Aw Yoke Cheng Asia Pacific University

The advent of new technology such as the social media has penetrated many households and altered the way customers seek information as the basis for their purchase decisions. As the number of social media users escalates companies are advised to take advantage of the emerging marketing channel and effectively communicate with customers. Its interactivity, ubiquity and accessibility qualify it as one of the most cost effective marketing tools today. Meanwhile, the hotel industry is growing rapidly and hoteliers, in general have been actively pursuing contemporary marketing strategy as to remain competitive. However, with vast number of players and increased bargaining power of customers hoteliers need to rethink their strategy to manage among others, the marketing communication channel which includes the social media. This research is an exploratory study and seeks to examine the relationships between the use of social media, trust and customer retention. The primary data for this research were collected through survey questionnaire. Results indicated there are positive correlations between the research variables. The limitations of the study and future directions of research are discussed