Influence of social media management practices on hotel performance

The hotel industry is undergoing organizational transformations due to the insertion of social media as a communication platform that engages customers. Given this, verifying whether social media can collaborate on internal resources and help the companies’ performance has been a potential source of studies.

Design/methodology/approach:

The study sample comprised 67 hotels. To this end, hotel managers conducted face-to-face interviews to collect data from their respective hotels. Data were collected using social media management practices and performance measures measured through RevPAR (a revenue division by total rooms available) and online review scores from Booking.com. Exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were applied to evaluate the study’s hypotheses from a quantitative approach.

Findings:

It was evidenced that social media management practices can be categorized into monitoring and comment responsing practices and the dimension of responsiveness and information dissemination practices. These practices positively influence hotel performance measured through online review scores and revenue measured through RevPAR. Given the results, it is expected that hotels will have competitive advantages by managing their resources with the help of social media and that studies in this sector will gain more visibility.

Keywords:
performance; management practices; social media; online assessment; hospitality industry

Practices	Authors
PG1: Monitor the company’s reputation through online reviews.	Litvin et al. (2008)Litvin, S. W., Goldsmith, R. E., & Pan, B. (2008). Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management. Tourism Management, 29(3), 458–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.05.011 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.0... ; O’Connor (2010)O’Connor, P. (2010). Managing a hotel’s image on TripAdvisor. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 19(7), 754–772. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2010.508007 https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2010.50... ; Levy et al. (2013)Levy, S. E., Duan, W., & Boo, S. (2013). An analysis of one-star online reviews and responses in the Washington, D.C., lodging market. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965512464513 https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965512464513... ; Xie et al. (2014)Xie, K. L., Zhang, Z., & Zhang, Z. (2014). The business value of online consumer reviews and management response to hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 43, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.07.007 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.07.0... ; Kim et al. (2015)Kim, W. G., Lim, H., & Brymer, R. A. (2015). The effectiveness of managing social media on hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 44, 165–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.10.014 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.10.0... .
PG2: Respond to online comments on social media.	Litvin et al. (2008)Litvin, S. W., Goldsmith, R. E., & Pan, B. (2008). Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management. Tourism Management, 29(3), 458–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.05.011 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.0... ; Levy et al. (2013)Levy, S. E., Duan, W., & Boo, S. (2013). An analysis of one-star online reviews and responses in the Washington, D.C., lodging market. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965512464513 https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965512464513... ; Xie et al. (2014)Xie, K. L., Zhang, Z., & Zhang, Z. (2014). The business value of online consumer reviews and management response to hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 43, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.07.007 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.07.0... .
PG3: Conduct training of employees to handle social media.	Chan and Guillet (2011)Chan, N. L., & Guillet, B. D. (2011). Investigation of social media marketing: How does the hotel industry in Hong Kong perform in marketing on social media websites? Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 28(4), 345–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2011.571571 https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2011.57... ; Guillet et al. (2016)Guillet, B. D., Kucukusta, D., & Liu, L. (2016). An examination of social media marketing in China: How do the top 133 hotel brands perform on the top four Chinese social media sites? Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(6), 783–805. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2015.1064337 https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2015.10... ; Phillips et al. (2016)Phillips, P., Barnes, S., Zigan, K., & Schegg, R. (2016). Understanding the impact of online reviews on hotel performance: An empirical analysis. Journal of Travel Research, 56(2), 235–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287516636481 https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287516636481... .
PG4: Document response standards to be used in online reviews.	Park and Allen (2013)Park, S. Y., & Allen, J. P. (2013). Responding to online reviews: Problem solving and engagement in hotels. Cornell Hospitality Quality, 54(1), 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965512463118 https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965512463118... ; Kim et al. (2015)Kim, W. G., Lim, H., & Brymer, R. A. (2015). The effectiveness of managing social media on hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 44, 165–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.10.014 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.10.0... ; Guillet et al. (2016)Guillet, B. D., Kucukusta, D., & Liu, L. (2016). An examination of social media marketing in China: How do the top 133 hotel brands perform on the top four Chinese social media sites? Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(6), 783–805. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2015.1064337 https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2015.10... .
PG5: Develop standard internal procedures for handling social media information.	Litvin et al. (2008)Litvin, S. W., Goldsmith, R. E., & Pan, B. (2008). Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management. Tourism Management, 29(3), 458–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.05.011 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.0... . O’Connor (2010)O’Connor, P. (2010). Managing a hotel’s image on TripAdvisor. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 19(7), 754–772. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2010.508007 https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2010.50... ; Guillet et al. (2016)Guillet, B. D., Kucukusta, D., & Liu, L. (2016). An examination of social media marketing in China: How do the top 133 hotel brands perform on the top four Chinese social media sites? Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(6), 783–805. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2015.1064337 https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2015.10... .
PG6: Communicate to internal areas the information extracted from online reviews to improve operations and services.	Litvin et al. (2008)Litvin, S. W., Goldsmith, R. E., & Pan, B. (2008). Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management. Tourism Management, 29(3), 458–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.05.011 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.0... ; Levy et al. (2013)Levy, S. E., Duan, W., & Boo, S. (2013). An analysis of one-star online reviews and responses in the Washington, D.C., lodging market. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965512464513 https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965512464513... ; Park and Allen (2013)Park, S. Y., & Allen, J. P. (2013). Responding to online reviews: Problem solving and engagement in hotels. Cornell Hospitality Quality, 54(1), 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965512463118 https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965512463118... .
PG7: Develop strategies to promote the company’s services, considering the particular characteristics of each social media.	Chan and Guillet (2011)Chan, N. L., & Guillet, B. D. (2011). Investigation of social media marketing: How does the hotel industry in Hong Kong perform in marketing on social media websites? Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 28(4), 345–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2011.571571 https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2011.57... ; Kietzmann et al. (2011)Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business Horizons, 54(3), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01... ; Rosario et al. (2013)Rosario, A. H., Rodriguez, M. M. G., & Perez, M. C. (2013). Development of social media and web 2.0 in the top hotel chains. Tourism & Management Studies, 9(1), 13–19. https://www.tmstudies.net/index.php/ectms/article/view/542 https://www.tmstudies.net/index.php/ectm... ; Guillet et al. (2016)Guillet, B. D., Kucukusta, D., & Liu, L. (2016). An examination of social media marketing in China: How do the top 133 hotel brands perform on the top four Chinese social media sites? Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(6), 783–805. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2015.1064337 https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2015.10... .

