The Instagrammable Hotel

1. Introduction

Type into your search engine on your browser “How can hotels use Instagram?” or How do I make my hotel instagrammable?” and there will be over a million hits sent in return, with a plethora of web pages providing “tips for insta-success” for hotels or “steps to building an Instagram marketing strategy for your hotel”. This barrage of tips, content strategies, hotel design ideas and more comes as no surprise as social media has become a natural extension of a traveler’s writing and narration toolbox [1], with over 60% of travelers now sharing their own content from holidays or travels on social media [2]. This bears significant implications for the hotel and travel industry, as studies have revealed that social media (SM) directly affects travel movements, experiences, choices and behaviors [3]. Hoteliers must therefore place great emphasis on these technological advances, as in “the current market conditions where people are constantly connected to SM, it becomes clear that hoteliers’ failure to devise and execute an effective social media strategy” [4] (pp. 308-309) would be detrimental for a hotel’s competitive advantage and a “dereliction of duty” [4]. It is therefore explicable that hotels are increasingly understanding the importance to provide their guests with an instagrammable moment [5]. Instagrammable, defined by the Cambridge dictionary as “attractive or interesting enough to be suitable for photographing and posting on the social media service Instagram” [6], signifies that hotels need “step back and view their space through the lens of Instagram” [5] (par. 1) - ensuring that their marketing, guest journeys, experiential designs and spaces are tailored to connect with guests on a visual storytelling level.

Academia has made significant advances in SM research [7], and the hospitality, tourism and travel industries are no exception [8]. In particular, research on SM’s value in the hotel industry has focused around value creation and financial accomplishments, such as hotel performance, online reviews, KPI’s and metrics, return on investments, (electronic) word of mouth, marketing strategies for image and brand building [4,9,10,11,12] .

Yet, research in “hospitality social media is still in its early phases” [10] (p.1) and there are several research lacunas to study which are of high academic and managerial relevance. Firstly, research on SM - particularly in the hospitality sector - tend to view the various SM networking sites and platforms (e.g., Facebook, YouTube, X, TikTok, Instagram, blogs, review sites such as TripAdvisor) as near interchangeable and are therefore lumped together into an analogous SM “category”. Studies should analyze specific SM platforms as they offer different advantages and experiences – both from an enterprise and user perspective [13,14]. Secondly, there is a specific paucity in research on the Instagram platform in hospitality in comparison to other SM networking sites and platforms [15], a surprising cleft, given Instagram’s unique aesthetic platform [16], and that its users tend to be more engaged with positive vibes and pictures, comments and good experiences [17] - of great value to hotels who desire to instill such emotions and engagements to their (potential) guests. Thirdly, much less attention has been given to the segmentation and analysis of the content generated by both hotels (supply side) and guests (demand side), as well as identifying the type of content that captivates and generates engagement of users (ergo, what is considered instagrammable in the world of hotels?).

Following an explanatory sequential design method [18], this paper contributes to addressing these research gaps by providing an in-depth analysis, combining both quantitative and qualitative data. The aim is to:

• explore what type of hotel and user (guest) generated content develops most traction on the SM platform Instagram,
• uncover how hoteliers (strategically) work with Instagram and how they perceive the instagrammable phenomenon in hotels, and
• assess if and how hoteliers view Instagram as a unique SM platform1

2. Theoretical Background

2.1. SM – A Ubiquitous Instrument for Dialogue Between Travelers and Hotels

In a world where attracting users’ attention is becoming increasingly harder as the information load increases on SM [19], the challenges for hotels to operate successfully in the online multiverse are therefore significant. Yet a strong SM presence is a must, as it has metamorphosed the manner in which companies connect to their respective markets and consumers [15] – particularly the hotel and tourism industry as the purchasing process of such services is based on the collection of obtainable information [20].

