University-based hospitality centers: popularity and effective advertising models

Abstract

Hospitality-based centres are not common units within the university’s structures. Nowadays, successful universities must offer a variety of both new educational visions and opportunities for a rich campus life and university’s public value (Sternberg, 2014). In this context, the challenge to combine more attractive possibilities for events hosting is focusing on special appeals. On the other side, and within the academic life, a cultivation of academic imagination (Lugosi, 2016) could be a competitive tool. Hospitality products show significant levels of importance of what an inspiring university should be. It can be so due to the meetings, events, exhibitions and conference tourism. When mixed up with the academic scene, this can become of exceptional advantage. University’s increased popularity can be viewed in regard to the opportunities for rich academic and social experiences along with relaxation in such a form that breaks down walls (López, 2019). For its commercial hospitality space, university-based hospitality centers or university campus hotels (Hay, 2020) should be considered in the overall marketing strategy of the academic organization (Gibbs and Knapp, 2002). Developing effective models of advertising aimed at integrating tourism, events and social being into the university life can extensively contribute to the sense of community (Henry, 2012), thus to the popularity of the university itself. Networking could be easier to achieve, literacies on more different levels can be gained (Spasov, 2021) or secondary profits for academicians, students, guests, and visitors of the university with additional recreational benefits might arise. In this research, the authors show the results of an exploratory survey of the university-based hospitality center of the South-West University “Neofit Rilski” in Bulgaria and discuss possible implications on planning and management through effective advertising models. The emphasis lies on the unique combination between tourism product and university organizational academic culture. Results were utilized for the development of a more holistic understanding of the university activities’ offer under the realm of hospitality.