ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews research investigating the influence of technology and the internet within the fields of hospitality and tourism, and highlights management areas that are most likely to provide hospitality marketers with a competitive advantage. Based on a critical analysis of internet and technology-related articles published in leading hospitality and tourism journals, we present three key areas of significance – websites, social media and smartphones – and also discuss the implications and challenges involved in managing these areas in the current age of the internet and technology. Overall, this chapter presents a glimpse of how the internet and technology has developed thus far and how it is utilized for hospitality marketing efforts today, including examples of the most recent trends such as Airbnb, Instagram and “hotel messaging.” Suggestions for where future research could shed light in this fast-paced environment of internet and technology are presented based on the findings of this review.
