Marketing information and research - September 2014

Marketing Information & Research 38425209
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Marketing Information & research
Examination of usage and attitudes towards social
media and other forms of digital communication
amongst Montagu Place Hotel’s current guests.
CIM number: 38425209
Submission date: August 29 2014

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Contents
TASK ONE – RESEARCH PLANNING FOR MARKETING DECISIONS
1. Background and rationale for research…………………………………………………………………………….…… 7
2. Objectives……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
3. Approach and methodology……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
3.1 Secondary research…………………………………………………………………………………………….… 10
3.1.1 External secondary research Sources…………………………………………………………. 10
3.1.2 Internal secondary research Sources………………………………………………………….. 11
3.2 Primary research………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
3.2.1 Quantitative research……………………………………………………………………………… 12
3.2.1.1 Methodology and sampling………………………………………………………… 12
3.2.1.2 Purpose, data analysis and justification………………………………………… 12
3.2.2 Qualitative research………………………………………………………………………………… 13
3.2.2.1 Methodology and sampling………………………………………………………… 13
3.2.2.2 Purpose, data analysis and justification………………………………………… 14
4. Timeframe and fees………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
5. Research Agency team and credentials………………………………………………………………………………… 15
6. Codes of conduct……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
TASK TWO – FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE AND MODERATOR GUIDELINES
1. Focus group discussion guide……………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
2. Moderator guidelines………………………………………………………………………………………………………….20
2.1 Recruitment………………………………………………………………………………………………………….20
2.2 Moderation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..20
2.3 Codes of conduct………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 21
TASK THREE – USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR CUSTOMER DATA COLLECTION AND INSIGHT
1. Briefing paper…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 23
1.1 Usage of social media in UK hotels marketplace………………………………………………………… 23
1.2 Data analysis tools to be used and data protection legislation……………………………………….24
1.3 Types of social media and digital communications to be used……………………………………….25
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 27

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Task One
Research planning for marketing decisions

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1 - Background and rationale for research
Montagu Place Hotel is a 4 star Hotel situated in central London, Marylebone. MP was established 8 years
ago, when an existing hotel was taken over and refurbished completely.
MP has 16 rooms, divided into 3 categories: Comfy Standard rooms, Fancy Executive rooms and Swanky
Deluxe rooms. Like any other boutique hotel, MP offers luxury facilities and its décor and ambience are
recognised as stylish and intimate.
The management structure inside the Hotel is simple: the General Manager refers to the Head Office and
is the ultimate responsible person for the managerial activities of planning and controlling the business.
The Deputy General Manager is the connecting point between the management and the two teams that
follow the day-to-day activities at MP: the front desk team (5 members) and the housekeeping team (5
members).
MP is a home away from home for all its guests. All the objectives derive from its mission: “welcoming our
guests in a world of great hospitality at terrific value”. Operations are carried out responding to a company
philosophy that considers 5 main values: customer service, communication, working together, team
development and community.
Tight relationships tend to be established not just between the Hotel and its guests but also within the
staff and with all the connected stakeholders. MP provides that kind of “never say no” service: the guest is
acknowledged since before they enter the main door and looked after personally throughout their stay.
Among other facilities, MP provides breakfast prepared in house and meals from a local Thai restaurant.
MP in the year from 1April 2013 to 31 March 20141
made a profit of £215K on turnover of £900K. The main
sources of revenue are: room sold (£845K); food and beverage (£50K, where it is considered also the
meeting room hire); other (£5K). During the same period of time, MP registered a level of occupancy of
90.54%; the net average room rate is £157.30 and the net revenue per room available is £142.42. A total of
8121 sleepers stayed at MP in the year.
Competition in the neighbourhood is fierce: in 0.5 mile radius are located many luxury hotels in the same
price range and new ones are being established. Among the others, MP competes also with Hilton.
Sources of reservations are: online travel agencies, travel agencies that use the GDS (global distribution
system); direct channels such as the website, social networks, telephone, email, walk-in; organisations
located in London that negotiate corporate rates for their employers with MP. Other pressure
groups/opinion leaders/dedicated press (as for example Trip Advisor) may guarantee a direct contact with
the Hotel.
Through the OTA (online travel agencies) comes the 32.09% of the reservations; the GDS brings the 5.52%
of the total of the bookings; through direct channels MP gets 39.12% of those and, finally, organisations
based in London account for the 23.27% of the rooms sold.2
3 major profiles of guests can be identified: there are the ones staying for business purposes, travellers in
holidays and guest visiting London for pleasure (weekenders). There is also a tiny segment represented by
family visitors who have relatives or friends in the neighbourhood.
The business segment accounts for about the 45% of the total of the guest staying over the year; the rest
consists of travellers being in London for holidays, pleasure or visiting.3
Each segment is really different from one another in terms of wants and needs and each group interacts
with PM in a different way.
In particular, MP gets really little feedbacks from business travellers with a corporate account; they
1
Internal data (profit and loss account): the last two months are based on forecast and projections.
2
Internal data (booking source report – period between 1 April 2013 and 19 March 2014).
3
This is an estimate obtained by adding the percentage of guests having a corporate rate and the percentage of solo travellers
(generally staying for business purposes).

