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Chapter 1

Introduction

Background of the Study

The use of social media has increased significantly since the turn of the

century. Because of this, a lot of tourism-related businesses, such hotels, travel

agencies, and airlines, have started embracing the internet as one of their key

tools for marketing and communication strategies. Many businesses within the

hospitality industry rely on good reviews from their customers, and social media is

offering this as a natural marketing tool (Bennet, 2012). Social media is now

widely used, and tourists frequently share their positive experiences on these

platforms as well as their disappointment with negative ones. Social media has a

natural impact on the hospitality and tourism sectors in this way. After realizing

the power of social media, businesses are also leveraging on the wide presence of

customers in social media to communicate, engage, and market their services and

products to the customers (Guzel & Sengun, 2015).

Mahmood A. Khan (2012) asserts that social media's advantages can be

highly useful for marketing and administration in the hospitality and tourism

industries. Managing and presenting corporate content is made possible by social

media, according to him, and it also aids in defining the company's essential

values, which are what attract clients and customers. The majority of businesses
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in this sector have created plans to combine social media initiatives with overall

marketing initiatives. Mahmood claims that clients who use social media

frequently spend more money and frequent the business. He goes on to say that

social media is assisting businesses in raising brand equity and increasing brand

awareness.

Mahmood (2012) claims that there are at least seven ways social media is

useful for the management of businesses in the hotel and tourism sector. These

include seeking endorsements, increasing revenue per seat, controlling

reputation, reaching out to new clients, forming relationships with visitors, hiring

new employees, and creating buzz. Statistics obtained by Shea Bennett in 2012

show that social media has a significant impact on corporate success as well as

customer satisfaction and choice.

52% of Facebook users claimed that the images posted by their friends on

the social media site influenced their decision on where to go on vacation and

how to get there. Only 48% of clients who utilized social media to explore their

travel arrangements stayed with their original intentions after seeing the reviews

and images on the platform. A total of 33% of Facebook users changed hotels,

7% of users changed destinations, 10% of users changed resorts, and 5% of

users changed flights. The post-restaurant reviews made up 40% of the

information used to guide decisions about travel destinations, airlines, and

resorts, while the post-vacation hotel reviews of travelers made up 46% of the

information. A total of 76% of those who were on vacation admitted to posting

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vacation images on social media, while another 55% said they liked Facebook

pages dedicated to vacations.

Therefore, based on these figures, it is clear that the hospitality and

tourist sectors have embraced social media management of their companies in

order to assist customers in making decisions about them and to enhance their

services in order to receive favorable reviews (Leung, Law, Hoof, & Buhalis,

2013). Social media has a variety of positive effects on businesses, but it also

has negative repercussions on the same businesses. With the help of his

students, Mahmood conducted a study to determine the accuracy and

dependability of the evaluations that were placed on social media platforms. His

pupils went to the locations and read reviews online. According to the findings,

28% of the reviews were trustworthy and prejudiced. Further investigation

revealed that hotels had been posting extremely positive evaluations about their

own establishments or derogatory comments about competitors' establishments.

This demonstrates a negative characteristic of social networking. It's possible

that some people had evil intentions and tried to harm a certain hotel's

reputation. Competitors may also engage in public relations campaigns to

represent their facilities as superior and those of their competitors as inferior

(Mahmood, 2012). Given the number of individuals who rely on this information

and reviews to make decisions about trips and hotels, the effects of these

negative campaigns are extremely detrimental.

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Social media use has made it easier to find specialized forum analysis

guidance as well. According to Baggio, Costa, et. al, (2010), anyone with

knowledge of the issue can provide comments on a user's topic created on a

social networking site like TripAdvisor which has Authors and Advisors. The

authors are tourists who are very far from the destinations. Locals or other

travelers who have knowledge of the area could serve as the advisors. The

advisors don't receive any sort of payment for their recommendations in order to

uphold the honesty and credibility of the data they share. When information is

made available to the public or requested from reliable sources without payment,

this creates a very important marketing tool that is not under the control of the

hospitality and tourism industry, allowing travelers to plan their trips and vacations

efficiently and affordably. Newspapers, periodicals, and TV broadcasts were only a

few examples of the media where this information was released. There were

restrictions on the number of people this information may reach as well as the

geographic area it could cover. All these limitations of the conventional travel and

hospitality promotion have been overcome, nevertheless, thanks to social media.

