Determining managers perceptions for benefits of social media marketing at hotels: The case of Antalya

The aim of this research is to determine the level of social media usage as a marketing tool and to determine the managers? and department managers? perceptions, who work at 4 or 5 stars hotels or holiday villages in Antalya, for the benefits of social media marketing. A total of 511 managers who were chosen from a total of 459 4 and 5 star hotels and 52 holiday villages were taken into the scope of research. 236 of managers agreed to contribute to the research and data which was gathered from managers via questionnaire technique was analysed. Findings showed that most of the managers within the sample use social media as a marketing tool. It was found that managers? perceptions for benefits of social media marketing differ meaningfully in terms of choice of social media usage, duration of presence on social media, status of hotel and demographics of managers. Also in the light of findings it was seen that the most frequently used social media tools are social network sites and the managers use these social network sites primarily to contact with customers, to create awareness about hotel establishments, to improve customer services and to announce new services. Finally, suggestions were made to managers in tourism sector in order to take the advantage of social media marketing and develop effective social media marketing strategies. Keywords: Hotel Establishments, Social Media Tools, Social Media Marketing, Managers? Perceptions, Antalya.