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generally do not leave any review on Trip Advisor and tend to leave no internal written comments
(although they often express their preferences to the staff).
Corporate guests generally delegate to their PA the process of enquiring, booking the room and often
settling the bill.
MP is on Facebook and Twitter. A really tiny number of followers is represented by its corporate guests.
Likewise, the organisations based in London that book their employees in at MP interact with the Hotel
exclusively through email and telephone.
MP believes that establishing a stronger relationship and interacting through social media and digital
channels with some of its guests/clients may boost the occupancy over the weekend, when this
traditionally in London is weaker than week days.4
This is because they could integrate MP in their social
networks and share with colleagues/friends/families/acquaintances the promotions that MP offers during
the week end, facilitating word-of-mouse spreading. A survey conducted by BluSky Marketing and
reported in the magazine Boutique Hotelier5
says that “on average, 44% of guests at 17 luxury UK hotels
were repeat visitors or staying upon recommendation or through word of mouth”.
MP also believes that improving communication through social and other digital media may help
managing operations between the Hotel and the companies that have corporate rates: a stronger digital
interaction (with a customised log-in area for example) may allow organisations to manage their future
bookings, pull out reports and download invoices; moreover, unpleasant inconveniences such as
overbooking and missed reservation could be reduced or completely avoided.
In the same way, even corporate guests may benefit from a more extensive use of digital media, by, for
instance, communicating with the MP staff in real time and being assisted even before their arrival.
The target audience chosen for this research is therefore the one made by corporate guests and their
relative organisations as well. Although this segment is not the widest one, it is the most consistent in
terms of repeating purchase and it is also well recognisable. MP has set up corporate rates with 24
international companies that have branches in London.
2 - Objectives
The following four major objectives have been set out to meet the research criteria identified in response
to the research brief.
I. To explore ways in which the target audience interacts with organisations using social media and digital
communication.
Ia How often do they interact with organisations using social media and digital communication?
Ib What are the main reasons they seek interaction?
Ic How easy is for them to use social media and digital media to communicate?
Id What channels and devices do they use? Is there any specific medium they like the most?
Ie Does the possibility to use social media represent a crucial factor in choosing an organisation
over another one?
4
According to the “UK performance monitor” report by STR Global, the average occupancy of the London Upper Upscale Class
hotels (among which MP is part of) from the 1 January to the 15 March of the current year is 72,58% in the week days and 70,52%
during the week end. Quite relevant is the Average Daily Revenue: £153,82 during the week days and £135,22 during the week end.
Although the difference between the two occupancy ratio is not wide, it has to be considered that lower rates during the week end
strongly encourage bookings.
5
http://www.boutiquehotelier.com/239-loyal-guests-make-up-nearly-half-of-boutique-hotel-visits/

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II. To examine the target audience perception about MP effective usage of social media and digital
communication in relation to other hotels.
IIa Are they aware about how MP is currently using social media?
IIb Have they ever had any successful interaction with MP using social media and digital
communication?
IIc Who are, by the target audience, the key competitors of MP?
IId How do those competitors use social media and how do they communicate by digital channels?
IIe What do they particularly like about MP competitors?
IIf What do they like about MP? Would they consider the way in which MP run social media and
use digital communication good enough, compared to its competitors?
III. To determine when and why the target audience would prefer MP to communicate with them through
social media and digital communication.
IIIa In which stage of the visit life cycle do they prefer to use social media and digital
communication to interact with MP?
IIIb Would they prefer to be contacted by MP, to have the opportunity to actively contact MP or
a combination of both?
IIIc Is there any specific situation during the visit life cycle in which they would rather avoid
technology and interact face to face with a human being?
IV. To understand how MP could improve its use of social media and digital communication for interacting
with guests.
IVa Have they ever encountered any difficulties when interacting with MP using social media
and digital communication?
IVb In their opinion, what can be done better in the future?
IVc Is there anything missing that is considered essential by the target audience for the
interaction between them and MP?
IVd Is there anything that annoys the target audience when being approached by MP via social
media and digital communication?
3 - Approach and Methodology
Research design is considered by Wilson (2012:41) the “road map” for the researcher. It guides the
researcher towards the collection of information useful to give answers to the research objectives and,
ultimately, to solve the management problem.
Approaches and methods to conduct a research are influenced by many factors, such as cost and time,
practical issues, requirements of the objectives and value of the information obtained by using a particular
approach (Bakare, 2012:60). In this case, considering the objectives above (mostly focused on defining
attitudes and perceptions of the target audience in relation to MP activities) and the ability to gather
respondent views with ease (the population of interest is quite small), a considerable attention will be
given at primary research rather than secondary data collection.
Among all the different limitations in using secondary data, in fact, in this case two critical aspects such as
applicability and comparability are carefully monitored. It has to be considered, for instance, that the
target audience may generally appear to be enthusiastic in using social media, only to discover
subsequently that it is not the same when it comes to interacting with hotels (this is a specific issue called
“differences in circumstances” by Wilson, 2012:54).

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For this research however, secondary data, wherever not exhaustive in answering a specific objective, will
help at least in providing guidance for primary data collection.
Along the various phases of the research, the acquisition of secondary data comes first.
3.1 – Secondary research
One of the advantages of using data already collected is the fact that money and time can be saved. In this
case though, the biggest benefit deriving from secondary research will result in developing critical thinking:
“rather than searching for the right answer to a question, at this point in the process a researcher should
realise that there may be several right answers, parts of which must be integrated into the final answer”
(Colb, 2008:42).
Therefore, the purpose here is to find, select and keep track of all the meaningful information among the
plenty available. Again, considering the nature of the research objectives, a slight preference will be given
at the qualitative secondary data rather than the quantitative one.
Although it is usually the other way round, external sources are analyzed first, as internal data will be used
later to challenge any possible faulty assumption that may arise when gathering insights from the
collection of external data.
3.1.1 – External secondary research Sources
The reports and articles proposed below will be analysed to provide a comprehensive context about each
research objective. Unfortunately no definitive answers can be obtained at this stage, but each source will
help in obtaining insights and designing the primary research phase.
Sources that inform objectives I:
• “Digital Democracy Survey” by Deloitte.6
Assuming that the target audience of this research is part of a larger population that use
technology to interact with organisations, this survey will reveal significant technology,
media and telecommunications consumption trends including attitudes and behaviours
about social networks and media consumption preferences across platforms and devices,
and the Internet.
• Trade journals such as “Hotel Owner” and “Boutique Hotelier” (both the magazines and
the websites). In particular the article “Is social media still effective for Hotels?”, Martin
Shelton, in Hotel Owner, June 2014.
Sources that inform objectives II (especially IIc and IId which are about MP’s competitors):
• Market reports from either “STR Global” or “HotStats Hospitality Intelligence” to identify
the key competitors of MP.
• Key competitors’ websites and social media.
Sources that inform objectives III and IV:
• Articles available in the hospitality directory of PwC UK website
(http://www.pwc.com/hospitality). In particular: “The social media opportunity for hotels”7
which shows the advantages provided by social media during “every step of the guest’s
6
http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Industries/media-entertainment/digital-democracy/index.htm
7
http://www.pwc.co.uk/hospitality-leisure/publications/the-social-media-opportunity-for-hotels.jhtml

