The Impact of Facebook on Jordanian Consumers’ Decision Process in the Hotel Selection

Introduction

With the rapid development of the internet and the growing importance of social media, consumers have been provided limitless opportunities to explore, compare, and contrast different quality parameters of the services they receive in the hotel industry; therefore, hotel selection process and decision making has essentially changed (Hunaiti, Mansour, and Al-Nawafleh, 2009; Hudson and Thal, 2013; Abuhashesh, 2014; Oliveira and Casais, 2019). Moreover, Jordan has important tourist resources such as Petra, Jerash, and many ancient cities; moreover, Jordan is considered the safest country in the Middle East, especially with the entire crisis in our close neighbors such as Syria and Iraq. Therefore, the hotel industry in Jordan is booming. Thus, it is very important to understand hotel selection process and the most important marketing communication tools that influence Jordanian decision (Masa’deh, Alananzeh, Tarhini, and Algudah, 2018; M.Abuhashesh et al, 2019). According to the Internet World States (IWS) report (2018), the internet users in Jordan have increased exponentially. Jordan population is 9.9 million (Census Bureau, 2018). According to IWS (2017), Jordanian internet users account for 87.8% which represent 8.7 million users. The wide spread of internet technology has changed Jordanians’ customers behavior; therefore, the new life style has impacted Jordanian business operation and marketing strategy. Jordanians’ customers have become internet savvy and heavy social media users.

According to WIS report (2018), 53.3% of the Jordanian population use Facebook. As a result, businesses must adapt to the new changes that occur at the Jordanian market. Today’s customers have been adequately facilitated in their purchase decision through various social media platforms, particularly; Facebook (Varkaris and Neuhofer, 2017). Facebook was selected for the purpose of this research due to the fact that Facebook is the most used social media platform in Jordan. According to Greenwood, Perrin, and Duggan (2016), Facebook is the most popular social media platform used by customers and businesses (Mariani, EkStyven, and Ayeh, 2019).

With the numerous possibilities presented to customers in the global hotel industry, social media imposes its facilitating role in the sense that it enables individuals to evaluate different aspects of their travel planning. Consumers are prompted to evaluate different alternatives prior to making their purchase decision (Hudson and Hudson, 2013; Dehghani and Tumer, 2015). Due to the intangible nature of the information that are collected from the customers, the providers of hotel products and services tend to transform the decision-making process for customers who are extensively emotional. Hotel providers are no longer considered the ultimate experts in terms of the specific features or the perceived quality of hotel brands and services (Sijoria, Mukherjee, and Datta, 2019). In fact, the online reviews about hotels, which can often be found on social media platforms, play an important role in facilitating consumers’ evaluation prior to making a purchase decision (Ching-Jui et al., 2014; Perry, 2017). Both positive and negative reviews provide helpful information to individuals along with indirect customer-to-customer communication; which frequently takes place through personal blogs (Harb et al., 2019). In this way, making decisions in the conditions of the sharing economy appears adequately facilitated through social media (Hudson and Hudson, 2013; Sotiriadis, 2017).  

The current research paper is organized as follows; after this introduction, the second section presents the theoretical background and research hypotheses. The methods and results sections present details about the study sample, the measures used in the study and the data analyses performed. Lastly, the conclusions section offers the discussion of the findings, implications, limitations, and directions for future research.

Research Background and Hypotheses

Benefits of Social Media (Facebook) for Customers’ Needs

Buying decision process can be define as the decision-making process and the logical flow of customers activates and thinking starting from problem recognition to post purchase (Brassington and Pettit, 2007). The consumer pre-purchase phase refers to the period when preliminary actions occur. Buying decision process can be affected by different factors such as Facebook (Rehman et al., 2014). According to Verma, Stock, and McCarthy (2012), travelers use different platforms of social media to collect information on each travel stage. Social media allows customers to be connected directly to organization, marketers, and company’s brand (Chau and Xu, 2012). Social media allows marketers to connect with customers in real-time and give them immediate feedback (Cui, Lui, and Guo, 2012; Leung and Baloglu, 2015). At the same time, social media has become a tool for an electronic word of mouth (Tatar and Eren-Erdoğmus, 2016). Electronic communication among hotel guests such as feedback and comments can impact customers’ decision process and affect hotel brand’s image (Leung, Law, Van Hoof, and Buhalis, 2013).

