Revista de Negócios e Gestão Hoteleira

Social Media's Influence on Hospitality & Tourism Management

Mahmood A. Khan

Social Media’s Influence on Hospitality & Tourism Management

Social media, which are based on web-based, mobile based or cloud based technologies have created wonders as far as accessibility is concerned. For decades in hospitality management we used to say “you do one thing bad ten people will know by the word of mouth.”Social media has changed that proverb overnight as the “word of million mouths.” So rapid is the spread of communication that it can make or break businesses, governments, or any agency. It is not plain communication but it leads to an interactive dialogue which creates a viral impact. Social media has the advantage of (a) reaching global audience, even in remote corners of the world; (b) immediacy with no time lag; (c) easy accessibility by those receiving the communication as long as they can get their hands on a computer keyboard; (d) twenty four hours, seven day operations thereby overcoming the time difference; and (e) ubiquitous versatility for interactive exchanges.