Public relations and reputation management in hotel management

Public relations and reputation management are among the most important activities of an institution. With the advancement of technology, the competition environment has broadened gradually and many institutions have emerged. In this competition environment, the institutions need to put forth their distinctness, improve themselves, sustain their existence and influence the target market they have selected. The aim of the institutions is to influence the target market and achieve preferability. In order to achieve preferability in the competition environment, the institutions firstly need to ensure that their products and services are preferred by the target market. At this point, reputation management steps in as a value creating element of public relations. Reputation is concerned with how the institutions are perceived by the target market. The higher the reputation of the institution, the more trust people have for that institution and the institution puts forth its distinctness in the competition environment. In this study, detailed theoretical information has been provided about public relations, reputation management and institutional reputation components, hotel management, public relations in hotel management and reputation management in hotel management. A questionnaire study has been carried out to reveal how the personnel in 3, 4, 5 star hotels in İzmit region perceive reputation management and which institutional reputation components are foregrounded; and the results have been presented in tables with commentaries. This study aims to put forward the hotel personnel's point of view about reputation. Key words: Public relations, reputation, reputation management, institutional reputation, hotel management.