Clients form their prospect level during the pre-buying phase, and this has become an essential factor of their level of gratification at the conclusion of the customer service. In the pre-buying stage, the customers’ requirements direct their product search (Smith, Fischer, and Yongjian, 2012). Making a choice in a service setting comprises a higher degree of ambiguity; hence, clients spend a prolonged length of time collecting information in an effort to decrease their risk (Shannak, Obeidat, and Almajali, 2010; Lindsey-Mullikin and Borin, 2017). The internet has transformed the way clients obtain information and plan their approaches (Tarhini, Mgbemena, and Trab, 2015; Leung and Tanford, 2016). The dominant strategy to investigate customer service information in the hospitality sector is via the web due to the massive amount of information available.

Digital recommendations on these social media networking sites assist clients with their purchase decision making, improve clients’ satisfaction and offer consumers with constructive corporate images. As clients search data in the pre-purchase phase, they also commence considering the service factors they desire (Varkaris and Neuhofer, 2017; Abuhashesh, Al-Dmour, and Masa’deh, 2019). Once core factors are measured, clients start making their decisions to buy according to the assessment of these factors. After customers assess these factors and link them to other possible options, they are prepared to make a choice to purchase (Richard and Guppy, 2014).

Social media is explained as a technology that assists interactive data, user-created material, and cooperation. Social media can be categorized by social existence and self-disclosure to: private blogs and micro-blogging, social media sites, digital worlds, cooperative projects, and groups of communities (Pietro, Virgilio, and Pantano, 2012; Wang and Yu, 2017). Though, social media provides conventional media roles of offering content to users, variations can be observed in terms of the association between users and the information collected. Internet users actively partake in creating content by succumbing associations or news stories from numerous sources (Harrigan, Evers, Miles, and Daly, 2017; Shan, Ren, and Li, 2017).  

Customers can be exposed to external influence through marketing stimulation. When customers respond to advertising such as an ad on Facebook, it can trigger  a certain need inside the customers that they did not think about before (Duffett, 2015). Therefore, a company should use different social media platforms in order to over-inform customers about different types of products or services that can satisfy their needs and wants (Nielsen and Schrøder, 2012). According to Liaw et al. (2012), customers respond more to advertising on social media. Also, customers agreed that advertisements on social media are more disturbing than any other web sites. Moreover, customers feel more brand connection through social media platforms. Based on the literature discussed above, the following hypothesis was generated:

H1: Facebook positively affects the need recognition phase of the decision-making process in the hotel selection

The Impact of Facebook on Hotel Information Search Journey

The universal acceptance of smart phones has promoted Facebook’s mobile push, as the number of clients that access the web via mobile devices is limiting the gap on computer-based virtual users. Scholars revealed that 20%of Facebook users had bought goods because of promotions and/or responses that they observed on Facebook (Alshurideh and Alkurdi, 2012; Sigala, Gretzel, and Christou, 2012; Rehman et al., 2014; Sabapathy and Selvakumar, 2018). According to Leung et al. (2013), Facebook is highly used among tourism. Previous study has mentioned that the significant impact of Facebook on hotels can be the emotional and informational appeal (Cervellon and Galipienzo, 2015). Facebook revealed that 4%of customers purchased something within four weeks after being exposed to advertisements from a retailer. In addition, previous researchers have argued that the top used social media for tourism are Facebook, Trip Adviser, and YouTube, for information search and decision making (McCarthy, Stock, and Verma, 2010; Xiang and Gretzel, 2010; Okazaki, Andreu, and Campo, 2017).

