Social Media managerial implications for budget accommodation venues: use of Social Media platforms more effectively and
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Social Media managerial implications for budget accommodation venues: use of Social Media platforms more effectively and efficiently Sara Domínguez‑Navarro1 · M. Rosario González‑Rodríguez1
© Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract Social Media has transformed people’s lives and behaviour. Over the past decade it has also transformed the Tourism Industry. Despite this triumph, insufficient research has been published concerning Social Media in tourism, particularly for the benefit of budget oriented accommodation venues. This study offers an empirical analysis of actions taken by a Budget Venue in Seville as a part of its Social Media strategy, together with the effects of those actions on the venue’s Facebook and Instagram profile pages. The study also proposes practical solutions that can improve the Social Media strategy of such company. Relevant statistical data was collected daily from Facebook and Instagram Insights, over a period of 2 months. Both theoretical and practical aspects are mentioned in the paper. Keywords Social Media · TripAdvisor · Instagram · Facebook · Twitter · Hotel performance · Budget accommodation · Impact · Social Media strategies · Online travel information
1 Introduction Social Media comprises networking sites and online applications that enable all internet users to create and share content, ideas and views, relevant to their own lives and experiences (BlackShaw and Nazzaro 2006). Platforms of this kind are now a commonplace phenomenon, due to humans’ inherent need to share information, backed by substantial advancements in the Internet technology (Kim et al. 2015; Tang-Mui and Teng 2017). Essentially, Social Media transforms people’s lives and behaviour in the society— billions of users from across the globe are continuously on the web in search of new experiences and new outlets where to express opinions, socialize and start businesses (Nasihatkon et al. 2016; Hudson et al. 2016). Tourism, on the other hand, comprises
* M. Rosario González‑Rodríguez [email protected] Sara Domínguez‑Navarro [email protected] 1
Faculty of Tourism and Finance, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
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the act of physically travelling to places outside one’s usual environment, for leisure or business purposes (for no more than one consecutive year) (UNWTO 2007). In other words, tourism fulfils a similar set of needs as Social Media does—it implicates a pursuit for new experiences and new possibilities for socializing and doing business (Lickorish and Jenkins 1997; Safko 2010). A common peculiarity of a tourism product is the fact that it has to be consumed at the destination (Xiang et al. 2015). More specifically, the tourism industry’s customer often has no other choice but to purchase an experience that cannot be seen, heard, smelled or touched until the change of location has taken place (Goeldner and Ritchie 2007; González 2014). This special characteristic has led to the development of new dynamic processes of promotion,
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