This connection is significant, as SM expediates “social interaction between users, facilitating the creation and sharing of knowledge, and transforming monologue (company to customer) into dialogue” [21] (p.12). Such a direct pathway has proven advantageous to companies, as this allows them to bring information, quality, credibility and authenticity directly to (potential) guests [7]. Moreover, this dialogue allows firms – for those who are proactive and strategic – to gain unique customer insights due to the sheer amount of user-generated content (UGC) SM platforms garner. With 60% of the world’s population (4.62 billion) active on SM, spending an average of 2.5 hours a day on SM [22], it is intuitive that UGC and social media have been widely used in various forms as they develop, proving to be effective marketing tools for the hotel and tourism industry, such as increasing purchase intentions for hotels [23].

Therefore, SM presents unique opportunities for a two-way dialogue betwixt (potential) guests and hotels, both offering the ability to showcase travels and hotels with quality, credibility, and authenticity, as well as learning on shifting customer expectations and demands for the hotel industry. It is therefore surprising to see that there is a dearth of research in digital technology studies “conceived from a holistic perspective which simultaneously takes into account the points of views of users and hotels” [24] (p.13).

2.2. Instagram’s Rise and Influence on the Hotel and Travel Industry

Instagram has rapidly become a powerhouse within the realm of SM platforms, reaching 1.28 billion users as of 2023 [25], becoming the fourth most popular SM platform in the world, behind only Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp [26]. As the Instagrammable definition in the introduction revealed, photos and other visual tools such as video are key elements of the platform. Specifically, Instagram is a visual storytelling platform offering a blend of information and image-based experiences [27], a beneficial combination for both hotels and their (potential) guests who wish to showcase what they offer and experience, respectively. It is therefore telling that research has unearthed positive relationships between high levels of social activity (e.g., travelling, dining) and being motivated to use Instagram as a means of documentation [16], as well as being an important source of information and inspiration in the destination selection process [28].

Instagram also offers unique possibilities for hotels and (potential) guests due its aesthetic platform [16] and that its users are more engaged with positive vibes, pictures, comments and good experiences [17]. With users seeking (and receiving) such positive experiences, it is understandable that Instagram scored significantly higher than other SM platforms with regards to entertainment when assessed by users [14]. This is corroborated by an industry report which found that the engagement rate from users on Instagram posts from hotels & resorts was significantly higher than that of other SM platforms, e.g., Facebook and X [29]. This validates that Instagram is an important tool not only to search for positive vibes and experiences, but as a viable instrument for information collecting about travelling, lodging and dining, playing an important role within hotel decision-making, contributing to harnessing an “objective and authentic overview” [30] (p. 109). From a hotelier’s perspective, Instagram is also a valuable information collection tool “at a time when much more innovative and exciting hospitality experiences are preferred by consumers, image-based, user-created content can help businesses catch up with the changing demands” [31] (p.2).

It is therefore surprising to see that Instagram is a far less researched platform than its counterparts – particularly with focus on the hotel industry [8]. Moreover, as Instagram’s strength and uniqueness is attributed to its visual storytelling capabilities, it is peculiar that Instagram-hotel studies have “focused on the textual content of posts” and that “research focusing on the visual contents of posts is scarce” [22] (p. 268). This is corroborated by Minor et al., who note that current research is still predominantly textocentric, rather than photocentric [32]. While research avenues have started to cement with regards to photocentric content and restaurants [33,34,35], thanks in part, to the “foodstagramming” phenomenon [36] – where people embark on capturing and sharing food photos [34], there is still a paucity in understanding Instagram’s role and impact on the hotel industry.

Specifically, exploration is needed into understanding the platform’s influence on the evolving dynamics of lodging and travel, as its capacity to offer distinctive visual content intersects with shifting consumer preferences, and to examine the types of photos and videos travelers capture and the specific locations they prefer. These insights can aid in crafting tailored experiences and gaining a clearer understanding of consumer preferences.

