Panagiota Dionysopoulou, Ph.D.
Director General of Tourism Policy
Ministry of Tourism, 12 Amalias Street, Athens, GR 105 57
Adjunct Professor, Hellenic Open University (HOU)
Email: yoldi63@gmail.com
Evangelia Kasimati, Ph.D.
Bank of Greece, Economic Analysis & Research department,
21 Panepistimiou str, Athens, GR 102 50, Email: ekasimati@bankofgreece.gr
Adjunct Professor, Hellenic Open University (HOU)
Garyfallia Chrysoula Myrikna
Hellenic Open University, M.A. in Tourism Management.
Abstract
The rapid development of technology has led to the restructuring of businesses on a global scale in terms of organization, promotion, and marketing, with the aim of improving their current financial situation and integrating into a new, innovative, and competitive environment full of major challenges, concerns, and reasonable questions. These include whether businesses are in an advantageous or disadvantageous position within this new phenomenon, how they will respond, how they will implement new technologies, and how they will improve their position according to the current global situation.Therefore, more specifically in the hospitality sector, digital transformation has become essential in order to improve operations, efficiency, and guest experience within businesses.
This paper aims to analyze the impact of digital technology and big data applications on business performance and guest satisfaction in the hotel industry, and more specifically, in the field of boutique hotels. The methodological approach involves the creation of a questionnaire. The sample consists of employees working in hotel businesses participating in the research. They are primarily asked to identify the characteristics that differentiate a boutique hotel from a traditional hotel unit, according to new consumer demands, and how digital transformation affects the operation, organization, promotion, and marketing of a boutique hotel within the context of marketing. The employees’ responses were collected using a qualitative descriptive approach through a detailed questionnaire composed of 18 closed-ended questions, conducted with a sample size of N=100 employees working in boutique hotels in Greece.
Keywords: Boutique hotels, Certification, Digital Design, Tourism
JEL codes: L83, O33, M31