Co-creation in accommodation establishment: A case study of Eurostars Hotels

Nowadays, the fact that communication has become easier has been reflected in the production processes as well as in every stage of human life. The increase in the communication of the producer with the consumer has caused the consumer to be included in different stages of production. The inclusion of the consumer in different stages of production is called co-creation. Co-creation was first used in the last stage of production (self-service). Afterwards, it continued to be used before and during production with its contribution to the developments in technology. Co-creation, which has started to be used in many different sectors such as automotive, clothing, food and beverage, has also shown its effect in the tourism sector as tourists have a say in planning their own travels. The Hotel Ideas Tester website of Eurostars hotels was examined in order to determine the innovations that the tourists, who are given the right to speak for the goods and services offered to the guests in the accommodation establishments, want to make in the field of accommodation. Eurostars Hotels, one of the chain accommodation businesses, has created a platform called Hotel Ideas Tester to ask guests' opinion on innovations in the hotel. Ideas on the Hotel Ideas Tester platform are divided into years, categories and challenges. There are 4316 ideas in total on the Hotel Ideas Tester platform. In the study, a case study was selected for co-creation in Hotel Tester Ideas platform accommodation businesses and the ideas written here were discussed with content analysis method. As a result of the analysis, different findings were found for each challenge and for the categories each year. However, when the findings are considered in general, it is important to personalize the accommodation, to create loyalty programs, to offer welcome baskets and treats, to offer different animations and recreation at the hotel, to use furniture that will facilitate the accommodation of children, to provide more information about the local people and the region. Keywords: Co-creation, Eurostars Hotels, Hotel tester ideas