This paper bridges several research gaps regarding Instagram and hotels. Specifically, we address what type of photo- and videographic content generated by both hotels (supply side) and UGC (demand side) harnesses the most engagement by means of likes on Instagram, how hoteliers (strategically) work with Instagram and how they perceive the Instagrammable phenomenon, as well as how hoteliers perceive the Instagram platform in comparison to other SM networking sites and platforms.

3. Research Design

This study follows a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design (ESD) [18], signifying that quantitative data is collected and analyzed first, then followed by a qualitative data collection phase and analysis. Specifically, the quantitative data for this study was a manual content analysis, and the qualitative data was semi-structured interviews (described in greater detail in the following sub-sections).

As this study is trying to explore what visual photo/videocentric elements by both hotels and users generates the most excitement on Instagram, as well as deepening our understanding of how hoteliers strategically use such knowledge and data to work with, and ultimately, how hoteliers are operating in the ‘instagrammable’ marketplace, the ESD is as an apt approach. First, due to its ability to provide contextual understanding of the quantitative data derived from the content analysis. Second, the semi-structured interviews, combined with the content analysis will serve to both provide credibility and utility for practitioners and academics alike.

4. Quantitative Study

4.1. Method and Research Site

A content analysis was chosen as an apt method due to its ability to provide quantitative summaries of visual elements [37]. The quantitative content analysis was conducted in order to convert qualitative data into numerical variables and items [38], thus permitting comparative studies – a method used previously with success in the hospitality and tourism sector [39]. For this study, this meant hotel and user-generated content on Instagram – photos, videos, and stories.

25 different hotels in Denmark were selected. Denmark was chosen as an ideal location due to the significant presence of Instagram – the second largest SM platform in the country, trailing only behind Facebook [40], where 40% of the population (ca. 2.3 million individuals) has an active Instagram account [41]. The Danish population are also very active on the platform, with 70% of users engaging daily with the platform, 93% on a weekly basis, and 99% on a monthly basis [42]. To represent Danish hotels across various types and geographical regions, we selected five distinct types of hotels (conference, city, resort, inn/castle, and beach hotels), each situated in the five regions of Denmark: the capital city region, Zealand, Southern Denmark, Middle Jutland, and Northern Jutland. Prior to inclusion, the hotels underwent a screening process by the authors to confirm the presence of an active Instagram account, characterized by regular content posting. To ensure that not only the most popular hotels on Instagram were included, hotels with a wide range of followers were selected (from 307 to 117,000 followers). All hotels were stand-alone hotels (i.e., not franchise hotels) as our screening process found that franchise hotel chains tended to have one Instagram account for all the hotels in the chain/country, and not for a specific hotel, thereby not permitting comparable studies on a hotel level. UGC was captured when their posts tagged the hotels. Data collection took place during one of the peak seasons for Danish hotels, spanning from June 8th to July 11th, 2022. In total, we gathered N = 1,031 posts, 602 from hotels and 429 from users.

4.2. Codification of Content Units

The codification process comprised of three steps:

• Development of two coding scheme tables: one for hotels and one for UGC, with appropriate categories and sub-categories to accurately allocate content units (see Table 1).
• Coders (fulfilled by authors) identified each content unit and associated it with relevant category/subcategories.
• Manual measurement of likes for the content units.

The content of the coding scheme tables was derived from various sources [31,43,44] as well as the authors. Step 2 was conducted daily throughout the data collection phase, with coders assessing different yet overlapping units. Step 3 involved recording the content units at the time of data collection, and subsequently in August 2022 to ensure adequate time for posts to reach saturation on Instagram. To ensure intercoder reliability (Lombard, Snyder-Duch and Bracken, 2002), coders convened weekly during data collection to resolve any discrepancies. A total of 58 posts exhibited disagreement (94.4% agreement rate). These posts were re-evaluated by coders, discussed collectively, and rectified accordingly.