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experience journey” (also called in this research proposal “visit life cycle”); “Megatrends:
technological change – where is digital taking hotels?”.8
• Trade journals such as “Hotel Owner” and “Boutique Hotelier”. In particular the article
“Mobile devices are creating interesting possibilities, but how to get started?”, in Hotel
Owner, June 2014.
3.1.2 – Internal secondary research Sources
Although very specific, a few research objectives can be answered by data already available produced
inside the Hotel.
Sources that inform objectives Ia, Id, IIa and IIb:
• List of followers, number of likes, participants to competitions run through social
media (Facebook, Twitter) by MP. The analysis of these lists will produce quantitative
data: the percentage of guests (being part of target audience) that already interact
through social media can be calculated.
• Social media dashboards and statistical tools. The usage of these tools will permit the
collection of quantitative and qualitative data. It will be possible not just knowing how
many guests interact with MP, but also in which way they do so and how often. In
particular, the tool for Twitter called “Followerwonk” shows who (among MP followers,
hence among the followers being part of the target audience) chases MP’s competitors.
There will be then the chance to know in advance who exactly interacts with MP’s
competitors: this gives the opportunity to adopt an accurate non-probabilistic sampling
method to gather participants for a focus group.
Sources that inform objectives IVa and IVb:
• Guests’ feedbacks and complaints. MP keeps a feedback and complaint file. Although
guests tend to report at the front desk issues regarding their stay in the Hotel, they may
occasionally mention problems experienced while making reservations. Any difficulty faced
or suggestion may have come up already and may have been already reported.
• Email inbox folder where all the correspondence between MP and the target audience is
stored. Double checking the conversation already had between MP and its target audience
may help in picking up issues or inconveniences that occurred in the past.
3.2 – Primary research
Sources of secondary data proposed above are not sufficient to give exhaustive answers to the research
objectives. As previously said, a significant importance is attributed at primary research, which will be
designed ad hoc to meet that purpose. Taking into account the secondary data gathered, this phase
consists in the execution of quantitative and qualitative researches in combination.
Quantitative data will be collected first. Babbie states that “quantification often makes our observations
more explicit. It also can make it easier to aggregate, compare and summarize data”; though, he also adds
that “quantitative data, on the other hand, carry the disadvantages that numbers have, including a
potential loss in richness of meaning” (Babbie 2013:25). For this reason, the collection of quantitative data
in this research will address objectives that don’t involve a deep understanding of the reasons that lead
respondents towards certain behaviours. On the contrary, relying on a synergetic approach, qualitative
research will investigate motivations, intentions and respondents’ dispositions.
8
http://www.pwc.co.uk/hospitality-leisure/uk-hotels-forecast/megatrends-technological-change-where-is-digital-taking-hotels.jhtml

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3.2.1 – Quantitative research
An online questionnaire was preferred to a telephone survey. Although an interview over the phone would
guarantee a better control over the respondents, with an online survey a couple of significant issues are
avoided. First of all, MP has a database of the entire population of interest: this includes email addresses,
but not every record is associated with a telephone number. Secondly, being many respondents non
English native speakers, a written questionnaire gives them extra time to think and choose the preferred
answer, rather then feeling the pressure of the interviewer who waits for them to reply.
3.2.1.1 – Methodology and sampling
The questionnaire will be as short as possible, simple and effective. These characteristics respond to a
particular need of the client organisation (to keep costs low) and to other needs of all the parts involved in
the survey: the client (again) “requires the questionnaire to collect the information that will enable them
to answer their business objectives”; the interviewers “want a questionnaire that is straightforward to
administer and has questions that are easily understood by the respondents”; “respondents want a
questionnaire that poses them questions that they can answer without too much effort, and that
maintains their interest, without taking up too much of their time” (Brace, 2008:9).
Respondents will be asked in advance to participate at the survey so as not to arouse any suspicion when
receiving the email with the link to the questionnaire.
It is really important to remember at this point that the rationale for research refers to two independent
management problems. One of them involves the target audience made by corporate guests staying at
the Hotel; the other one comprehends their relative companies/personal assistants/persons in charge to
liaise between the company and MP.
Therefore, there will be two samples and two separate sections of the questionnaire, each one addressing
a particular target audience and specific research objectives.
Having all the contacts in the database, it will be easy to gather a relatively large sample that will be high
representative of the population of interest. All the corporate guests can be listed randomly and
respondents can be chosen at a uniform rate from the list (1 every 5 items from a chosen start point in the
directory of names). This is a probabilistic sampling method called “systematic sampling”. Likewise, from a
list ordered randomly of all the companies which have corporate rates with MP, a sample of companies
(and their relative reference contacts) will be picked up using the same method.
12 companies will be selected over 24: this allows to cover the 50% of the population of interest. 60
respondents among the corporate guests will be part instead of the other sample. This number represents
1/3rd
of the entire population of interest.
Both the guests and their companies can be offered some incentives: completing the survey, each
respondent gets a free room service at the Hotel or, in case of the companies, each representative will
receive a 10% discount for the next booking (the reward is intended to be symbolic as the questionnaire
will take no longer than 7-8 minutes to complete).
The analysis is intended to have a “statistical sound” and, here, the nature of the research is not
exploratory but conclusive. To facilitate data analysis and avoid language issues, closed ended question
will be preferred to open ended ones.
3.2.1.2 – Purpose, data analysis and justification
This phase of quantitative research will mostly seek to answer questions from the objectives I and II.
Indeed, after the analysis of this piece of data, objectives 1 and 2 are expected to be extensively clarified.

