 3 4.00

To To
To
To To promo To To To drive
respon
increa promo te communic communic adapt peopl
Statist d to Othe
se te special ate ate our e to
ic guest r
brand special offers property corporate offerin our
feedba
loyalty events or news news gs websi
ck
pricing te
Mean 3.94 4.25 4.06 4.06 3.63 3.81 4.31 3.87 4.00

46

18. How important are the following social network sites to
your company?
Neither
Extremel
Not at all Somewhat Important
Importan y Response Mea
# Question importan Unimporta nor
t Importan s n
t nt Unimporta
t
nt
1 Facebook 0 1 1 6 8 16 4.31
2 Twitter 0 1 1 3 11 16 4.50
3 YouTube 2 0 3 4 6 15 3.80
4 MySpace 5 2 6 2 0 15 2.33
5 Flickr 2 1 4 4 4 15 3.47
6 Linkedin 1 2 5 7 1 16 3.31
TripAdviso
7 0 0 0 1 15 16 4.94
r
Mobile
device
8 1 2 2 4 5 14 3.71
application
s
9 Other 0 0 2 1 1 4 3.75

Other
Yelp, FourSquare
other review sites: ex. Yelp

Mobile
Statisti Faceboo Twitte YouTub MySpac Flick Linkedi TripAdvis device Othe
c k r e e r n or applicatio r
ns
Mean 4.31 4.50 3.80 2.33 3.47 3.31 4.94 3.71 3.75

47

19. How often does your company/property post content on:
Every Every Every
# Question Rarely Never Responses Mean
Day Week Month
1 Facebook 6 8 1 0 1 16 1.88
2 Twitter 9 6 0 1 0 16 1.56
3 YouTube 1 2 3 4 3 13 3.46
4 MySpace 0 1 0 3 10 14 4.57
5 Flickr 0 3 2 5 4 14 3.71
6 Linkedin 2 0 3 4 6 15 3.80
7 TripAdvisor 2 7 4 2 0 15 2.40
Mobile device
8 2 2 3 3 2 12 3.08
applications
9 Other 0 0 1 0 1 2 4.00

Other
Yelp, Foursquare

Mobile
Statisti Faceboo Twitte YouTub MySpac Flick Linkedi TripAdvis device Othe
c k r e e r n or applicatio r
ns
Mean 1.88 1.56 3.46 4.57 3.71 3.80 2.40 3.08 4.00

20. What is your success measurement of social networking?
# Answer Response %
Customer engagement (fans posting
1 10 63%
to you)
Building a fan base (from 0-‐1000
2 4 25%
fans in X days)
Fan retention (can you maintain
3 1 6%
your fanbase)
4 Other 1 6%
Total 16 100%

Other
all of the above + referral traffic

48
21. Please rank your knowledge of social networking in
general:
Advanced
# Question Novice Competent Proficient Expert Responses Mean
Beginner
Social
1 Networking 1 2 3 9 1 16 3.44
Knowledge

22. Additional Comments:
Text Response
Whilst widely accepted as the way forward for competing hotels, there is still too much hesitation
and disregard due to a lack of understanding in senior management. There are too many comments
made towards "only for the young ones" when these portals provide the direct way to our
customer.
"Expert" is a term I use loosely when describing my position. Obviously, it is often joked about that
no one is ever truely an "expert" due to the ever-‐changing, fast paced growth of the Social
Networking / Social Media scene. I do my best to stay on top of the networks that are most
important to our company and our brand.

49
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Table of Contents

Tweet – a post or a status update on Twitter.

Retweet – when one Twitter user reposts someone else’s tweet.

occupancy may be distressed.

to really understand the full picture.

media (O’Connor, 2009)

and loyalty to occur.

for their future travel as well.

their trips (Oh, 2009).

while they are in town.

has most certainly climbed in the past two years.

study was completed in January 2010.

positive or negative, but few were neutral (Byrne, 2010).

social media campaign.

the first transaction.

decisions or transactions.

who feel it is obtrusive.

recommendations when planning.

Facebook & Twitter Page Search

Table A. Companies included in Internet search

average Internet user.

different levels within the company.

companies from Latin America.

Burson-­‐Marsteller study to fit our own goals and objectives.

survey to differentiate between the types of properties.

and 5 star hotel categories.

Facebook & Twitter Page Search

thank you’s, and welcomes.

page was left blank.

minute bits of information.

traveling Americans use.

employee groups, which are ineffective in promoting the brand.

campaigns and virtually no use of Facebook.

develop a cohesive campaign company wide.

promote restaurant specials for the day.

and YouTube accounts.

ineffective forms of marketing.

project, including Renren, Kaixin001, 51.com, QQ, Cyworld, and Mixi.

Companies/properties who responded:

Exhibit A. Categories of company respondents:

their perspective companies.

Exhibit C. Frequency of social networking site comment monitoring

the corporate and property levels.

Exhibit D. Internal use of social networks

social media can increase the bottom line.

Discussion & Conclusion

impact that TripAdvisor, a social network, has on hotels.

focusing on overall marketing strategy.

Company Followers Following Listed Tweets

Web. 29 Feb. 2010.

Communications. Burson-Marsteller. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.

Marketing UK. 2008. Web. 20 Feb. 2010.

IStrategyLabs." IStrategyLabs "An Idea Foundry" - Interactive Strategy, Experiential

Industry." Hospitality Upgrade (2008): 122-28. Web.

O'Connor, Peter. "E-Mail Marketing by International Hotel Chains." Cornell Hospitality

Quarterly 49.1 (2008): 42-52. Web. 10 June 2009.

a Function of Effort and Performance Expectancy." Journal of Hospitality Marketing &

Management 18.8 (2009): 765-81. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.

Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2009. Print.

Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://www.socialtimes.com/2010/01/twitter-statistics-of-user-

Jan. 2010. <http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article42651.html>.

Corporation. Web. 28 Apr. 2010.

Networks Improve E-Commerce? A Study on Social Marketplaces. Department of

Burson-‐Marsteller study to fit our own goals and objectives.