4.3. Findings

4.3.1. Format of Content

Hotels predominantly utilized single "image" for their posts, accounting for 41.2% of all posts, while "video" (9.6%), "UGC + Hotel story" (5.15%), and "video + multiple images" (0.66%) were the least preferred categories. This preference becomes even more pronounced when excluding the three "story" category variables ("UGC + Hotel story", "Hotel story", and "UGC in Hotel story"), where single images comprise 61.8% of all posts. While UGC also favored single images (38%), they showed a higher propensity for multiple images (38.69%) and video content (16.55%). The least utilized content category for UGC mirrored that of hotels, being "video + multiple images" (6.76%). This is noteworthy, as when comparing likes generated by content category (Table 2). Video content, particularly "video" and "video + multiple images", garnered significantly more likes per post (410 and 490, respectively) than static content such as "image" (108 per post) and "multiple images" (187 per post). The impact of video content becomes even more apparent despite comprising only 23.31% of the total posts, as they accounted for almost half of all likes (47.12%). Similarly, hotels saw the highest likes per post in the "video" category (311), surpassing "single image" (145) and "multiple images" (161). However, "video + multiple images" received fewer likes per post (130), potentially indicating hotels' reluctance to utilize this content category, although the sample size was small (N=4).

4.3.2. Hotel Attributes

The content of the posts – the hotel attributes – showed greater variety between hotels and UGC. In the case of hotels, it was evident that posts featuring multiple hotel attributes tended to attract higher levels of likes. Conversely, posts containing only single attributes, such as physical features, service offerings, or people, did not generate the same degree of engagement per post as those combining multiple attributes (e.g., physical attributes paired with service offerings – see Table 2). Similarly for UGC, there was a comparable pattern of increased engagement when pairing physical attributes with people, suggesting that guests tend to connect their personal experiences and activities with the spatial design of a place – corroborated by Han & Lee’s research [31]. However, single hotel attributes also generated significant likes per post in the case of UGC, such as physical attributes, people, communication, and service offerings. Surprisingly, posts concerning sustainable services (Table 3 and Table 4) were very limited for both hotels (N= 20) and UGC (N=6).

4.3.3. Post Characteristics

The distinction between sales-related and informative posts proved to be pivotal in generating likes. Informative posts, aimed at providing information to potential guests (e.g., showcasing a new menu in a restaurant), significantly outnumbered sales-related posts, which focused on promoting products or services (e.g., a picture and price of a hotel room with a booking link) – see Table 2, Table 3, Table 4 and Table 5. Interestingly, despite the prevalence of informative posts, sales-related posts garnered substantially more likes per post (351) compared to informative ones (130). This discrepancy is particularly noteworthy given that conventional SM research suggests that mentions of prices and deals tend to correlate with lower levels of likes and engagement [46]. However, this also aligns with the same research which indicates that mentions of prices and deals can drive higher engagement when combined with brand personality-related attributes.

5. Qualitative Study

5.1. Connecting the Phases and Method

Based on the content analysis, we desired to gain a deeper understanding of the findings by interviewing a selection of hotels from the content analysis. Hotels were purposefully selected to cover each type of hotel, each geographic region, a range in number of followers, as well as their activity on the Instagram profile (those who were more active were deemed more relevant to interview due to the strategic perspective). Staff responsible for SM and marketing were interviewed. Ten were invited, with two hotels declining, resulting in N=8. Specifically: R1 (Capital city, resort); R2 (Northern Jutland, conference); R3 (Southern Denmark, Beach hotel); R4 (Middle Jutland; Castle/Inn); R5 (Capital city, city hotel); R6 (Southern Denmark, city hotel); R7 (Northern Jutland, resort); R8 (Zealand, beach hotel).

The interview protocol was designed on the basis of the content analysis and the SOSTAC (Situation, Objectives, Strategy, Tactic, Action, Control) SM and marketing model [47]. A set of 12 questions were developed beforehand but follow up questions were possible in case respondents raised something of relevance to the study, until a point of saturation was reached [48], the shortest taking 39 minutes, the longest 97 minutes.

