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- Digital influencers: possible roles in the promotion of tourist destinationsPublication . Ramalho, Bárbara; Silva, Susana; Silva, CândidaIn the globalisation era, digital influencers have become a key communication source of the 21st century and an important player in several business activities. They are known as content creators, they can influence large audiences who want to consume their contents and are available to be influenced by their information and behaviors. Additionally, digital platforms have played an important role in the development of new digital marketing strategies for the promotion of tourist destinations, namely integrating opinion leaders as products and service influencers. Therefore, this study aims to understand the role of digital influencers in the promotion of tourist destinations and to identify the strategies used for their promotion. To answer our objectives a qualitative study was conducted. 17 digital influencers participated in our study, of both genders, with a mean age of 26 years (SD=7.98). All the participants fulfilled a demographic questionnaire and it was conducted a semi-structured interview to answer the research question "How do Portuguese digital influencers promote a tourist destination?". The interviews were verbatim transcript and data analysed according to thematic analysis procedures. The preliminary results showed that “trip characteristics” and “influencer function” are the main categories. For the trip it is important to define the main reasons to visit the tourist destination, positive and negative dimensions related to the trip, and interests in the place. The influencer functions emerge from the communication with the followers, digital, technical and soft skills needed to be professional. Thus, it can be concluded that digital influencers can have an important role in the promotion of a tourist destination. The digital influencer should have significant communication skills but also digital, technical and soft skills. Therefore, it is crucial to train future tourism professionals to be prepared for this professional option. We discuss the main practical and theoretical implications and offer some suggestions for further studies.
- Creating collaborative research opportunities at a distance: from Porto to Cluj-NapocaPublication . Melo, Carla; Vasconcelos, Sandra; Liberato, Dália; Silva, Cândida; Amaral, Paula; Negrușa, Adina Letiția; Cosma, Smaranda Adina; Fleșeriu, CristinaFocusing on an Interdisciplinary Project (IP) involving Higher Education Institutions from Portugal (School of Hospitality and Tourism – Polytechnic Institute of Porto) and Romania (Faculty of Business – Babeş-Bolyai University), this short paper describes a joint project developed by tourism students attending tourism courses at both institutions. This project, which concentrated on the cities of Porto (Portugal) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania), involved different courses and set out to identify motivations, attitudes and perceptions of generation Z tourists, by collaboratively designing, applying and analyzing a joint questionnaire for each destination. Relying heavily on a technology-mediated, innovative approach that focuses on problem-solving, collaboration and communication skills, this paper draws on literature, field observation and informal feedback to give a general overview of the teaching and learning strategies used throughout the project and describe its implementation. Based on these premises, and taking into account the challenges currently being faced by HEI and the need to further enhance students’ learning experience and promote an articulated development of skills that meet the needs of an increasingly digital workplace, this project provides a practical framework for other initiatives within this scope, thus making a viable and constructive contribution towards educational innovation, particularly in the field of tourism education.
- Social media in hotel crisis communication: a case studyPublication . Silva, Cândida; Silva, Susana; Rodrigues, BrunaThe evolution of social media has transformed the way people communicate, share experiences and search for information before and after a trip. These platforms can bring countless benefits to businesses but implementing them effectively brings countless challenges. In the hotel industry, the use of social media as a digital marketing strategy has become fundamental to promote brands and services, as well as to create a closer relationship with the customer. It then becomes essential to understand how hotels can use these platforms effectively. Moreover, defining communication strategies, especially in periods of global crisis, with customers and public that include social networks are fundamental and a great challenge. In this sense, in this paper a case study of a hotel in a period including the global pandemic crisis of COVID-19 was conducted where good practices for social media management in hospitality are proposed, supported by the literature review and the practical learning provided in the fieldwork. These good practices also take into consideration the application of successful social media strategies in a hotel during times of crisis.
