The Need to Embrace Mobile Technologies

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Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Table of Contents PAGEREF _Toc95430233 \h 2Executive Summary PAGEREF _Toc95430234 \h 31.1 Background of the Study PAGEREF _Toc95430235 \h 41.2 Significance of the Study PAGEREF _Toc95430236 \h 41.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study PAGEREF _Toc95430237 \h 52. Literature review PAGEREF _Toc95430238 \h 62.1 Mobile Technologies PAGEREF _Toc95430239 \h 62.1.1 The Need to Embrace Mobile Technologies PAGEREF _Toc95430240 \h 62.1.2 Slow Integration of Mobile Technologies PAGEREF _Toc95430241 \h 72.1.3 Advantages of Mobile Technologies PAGEREF _Toc95430242 \h 82.2 Social Media PAGEREF _Toc95430243 \h 92.2.1 Role of social media in tourism PAGEREF _Toc95430244 \h 92.2.2 Benefits of Social Media Marketing PAGEREF _Toc95430245 \h 103.0 Case Study PAGEREF _Toc95430246 \h 113.1 Background Information on Sofitel Haikou PAGEREF _Toc95430247 \h 113.2 Use of Mobile Technology by Sofitel Haikou PAGEREF _Toc95430248 \h 133.3. Use of Social Media Marketing by Sofitel Haikou PAGEREF _Toc95430249 \h 183. 4 Recommendations PAGEREF _Toc95430250 \h 224.0 Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc95430251 \h 235. 0. References PAGEREF _Toc95430252 \h 25
Executive Summary
Mobile technology and social media have dramatically changed the way companies and businesses interact with their stakeholders. This new trend has revolutionized business operations on every front. This paper seeks to demonstrate the relationship between the tourism and hospitality industry and how they have embraced technological advancements. It will also explore how the industry has embraced mobile technology and social media in marketing. It uses a case study of Sofitel Haikou hotel in China to illustrate the penetration of these technologies and the challenges they face. The findings show that the Sofitel Haikou brand has a limited social media presence in China and beyond. This is because it is managed under a global company (Sofitel owned by Accor) which have centralized their social media engagement for all its hotel chains. The findings show that some companies and businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry have not embraced these technologies and have a limited social media presence. The recommendation is for Sofitel Haikou to create and manage its own social media accounts and manage them. It will reap greatly from the benefits of owning and running a social media account, such as authentic and personal relationships with customers, better feedback, and increased brand visibility. It is also recommended that the company reaches beyond Chinese social media sites and creates new accounts with western social networking sites with a global audience like Twitter and Facebook.
1.1 Background of the Study
The 21st century has been critical in the advancement of technology. The use of mobile...