Indicators	Factor 1	Factor 2
PG1	0.754	-
PG2	0.720	-
PG4	-	0.652
PG5	-	0.655
PG6	-	0.845
PG7	0.620	-

Model 1
RevPAR		Non-standardized coefficients	t
RevPAR		B	t
Management practices	(Constant)	72.139	5.14
	Factor 1	13.953	1.905
	Factor 2	-2.802	-0.421
	R² (%)	11.2%
	Sig	0.022
Booking.com
Management practices	(Constant)	7.282	38.64
	Factor 1	-0.27	-0.271
	Factor 2	0.145	1.624
	R² (%)	9.1%
	Sig	0.046

Model 2
RevPAR		Non-standardized coefficients	t
RevPAR		B	t
Management practices	(Constant)	140.637	5.079
	Factor 1	7.702	1.087
	Factor 2	-2.795	-0.462
	R² (%)	34.4%
	Sig	0.000
Booking.com
Management practices	(Constant)	7.168	16.835
	Factor 1	-0.043	-0.395
	Factor 2	0.155	1.668
	R² (%)	12%
	Sig	0.243

Dependent variable	Independent variable	Sig	Result
RevPAR	Management practices	0.000	Significant
Online Booking.com review rating	Management practices	0.046	Significant

Editora Mackenzie; Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie Rua da Consolação, 896, Edifício Rev. Modesto Carvalhosa, Térreo - Coordenação da RAM, Consolação - São Paulo - SP - Brasil - cep 01302-907 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: revista.adm@mackenzie.br

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[1] Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nathália S. D. Pereira, Av. Silas Mungunba, 1700, Itaperi, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, ZIP code 60714-903. Email: nathaliaeng.producao @gmail.com