Blog?
A blog, also called weblog or webblog, is defined as 'a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links' (Weil, 2006). Blogs have been commonly used by travellers to post their experiences about the places they visit, stay, entertain and eat, and play in important role as a marketing tool in hospitality in the very near future (Price and Starkov, 2006). Cobanoglu (2006) suggests that blogs can be used: 1) as a part of the hotel definsive strategy, e.g. idnetifying trends through reviewing hospitality blogs; and 2) as a marketing tool in hospitality. Indeed, aforementioned Price and Starkov wrote the article three years ago; just how much can technology advance in three years? The answer is probably 'immensely'. The 'near future' may have already arrived. To investigate this, I did a quick research and here are some examples of blogs used in the industry:
- editor's blog (Caterersearch.com)
- 50 of the world's best food blog (Times online)
- venere travel blog
- Marriott on the move (by Bill Marriott, Chairman & CEO of Marriott International)
- Hotel Blog (Eaves Hall Country Hotel)
There are a number of blogs by all kinds of stakeholers and hospitaliby companies themselves in various sizes. Therefore, yes, probably the 'near future' has already arrived.
You may not be so familiar with blogs yet, but as the number of blog users increases there will be increasing potential of using blog as business tool. This is one of the reasons why I have decided to assess your understanding of the industry through your blog entries.
It doesn't have to be purely academic - in fact, I do not wish to see blog entries only with theories. You are studying a course that's closely related to the real world, so let's talk about real business. Get some idea in lecture, do your own research, show us what you found, and tell us what you think about it.
Have fun blogging!
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