5.2. Findings

5.2.1. Hoteliers’ Strategic Use of Instagram

All hotels worked strategically with Instagram, and thematic patterns arose amongst the respondents, namely strategic planning, key performance indicators, synergizing brand attributes, and the use of influencers. While similar themes arose, there were noteworthy differences amongst them.

All respondents highlighted the use of digital technologies to plan their content, particularly META Business Suite (R1-7), where hotels planned ahead their content on different timeframes, e.g., weekly (R2), monthly (R1), or per season (R5). Despite all having scheduled content, there was an analogous interjection that great flexibility was needed as content posted also depended on which “areas of the hotel needed more love than others” (R1), corroborated by R4 who stated that it was tantamount to pivot to “which departments in the hotel need attention right now, what is going on in-house at the moment”. R5 further added that it was also important to “go beyond our hotel, also see what is happening in our city, can we post something relevant to it – i.e., large events”. When prompted as to how the hotels work with this flexibility, there were two frames of mind – to hold regular strategy meetings with departmental managers (e.g., R1 had meetings every 3^rd week), or experienced presentiments, as R4 claims “we have a strategy, yes, but it’s also important to follow our gut feeling – what’s going on outside in the world today, what do we feel people need right now?”. When prompted why there were so few posts regarding sustainability, all respondents replied analogously – that this was not the correct platform to do, claiming that this was done on the more business-oriented SM platform LinkedIN.

Respondents revealed their key KPI’s, ranging from number of followers (R2, R5), bookings (R4, R6), awareness/top of mind (R1, R6, R7, R8), reach (R4, R6), to engagement rate (R4, R5, R8). A noteworthy discovery here was that while all hotels bar one (R3) had KPI’s, respondents were obstinate that the most important strategic function of Instagram was to have a content portfolio that reflected core brand attributes of the hotel. As R1 states, “we are a luxury hotel, and all posts must match our brand – we strive for quality over quantity”. Supplemented by R6, who claims that “our identity is about being playful - so our online identity and brand needs to reflect this, so there is a strategic choice on what content we upload, and also how we describe our tone on Instagram”, and R7’s goal for Instagram was “about sensing our spirit and atmosphere – where you can feel our presence”.

Respondents were therefore intrigued to learn that sales-related posts outperformed informative posts in terms of generating traction, as they felt that these types of posts – while they were used sporadically on Instagram, were used far more frequently and strategically on Facebook. As R1 commented: “Facebook is used more for events and purchase-based posts [sales-related], whereas Instagram is more about creating an atmosphere and storytelling”. R2 stated that their Instagram posts’ purpose was “informative – sales-related would then be buying advertisement space on Instagram”. Lastly, R3 corroborated that “Facebook is made for sales-related posts, and Instagram for informative posts. We do it sometimes on Instagram, but that is not our goal”.

It is therefore insightful that all respondents (except R2, R3) revealed that rather making use of sales-related posts as a tool for reaching KPI’s and harnessing brand synergy, was to hire SM influencers. SM influencers are “people who develop and maintain a personal brand and a following on social media through posts that intertwin their personality and lifestyle with the products (e.g., goods, services, ideas, places, people) that they promote, which can influence the way their followers behave (e.g., attitudes, perceptions, preferences, choices, decisions)” [49]. All respondents were strategic in selecting which influencer to hire, ensuring that “they match our target group and our [hotel’s] values, and we need to have good chemistry with them” (R7), and that “contractual agreements are written beforehand on what type of content is made – we want to keep control of our narrative” (R1). R5 was a prolific user of influencers, stating that they “don’t use a photographer for our pictures, we actually mostly use influencers’ pictures for our collection”, and that different influencers were used on a monthly basis, to ensure that they get new and different content of hotel attributes. R8 heavily used influencers as they “wanted show an authentic stay at our hotel”.