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Obviously, further investigation of qualitative nature will fill any gap of knowledge left by the survey.
Equally, a little part of the questionnaire can be dedicated to the other objectives, so as to have an
additional kind of numerical integration to the descriptive findings of the qualitative research that serve
better objectives III and IV.
Data will be analysed using the online survey platform called SurveyMonkey. Thanks to this software it will
be possible to design the questionnaire, collect and analyse the data and show the results.
3.2.2 – Qualitative research
As mentioned above, this phase intends to investigate mostly objectives III and IV. However, a few points
from objectives I and II (Ie and IIe) will be analysed as well, since they need to be explained by the
respondents adopting a sort of narrative argumentation. The collection technique that serves better the
purpose of this piece of research is a focus group. A part from incentives, it is not expensive to conduct and
it can be executed quickly. Gathering respondents at the same time in the same place would be a major
drawback (many of the corporate guests live abroad): this is why it is suggested to carry out an internet
focus group. Many, in the marketing field, believe that focus groups through the internet are not genuinely
accurate9
, but in this case the internet represents a cost-effective and time-efficient replacement that
cannot be ignored.
Secondary data and quantitative primary data findings will be also used to prepare the discussion guide
necessary to lead the focus group.
3.2.2.1 - Methodology and sampling
The most critical aspect for the success of the survey is sampling. It needs to be considered again that two
samples will be object of analysis and, in this case, the sampling method suggested is non probabilistic.
5 groups consisting of 6 corporate guests can take part at the focus group. Among them, it would be ideal
to include the ones that follow MP’s competitors in social media (see internal secondary research Sources).
English language knowledge shouldn’t cause any particular issue as, although conducted over the internet,
each respondent will feel confident enough to interact with the moderator using some sort of non-verbal
communication as well.
2 groups of 6 respondents will be part of the survey for the PAs/Office managers sample. Again, a non-
probabilistic sampling method is suggested as it is worthwhile including intentionally whoever tends to use
the phone to make reservations rather than any other digital media.
Considering the possible troubles caused to the respondents (in terms of time consuming and stress),
adequate incentives have to be offered. Corporate guests who participate to the focus group can be given
a voucher to be spent for treatments in a SPA located nearby MP. Members of the other sample can be
offered instead a free night stay at MP over the weekend, either for themselves or for a couple of
relatives/friends.
Specific respondents will be asked through email to join the internet focus group and a date and time will
need to be agreed. All the rest of the population of interest will be sent an email afterward and the firsts to
join and agree with the schedules arranged will take part to the focus group.
Two discussion guides have to be prepared for the two different samples in order to address all the
research objectives left (see next sub-chapter).
The online focus groups are expected to last 1 hour and an half plus a short break; everyone will be free to
9
http://www.groupsplus.com/pages/qmrr0798.htm

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choose their own preferred environment as location, as long as it is quiet and doesn’t cause distractions.
The number of 6 respondents for each group has been set out as maximum limit because otherwise it
would be difficult for the moderator to manage the discussion.
3.2.2.2 - Purpose, data analysis and justification
Although there are two different samples, all the research objectives that have to be investigated in this
phase (Ie, IIe, III, IV) will be addressed in both discussion guides. Obviously, all the main points of the
guide will be phrased in a slightly different way for each target audience, considering that the two samples
interact with MP for different purposes and that the research objectives serve the resolution of two
different management problems.
After having collected secondary data and quantitative primary data, this exploratory phase ends the
entire research. The subjective comments captured and the evaluation of them will provide an
understanding of perceptions, attitudes and motivations useful to fully answer the majority of the research
objectives.
Transcriptions of the focus groups are highly recommended. Although that requires long time (“one hour
of taped focus group may take 8 hours to transcribe”), “attempts at analysis without transcriptions will
lead to loss of much of the richness of the data and will risk a selective and superficial analysis (Bloor,
Frankland et al, 2001:59).
Transcripts, moderator’s own notes and notes taken by those viewing the focus groups will be adequate
tools to write a report which summarizes all the qualitative findings.
4 – Timeframe and fees
It has been indicated a budget of £5,100 for the 10 week research programme. All the details are identified
below:
W1 Presentation of research proposal; planning.
W2-W3 Gathering, processing and report of internal and external secondary data.
W4-W5 Primary quantitative research: questionnaire design; seeking participants and report
findings. Intermediate client debrief.
W6-W7 Primary qualitative research: focus group design; recruitment participants.
W8 Implementation of focus groups.
W9 Analysis of primary qualitative data.
W10 Conclusive report and final presentation of results.
Type of research Description Quantity Timeframe Costs
Secondary Gathering external source,
analysis internal sources.
n/a 2 weeks £140 (Deloitte Survey)
Quantitative Designing and executing
questionnaire.
72 surveys 2 weeks £1,200
Qualitative Designing discussion
guides and conducting
online focus groups.
Analysis and report Results from surveys,
transcripts, final analysis.

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5 – Research Agency team and credentials
The chosen Research Agency is based in Baker Street, Marylebone, in the same neighbourhood of MP. It
was established in 2002 and it has been involved many times in surveys for the hospitality field. Recently
they carried out a research about hotels performances in W1 London. The key members are:
Bill Smith – Project Leader
Bill is the owner of the Agency. He has previous experience in market research, having worked for other
prestigious agencies in London before. He is member of Market Research Society and he holds MSc in
Social and market Research. Having wide range of experience, he will be the ultimate responsible for
writing the report with the final results.
Rebecca Whitehead – Marketing Research Consultant
Rebecca joined Bill since the Agency was funded. She started as post graduate in Marketing and she has
now 12 years of experience in the field. She will follow the day-to-day activities and gather the secondary
data, external and internal. She will be also supervised by Bill in designing the primary quantitative
research.
Amanda Durnin - Focus Group Moderator
Amanda just finished her CIM Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism marketing. She has been working in this
Agency for 3 years. She had previous experience in working in marketing research and recently she started
focusing on qualitative research. She will be responsible for designing the focus groups discussion guides,
organising the meetings, carrying out the focus groups and analyse the results. She will be helped by a
member of the back-office in transcribing the conversations.
6 – Codes of conduct
The Research Agency is very concerned about data protection legislation. It complies with the Data
Protection Act 1998 in regards of protection of personal data and adheres to all the professional standards
of MRS. Professional and ethical rules listed in the ICC/ESOMAR International Code of Conduct will be also
taken in consideration when carrying out primary research.