The cost of guaranteeing that one more client has access to their information is no

longer a burden on the companies, which has significantly reduced their

management costs.

Since the creation and widespread use of social media, management of

businesses in the hospitality and tourism sectors has changed substantially.

These choices are made now after carefully examining social media. The
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application of the consumer decision-making model to the usage of social media

while traveling, as per Engel et al. (1999), has been utilized to construct the

decision-making process of the tourist and divide it into three phases. These are

the moments prior to, during, and following travel. The managers assess these

types of consumer interests and match their offerings to what the clients want.

According to Cox et al. in 2009, management also uses social media to learn

what customers want, what their competitors are up to, and how they stand out

from the competition. This is in addition to consumers who are tourists looking

for information about hotels and restaurants. Many managers use these facts for

purposes of competition and improvement. As a result, there are now more

restaurants, hotels, resorts, and sightseeing facilities that meet or exceed

customer expectations in order to ward off bad reviews and/or compete as a

result of the rise of social media, particularly in the sharing of tour and travel

information (Cox, Burgess, & Buultjensd, 2009).

The management of human resources in firms that provide hospitality and

tourism has also benefited greatly from social media. In this instance, tourism

and hospitality businesses regularly use social media sites like Linkedin, Twitter,

and Facebook to screen candidates. In a study conducted by SHRM (2011),

human resource professionals said that they utilize Facebook (58%) Linkedin

(95%) and Twitter (42%), respectively, for recruiting. They mostly targeted

salaried non-management staff (82%) and other management jobs that did not

include high management (77%). The same study found that 82% of employers
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utilized social network data to assess applicants, while 30% said they had used it

to eliminate applicants. In addition, 85% of respondents said they had utilized

Linkedin, 78% Facebook, and 11% Twitter to screen applicants for senior

management positions (41%), as well as 26% for salaried non-management

roles.

Human resource managers are quoted in saying that social media

provides the information that actually represents the character of the candidates

and that from the information they have been able to create a pool of highly

ethical and reliable human resources in the most cost-effective manner, despite

the fact that this is found to have little impact on the overall management of the

companies in this industry. According to a 2015 study, the hospitality sector has

a bad reputation as a source of long-term employment due to its low pay, menial

tasks, unsociable hours, and few prospects for advancement (Gibbs, Fraser

MacDonald, & Mackay, 2015). Due to the high turnover, it is now extremely

difficult for businesses to find, hire, and keep suitable staff. Due to this difficulty,

businesses that want to draw in and retain the best people in the sector should

utilize social media to promote the special working circumstances they offer,

which will help prevent talent loss to competitors.

According to Hunt (2010), social media should be utilized and should

complement rather than replace current employment techniques. However, one

justification is that people may alter inaccurate information on their social media

pages for private reasons. Tourism and hospitality businesses have also utilized
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social media to sell rooms and book other services and goods. There are online

travel agencies that promote their clients' accommodations on social media

before selling them online.

Online hotel reservations were the second-largest sales item in the

business, behind air travel, according to Marcusen (2008), who noted this in a

2008 article. Despite hoteliers' reluctance to adopt new technologies, particularly

in ICT, Buhalis (2008) claims that the benefits of information technology

advancements have had an impact on the hospitality industry in terms of

marketing opportunities as well as sales opportunities. He claims that current

travelers are more demanding since they are more aware of the opportunities

available online. Additionally, according to a recent study on online information

searches, people are taking more time to find more accurate information on

social media and to compare different service providers before deciding which

one is best in terms of price and other factors and then booking these

accommodations online (Inversini & Lorenzo, 2014). In an effort to market their

services to online travelers, hoteliers, travel agencies, tour operators, and online

tour guides have turned their attention to social media.

Social media, according to Blackshaw (2006), are internet-based apps that

distribute user-generated content that is pertinent to past experiences, any

source, or online informational concerns. To educate others about the products

and services, consumers generate these materials themselves based on 2012

International Conference on Business and Management their own experiences

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with them (Xiang & Gretzel, 2009). The tourist and hospitality sector is not an

exception, therefore an increasing number of scholars and hoteliers have realized

the Web 2.0's significance for the industry and the possible advantages it offers

have been discussed (Gretzel et al., 2000; Hjalager, 2010; Ruzic & Bilos, 2010).

