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Social media replace phone on the road

Brussels, December 30, 2010

More than 60 per cent use social media to stay in touch with family and friends while traveling, while more than a third (36 per cent) would rather log on than make a call to share good news, said a report.

Four-fifths said they access social networking sites throughout the day, while 39 per cent said they “could not live without” social media sites, said a survey released by Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, home of Link@Sheraton experienced with Microsoft - - a technology-driven social hub that keeps travellers connected 24/7 at nearly 400 hotels around the world - during their stay.

The global study was conducted by StudyLogic, which surveyed 4,204 people via phone in the US, UK and China.

One-third of respondents said they log in multiple times each hour, while one-fifth of respondents said that they check social networking sites multiple times throughout the day while traveling.

Before meeting a new business contact, more than half of those surveyed check out their new contact’s social networking profiles (54 per cent).  Nearly 60 per cent say they have not hired a candidate based on a negative impression from a social-media profile.

More than half (54 per cent) of respondents say they know someone who has been fired for something said or posted online.

More than half of all respondents (56 per cent) agreed about the importance of doing business with people active in social media channels; 55 per cent use online social networking to meet new business contacts and maintain current ones.

More than half of those surveyed have arranged a romantic interlude on the road using social networks, with men more likely to do so (45 per cent) than women (40 per cent).

Nearly 70 per cent of respondents said they were not honest on social networking sites; 27 per cent of those fib “a little,” 21 per cent flat-out “lie,” and 20 per cent admit that their postings are total fabrications.

Women are more inclined to tell little white lies online; men were more likely to be 100 per cent honest (46 per cent) versus their female counterparts (18 per cent).

More than 50 per cent of all Sheraton guests use the Link@Sheraton. Facebook is the most visited site at the Link@Sheraton, with 75 per cent of Link users logging in during their stay. More than 60 per cent of those surveyed (62 per cent) find that social media makes it easier for them to meet people while traveling for work.

Sixty-four per cent said they use social media to make their travel plans and within the 25-34 year old participant group, the number is even higher; 76 per cent look to popular social media sites to plan their next getaway.

'Along with the bigger shift toward social media from other forms of communication, what the survey drove home for us was that an experience like Link@Sheraton isn’t a luxury for guests, but a necessity,” said Hoyt Harper, SVP and Global Brand Leader for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts.

“They expect total connectivity, and that’s what Sheraton’s delivering,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Brussels | Survey | facebook | Sheraton | Social networking |

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