16
Task Two
Focus group discussion guide and moderator
guidelines

17
1 – Focus group discussion guide
Discussion guides are a general outline of the topics that moderators have to cover during the focus
groups. Each concept addresses a specific cluster of research objectives. The moderator is supposed to
follow the sequence of the topics listed, even though additional questions may arise during the focus
group and the conversation may flow differently than initially outlined.
The discussion guide below is written for the target audience consisting of corporate guests. The
moderator will use the same guide for a series of four groups.
Each piece of the guide has a headline which informs about the topic covered and timing. Comments in
the column on the right add further information for the moderator (research objectives served, use of
projective techniques and any other suggestion useful to keep participants on track and to stimulate them
in specific sub-topics).
The moderator will use his own judgement in choosing the appropriate projective techniques in order to
get the purest answers from the respondents. In fact people, when interviewed, may prefer (consciously or
not) to indulge the moderator giving him the answer he wants to hear. However, for this guide, two
specific projective techniques fit appropriately the type of topics/questions listed below: “third person” and
“brand personality”.
Bakare (2012:112) describes well in a few words these two research methods: “third person, or friendly
martian […], is designed to get the respondent talking about issues which do not interest them. The
researcher asks the respondent to describe what someone else might do”; “brand personality asks
respondents to describe a brand as a person. […] Associations can also be made with objects or known
people or celebrities; the reason for the association is the most important thing here”.
(5 min.) Introduction
- Greeting.
- Purpose of focus group.
• Opportunity to offer opinions/input about MP’s usage of social
media and digital communication; explain ways in which they
would prefer to interact with MP using social media and digital
communication.
- Ground rules.
• Role of moderator.
• Recording of conversations.
• Confidentiality of comments/responses.
• Individual opinions (no right or wrong).
• Speak one at a time and as clearly as possible.
- Brief get-acquainted period.
• Participants’ names, positions, companies, social media and PC
experience.
NO SPECIFIC NOTES DURING THE
INTRODUCTION OTHER THAN THE
INDICATIONS GIVEN BY THE
GUIDE.

18
(15 min.) CONCEPT 1 – Interaction with organisations using
social media and digital communication
- Till what extent is it important for them to establish a sort of
relationship (any) with the organisations when buying products or
services?
- Would they generally prefer to interact with organisations using
social media, emails, apps, rather than human contact?
- Does the possibility to use social media and digital communication
represent a crucial factor in choosing an organisation over another
one?
• Would they trust the organisation more?
• For which other reasons?
• Have they ever chosen a hotel specifically because of its usage
of social media or digital communication?
(20 min.) CONCEPT 2 – MP’s usage of social media and digital
communication in relation to other hotels
- Share screen and show MP’s social media and its competitors’ for 5
minutes.
- Which are the best Hotels in the area using social media and digital
communication?
- Which kind of successful/pleasant digital interaction had with MP
can they recall? And have they had any successful/pleasant digital
interaction with its competitors? Which one?
- What do they particularly like about MP’s competitors? And what do
they like about MP?
- Would they consider the way in which MP run social media and use
digital communication good enough, compared to its competitors?
(10 min.) BREAK
(20 min.) CONCEPT 3 – When and why the target audience
prefers MP to communicate with them through social media
and digital communication
THIS CONCEPT REFERS TO THE
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES I.
THIS QUESTION ANTICIPATES
OBJECTIVE IIIC WHICH WILL BE
INVESTIGATED LATER AS WELL.
THIS QUESTION IS LITERALLY
TAKEN FROM THE RESEARCH
OBJECTIVES (IT IS OBJECTIVE IE)
AND IT IS THE KEY QUESTION FOR
THIS TOPIC.
THIS CONCEPT REFERS TO
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE II.
A PREVIOUS ANALYSIS HAS TO BE
UNDERTAKEN: WHILE SHOWING
THE SOCIAL MEDIA, HELP THE
PARTICIPANTS TO NOTICE THE
DIFFERENT PROMOTIONS RUN,
APPROACHES, STYLES, INTER-
ACTIONS PROPOSED AND ASK
THEM TO REMEMBER THEM.
USE “THIRD PERSON” AND
“BRAND PERSONALITY” PRO-
JECTIVE TECHNIQUES. THEY MAY
BE RELUCTANT IN GIVING
ANSWERS THAT UNDERVALUE
MP; ASK THEM TO MAKE
CHOICES PRETENDING TO BE
MARTIANS LANDED IN LONDON.
MAKE ASSOCIATIONS HOTELS =
FAMOUS UK STORE
DEPARTMENTS.
THIS QUESTION IS OBJECTIVE IIE.
IT IS THE KEY QUESTION FOR THIS
TOPIC.
THIS IS OBJECTIVE IIF. IF THE
CONVERSATION DEVELOPS, THE
ANSWERS MAY GIVE INSIGHTS
FOR RESEARCH OBJECTIVES IV.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE III.

