Detecting the brand personality of accommodation establishments through social media: A hotel sample in Çanakkale

Abstract

At the present time, accommodation establishments are known to compete among themselves just like other establishments. Accommodation establishments are able to position themselves in the perception of the customers according to their product characteristics and so they obtain a competitive advantage. Therefore, it can be positioned in accommodation establishments more concretely in the minds of the customers by qualifying them with some personality traits such as people. Individuals can comment as to accommodation establishments on social media. The shares of the accommodation customers regarding the characteristics of the establishments on social media determines the perception of personality characteristics of them. Well-managed personality traits can be an important competitive advantage for establishments. This study aims to detecting the personality characteristics with respect to the hotels from sharing contents by the customers of a selected hotel in Çanakkale on social media. In the study, the brand personality scale developed by Jennifer Aaker (1997) has been used to detect the brand personality of the selected hotel. This study is based on the assumption that brand personalities can be identified by customers' comments on accommodation establishments through social media platforms. The personality of the hotel is detected by evaluating 630 sharing contents with #hotelname hashtag on Instagram social media platform of the customers who have received service from there. In this context, the comments and sharing contents with respect to the hotel have been analyzed by using content analysis method, which is one of the qualitative research methods. After the analysis, the brand personality of the hotel has been determined in three factors as sincerity, excitement-competence and sophistication.