- ICT skills in hospitalityPublication . Silva, Susana; Aires, Cátia; Silva, Cândida; Melo, AntónioGlobalization and advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have contributed to the computerization of society, but also to the improvement of working conditions in diverse areas of activity. Hospitality have not been an exception to this reality and increasingly is seen a proliferation of ICT in these areas of activity and the consequent need for training and specialization by these professionals. Thus, this research aims to understand the level of preponderance of ICT in the hotel activity and to characterize the use of ICT in hotel activities. Thus, a quantitative study was conducted with the dissemination of an online survey to hospitality companies during November 2017 to January 2018. Our sample has 51 hotel companies from different categories and several tourism regions in Portugal. The respondents were 15 (29,5%) female and 36 (70,5%) male with mean age of 45,7 (SD=12,1) years. In our sample, 43 (84%) had a formalized Room Division department, 38 (74,5%) had F&B department, and 32 (62,7%) had sales and marketing department. The results suggested that, for each department, the need of digital skills is related to the specific features of the Department. For the majority of the departments, the seniority of the activity is related to the need of an advanced level of digital skills, for example in the room division department, the front office manager needed a medium (n=26, 58%) or advanced (n=17, 38%) level of digital skills but, for 40% (n=15) of the participants, the housekeeper, to order online the amenities, needed a basic of digital skills. In the F&B department Food and Beverage, the Head Chef for the task of procurement, through an online system, the goods needed for an event, 75% (n=28) of the participants referred that requires a medium-advanced level of digital skills. To the Barman, for promoting, in the Instagram, the image of a new cocktail available, we observed that 13 (38%) participants referred the need of basic level of digital skills. Only in the sales and marketing department, all the functions required an advanced level of digital skills, the sales manager, for the several tasks needed medium-advanced level of skills (n=27, 85%), 85% (n=27) of the revenue managers also needed an medium-advanced level of digital skills, and 47% (n=15) of the participants referred that sales promoter needed an advanced level of digital skills. In conclusion, this paper discusses the ICT skills needed to develop the several activities in each department of a hotel, as well as in managing the different issues of each department, namely in the relationship with costumers and guests, before, during and after the reservation, using ICT to promote hotel ecologic sustainability, managing social networks and promoting the hotel online.
- Great expectations: the graduate view of skills in hospitalityPublication . Silva, Susana; Silva, Cândida; Soares, GiselaSkills are understood as key issues in the labour market and conceptualised as individual attributes needed to perform competent work. The distinction between hard and soft skills is one of the most used theoretical conceptualization – hard skills being understood as technical skills, required of professionals, and soft skills being seen as personal traits which are not specifically related to the function. One hundred years after the publication of Mann’s A Study of Engineering Education (1918), and as employers expect a new level of readiness from new hires, the focus is on bridging the soft skills gap. However, most of the literature delves into mismatched expectations of both industry and educators, and little documentation can be found regarding the skills that future employees believe their employers will require.
- Online recruitment for organizational knowledge management: a quantitative studyPublication . Silva, Susana; Silva, Cândida; Martins, DoraThe process of Recruitment and Selection of new employees has a growing influence on business results and, nowadays, the use of knowledge and information and communication technologies enables this process to be faster and more complete. The need to improve the existing resources in companies has conditioned the changes in the Recruitment and Selection process and, over time, we observe the transformation of this process. Thus, Recruitment and Selection became a strategic process in Human Resources Management improving the organization's competitiveness. The objective of the study is to understand the role of online recruitment for organizational knowledge management; and to characterize the most used social networks in Online Recruitment, identifying the main reasons to use online recruitment during the process of recruitment and selection. ln this quantitative study, 112 companies fulfilled a questionnaire that evaluated the online recruitment process. The main results suggested that national companies and companies with more than 250 employees use more online recruitment. The fact that some companies have job openings available on multiple websites simultaneously, making information available 24 hours a day, reducing the time and process costs and streamline communication between candidates and the organization are some of the most listed reasons to use the Online Recruitment. Otherwise, the use of traditional methods of recruitment and the fact that the access to social networks are not allowed in some organisations are some of the reasons cited for not using this method of recruitment. Thus, it can be concluded that the Information and Communication Technologies are present in the process of recruitment and selection and that this is a reality existing in organizations as a tool to support of knowledge management.