As mentioned, the pre-travel stage is fundamental in making a firm decision regarding purchasing hotel products and services. Social media websites have been extensively used to help consumers in limiting their choices in the respective industry sector and verifying their decisions (Masa’deh et al., 2013a, 2013b; Gursoy, 2019). In this ongoing process, it has been observed that hotel decisions are impacted by both positive and negative reviews provided by customers. As a result, consumers tend to expand their awareness of their power to change their attitudes toward specific hotel brands (Lindsey-Mullikin and Borin, 2017). When customers do not have enough information about a product or a service that could solve their problem, they need to look for external information (Grimm et al., 2013). Therefore, external information can be obtained from family, colleagues, friends, and e-word of mouth (Erkan and Evans, 2016). Hence, customers use social media platforms such as Facebook to collect information based on people experience, knowledge, and opinion about products or services (Shannak, Al-Zu’bi, Obeidat, Alshurideh, and Altamony, 2012; Yoo and Lee, 2017; Abualoush et al., 2018a, 2018b).

In addition, Almana and Mirza (2013) had mentioned that the high rating reviews influence potential travelers to make booking decisions. For the purposes of the current study; this hypothesis was developed:

H2: Facebook positively affects the information search phase of the decision-making process in the hotel selection

The Impact of Facebook on the Evaluation of Alternatives in Hotel Selection

Another aspect that should be considered in determining the impact of social media on the hotel consumer decision journey is related to customer relationship management, which has been improved significantly over the past several years (Lindsey-Mullikin and Borin, 2017). From this perspective, it appears that the use of digital communication channels has enabled marketing professionals with an opportunity to gather important information about their existing and potential customers (Kim and Drumwright, 2016). For instance, hotels can have a better understanding of what the new customers enjoyed during their hotel stay. In this way, the respective companies rely on the limitless possibilities of social media to foster greater consumer engagement and response (Harb et al., 2019). According to Smith et al. (2012), social media gave online customers the power to read and evaluate other customers’ comments and notes on Facebook that are related to  products or services of interest. Based on the literature discussed above, the following hypothesis was generated:

H3: Facebook positively affects the evaluation of alternatives’ phase of the decision-making process in the hotel selection

The Precise Impact of Facebook on Actual Purchase Decisions

As mentioned above, social media platforms play an important role in affecting consumers’ decisions at all stages, particularly the pre-purchase stage in the consumer purchasing process. It has been pointed out that effective advertising campaigns as posted on Facebook influence individuals positively and prompt them to purchase the promoted products and services (Lee and Watkins, 2016). The respective social media websites are extensively focused on identifying customers’ passion and delivering appropriate messages that would be considered quite important by the respective audiences. In this context, Facebook advertising turns out to play a significant role, as after watching specific videos containing promotional material, potential customers may relate to the lifestyles that are displayed and purchase the products (Smith et al., 2012; Oliveira and Casais, 2019).

The concept of reviews posted on social media, such as Facebook, has developed significantly to reflect individuals’ need to connect to specific brands. This is particularly important for the Facebook platform considering the greater visibility and attraction of various review videos (Lee and Watkins, 2016). From this perspective, potential customers relate directly to the videos since they perceive such medium in a positive light due to the solid aspect of personalization. Facebook videos are mostly preferred by individuals from the age group 18-34. A substantial percentage of this young audience tends to participate actively by commenting on videos containing promotional material related to a specific industry (Smith et al., 2012; Andreou, Silva, Benevenuto, Goga, Loiseau, and Mislove, 2019). In this way, more than 65% of consumers turn out to be influenced by the respective videos to make purchases. An interesting aspect that has been observed in this context is that individuals influenced by this social media platform further impact the consumer decisions of others around them (Cox and Park, 2014). For the purposes of the current study, a research hypothesis was formulated. This is presented below:

H4: Facebook positively affects the actual purchase phase of the decision-making process in the hotel selection

The Effect of Facebook on Post-Purchase Evaluation

It has been emphasized that the pre-purchase stage of the consumer buying process is crucial to determining the overall outcomes of this experience. In relation to the influence of Facebook, it has been argued that this new form of advertising on social media platforms presents new insights for marketing professionals (Smith et al., 2012). Even though Facebook has emerged as a rather popular social media platform to impact consumers’ decisions, it has been indicated that viewers tend to accept advertisements on a Hotel Facebook more readily compared to a Hotel website (Sabapathy and Selvakumar, 2018). This can be explained with Facebook’s sole focus on videos, particularly; the variety of ad formats used to create an optimal impact on potential consumers (Olin, 2009; Lee and Watkins, 2016).