5.2.2. Instagram: A Unique SM Platform for Hotels & Guests

All respondents echoed in unison that Instagram was a “different beast” (R4) when comparing to other SM platforms for hotels. Most notably, respondents commented on Instagram’s unique ability as a showcasing ‘window’ due to its visual storytelling abilities, and its importance in the consumer journey.

R1 likened Instagram to an “exposition window, using it to showcase our products and services…being a luxury hotel, we believe that all the content we put out there, has to be of the same quality, and Instagram can deliver on this dimension”. Corroborated by R2 and R7, who stated that “Instagram is different because it allows us to show us at our best” and “Instagram is an authentic way to showcase our hotel and surroundings”, respectively. This was in part, due to its unique visual storytelling abilities, as detailed by R6: “Instagram is clearly a more visual tool we use, compared to our other SM platforms [Facebook], and the captions we upload are no way as important as the image or video content”. This is, according to R5, due to the “visual part, videos or photos, being unique to Instagram [compared to other SoMe platforms] and is much better for capturing attention”.

The respondents therefore resonated positively with the content analysis findings of videos generating significantly more activity online, as noted by R5 who stated that “videos are critical for us for generating traffic on our sites – they generate massive interest” and “videos and influencers are our main strategic tools”. R4 supplemented to this notion that Instagram had a unique ability to harness UGC, particularly video content to help “showcase our hotel from the guest side”, strategically knowing and uplifting unique ‘spots’ at the hotel (more on this in the following finding).

Respondents also revealed the great importance of Instagram as a crucial element of the consumer journey, that is “the need to understand consumers as they select, create, integrate, use, adapt, and discard products and services in order to meet needs and accomplish goals” (Hamilton and Price, 2019). Instagram manifested in different manners along the consumer journey. Prior to making a booking, R3 noted that their experience was that “Instagram is for inspiration, not for selling. Its especially relevant when people are looking for options to book”, highlighting it as an important platform to reach their target segment. This is in line with R5, who noted that “we can reach far more people on platforms like Tiktok, we can reach more of the right people on Instagram”. Upcoming guests would also use Instagram as a safety-check, as R6 noted: “Our (first time) guests use Instagram as a safety-check – does our hotel really look this, does it really offer the facilities they say they do. Instagram is as authentic and believable, if not more, then sites such as Trustpilot [after booking on OTA’s – such as booking.com] to assess that they made the right choice in booking”. Lastly, Instagram even served as direct communication tool with guests prior to their check in, as R5 noted: “Instagram is for us, the reception the guests need before they actually arrive. We receive so many questions and comments about our hotels – so the platform is a very important checkpoint on their journey”.

5.2.3. The Instagrammable Hotel Phenomenon

Every respondent was asked for their definition of an instagrammable hotel. Responses greatly expanded on the definition provided in the introduction, noting that being “attractive or interesting enough” was not sufficient. R1 reiterated the finding of Instagram’s use for harnessing brand synergies, stating that “it’s about delivering on your promise – in our case, to create dreams – so for us, instagrammable is being beautiful, and aesthetic, allowing the user to dream and say ‘wow, I want to be there’”. R8 corroborated this, stating that “instagrammable is being aesthetically beautiful, but at the same time authentic – it can’t seem too staged – so it needs to be real, but at the same stylishly pleasing”. R8 further added the notion of instagrammable also being true to its brand, revealing that “we use Instagram as a brand-building platform, where we want to visually communicate who we are as a brand - our values are personal, professional and playful, and we need to instill these values into our Instagram profile”. Like R1 and R8, a sense of beauty was also highlighted by R4, stating that “Instagrammable is being beautiful, something that catches the eye, it’s a special moment in time”. Linking this to the success of posting multiple hotel attributes, R5 also highlighted the importance of aesthetics: “Instagrammable is being different…a ‘wow’ experience, and that the design combines many aspects, such as color, nature, and unique elements such as water”.