- Gender (in)equality: The case of hospitalityPublication . Silva, Susana; Silva, Cândida; Correia, Rui; Ribeiro, JoaquimUnited Nations stated that one of the objectives of Sustainable Development by 2030 is to achieve Gender Equality. Despite the increasing of women in the labour market, and more specifically in hospitality and tourism, it is priority to have a better understanding of this reality. Therefore, this study aims to explore the gender perspective in hospitality. A quantitative study was conducted in order to answer the main objectives. The questionnaire used had 95 questions organized in 14 sections: sociodemographic characteristics; gender distribution according to the several functions of the hotels; and implementation of equality practices in the hotels. One hundred hotels participated in our study. The results showed that gender prevalence can be different according to department and seniority of the function. Women are prevalent in Administrative and Housekeeping and men in Food and Bevarage (F&B) and in Maintenance department. Men occupy more senior positions than women. The legal policies and human resources practices are gender equality-sensitive but there still exists differences related to important issues such as same salary for the same function. In conclusion, there are important aims to achieve in gender equality in hospitality related to the practices implement and the need of a deep debate in this field. The paper ends with some implications and suggestions for future research.
- Soft skills in expatriationPublication . Silva, Susana; Martins, Dora; Silva, CândidaContemporary competitiveness and globalisation drives organisations to explore new markets, and provide themselves with distinctive features and value added. Additionally, the literature underlines the importance of this global environment impact the processes of managing Human resources in organisations. Therefore, the adequacy of human resources is imperative in the strategy of organisations. This study aims to understand the importance of the international assignment, to understand the soft skills most valued by recruiters and how is their evaluation. To successfully address these aims we conducted a qualitative study. The data collection method used was semi-structured interview and were interviewed ten recruiters of expatriates. Data were analysed according to content analysis procedures The results suggest that soft skills are important features in the international assignment, since that act on factors that influence the success of the assignment. The most important skills are interpersonal relationships, teamwork, communication, adaptability and tolerance to ambiguity. We discuss the main practical and theoretical implications, and offer some suggestions for further studies.
- Tourism events: bringing innovation to the North of PortugalPublication . Silva, Susana; Silva, Cândida; Alves, JoãoTourist destinations are places or regions that offer a set of tourism products, which provide experiences to the consumer according to their itinerary, culture, travel motivation, education, or life experience. Events usually provide the consumer with an opportunity for leisure and social interaction that goes beyond the experience of everyday life and by the desire of people to live an original and exclusive experience. Therefore, an event can be used to promote a destination and to make known the traditions, cultures, and experiences of local communities. In this way, it was carried out a study to understand the importance of events for the promotion of a tourist destination, identifying the themes of the events used to that promotion, and the role of events in the promotion of a touristic destination. This study was conducted in the Municipalities of the North of Portugal, following a qualitative methodology to collect and analyze data. The municipalities participating in this study hold entertainment, cultural, sports, and educational events, and the results showed that those events are a great attraction for visitors creating a good economic impact in the region, contributing to the increase of consumption and bigger dissemination of their products facilitating potential new contacts for business and partnerships.
- Employer branding practices amongst the most attractive employers of IT and engineering sectorPublication . Gregorka, Lea; Silva, Susana; Silva, CândidaEmployer branding is a marketing strategy that helps employers stay competitive in their markets. Although it is a concept used for over 20 years, its process and consequences have not yet been fully scrutinized. This study characterizes the employer branding implementation and the employers' perspective on it. By conducting ten semi-structured, in-depth interviews, the authors examine not only how employer branding practices have been applied, but also the role of human resources management in the process and used employee attraction and retention practices. The results suggest that although the employer branding process is not clearly structured, some stages can be identified as common. For that reason, the authors outline a stage divided framework and analyse each one of the identified stages. Furthermore, practical insights are provided about the company's departments roles and link them to the current state of the art. Finally, the authors suggest future investigation in particular stages of employer branding.