The rise of web-based destination marketing methods is a sign of social

media's expanding influence. Many hospitality and tourism businesses employ

web-based destination marketing tactics as promotional tools since they offer

significant opportunities.

Social media stated by Greenlaw (2022) is a powerful tool for hotels and

hospitality businesses to reach their target audiences, build relationships with

customers, increase brand awareness, and drive more direct bookings. 

According to Revenue Hub, 97% of millennials share photos on social media

during travels, whilst 71% of travel agencies report better interactions with

consumers when committed to a social media strategy. With its potential to

create engagement and generate leads, it’s no wonder why social media has

become an essential part of any digital marketing strategy. Businesses within the

hospitality industry must utilize a range of social platforms to reach potential

customers and stay competitive. 

Hotels can use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or

Tik Tok to connect with guests before they arrive at the hotel. By providing

engaging content that encourages interaction from followers on these channels –

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such as photos or videos of hotel amenities or local attractions – hotels can make

a lasting impression on prospective guests even before they step foot inside the

lobby. This has been exemplified by the pandemic, with more people spending

time scrolling and searching for travel inspiration post-lockdown. Here are just a

few reasons why it’s important to use social media in your digital marketing for

hospitality strategy.

This study aimed to lay emphasis on the part played by the social media

towards the continuous development of hospitality industry.

Theoretical Framework

The ability to influence choices (one’s behaviors or decisions) is the

second level of power. This power is relational and includes exercising one’s

power over others. At this level, social power theory (French & Raven, 1959) can

be used to articulate power sources. At least one of the social power sources is

necessary to influence the behavioral choices of others. Hospitality and tourism

researchers have suggested that social power domains can influence tourists’

behavioral choices, notably in the form of discounts (Wong & Yeh, 2009),

coercion (Caruana & Crane, 2011), social norms (Oh & Hsu, 2001), celebrity

involvement (Lee, Scott, & Kim, 2008), and perceived expertise (Lo & McKercher,

2015). However, social power theory has rarely been used to explain these

powers in hospitality and tourism settings.

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In the case of hospitality and tourism the consumer choice of travel-

related services and products is the main question of interest (e.g., hotels,

restaurants, destinations, activities, museums, cultural heritages sites, and travel

packages). In this context, power is vested in the capacity of consumers to

choose between various hospitality and tourism products.

Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratification theory suggests that media users

play an active role in choosing and using the media.  Users take an active part in

the communication process and are goal oriented in their media use.  The

theorist say that a media user seeks out a media source that best fulfills the

needs of the user.  Uses and gratifications assume that the user has alternate

choices to satisfy their need.

Uses and gratifications theory takes a more humanistic approach to

looking at media use.  Blumler and Katz believe that there is not merely one way

that the populace uses media.  Instead, they believe there are as many reasons

for using the media, as there are media users.  According to the theory, media

consumers have a free will to decide how they will use the media and how it will

affect them.  Blumler and Katz values are clearly seen by the fact that they

believe that media consumers can choose the influence media has on them as

well as the idea that users choose media alternatives merely as a means to an

end.  Uses and gratification is the optimist’s view of the media.  The theory takes

out the possibility that the media can have an unconscious influence over our
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lives and how we view the world.  The idea that we simply use the media to

satisfy a given need does not seem to fully recognize the power of the media in

today’s society.

