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Purpose – This study aims to identify what type of post is most effective in drawing fans to like, comment on or share it, building on the premise that hotels can only benefit when “fans” – customers who “like” them – engage in discussion and interaction on Facebook. Design/methodology/approach – In the case of the Super 8 Hotels Facebook fan page, 14 underlying factors related to themes, media, characteristics and time are identified in a content analysis of its posts. Multilevel regression is employed in the study to test the effects of these 14 factors on the number of fans who like, comment on or share a post. Findings – Posts about hotel products and attributes diminish the attractiveness to the hotel brand’s Facebook page. The posts that include award and discount information, expressed in a humorous way or end with requests to like tend to be liked more often by fans. Furthermore, posts ending with a question are likely to get more comments, but these questions have a negative influence on the number of likes the post receives. In addition, posts with pictures or involving environment concerns are more likely to be shared by fans. Practical implications – The paper provides hotel practitioners with implementable communication tactics to increase their appeal to consumers on Facebook. Originality/value – The study represents a new academic area of how to communicate using social media and concludes with practical strategies for hoteliers seeking to utilize Facebook as an effective marketing tool.

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This study examined the effects of service recovery entities (i.e., robot-generated text, robot-generated voice, and human service employee) on recovery satisfaction through the mediation of perceived sincerity. This study also tested the moderating role of the need for human interaction. The results of this study suggest that people perceive service recovery provided by a human to be more sincere than that provided by a service robot, thereby leading to higher levels of satisfaction. Moreover, this effect is stronger for those with a stronger need for human interaction. However, differences in perceived sincerity and recovery satisfaction were not identified between the use of service robots generating either text or a voice to express an apology. This study contributes to the theoretical discussion on ways to enhance customer experiences in robot service environments and provides insights that can guide service management in the hospitality and tourism industry.