Moreover, Facebook users also consider the advantages of viewing branded video content on a daily basis, which prompts them to make purchase decisions. It is important to note the aspect of engagement on these social media platforms (Abitbol and Lee, 2017). From this perspective, it should be pointed out that Facebook still leads when it comes to the precise number of individuals who tend to be engaged in promotional video content (Khan, 2017). Researchers have indicated that an individual’s specific interests provide relevant insights into their responsiveness to advertisements displayed on Facebook (Smith et al., 2012).

It is apparent that marketers keep their interest high in Facebook as a distinct media platform to deliver their messages to potential customers. Individuals consider the numerous advantages of these platforms while making purchase decisions. For instance, they are usually thrilled by the extensive visual-based advertising that refers to their passions and interests (Lee and Watkins, 2016). Thus, it can be indicated that such social media websites have become the most substantial influencer of buying decisions in the pre-purchasing stage. The way in which the platform of Facebook has contributed to converting visitors into customers is reflected in the ongoing process of increasing the sense of enjoyment and being trendy (Khan, 2017). More and more consumers rely on social media to strengthen their buying decisions. In this way, the respective social media platforms serve as a solid medium promoting long-term, personalized relationship between customers and brands.

It has been argued that organizations’ social media posts released on Facebook has significantly impacted the purchase decisions of customers. In this way, it can be pointed out that individuals tend to seek a solid sense of connectedness and belongingness to a wider community in the respective digital space (Smith et al., 2012). In understanding the psychology of buying decisions, particularly in the pre-purchase phase, it appears that individuals are more likely to make emotion-based purchasing decisions. Therefore, Facebook aims at sending emotional messages to customers, as these messages are adequately supported by appealing visuals and graphics (Abitbol and Lee, 2017). In this context, sharing success stories on these websites additionally impacts consumers in a rather positive manner.

Likewise, it can be indicated that individuals have a crowd mentality, which is extensively supported in social media platforms such as Facebook. Such a phenomenon is closely related to specific trends and tendencies emerging in a particular industry sector (Lee and Watkins, 2016). From this perspective, individuals tend to move together or discuss specific issues in large groups. This explains why social media websites have become rather popular in marketing. It appears that individuals can be easily convinced to make buying decisions if others have already purchased some of the advertised products or services (Abitbol and Lee, 2017). What such platforms like Facebook actually does is to demonstrate to consumers that the same products or services have already benefited other people. Social media platforms such as Facebook can be used as communication tools among customers to share information with each other’s; such shared information can impact customers’ decision to choose a certain hotel (Clarke, Murphy, and Adler, 2016; Roque and Raposo, 2016; Zhang, Omran, and Cobanoglu, 2017). Customers’ relationship with products and services do not end after the purchase, therefore, hotel managers need to be more involved with customers. Post purchase evaluation is the most important stage that keeps business growing (Brassington and Pettitt, 2007). In the post purchase evaluation, customers’ re-evaluate their beliefs, opinions, and attitudes from the first opinion they started with at the beginning of the hotel journey selection process. Therefore, hotel managers need to satisfy customers and meet their expectation. Otherwise, dissatisfied customers can spread negative e-word of mouth through all types of social media platforms (Trusov, Bucklin, and Pauwels, 2009). Thus, customers can share their experience and feedback about products or services in many different forms over Facebook. Customers can create blogs and videos about their purchase, which can influence another potential customers (Sweeney and Craig, 2010). For the purposes of the current study, research hypothesis was formulated.

H5: Facebook positively affects the post-purchase evaluation phase of the decision-making process in the hotel selection.

