Conducting Immersive Research in Second Life: A Hotel Co-Branding Case Study

This study explains the first known hospitality research conducted exclusively in a virtual world for the purpose of researching hotel co-branding. This article explains how immersive research techniques were used to capture data in real time through avatar activity in Second Life. This article considers the research methodology, the data collection process and gives a brief summary of the initial research findings. The virtual environment offers an opportunity for researchers to reach a global audience, conduct the research in a relatively short time frame, and do the research inexpensively. The study will be of interest to researchers who may wish to use a virtual 3D environment for their own research.