Page 37 - Management 19 (2024), številka 1

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

Table 3: Main response provided by the selected facilities
Description Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
Structure 1 Instagram Instagram Insights Personalisation Optimisation of ad- AI
of the offer vertising campaigns
Structure 2 Instagram Instagram Insights Personalisation Optimisation of ad- AI
of the offer vertising campaigns
Structure 3 Instagram Instagram Insights Personalisation Optimisation of ad- AI
of the offer vertising campaigns
Structure 4 Facebook Facebook Insights Personalisation Optimisation of ad- AI
of the offer vertising campaigns
Structure 5 Facebook Facebook Insights Personalisation Improvement of AI
of the offer guest experience
Structure 6 Facebook Facebook Insights Personalisation Improvement of AI
of the offer guest experience
Structure 7 Facebook -- Personalisation Improvement of Advanced booking
of the offer guest experience systems
Structure 8 Facebook -- Personalisation Increase Advanced booking
of the offer in bookings systems
Structure 9 Booking -- Personalisation Increase Advanced booking
of the offer in bookings systems
Structure 10 Booking -- Personalisation Increase Advanced booking
of the offer in bookings systems

Presentation of the Results Obtained ces and opinions, helping to personalise offers
In this paper, we discuss small hotel businesses, and adapt marketing strategies. This highlights
including both hotel and non-hotel accommoda- the importance of digital tools and the unique-
tion facilities. According to the European Com- ness of small businesses in personalising tourist
mission Recommendation no. 361 of 2003, these services compared to large hotel chains.
organisations are defined as having fewer than 10 Regarding the perceived benefits of social big
employees and an annual turnover or total assets data, four entrepreneurs stated that data analysis
of less than 2 million euros. optimises advertising campaigns, three used it to
Table 3 indicates the main response provided improve the overall guest experience, and three
by each entrepreneur interviewed during the di- saw an increase in direct bookings due to direct
scussion. engagement on social media.
The results of the interviews show that small As shown in Table 3, six entrepreneurs are
hospitality businesses make significant use of exploring the use of AI to predict future trends,
intermediary portals and social media. Eight out while the remaining four, managing very small
of ten entrepreneurs primarily use Facebook and guesthouses, are working on better integrating
Instagram for promotion, actively engaging in social media data with their booking manage-
group management where users post their expe- ment systems.
riences. The remaining two rely mainly on portals Overall, the survey reveals that small hospi-
like Booking.com. These businesses typically lack tality businesses are eager to embark on a path
employees, with OTAs compensating for their or- towards the use of emerging technologies, which,
ganisational structure. however, is hampered by factors characteristic of
When asked about tools or services used to their small size.
monitor and analyse social media activity, six en-
trepreneurs use performance analysis tools like Conclusion
Facebook Insights and Instagram Insights, while This research has explored the use of social big
the other four read guest reviews and learn from data in small hospitality businesses, with a spe-
them but do not use data measurement tools. cific focus on the context of Rome. Through a de-
These four are likely limited by small business tailed analysis of the strategies adopted, the be-
constraints, such as a lack of human resources nefits obtained, and the limitations encountered,
and familiarity with technology. several significant considerations have emerged
All respondents unanimously agreed that they to guide future actions of businesses in the sec-
use social media data to identify guest preferen- tor.

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