This understanding of harnessing brand synergies, being aesthetically beautiful and highlighting physical attributes of the hotel also revealed that all hotels had an intricate understanding of their Instagrammable spots (as named by R4). An instagrammable spot was defined as a location within the hotel or its grounds, which was actively sought out by guests to visually document their stay at through Instagram. When respondents were prompted to what their spots were, they were generally categorized into physical attributes of the hotel, nature views of the hotel’s grounds, or food and beverage areas where aesthetically pleasing food and drinks could be showcased. Examples are R5 who state “without doubt, our indoor pool is an absolute show-stopper, and continuously generates significant traction on Instagram – whether it is us posting it, or our guests”, or R4 who state “we have a window on one of our staircases which offers a great view of the entire park and the fjord, and guests daily come and ask where this window is so they can capture it themselves”. R2 highlighted that “our bar and pictures of our food are always sure winners”.

When asked whether these instagrammable spots were identified by users/guests or created by the hotel, respondents highlighted that spots were almost always created – but not with the primary tool of serving Instagram or social media, but rather to create unique areas delivering unique experiences for guests (e.g., relaxation, ‘wow’ moments, luxury and self-pampering, etc.). As corroborated by R4: “We have definitely created our own spots. But they have been created organically with the thought of offering unique places of reprieve and relaxation for our guests, definitely not for the benefit of social media”. Only one respondent, R5, had designed certain areas with social media in mind. These were, however, of a temporary nature: “We do like to design certain areas with Instagram in mind - obviously not all the time as this is not sustainable - however, for events, we always make sure there are areas we know are great for guests to visually document their experience”.

6. Discussion and Conclusions

This paper has investigated the intrinsic link between the SM platform Instagram and hotels. Through an ESD research approach, the study - the first of its kind, answered three main research objectives. First, we discovered what type of hotel and user generated content developed the most traction from multiple perspectives, namely in terms of content format, hotel attributes and the characteristic nature of the posts. Second, we uncovered how hoteliers strategically work with Instagram - through strategic planning, utilizing a wide array of KPI’s, synergizing brand attributes and using influencers - and how hoteliers perceived the instagrammable phenomenon in the hotel industry. Third, we assessed how hoteliers viewed the uniqueness of Instagram, and how it serves as an important tool for both guests and hotels alike during the consumer journey.

The study provided a unique insight into the advantages of video content, in contrast to its static counterparts of images, justifying Minor et al.’s [32] call for more research into photo- and videocentric SM research. This became even more apparent when diving deeper into what was specifically present on the video and photographic content – we revealed that content thrived best when physical hotel attributes were paired with other categories, such as people or service offerings. This was strengthened by the interviews, when it was revealed that respondents laid claim to Instagram’s value and purpose of displaying their hotel’s brand personality attributes. This finding also brings credence to the notion that guests wish to connect their personal experiences and activities with the spatial design of a place, as highlighted by Han & Lee [31]. This also highlights how Instagram sets itself apart from other SM platforms, and how hotels can tap into the good vibes and experiences that users are seeking on the platform. These brand-personality related attributes on Instagram also gives rise to the discussion of whether to post informative or sales-related posts to generate traction, as our study revealed that sales-related posts were immensely popular. Yet would they still be as popular without an existing portfolio of informative posts?

The findings paint a picture of Instagram’s growing importance in the hotel industry, and plays a multifaceted role in terms of experience, marketing, communication, branding, safety, quality control, strategy, service, and dialogue with (potential) guests. The ability to provide and stage an instagrammable moment for guests is well acknowledged by hoteliers, with all respondents being acutely aware of their spots and how to leverage them strategically. It is increasingly apparent that Instagram will continue to grow in strategic significance to hotels, and practitioners and researchers alike should monitor the impact Instagram will continue to have. Based on our content analysis and subsequent iterations of being instagrammable by the respondents, we propose a definition for an Instagrammable Hotel:

A hotel which delivers on its brand promise by strategically leveraging its brand personality through its physical spaces & attributes together with its service and experiential offerings. It is a hotel which strives for uniqueness through aesthetic beauty, combing both natural and constructed design elements, making guests want to document their stay on Instagram through video- and photographic content, while making potential guests increase their desire to stay at the hotel.