Methodology

Data Collection

As the current study examines the influence of Facebook on consumer decision making process, to collect suitable data, a survey should be administered to users with experiences in such platform. The survey questionnaire was developed in English. Therefore, we tried to select a sample by conducting a self-administrated survey from July 20 to 28, 2018 with Jordanian customers. The survey was administered and distributed to Jordanian Facebook users. This study was conducted in Jordan, and the target population of the study included people who have an account on Facebook and who used this platform for hotel selection. Data were collected using the convenience sampling method because it is the least expensive, the least time-consuming, and easy to measure. A total of 827 respondents answered the questionnaire. Of these respondents, 217 who did not select hotels using this particular platform were eliminated from the data. As a result, a final total of 610 questionnaires were included in the analyses. All measurement items were measured on a seven-point Likert scale (1 – strongly disagree, 7 – strongly agree).

Data Analysis and Results

Partial Least Square (PLS), a variance based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach was adopted to evaluate the estimates of the research model using the software application Smart PLS 2.0 as suggested by Anderson and Gerbing (1988) and Ringle, Wende, and Will (2005). This technique has many advantages over other approaches such as covariance based SEM for its less restrictive assumptions about the data (e.g., non-normality) and capability of dealing with constructs with less items (Hair, Hult, Ringle, and Sarstedt, 2016). A PLS model was analyzed and interpreted in two phases: firstly, the assessment of the measurement model (outer model), and secondly, the assessment of the structural model (inner model).

Demographics

Of the total 610 respondents, 60% of the respondents were men 366 and 40% of the respondents were women 244. They were all Jordanian customers who are mainly social media users and they have Facebook account.

Measurement Model

The evaluation of the measurement model is mainly concerned with its reliability and validity (Henseler, Ringle, and Sinkovics, 2009). Individual item reliability is satisfactory when an item has a factor loading above 0.7 for its construct. In the current study, all the indicators met this requirement as shown in Table 1. The assessment of construct reliability uses composite reliability and Cronbach’s alpha. All the constructs included in this study were reliable following the recommendations of Nunnally and Bernstein (1994) as exhibited in Table 1. Construct validity was assessed through convergent and discriminant validity. The evaluation of standard loadings, Average Variance Extracted (AVE) and composite reliability estimate convergent validity. Standard factor loading was within the range of 0.70 to 0.95 which is particularly adequate as per Hair et al. (2016). According to Bagozzi and Yi (1988), the AVE of each construct extracted should be higher than 50% of the variance and this condition was achieved in this study as illustrated in Table 1. For discriminant validity, the square root of AVE was compared to the correlations between constructs.

Table 1: Individual Item Reliability and Construct Validity

 

As indicated in Table 2, it was found that this study meets this condition on an average; each construct related more strongly to its own measures than to others as recommended by Fornell and Larcker (1981). As the current study used self-reported measures, the impact of common method bias was also examined. Harman single factor test was conducted and it was found that the items did not significantly load on to a single factor (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, and Podsakoff, 2003); hence common method bias was not a major concern in the present study.

Table 2: Latent Variable Correlations

Structural Model

The analysis of hypotheses and constructs’ relationships were based on the examination of standardized paths. The path significance levels were estimated using the bootstrap resampling method (Henseler et al., 2009), with 500 iterations of resampling (Chin, 1998). The results are shown in Table 3. The results of the PLS-SEM analysis demonstrate, as in Table 3, the structural model estimation and evaluation of the formulated hypotheses. Results determined that four of the study hypotheses are supported according to the obtained t-values and p-values (See Table 3).

