Online social networking: Relationship marketing in UK hotels

Abstract The role and the existing and potential use of online social networking as a relationship marketing (RM) tool is evaluated in the context of luxury hotels. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the persons responsible for the management of social networking in 10 luxury hotels. Constant comparative analysis, applied within a codebook framework, revealed online social networks (OSNs) provided RM opportunities and increased business value. It is acknowledged that the full potential of OSNs has yet to be realised in terms of hotel marketing. Opportunities for extending the utilisation of OSNs are identified alongside recommendations for hotel marketing practitioners with regard to addressing consumers' needs, and areas for further research are outlined.

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