19
- In which stage of the “visit life cycle” do they prefer to use social
media and digital communication and when, instead, they would
rather avoid technology and interact directly (face to face/phone)
with a human being?
• Give examples: research of hotels, booking, pre-arrival, check-in,
stay, check-out, post-stay.
- For the appropriate situations, why would they prefer to use social
media and digital communication?
- Do they prefer to proactively establish an interaction or they prefer
to be contacted and involved by MP?
- How many times (roughly) do they consider appropriate to interact
with MP during the whole “visit life cycle”?
(20 min.) CONCEPT 4 – How MP can improve its use of social
media and digital communication for interacting with guests
- Even considering the prior comparison between MP and its
competitors, what can be done better by MP?
• Is there anything missing?
• Have they ever experienced difficulties while interacting with
MP using social media and digital communication media?
• What would they like MP to have/provide?
- Have they ever been bothered by any sort of digital interaction
arrived from MP?
• If yes, which one and why.
(5 min.) CLOSING COMMENTS
- Any additional comments?
- Thanks participants and remind them of incentives offered.
OBJECTIVES IIIA AND IIIC. THE
MAJORITY OF CORPORATE
GUESTS ARE BOOKED IN BY THEIR
PA: WOULD THEY LIKE, FOR
INSTANCE, TO USE AN APP TO
CHECK THE STATUS OF THEIR
FUTURE RESERVATION WITH MP?
ANY OTHER APP/TOOL/SERVICE
PRIOR ARRIVAL OR AFTER
DEPARTURE?
LOOK FOR EMOTIONAL REASONS
(TRUST, CONFIDENTIALITY) AND
PRACTICAL REASONS (PROMO-
TIONS, DISCOUNTS).
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES IV.
USE OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUE:
BRAND PERSONALITY. THINKING
AGAIN AT THE ASSOCIATIONS
HOTELS = FAMOUS UK STORE
DEPARTMENTS, WHAT DOES MP
MISS IN TERMS OF ABSTRACT
CONCEPT (SUCH AS CHARM,
FRIENDLINESS, INNOVATION,
ETC.)?
OBJECTIVE IVA.
ANY SPECIFIC PRACTICAL TOOL.
USE OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUE:
THIRD PERSON. IF THEY WERE
THE PRESIDENTS OF THEIR
COUNTRY, WHAT WOULDN’T
THEY LIKE TO WASTE THEIR TIME
ON? WHAT WOULD THEY
ABSOLUTELY AVOID RECEIVING
FROM MP?

20
2 – Moderator guidelines
“Unbiased and professional moderating is key to meeting focus groups’ objectives […] and a moderator
can make or brake the entire research project” (Edmunds, 1999:69). Although a successful conduction of
focus groups relies on natural talent and certain acquired skills of a professional research moderator, a list
of precise guidelines has to be provided by the agency. In this case the guidelines need to inform the
moderator about the recruitment of adequate respondents, about how to effectively moderate the group
in order to avoid bias within the data collected and about relevant code of conduct issues that have to be
handled.
2.1 - Recruitment
According to the research proposal (paragraph 3.2.2.1 of Task one), 5 groups consisting of 6 corporate
guests each will take part at the focus group (there is a different sample for which another discussion guide
and moderator guidelines will be prepared apart).
First of all, the moderator needs to identify the sample source from which choosing the right participants.
That is MP’s guests list (database), filtered in order to have suitable respondents who meet certain criteria:
the sampling method used is, indeed, non-probabilistic. The moderator is asked to include guests who are
capable to give exhaustive answers especially to objectives III and IV: to be eligible, they simply need to be
PC literate and familiar with the use of social media (some of them have to be followers of MP’s
competitors).
In order to assess the potential accuracy of the respondents, the moderator will design and send to the
whole corporate guest list a screen questionnaire. This is a sort of pre-focus group survey (a few basic
questions) that allows the moderator to determine whether contacts are qualified to attend the group:
“the recruiter invites qualified contacts to attend a group and leaves unqualified contacts feeling that they
have completed a research study, unaware that they are not actually participating in the study itself”
(Edmunds, 1999:31).
Once the appropriate participants are identified, the moderator will make phone calls to formally invite
the selected guests to attend the focus group; afterwards, participants who have agreed to participate
will receive a confirmation letter from the moderator including all the useful information (time, date,
duration, incentives). It is also advisable to make a confirmation call the day prior the focus group as a
reminder for the participants.
The moderator will prepare a participant profile matrix in which is reported information (obtained with
the screen questionnaire and secondary sources already analysed) about: social media used, devices used,
MP’s competitors awareness, any possible complaint already made).
2.2 – Moderation
The discussion guide is a framework that has to be followed carefully: however, the moderator needs to
be flexible when conducting the focus group. Here, being flexible means allowing the conversation to flow
in a natural sequence, while at the same time maintaining a prearranged direction. Doing so, hidden ideas
and comments may arise: the ability of the moderator consists on weighing the importance and
pertinence of this extra information in order to evaluate its meaningful impact on the quality of the
research.
A few major rules are reminded to the participants during the introductory stage of the focus group (these
are listed in the discussion guide above); to ensure an effective moderation of the group, the moderator

