Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR communication, hotel industry, budget hotel chains, digital social networks, user-generated content, sustainable tourism, eco-label, social media marketing
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Abstract
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Abstract
This document discusses CSR communication in the hotel industry, focusing on budget hotel chains and their use of digital social networks.
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[...] They offer contents that focus more on the interests of their communities, values, passions; rather than on the services they sell. Their content strategy is therefore built around a universe rather than a product." Thus, this strategy is that of the hotel of the interviewee number 2 who uses a communication turned towards the neighborhoods to reach a younger target aged 20 to 25 years. Thus, he uses the Instagram platform for this: 'Instagram offers an ideal visual aspect to show the concrete impact of our actions. [...]
[...] Indeed, it is mainly feedback that involves the use of personal pronouns or which assume that the speaker(s) are included within the discourse. Furthermore, we observe a frequent use of affective vocabulary used to express an emotion, evaluative vocabulary to issue a value judgment and modalizers to affirm a position in one's discourse. We also find posts published during the stay in hotels. Internet users share their vacations by publishing photos to share with their friends. They mainly share photos of landscapes, photos of themselves, their visits, their accommodation, etc. Through these publications, we can sometimes see that the brands are identifiable. [...]
[...] Are social networks a preferred means for budget hotel chains to communicate about their hotels? PART General CSR Communication and CSR Communication in the Hotel Industry in Particular The new modes of information consumption and the important place of user-generated content, highlighted in the literature review, lead to discussing the following issue: are digital social networks a preferred means for budget hotel chains to communicate about their hotels? In order to answer the problem, it will be necessary to formulate three hypotheses that will need to be verified later in the field. [...]
[...] This gradual abandonment is partly due to a lack of competence in this new mode of communication. In addition, as interviewee number 3 explains: "Although we don't use LinkedIn, this platform could be relevant for reaching professional audiences interested in CSR". To overcome this problem, hotel chains are seeking expert recommendations on managing their pages and are taking training to initiate this practice. Hoteliers seem to want to be present on these platforms that they consider as free advertising. They question the advantages and disadvantages of these pages that must allow them to "stand out among a significant competition that can be a challenge" according to interviewee number 2. [...]
[...] The other reason is the fact that internet users are aware that they are 'tracked' on social networks and on the web in general. They are aware that if they like or comment on a certain type of content in the following days, they will have plenty of content related to what they liked. In addition, engagement is not really quantifiable by brands. In fact, just because an internet user likes a brand's publication, it doesn't mean they will necessarily go there when they are looking for a hotel. [...]
