Social media vs websites : allies or rivals?

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to analyse how Social Media and the World Wide Web are affecting each other and which online tools Corinthia Hotel St. George‟s Bay residents are using in the process of searching information and selecting. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study starts by looking into existing literature in the field of online information behaviour search which will be linked with the use of Social Media and World Wide Web. The analysis was based on 214 surveys collected solely from Corinthia Hotel St. George‟s Bay residents. After comparing and analysing the data collected recommendations were given. Findings – The main findings were that age contributes as an important factor vis-à-vis which online tool to be used. The majority of the residents used both Social Media and World Wide Web in their decision process. The younger segment showed an increase in Social Media usage while the elder segment preferred World Wide Web although other methods, such as using telephone communications, were mentioned. Research Limitation/Implications – Data collection was only based from in house residents. They were selected as they had already gone through the searching and selection process. Confidentiality and anonymity was guaranteed to all participants, subsequently making feedback of incomplete surveys impossible. Practical implications – As research has indicated with online technology advancements, consumers are becoming more online concerned and before booking their stay, an in-depth online information searching process is being carried out. Thus, hotel management must be aware and effective on their online marketing strategy, providing the latest information both on the Social networking sites and the World Wide Web. Hoteliers should also integrate the given online service with utmost professional assistance, as giving the wrong service can result a bad online publicity on various social networking sites such as Trip Advisor. Originality/value – The online market is an ever-increasing market which evolves in a nick of time contributing to the consumer‟s wider knowledge. Consequently, research about how Social Media and World Wide Web are contributing to online companies is needed, especially in the hotel industries where Social networking sites are having an immense impact.