Digital Communication Tools: E-Wom in the Tourism & Hospitality Industry

The tourism industry has been greatly influenced by the development of information andcommunication technologies (ICT), as in the case of word-of-mouth digital communication or e-WOM,that allows users to express opinions about their experience as tourists online. Hotels are the providersof tourist services that are most interested in this communication tool, using which they can obtainfeedback and information useful for improving management and economic results. To date, academicliterature on this topic has been focused on consumers, and the research contribution related tomanagement is limited. This research contributes to the study of e-WOM as a digital communicationtool for hotels in the Italian context. A descriptive analysis of this phenomenon was carried out using asurvey conducted among hotel managers and marketing managers. This survey revealed differentpoints of view on different user profiles and hotels involved.