Reputation Management as a part of Online Branding Infrastructure of luxury hotels on the Adriatic Coast - pre and post Covid-19 perspective

Abstract

The search for optimal approaches to building the online infrastructure of luxury brands is an area that takes on an extremely dynamic dimension in times of accelerated digitization. The aim of the study is to investigate changes in online reputation levels for selected luxury hotels on the Adriatic coast, comparing their status levels before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The research sample is narrowed down to the 15 best hotels on the Adriatic coast, selected according to the ranking of the prestigious British periodical. For comparison, we use a reference study from 2019, which we follow up with an empirical analysis carried out using the same methodological procedure. Specifically, we use extended sentiment analysis in its complex TOR form. The results of the analysis and subsequent comparison indicate that there was no significant change in the level of online reputation of selected luxury brands during the pandemic. All monitored partial parameters show a high degree of optimization. Based on the findings, strategic recommendations for the field of tourism are drawn up, at the same time key reputators are identified, which must be regularly monitored in the online reputation management process. The study thus serves as a knowledge base for practice, as well as a possible methodological base for further investigation of the impact of the pandemic on the infrastructure of brand development in the online environment.