1.4 Research Gap

1.4 Research Gap

Despite the burgeoning academic interest in digital marketing within the hospitality sector and the evident growth of the luxury hotel market in Bangladesh, a significant primary research gap persists: there is a critical lack of empirical research specifically investigating how Bangladeshi 5-star hotels can effectively leverage Facebook content and engagement strategies to directly drive booking intentions (Bhandari & A Sin, 2023; Khan & Abir, 2022). While the general importance of social media in marketing is widely acknowledged, the direct causal links and comparative effectiveness of specific Facebook strategies in this particular market remain largely unexplored (Ahmed et al., 2023; Leong et al., 2019).

This overarching gap can be further delineated into several specific gaps:

Firstly, there is limited understanding of how specific Facebook content strategies directly influence booking intentions for Bangladeshi 5-star hotels (Belias et al., 2023; Kariru, 2022). Much of the existing research on social media marketing in hospitality tends to focus on Western contexts or larger, more developed Asian markets (Leong et al., 2019; Tien et al., 2019). The unique cultural nuances, consumer behaviors, and market dynamics of the Bangladeshi luxury hotel sector are often overlooked. This means that findings from other regions may not be directly transferable, leaving Bangladeshi hotels without tailored, evidence-based guidance on optimizing their Facebook content for direct booking conversion (Bhandari & A Sin, 2023; Khan & Abir, 2022).

Secondly, there is insufficient research on how Facebook engagement approaches directly impact booking intentions in the context of Bangladeshi 5-star hotels (Khan & Abir, 2022; Guo et al., 2021). While the concept of engaging with customers on social media is well-established, the precise mechanisms and the direct influence of various engagement tactics (e.g., interactive features, response management, user-generated content integration) on booking decisions within this specific market are not adequately understood (Bhandari & A Sin, 2023; Leong et al., 2019). The effectiveness of these tactics can vary significantly across different markets, and a lack of localized research creates uncertainty for Bangladeshi hotel marketers regarding the most impactful engagement strategies for driving direct bookings (Tien et al., 2019).

Finally, a crucial lack of empirical evidence exists comparing the relative effectiveness of different Facebook marketing strategies (content vs. engagement) in directly influencing booking intentions for Bangladeshi 5-star hotels (Ahmed et al., 2023; Leong et al., 2019). This comparative analysis is vital for strategic resource allocation. Without understanding which approach yields a stronger direct influence on booking intentions, hotel marketers may misallocate resources, investing heavily in one area when another might offer a more significant return on investment in terms of direct bookings (Tien et al., 2019; Bhandari & A Sin, 2023). This gap hinders the development of optimized, data-driven Facebook marketing strategies for the Bangladeshi luxury hotel industry (Khan & Abir, 2022).

Addressing these specific research gaps will not only contribute significantly to the academic literature on digital marketing in hospitality, particularly in emerging markets, but will also provide invaluable practical insights for Bangladeshi 5-star hotels seeking to enhance their direct booking performance through strategic Facebook marketing (Khan & Abir, 2022; Bhandari & A Sin, 2023).