21
needs to maintain control of the group discussion by curbing the most enthusiastic respondents and
encouraging the quieter ones to participate more proactively at the discussion. Moreover, the
conversation needs to be kept on track: in spite flexibility, the moderator has to refocus participants if
they wander too far off the topic.
A number of questioning techniques can be used by the moderator to draw out meaningful information
from the respondents. “In focus group the facilitator seeks group interaction […] the moderator’s
questions are thus a focusing exercise, an attempt to concentrate the group’s attention and interaction on
a particular topic” (Bloor, Frankland et all, 2001:43).
Effective techniques that can be used are: “ranking” (respondents are asked to rank their top choices when
options are given); “comparison games” (similar to the projective technique “brand personality”, it is a
comparison-type game that allows the moderator to get emotional insights by asking the participants to
describe certain things as they were other desirable objects.
2.3 – Codes of conduct
Two international associations for market and opinion research such as ESOMAR and MRS provide
guidelines for the ethical conduction of a focus group. Their codes of conduct classify rules that derive
from professional and ethical principles and comply with national and international legislation.
MRS CODE OF CONDUCT
10
: the moderator has to gain a comprehensive understanding of all the
principles of the code (10 principles) to ensure all the actions undertaken
during the qualitative exercise are fair and ethical towards the respondents.
The following rules of section B of the Code (specific rules as they apply in
different aspects of the research) need to be carefully considered:
B.8 and B.9: anonymity of Respondents.
B.14: capability of respondents to provide information in a way that reflects
the view they want to express; respondents are not led towards particular
points of view.
B.18: respondent’s right to withdraw from a project at any stage must be
respected.
B.25: Where Incentives are offered, Members must clearly inform the
Respondent who will administer the incentive.
B.34: At the time of recruitment Members must ensure that Respondents
are told all relevant information regarding: location, presence of observers,
when and how the exercise is to be recorded, likely length of the exercise,
member/Agency that will be conducting the exercise.
ESOMAR CODE OF CONDUCT
11
: the 8 key fundamentals of the Code must be understood and followed. In
particular, the following articles need to be considered:
Art. 6: Respondents has to be informed before recording equipment is used
for research purposes. If respondents so wish, the record or relevant section
of data will be destroyed or deleted.
Art. 7 (b): Respondents need to be aware of the purpose of collection.
10
https://www.mrs.org.uk/pdf/code%20of%20conduct%20(2012%20rebrand).pdf
11
http://www.esomar.org/uploads/public/knowledge-and-standards/codes-and-guidelines/Code.pdf

22
Task Three
Using social media for customer data collection and
insight

23
1 – Briefing paper
To: Montagu Place Hotel – Marketing manager
From: Research Executive
Subject: Using social media for customer data collection and insight
Date: 08/26/2014
1.1 - Usage of social media in UK hotels marketplace
A report recently released by BluSky Marketing12
shows how, among 3882 real guests of 15 UK luxury and
boutique hotels interviewed, only 1% of them got to know the Hotel they stayed in through social media
(excluding TripAdvisor). According to this survey, hotel awareness through social media is still in its early
stage. Though, experts know that social media have the potential not only to drive enquiries but generate
sales for hotels.
In fact, trends in hospitality (see TravelClick survey)13
highlight that hoteliers are increasing budgets for
online and social media advertising/presence.
What are the advantages of using social media for hotels? Three key concepts are part of the answer:
importance of reviews shared by travellers; importance of findability (since, for instance, Google and Bing
search engines included social media activity in their ranking algorithms); importance of interacting with
guests during the visit life cycle.
Regarding the importance of reviews, a research (The impact of social media on lodging performance) 14
attempts to determine ROI for social media efforts in the hotel industry. The results, summarised in 2 brief
points, are significant: 1) “the percentage of consumers consulting reviews at TripAdvisor prior to booking
a hotel room has steadily increased over time, as has the number of reviews they are reading prior to
making their hotel choice”; 2) “if a hotel increases its review scores by 1 point on a 5-point scale (e.g. from
3.3 to 4.3), the hotel can increase its price by 11.2 percent and still maintain the same occupancy or market
share”.
Potentially, each social network may become a reliable source of reviews and word-of-mouth: this
phenomenon is not limited to TripAdvisor only.
The importance of findability lies down in the fact that travellers tend to land on the hotel’s website or an
OTA (online travel agency) to book a room only after having gathered information in the web (How
travellers use online and social media channels to make hotel-choice decisions)15
.
Finally, interactions. Leisure guests and business travellers seek interaction with hotels for many reasons.
Below are a few successful examples of how hotels have interacted with different segments of guests to
satisfy different needs:
- Brand awareness: The Marylebone Inn Hotel in London offered a free night stay for 2 people to one of the
first 100 who “liked” its Facebook page.
- High tech facilities for business guests: Marriott Hotels allow a “mobile check-in and check-out” and
designed an application that becomes the guests’ personal concierge16
.
12
http://www.bluskymarketing.com/5th-luxury-hotel-report-highlights-social-media-perform
13
http://www.travelclick.com/en/news-events/in-the-news/hospitality-trends-hoteliers-increasing-marketing-spend-online-and-social-
media
14
https://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/abstract-16421.html
15
16
http://travel-brilliantly.marriott.com/our-innovations

24
- High tech facilities for leisure guests: LoungeUp, a Company that offers mobile hospitality solutions,
developed an application that allows hotels to send tourist recommendations directly to its guests’ mobile
phones, as if the guests were at the hotel reception17
.
1.2 - Data analysis tools to be used and data protection legislation
Above are many reasons for which hotels and guests interact with each other. The interaction represents
for both parties a mutual benefit. Guests get useful information about the hotels, find the best deals,
familiarise with the ambience since before arrival and take advantage of the best facilities/feature to
maximise the pleasure during the visit life cycle. Likewise, hotels need to process a very large amount of
information in order to improve their customer relationship management.
First of all, what are the digital sources from which MP currently gets its guests’ data?
• MP currently runs two social networks: Facebook and Twitter.
• The Hotel has a website from where bookings are made and from where anyone can subscribe and
receive monthly news and offers.
• MP receives reservations and booking enquiries directly via email.
• OTAs and review websites are also channels through which MP acquires data.
Depending on the nature of data, two categories of tool can be implemented: one that analyses data and
gives a quantitative/analytical output (for example, monitoring contact’s surfing behaviour and producing
percentages as result) and another one that allows MP to manage individual profiles for each
guest/contact. Below are four data analysis tools MP could use to gain more insight into its
guests/potential guests’ interests and preferences.
Tools useful to analyse quantitative and qualitative data obtained from social networks (Facebook and
Twitter):
• Followerwonk: this is a specific tool for Twitter that (as already explained in the research proposal,
paragraph 3.1.2) enables MP to know who are its followers, where they are located and the
frequency they tweet. It also shows who follows competitors and, using appropriate criteria, it finds
the most important and influential followers in MP’s market niche.
• Hootsuite: another social media analytic tool that allows MP to manage its social media accounts
through just one dashboard. MP can make the most of this tool thanks to the capability to monitor
what topics are the contacts more involved in, which posts/tweets are most successful and what
stimulates user’s attention.
Tool useful to analyse quantitative data obtained from MP’s website:
• Google analytics: besides informing about sales and conversion rate, this tool offers up to date
information about how visitors utilise the website, how they landed there and what can be done to
persuade them to come back.
Tool useful to analyse data from any other digital channel (email, OTAs), qualitative data obtained through
social media that needs human elaboration and personal data submitted for any reason via any channel:
• Database included in the Hotel Management Software: the System database is a computerised
source of data that generates new records each time a new booking is made. However, the database
can be manually amended (comments and preferences can be added to existing records) and new
17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7y4ySfpjiw

