Page 36 - Management 19 (2024), številka 1

Fabrizio Gritta | The Use of Social Big Data in Small Hospitality Businesses

In the week from December 1st to December
Table 1: Number of structures per post frequency category
8th, 2023, this ranking was compiled after de-
Description Number of structures
tecting the number of posts and responses pu-
Low Frequency 7 blished in brokerage portals and on social media.
Medium Frequency 11 We categorised the frequency of posts into
High Frequency 14 three categories:
Total 32 • Low frequency: structures that publish con-

tent 1-3 times a week, to share significant
updates, special events, or promotions;
Table 2: Characteristics of the selected structures
• Medium frequency: structures that publish
Description Type Rooms Employees about once a day, using posts to maintain
of structure engagement and presence in consumers’
Structure 1 2-star hotel 15 9 minds;
Structure 2 2-star hotel 15 6
Structure 3 2-star hotel 14 6 • High frequency: very active structures on
Structure 4 1-star hotel 10 4 social media that post several times a day,
Structure 5 1-star hotel 7 4 using different platforms to reach different
Structure 6 Guesthouse 6 4 audiences, like Instagram for captivating
Structure 7 Guesthouse 5 2 images of the property and Facebook for up-
Structure 8 Guesthouse 5 1 dates and promotions.
Structure 9 Guesthouse 4 0
Structure 10 Guesthouse 3 0 A total of 14 structures were identified as
belonging to the high-frequency class (Table 1).
The top 10 structures were selected based on
the most significant proportion of the country’s the number of posts published during the week
business landscape, comprising 95.13 % of the 4.4 from 1 December to 8 December 2023. It was con-
million active businesses. In contrast, large en- firmed that the selected businesses belonged to
terprises account for a mere 0.09% of the total. the microenterprise category. This was determi-
The selection of hotels was made through a ned by examining the official documents provi-
methodology based on four criteria:
ded by the entrepreneurs, which indicated that
• Geographic localisation: hotels located in they had fewer than 10 employees and a turnover
various areas of Rome’s historic centre were of less than 2 million euros. Table 2 presents the
selected to obtain a tourist representation of characteristics of the sample structures.
the city; The case studies were prepared through qua-
• Hotel size: focus was on smaller hotels, with litative interviews conducted by a group of three
fewer than 15 rooms; researchers in December 2023. The interviews
• Online reviews: online reviews from vario- were directed specifically to the entrepreneur
us platforms (such as TripAdvisor, Booking. owner, who from a managerial perspective decla-
com, and Google Maps) were used to identi- res themselves responsible for strategic decisi-
fy hotels with a significant presence on soci- ons, and lasted about an hour.
al media and of interest to travellers; The following questions were asked of the en-
• Social media interaction: the activity and trepreneurs:
engagement of hotels on social media like
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were Q1: Which social media platforms do you actively
analysed to select those with an active and use to promote your hotel?
engaging presence, and/or with a significant Q2: What tools or services do you use to monitor
follower base. and analyse social media activity?
Q3: How do you use social media data to inform
The selected locations include the most famo- your marketing strategies and business ope-
us historical sites in the city of Rome. rations?
Using the aforementioned criteria, the rese- Q4: What have been the results or benefits ob-
arch was then conducted on the entire reference served from the use of social big data in your
universe of 32 hospitality structures located in the facility?
tourist squares of the city of Rome, small in size Q5: What are your future plans for using Social
and boasting significant activity on the Internet. Big Data in your facility?

36 management 19 (2024) številka 1