Hospitality sector in a flap over social media

In the hospitality sector, social media is an accepted means of getting customers in the door . . . and also a marketing tool that companies feel able to ignore.

These are the findings of a study by Barclays Bank Ireland, which found that almost a third of the 129 hospitality and leisure operators it surveyed attribute up to a quarter of their sales to social media, with a further 13 per cent estimating that social media generates as much as half of all sales.

At the same time, 60 per cent of hotels, pubs, restaurants and travel and leisure operators say they see only “some” or “limited” opportunity in using social media to engage with customers.

Disaster case

“One in 10 operators surveyed stated that they do not currently use social media, nor do they have any plans to do so, and said it is because they don’t see any value or return-on-investment,” says Helen Kelly, corporate director at Barclays Bank Ireland.

No hospitality company, it seems, wants to end up as a social media disaster case study.

“Concerns over the amount of time social media takes to manage, the risks of negative publicity, and the technical skills required, were highlighted by businesses we surveyed, who said these factors put them off engaging with these channels,” says Kelly.

Barclays conclusion? The sector is “missing a trick”.