Reactions of Generation Y to Luxury Hotel Twitter Promotions

Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks (Merriam-Webster, 2013). Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites (Evans, 2008). In today’s society, social media refers mainly to websites including (but not limited to) Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. The most popular and fastest growing of these social media venues is Twitter. Twitter was founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, and Biz Stone. Since 2006, almost 200 million users across the globe have joined the site; over 140 million tweets are “tweeted” daily (Picard, 2011). Twitter took advantage of a niche in the market, allowing 140 characters to express an idea or emotion. Twitter has changed the media world as a news source, tweeting real-time information from stories that arise (Picard, 2011). In the lodging industry, methods of social media to promote hotels are becoming more popular. Twitter, in particular, has emerged as a “moment of truth” for a hotel, demonstrating how instantly and tactfully hotels react to the thoughts and opinions of former, current, and potential guests. Studies have also suggested that “online social life mirrors offline relationships in many ways” (Moore, p. 440). Therefore, Twitter accounts should be viewed as an extension of the hospitality business, in particular lodging, echoing the relationship a customer would feel upon arrival to the hotel. Hotel marketing teams have reached “great success by driving demand to hotels through increased online advertising and web optimization” (Chipkin, 2013). This has increased overall customer views of the hotel without affecting the rate strategy of the property or brand. Twitter presence could, potentially, help a patron decide between two hotels, “If a promotion, experience or package is unique, it definitely works to generate bookings and helps put you first in a consumer’s mind when they are choosing between two or three hotels,” says Rachel Harrison of Hyatt Andaz (Chipkin, 2013). Hotel companies worldwide are investing in their social media networks. Certain hotels (i.e. W Barcelona) are even hiring social media and marketing managers whose responsibilities include instant Twitter feedback (Appendix 1). The purpose behind this investment is to maximize these social media accounts, creating feedback from all potential guests, allowing them to react to both positive and negative word of mouth. Social media managers have recently encountered an opportunity; Generation Y is becoming a target demographic. As Generation Y enters the workforce and begins a career, the exposure to hotel brands and types will increase. Luxury hotel stays are becoming more financially reachable to these Generation Y guests because of their career advancements (Fields, 2013). This study will serve to evaluate the added benefits from the adoption of social media channels, particularly Twitter

The History of Tipping - From Sixteenth-Century England to United States in the 1910s

Tipping is a multi-billion-dollar phenomenon that challenges the traditional assumption of selfish economic agents who have no feelings and do not care about social norms. This article reviews the early history of tipping and offers an economic analysis of different aspects of tipping. Using the historical evidence, it then addresses two major questions about tipping: why do people tip? And does tipping improve service quality? The reasons for tipping changed over the years, but conforming to social norms and avoiding embarrassment were generally the main reasons. Tipping seems to improve service quality; the extent of the improvement varies across occupations.Tipping; History; Social norms; Feelings

DJukebox: A Mobile Application Senior Project

I’m going to discuss the process used to research, design, and develop a mobile application to handle song requests from patrons to disc jockeys. The research phase was completed in the first half of the project, during CSC-491, along with much of the design. The rest of the design and all of the development was completed during CSC-492. Once development began there were times when reverting back to the design phase was needed, which became apparent as more was learned about the mobile platform chosen for development, Android, and the backend server utilized, Google Firebase. Ultimately the project was purely academic, as there was not a real market or desire for the application as a product, so it was not published to the Google Play Store, and no company or corporation was formed around the application’s creation to take it to market

Fast-food advertising in social media. A case study on Facebook in Egypt

The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that affect young Egyptian consumers' attitudes towards fast-food advertising in Facebook which is considered the most widely used social media network. 4 focus groups were conducted with young consumers from 2 Egyptian cities. Content analysis was applied for the Egyptian fast-food Facebook fan pages with the aid of the NVivo software. The findings of this exploratory study have shown that young consumers are accepting the idea of fast food advertising in Facebook. Moreover, the research provides a framework for the factors that lead to consumers' engagement with the advertisements on Facebook. With the increase in the popularity of social media websites among the young generation, fast-food marketers find it a more effective medium for advertising for their chains among that segment. The research provides insights for marketers to make their advertisements more effective on Facebook. The participants in the focus groups were young consumers in Egypt. It would be useful to expand the sample and conduct the research in other developing and developed countries with more consumers from other age groups. Consumer attitude towards advertising as a topic generates interest from academics and practitioners in looking at analysis of the effectiveness and success of advertisements in social media. Therefore this research adds value in that, so far, there is very little academic literature on this particular topic examining young Egyptian consumers' attitudes towards fast-food advertising in Facebook

Information Outlook, October 2004

Volume 8, Issue 10https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2004/1009/thumbnail.jp

The consumer-brand relationship paradox

JEL classification system M30 - General M31 – MarketingThis study attempts to investigate and understand the unexplored paradoxical intersection between a relationship-oriented marketing philosophy and consumers who are seemingly uninterested in relational behaviour with brands. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods have been applied with the aim to illuminate this paradox through extensive revision of relevant literature, and implementation of empirical research. The research provided evidence that commitment, engagement and involvement are instrumental variables in relation to consumers’ interest in relational behaviour. They were found to statistically predict the level of brand loyalty. Respondents depicted low levels of involvement, commitment, engagement and brand loyalty. Likewise had significant negative responses towards relationship offerings (ROs) from brands. This was though significantly determined by the level of ROs. A number of three to four ROs in a month were found to have remarkably negative impact on consumers behavioural brand loyalty (BBL), attitudinal brand loyalty (ABL) and intentions to recommend (ITR) a brand. Likewise, consumers’ motivation for engaging with brands were steered by simpler motives as making a purchase, getting discounts and receiving customer service. Thus, provide additional evidence to the claim that consumers have little interest in deep relationships with brands. The main conclusion is that a consumer-brand relationship (CBR) paradox exist. Consequently, marketers must realise that not all consumers are receptive to ROs or interested in brand relationships. Thus, cannot be managed as relationships and without consequences be forced into one. Subsequently, marketing thinking and efforts should be diversified and account for this