25
profiles can be created. The information gathered under each single record is a combination of
profile data, behavioural data and volunteered data.
The collection and usage of data is regulated by the law. Data obtained through social media and digital
communications makes no exception. In UK, the Data Protection Act of 1998 defines a legal basis for the
handling of information relating to living people and, a part from domestic purpose, everyone needs to
comply with the principles of the Act when processing personal data.
Practically, MP, while collecting personal data for subscriptions, bookings, competitions, must ask for
permission and ensure that people know18
:
• Who MP is;
• What the data will be used for;
• To whom it will be disclosed.
In case sensitive data is collected, beside the necessary authorisation, MP must also ensure that adequate
security is in place for the protection of sensitive data.
Moreover, MP, while handling personal data for liaising, designing promotions, implementing marketing
strategies/activities, must to ensure that19
:
• All personal data is both accurate and up to date;
• Errors are corrected effectively and promptly;
• The data is deleted/destroyed when it is no longer needed;
• The personal data is kept secure at all times (protecting from unauthorised disclosure or access);
• Use the data for any purpose it was not explicitly obtained for;
• Transfer personal data outside of the European Economic Area unless you are certain you are
entitled to or consent from the individual concerned has been obtained.
1.3 - Types of social media and digital communications to be used
The recommendations below take into account the characteristics of MP and its guests, internal know-
how, probable budget for marketing and other minor variables that will be considered along with each
suggestion:
• Google+ profile: Google+ is expected to become one of the largest review website. Customers will
be looking for organisations and recommendations from other people. Organisations will be shown
in the map and creating a profile (for free) allows MP to link its page to its YouTube channel. This will
also help with SEO. Developing a professional presence on Google+ will impress both leisure and
business guests.
• YouTube channel: another account that can be set up for free and can be managed internally. The
possibility to load video and embed them in MP’s website and other social media will help again with
SEO. Leisure guests will be mostly interested in this channel; there will be the chance for them to
leave comments and interact at any stage with MP during the visit life cycle.
• Online text messaging service: this service will be extremely useful for corporate guests. They are
almost exclusively booked in by their PA or travel agencies and, often, misunderstandings or change
of plans lead to no-shows or late cancellations (which would incur in an unpleasant charge for the
18
http://dataprotectionact.org/3.html
19

26
company). A text message sent by MP 72h prior arrival would allow the Hotel to avoid unexpected
situations and would allow MP to stay in touch with each corporate guest, assisting them in the early
stage of the visit life cycle. The service is relatively cheap. All the corporate guests who stayed at
least once have left their telephone number.
• HotelTonight: this is a mobile travel App for iPhone and Android devices that allows users to find
discounted last-minute hotel rooms. MP will be able to sell rooms at the very last minute, increasing
its RevPAR (revenue per available room). Setting up an account is free of charge; HotelTonight will
only retain a percentage on the accommodation amount advertised on line. This solution will be
particularly useful for weekenders.
• Facebook and Twitter: since MP is already running them, they have to be maintained and
developed.
Research Executive
Marketing Department
MONTAGU PLACE HOTEL
Tel. 800.800.800.800
researchexecutive@montaguplace.co.uk

27
Bibliography
Books
Lawrence, S., Stevens, R., Wrenn, B. and Loudon, D., 2013. The essential of marketing research. London:
Routledge
Bakare, R., 2012. Marketing information and research. London: BPP
Babbie, E., 2013. The practice of social research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning
Wilson, A., 2012. Marketing research: an integrated approach. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall
Kolb, B., 2008. Marketing research: a practical approach. Los Angeles; London: SAGE
Brace, I., 2008. Questionnaire design: how to plan, structure and write survey material for effective
marketing research. London: Kogan Page [for] MRS
Edmunds, H., 1999. The focus group research handbook. Lincolnwood, Ill: NTC Business books
Bloor, M., Frankland, J., Thomas, M., Stewart, K., 2001. Focus group in social research. London: SAGE
Printed articles
Shelton, M., (2014). Is social media still effective for Hotels? Hotel Owner, June 2014.
Anonymous, (2014). Mobile devices are creating interesting possibilities, but how to get started? Hotel
Owner, June 2014
Online articles and Websites
http://www.boutiquehotelier.com/239-loyal-guests-make-up-nearly-half-of-boutique-hotel-visits/
http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Industries/media-entertainment/digital-democracy/index.htm
http://www.pwc.co.uk/hospitality-leisure/publications/the-social-media-opportunity-for-hotels.html

28
http://www.pwc.co.uk/hospitality-leisure/uk-hotels-forecast/megatrends-technological-change-where-is-
digital-taking-hotels.html
http://www.groupsplus.com/pages/qmrr0798.htm
https://www.mrs.org.uk/pdf/code%20of%20conduct%20(2012%20rebrand).pdf
http://www.esomar.org/uploads/public/knowledge-and-standards/codes-and-guidelines/Code.pdf
http://www.bluskymarketing.com/5th-luxury-hotel-report-highlights-social-media-perform
http://www.travelclick.com/en/news-events/in-the-news/hospitality-trends-hoteliers-increasing-
marketing-spend-online-and-social-media
http://travel-brilliantly.marriott.com/our-innovations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7y4ySfpjiw

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