How social media marketing impacts the performance of star rated hotels

Abstract

Firm performance among the hotel industry is a complex concept because of the presence of many factors that are affecting hotels day to day operations. The implementation of social media (SMM) as marketing tool is one critical way hotels are handling their daily operations and SMM is being adopted by hotels as vital component of their overall marketing strategy. The performance of hotels in Kenya has been on the decline due to stiff competition, turbulent economic and the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. The objective of this study was to determine the of social media marketing on the performance of star rated hotels in Kenya. This study employed social media integration theory. Explanatory research design was adopted and the targeted population was 215 star rated hotels listed on the Tourism Regulatory Authority. Census survey was adopted and a total of 197 hotels were studied with a response rate of 92.09%.Factor analysis was done using principal components analysis. Regression results indicated that social media marketing significantly affects performance positively (β=0.224>0.05). It was concluded that the use of social media as marketing tool has positive significant effect on firm performance in terms of customer satisfaction, market share growth and realized profits. The results are of great importance to the hotel industry as they can be able to access wide global client reach due to advancement in social technological interactions. The study recommends that hotels adopt the use of SMM for performance enhancement and product innovation. This study contributes to knowledge by looking at the implementation and use of SMM by star rated in K