The Waiting game

A study of wait times in the hospitality industry, and the guest satisfaction as related to those waits. When faced with waiting, what are the perceptions of the customer, and what can be done to help shorten the perception to help guest satisfaction. Finally, to look into the technology that is available today and in the near future, and what some industries have done to help alleviate the wait time to satisfy their customers’ needs

Consumer attitudes towards online mobile advertising formats

Online advertising companies rely primarily on targeted advertising. It is a system that basically uses consumers data like search engine history, interests and demographic information to better understand what products or services consumers might want next, so to be able to optimize the advert. However, knowing what product the user wants next or what he or she finds interesting might not be enough. The way the ad is delivered is also relevant as mobile adverts can be deployed in many formats, like banner or video ads, and in many platforms, including mobile applications, search engines and mobile websites. The format in which mobile online adverts are deployed is often overlooked and left to companies or marketers to decide. We present a thorough analysis of existing ad formats and publishing platforms in which such formats can be presented. It is clear that some ad formats are more effective and more suitable for companies to use than others. The most effective ad formats out of the ones that have been analyzed are showcase shopping ads and product shopping ads presented on search engines, and carrousel ads on mobile applications. The rest of the ad formats were getting mixed reviews or very negative ones. Furthermore, it was found that users generally prefer to receive ads on the search engine publishing platform, and in certain ad formats the effectiveness can be distinguished through the use of the consumer’s demographic information on the receiving side.As empresas de publicidade online utilizam principalmente a publicidade direccionada. É um sistema que utiliza dados dos consumidores como o histórico dos motores de busca, interesses e informação demográfica para compreender melhor que produtos ou serviços os consumidores poderão querer a seguir, de modo a poderem optimizar o anúncio. Mas saber qual o produto que o utilizador quer a seguir ou acha interessante pode não ser suficiente. A forma como o anúncio é entregue é também relevante, uma vez que os anúncios móveis podem ser implementados em muitos formatos, como banners ou anúncios em vídeo, e em muitas plataformas, como aplicações móveis, motores de busca ou websites móveis. O formato em que os anúncios móveis online são apresentados é muitas vezes ignorado e deixado aos marketers para decidir. Apresentamos uma análise exaustiva dos formatos de anúncios e plataformas de publicação existentes, nas quais tais formatos podem ser apresentados. É evidente que alguns formatos de anúncios são mais eficazes e mais adequados para as empresas utilizarem do que outros. Os formatos de anúncios mais eficazes entre os que foram analisados são os anúncios de compras de produtos apresentados em motores de busca, e anúncios do formato carrossel em aplicações móveis. O resto dos formatos de anúncios foram objecto de revisões mistas ou muito negativas. Além disso, verificou-se que os utilizadores em geral preferem receber anúncios na plataforma de publicação motores de busca, e em certos formatos de anúncios a eficácia pode ser distinguida através da utilização de informação demográfica do consumidor

“The lean startup” approach : a practical methodology implementation for consumer goods products in the healthy snack industry

Mestrado em Ciências EmpresariaisA metodologia Lean Startup foi utilizada para desenvolver uma solução de negócio no setor da alimentação saudável. Ao recorrer a esta abordagem, foi criado um modelo de negócios que posteriormente foi testado, de forma a obter feedback dos possíveis clientes. Durante o processo inicial de desenvolvimento o plano de negócios sofreu muitas alterações resultantes dos inputs dos clientes. Dado o padrão no feedback recolhido, foram testadas três hipóteses de problema: "Os snacks disponíveis no local de trabalho não satisfazem as necessidades nutricionais e não estão alinhados com os objetivos alimentares", "Comer saudável é demorado e difícil" e "Comer snacks saudáveis diariamente não é financeiramente viável". Todas estas hipóteses foram confirmadas através de uma análise qualitativa e quantitativa, ou seja, através de entrevistas presenciais e de um inquérito online. Para o desenvolvimento da solução, foi apresentado um protótipo do produto aos inquiridos. Os dados recolhidos do inquérito confirmaram o problema e validaram os benefícios apresentados da solução. Apesar da solução encontrada resolver o problema estudado, esta oportunidade de negócio ainda necessita de uma maior maturidade de mercado. Efetivamente, analisando os resultados, a solução encontrada é plausível. No entanto, para provar a viabilidade do projeto, os pressupostos ainda precisam de ser confirmados através de um maior estudo e alcance de mercado.The Lean Startup Methodology was used to develop a business solution in the healthy snacking business sector. While using this approach, a business model was created and then tested against customer feedback. During early customer development process, business model pivoting occurred with initial customer feedback. Given sharp pattern recognition of customers' pain, three new problem statements were tested: "Available snacks in your work place don't fulfill your nutritional needs and aren't aligned with your dietary goals", "Snacking healthy is really time consuming and hard to come by", and "Snacking healthy daily isn't financially viable". All problem hypothesis was confirmed by qualitative and quantitative analysis of all interview results. For product development, an initial product prototype was rendered and displayed to customers through an online survey. Collected data from the online questionnaire further confirmed the problem hypothesis and validated both solution benefits and features. Despite problem and solution fit, the pursued business opportunity is still shot from market maturity. In fact, by showing early promising validation results and sparking customer interest, this business solution is plausible, but many assumptions are yet to be confirmed to achieve product-market fit and project viability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio