The impact of social media on the hotel industry

Rıza Kaynak Published: August 10, 2021 4 min read
The impact of social media on the hotel industry

Internet and social media have become capable of providing a great deal of information for travelers, yet too much information makes it harder for consumers to make decisions and good choices easily. Even a user who searches hotels in a specific country can access thousands of results, which actually causes consumers to elaborate more when making choices and get confused among a large number of alternatives.

Many properties using social media as a marketing method try to facilitate the decision making process for users. Effective social media marketing is critical not only because it leads your target audience’s traffic to your website, but it also enhances customer loyalty.

If businesses use major social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn actively, their message can reach their target audience easily and they can enhance their recognition by contributing to their brand building activities.

Here are the most crucial tips for using social media as a marketing tool, a channel which also is closely related to the increase in the use of mobile devices.

The use of mobile devices

More users access the Internet through mobile devices, thus some hotels hoping to turn this into an opportunity have already started using social media actively. Researchers predict that 9 out of 10 people worldwide will have at least one mobile device by 2015.

29 percent of mobile device users plan their travels on mobile devices, 30 percent choose where to stay through mobile devices, while 46 percent complete their check-in transactions through mobile devices again. And a 85 percent use mobile devices actively during their travel.

Why do users prefer smart phones during their travel?

Many hotel guests bring at least one smart phone with them during their stay. With their mobile phones, guests search, access the Internet, take photos, make use of the map applications when visiting places they do not know, search the restaurants around through the Internet to have good food, while contributing to the promotion of your hotel when they check in at your hotel.

The most-preferred social networks in the hotels

Users make use of social networks in hotels as well, and regularly update their details. According to experts, Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare are the leading social networks among those used most commonly. Especially, the photos from the activities held in your hotel can reach thousands of people in seconds.

Creating a potential guest profile

52 percent of those participated in the research say that they make their holiday decisions by checking the holiday photos posted by their friends on Facebook. Only 48 percent put their plans into practice by relying on traditional methods. If users leave a restaurant or a hotel with positive impressions, 40 percent of them promote it on social networks. 76 percent of those using social media actively actually introduce your hotel to a huge amount of social media users when they post photos from your hotel.

Therefore, most of the hotel managers should start focusing on social media and mobile applications. We can easily say that properties relying on the Internet follow the correct steps in doing so, considering the rapid increase in the number of Internet users, the growing impact of social media and the interest of today’s consumers in mobile devices.

HotelRunner is your greatest assistant with your efforts to make your property go online. A HotelRunner account is only thing you need to manage and promote your property in the most reliable way, and to make direct online sales…

As HotelRunner, we share with you the benefits that are beyond the promotion of your hotel through social media accounts. You only need to visit our website. You will see the change with your own eyes…

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