6.1. Theoretical Implications

The study provides several theoretical implications for researchers:

• Contributes to several research gaps: (i) studying a specific SM platform in terms of advantages and experiences – both from an enterprise and user perspective in the hospitality sector, (ii) studying specifically Instagram in a hospitality context, and (iii) studying (comparatively) video and photographic content generated from both a supply (hotels) and demand (guests) side.
• Understanding the instagrammable phenomenon: This study is the first of its kind to tackle what it signifies to be instagrammable, as well as how hotels strategically work with the SM platform. The study contributes to offering a more precise understanding of what an instagrammable hotel is, and how hospitality researchers can assess hotels from an Instagram and/or social media ‘lens’.
• Using ESD as a mixed-methods approach: There is a greater call for mixed-method research approaches in academia – particularly within tourism and hospitality, and the ESD proved pivotal in integrating our data, thus allowing us to better understand a complex phenomenon [51]. This study can hopefully serve as an inspiration to other researchers to apply a mixed-methods approach when conducting a future study.

6.2. Practical Implications

The study provides several ‘hands-on’ practical implications for the hotel industry:

• Working strategically with Instagram: Hotels should tailor their Instagram work strategically, focusing on harnessing brand synergy attributes, setting clear KPI’s in line with their marketing and branding goals, and allocate the necessary resources to use Instagram not only as an exhibition window for (potential) guests, but as an integral step of the consumer journey.
• What type of content to post: Continuously build a portfolio of content which ensures that (potential) guests receive more than a static experience, and bring to the forefront the hotel’s personality attributes and brand promise by pairing physical spaces with experiences and services.
• Use of influencers: Work strategically by selecting the right influencers, remembering that in order “for collaborations to be successful, maintaining consistency between the brand image and the impression created by the influencer is vital” [52].
• Be instagrammable and understand the importance of spots: Understand what it means to be instagrammable (see above), understand which parts of your hotel are instagrammable spots by your guests, and nurture them. Moreover, understand that spots that are manufactured simply for the objective of being instagrammable may not work, focus instead on creating unique areas delivering unique experiences for guests.

7. Future Research and Limitations

While the study has helped bridge several research gaps, the results have also opened up possibilities for future research avenues:

• Instagram content portfolios: The findings from the content analysis revealed a preference for sales-related posts, as well as video content. However, would a hotel’s Instagram profile perform as well without informative posts and static photographic content? Future research should investigate on finding an optimal ‘balance’ of content to build the most instagrammable portfolio.
• What makes a hotel instagrammable: The study highlighted which attributes of a hotel drives content, and based on the ESD, was able to offer a definition for an instagrammable hotel. However, future research should delve into what makes a space within a hotel instagrammable – that is, how does ‘hard’ features (e.g., décor, lighting, layout) work in tandem/contrast with ‘soft’ features (e.g., mood, ambience, people)?
• Instagrammable in a global context: This study focused on Danish hotels, yet the instagrammable phenomenon is a global context – future research should offer comparative studies in an international context. This would be particularly useful when viewing Instagram in the lens of the consumer journey.

The paper is not without its limitations. While the content analysis offered novel insights into Instagram and hotels from both a supply and demand side, the lack of a dependent variable to perform statistical analyses would have strengthened the paper – e.g., assessing instagrammable dimensions with bookings, profitability, and other financial KPI’s. Moreover, we grouped UGC into one group – ‘users’. This is a simplistic way of assessing (potential) guests, and the study would have been strengthened if we could have segmented users into different categories and demographics.