Table 3: Partial Least Squares Results for the Theoretical Model

The explained variances of need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, actual purchases and post-purchase evaluation are 35.3, 31.7, 13.3, 30, and 21.8 percent, respectively. In PLS, R² result of 0.20 to .30 is considered high in a discipline such as consumer behavior (Hair et al., 2016). The PLS results, as shown in Table 3, indicate that Facebook has a high significant positive effect on consumer’s need recognition (ß = 0.386, t = 3.497, p < 0.01), thereby, supporting H1. As proposed in H2, a significant positive relationship between Facebook and information search was found (ß = 0.462, t = 4.605, p < 0.01), and emerges as the strongest relationship in the model, suggesting that consumers rely highly on Facebook platform as an important source for information search, thus, assisting them in making their purchase decision. This finding supports H2. Consistent with H3, Facebook did significantly affect consumers’ process of evaluating different purchase alternatives (ß = 0.228, t = 2.462, p < 0.01), thereby confirming H3. As proposed in H4, a significant strong positive relationship between Facebook and actual purchase was found (ß = 0.418, t = 3.929, p < 0.01), providing support for H4. In addition, the results do not indicate a significant effect of Facebook on post-purchase evaluation process (ß = 0.181, t= 1.244, p > 0.01), thus, rejecting H5.

Discussion and Conclusion

The research findings revealed that customers do not rely on traditional sources such as magazines, brochures, and newspapers to find hotels’ information. However, traditional sources have been replaced by social media platforms such as Facebook. Moreover, travelers started to consult other customers generating content and feedback on Facebook in order to plan and make their final decision on hotel booking. Also, the study findings support the research literature review which confirms the strong influence of Facebook on customers’ decision process and the amount of information that can be given to customers about certain products and services. Moreover, the study showed the advantages of Facebook as a marketing tool such as its low costs, massive access, and ease of penetration of the target customers. This should motivate hotels to focus more on Facebook marketing strategy. Thus, Facebook has transformed Jordanians’ hotel decision process by influencing the way customers become aware of the hotel, search for information, then choose and book a hotel. Customers have been given a power to explore and compare information about different hotels in the Jordanian market. The power of social media has given both companies and customers the opportunity to engage in two ways; communication and information sharing. Facebook has empowered customers to share their experiences with other customers by posting pictures and comments in their account. Therefore, digital recommendations on these social media accounts influence other customers with their purchase decision.

Previous study has revealed that 20 percent of Facebook users had bought goods because of promotion on Facebook. Moreover, Facebook revealed that 4 percent of consumers had purchased a product or a service within four weeks after being exposed to an advertisement on Facebook. Thus, scholars have considered the significance of Facebook to influence consumers in the pre-purchasing stage in the decision-making process.

Based on the statistical analysis of the hypotheses, the result of the PLS-SEM analysis which Facebook was predictor variable, four out of five hypotheses were supported, which were the first four steps of the decision process. Facebook did not support the fifth hypothesis which was the post-purchase evaluation (PPE). Therefore, Facebook has high significant positive effect on consumers’ need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, and purchase. Moreover, the research analysis showed that Facebook is an important source of information search, thus, there is a significant positive relationship between Facebook and information search which was considered the strongest relationship in the model (P < 0.01). However, the statistical result did not indicate a positive relationship between Facebook and post-purchase evaluation (P > 0.01).  Consequently, the study rejected H5.

Social media platforms have a big impact on hotel selection; both positive and negative reviews can impact customers’ selection. Thus, e-word of mouth can influence consumers’ decision process. Digital communication channels have enabled companies to collect information about customers’ experiences. From this perspective, it should be pointed out that Facebook still leads when it comes to social media platforms that influence Jordanian decision process. Additionally, Facebook is ranked in the first place as a social media platform influencing Jordanian customers. Customers still rely on social media to strengthen their buying decisions. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, have contributed to convert visitors into customers.

Managerial and Implication

In the light of the study’s results and the discussion above, it is evidently demonstrated that social media has evolved to be considered as one of the strongest sources of reference used by consumers in the decision-making processes. The social media’s role in consumer decision-making process is an important one. Taking this point further, consumers are sharing all thoughts, concerns, and problems on social media platforms. Therefore, hotels should take this into consideration and have to be more persuaded to listen to what their customers or prospects are interacting online and then engage on Facebook. In addition, it is very important for hotels’ marketing managers to understand why customers visit their Facebook page and what contents and messages are preferred by consumers in order to generate best marketing outcomes. The current study recommends that the hotel managements have to pay special attention to encouraging customers to join the conversation about their hotels. This can be done by creating a hotel-specific hashtag, and promote it on their websites and throughout their own posts on Facebook. They may also host a contest where customers enter by posting a photo of their experiences with the hotel. Hotel marketing managers can facilitate public engagement by obtaining and exchanging information through Facebook. Marketing manages can take advantages from E-word of mouth and viral marketing to enhance brand image and equity which will increase customers’ intention to reserve a hotel. Moreover, managers can use engagement advertising to positively influence customers’ decision.

