Information: Key to Successful Social Networking in the Hospitality Industry

In an increasingly interconnected world, social networking has become an integral part of hotel revenue management or any type of business organization in the service industry for that matter. Companies have struggled to discover how to take advantage of this opportunity. New research has shown though, that the to being successful on social networking is information acquisition. It will help boost hotel profitability.

This finding was recently published at the Information Technology & Tourism Journal. The reasons why people join social networking are because of the Social-Psychological and Hedonic benefits it provides. Their attitude towards online social communities such as VirtualTourist.com and Tripadvisor.com is heavily influenced by this.

Why Information Acquisition is Important

It is easy to assume that the reasons people join hotel social networking sites is because of the sense of belonging it provides. However, studies show that this reason only comes second to information acquisition. Consumers primarily search the internet for updated information, deals, and travel news. Meanwhile, hedonic benefits such as entertainment and amusement come third. Hotel channel management needs to focus on the three factors.

The survey, which these findings are based on, was divided into five categories including: benefits of online community activities, attitude towards the travel community, level of participation in these travel social networking sites, frequently used sources, and demographic profiling. Majority of the respondents were students and professionals in their 20’s and 30’s.

In essence, the research findings just proved what most hotel revenue managers knew all along. As according to the author, “tourism is one of the highest involvement industries” and because of this people “want to get as much knowledge as they can do reduce risk”. If you’re an hotelier, you can be sure that your company will benefit with increase RevPAR and hotel sales when you provide the necessary information.

In addition, providing relevant information that is up-to-date will help the travel community overall, attract web visitors, and increase your chances of converting these searchers into actual guests.