The Uses and Gratifications Theory (U&G), which was developed in the

1940s to explore relationships between mass media and individual users, focuses

on “what people do with media,” not “what media do to people”. The primary

goal of this theory is to describe individual’s social and psychological reasons and

motivations for utilizing a specific media and how the media fulfills their intrinsic

needs and wants. The Uses and Gratifications Theory assumes that (1) every

individual is an active audience in the media circumstances; in the context of

tourism, travelers are seen as active smartphone users to fulfil their needs (social

interaction, entertainment, convenience, and information), obtaining satisfaction

when they are on the move; (2) people are goal directed and highly motivated;

in other words, unlike traditional media users watching TV and listening to the

radio unconsciously, travelers (media audiences) are purposeful and highly

motivated to utilize smartphones for their needs (information, convenience,

social interaction, and entertainment); (3) media users (tourists) interact with

media communication; that is, smartphones are innately interactive so the

boundary between the sender and receiver is faint; (4) users recognize their own

needs and then choose a specific media to gratify them; in the tourism context,

travelers recognize their needs (referred to as the four motivations below) and

select their smartphones to satisfy them. U&G is particularly suitable for

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smartphones studies because smartphones are highly interactive and

interpersonal.

Conceptual Framework

The framework illustrates the relationship between the independent and

dependent variables in the study shown in Figure 1. The personal profile of the

respondents will serve as independent variables, which will be expressed in

terms of their name, age, gender, sector (hospitality industry). The dependent

variables include the factors such as audience reach, brand awareness, leads

generations and customer service.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Factors:
Profile of the Respondents
in terms of:
-Audience Reach

-Brand Awareness
-Age
-Leads Generations
-Gender
-Customer Service
-Sector (Hospitality industry)

Development of Hospitality

Industry
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Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to determine the social media network contribution to

the development of hospitality industry.

Moreover, this study seeks to:

1. Identify role of social media in terms of:

a. Audience reach

b. Brand awareness

c. Leads generations

d. Customer service

2. Determine if there is significant effect of social media to different sectors

of hospitality industry.

3. Determine the top contribution of social media to the development of

hospitality industry.
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Chapter 2

Methodology

This chapter discusses the research method that is used in this study. It

includes the research design, population and locale of the study, data gathering

tool, data gathering procedure and treatment of data.

Research Design

This study used the descriptive method of research. The researchers

prepared the survey questionnaire that was used to gather the information

needed in the study. This method is designed for the researcher to gather

information about present existing conditions. The principal aims in employing

this method are to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of

the study and to explore the causes of particular phenomena. The descriptive

method of research as opposed to an experimental or normative method

develops knowledge by describing observed situation, events and objects. The

descriptive method is used in most branches of science, as well as in the social

sciences. The goal of the descriptive method is to learn about something as it’s

already exists without causing any changes to it (Abraham, 2010).

Population and Locale of the Study

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The researchers chose hospitality related establishments (restaurant,

hotel, and resort) in the province of Pangasinan, which is a key and perfect spot

for hospitality industry because of its many tourist spot and business districts.

The researchers have chosen the authorized representatives of the

establishments (restaurant, hotel and resort) in Pangasinan for interview.

Data Gathering Tool

Data were gathered through the use of survey questionnaire made by the

researchers themselves. The researchers formulated relevant questions to come

up with an efficient questionnaire that help to define the contribution of social

media to the hospitality industry. Questionnaires were personally distributed and

emailed by the researches to the selected hospitality establishments

(restaurants, hotels and resorts).

The questionnaire is composed of three parts. Part I includes the profile of

the respondents, including their name, age, gender, hospitality industry sector.

Part II addresses the. Part III indicates whether there is a significant relationship

between the factors that influence the respondents' decision to use the cashless

transaction method and their profile variable.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers ask permission from respective respondents from

different hotel, restaurant and resort for the approval before the questionnaire is
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given. The researchers used survey questionnaires with proper assistance for the

respondents in case they did not understand the contents. When the

questionnaires are collected, the data will be encoded, analyzed, tabulated, and

interpreted by the researchers to obtain the goal of determining the social media

factors contributing to the development of hospitality industry.

Treatment of Data

All data were gathered, tallied, encoded and interpreted using different

statistical tools. These include percentage, frequency of distribution and

weighted mean which were used based on the objectives of the study.

Percentage and frequency distribution were also used and weighted mean in

order to assess the different factors of social media to contribution of

development of hospitality industry.

The formula are shown below:

(Percentage formula)

f
P= x 100
n

Where:
P is the percentage

f is the frequency

n is total number of respondents

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(Weighted Average Formula)

∑ fᵢxᵢ
AWM=
n

Where:

AWM is the average weighted mean

fᵢ is the frequency

xᵢ is the weight

n is the total number of respondents

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