For the need recognition phase, as Kim and Srivastava (2007) suggested, it is essential for hotels to forecast consumers’ latent purchase needs based on social groups that consumers belong to which will assist in identifying the needs more correctly, and consumers can be activated to make a hotel selection. Consumers should be encouraged to exchange information and experiences about hotel’s services and events on Facebook as this may encourage other consumers to make a new reservation. In addition, hotel managers can use “Facebook Advertisement Targeting Function” to share posts about their hotels which can be viewed in newsfeed of the targeted consumers. These types of posts have a higher chance of reaching the right consumers and arouse a need for the products. Furthermore, Hotels need to be recognized/known from the quality of their contents. Many customers are willing to buy a brand based on the result they see such as “Like’s” and “share’s” on their Facebook page, which suggested that the hotel brand is very reputable.

Further to the above point, a hotel’s presence on Facebook has a substantial impact on the actual purchasing and hotel selection behavior. Thus, hospitality organizations must focus on all kinds of attention from social media influencers and regular customers by maintaining a consistent feed which displays their services in use and provides value which in turn will assist in converting visitors into followers and into buyers. With a strong feed, hotels will usually be able to attract more followers, which is the other crucial factor in motivating purchase decisions. This study indicates that Facebook’s advertising should be part of the hotel overall marketing strategy. Thus, hotel marketing managers should offer incentives and promotions to encourage customers to pass on messages and create content about their stay in the hotel. Hospitality organizations should also focus on developing creative advertisements on Facebook so as to enable consumers develop positive attitudes towards Hotels. Feedbacks on Facebook should be taken seriously to assist in assessing consumer behaviors after the purchase has taken place as this would convey consumer’s satisfaction and dissatisfaction to the Jordanian hotels including the consumer’s product experiences.

Theoretical Implication

This study examined how customers use Facebook for their purchases in hotel services and how their purchasing behaviors are influenced by Facebook marketing strategy. The study directs the researchers in the hotel industry to use this study and its conceptual model to measure the effect of Facebook on consumers’ decision process in the hotel selection. At the same time, this study reveals the importance of social media and its influence on customers’ decision in the hotel selection domain. Moreover, the study conceptual model can help Jordanians’ hotel to attract and target new customers. In addition, we suggest expanding our study to evaluate the impact of social media platform in different services and different places or even other industries. The result of this study can benefit researches to provide recommendations to the hotel sector and decision maker in the hospitality industry regarding the best social media platform that can influence customers’ decision making in hotel selection. Moreover, marketers can use the study model as e-marketing strategy in order to achieve e-marketing objectives. In addition, the current study can be expanded to be used for a wider range in the hotel industry. 

Future Research and Limitations

This study has a number of limitations which may restrict the generalizability of the findings, and which could be addressed in future research. One of the limitations of the study is the size of our sample and the fact that the study took place in one country; Jordan. This means that one has to be cautious when replicating the results of the study. Therefore, it is recommended to study consumer decision behavior in various communities with different cultures. Another limitation is that this study focuses only on the impact of Facebook usage as an influencing factor on decision making process. Although the model has a good explanatory power, future studies should continue to enrich our understanding by adding further relevant factors related to each platform to further our understanding regarding the most important characteristics of each platform as determinants of the different stages of consumers’ decision making. Thirdly, the samples of the current study are mainly Jordanian people. Taking into consideration the increasing popularity of social media among different users at different countries and culture, , it is necessary to examine other groups, such as people from different countries in the Middle East users so as to fully investigate user behavior at different groups and compare their differences.

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