Concept of Home in Hotel Marketing

The report essentially focuses on the emerging trend of applying the concept of ‘home’ among the product offerings and marketing functions of businesses operating in the accommodation industry. The study has essentially evaluated the concept of home according to its significance in hotel marketing and product offering. The utilization of the concept by various hotels have been discussed. Moving forward the recommendations for the effective implementation of the concept within the operational aspects of the Best Western Australia hotel were provided.

Running head: CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
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1CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
Executive Summary
The report essentially focuses on the emerging trend of applying the concept of ‘home’ among
the product offerings and marketing functions of businesses operating in the accommodation
industry. Hotels are using the concept of home in order to promote themselves as homes away
from homes. The concept is being utilized to enhance the factor of customer satisfaction to
greater levels. The study has essentially evaluated the concept of home according to its
significance in hotel marketing and product offering. The utilization of the concept by various
hotels have been discussed. Moving forward the recommendations for the effective
implementation of the concept within the operational aspects of the Best Western Australia hotel
were provided. The findings suggest that the concept of ‘home’ is emerging as one of the
strongest factors that can affect the present and future business proposition of hotels across the
industry.

2CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Business background.......................................................................................................................3
Concept of “Home”.........................................................................................................................4
Use of the concept of “home” by Accommodation Businesses......................................................5
Creation of the home experience by Best Western..........................................................................7
Recommendations............................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

3CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
Introduction
The report will focus on a recent marketing concept of ‘home’ that is being used by
businesses operating in the hotel or accommodation sector. The home concept focuses on the
homely nature of the business offering. Hotel companies are increasingly focusing towards
providing the travellers with the comfort of their homes through their accommodation services.
The report will analyse the essential aspect of marketing considering the concept of home and
the subsequent competitive advantage it can provide a business. Initially, the background of the
business will be essentially discussed. The report aims to bring forward through extensive
analysis and evaluation, the concept of creating a strong home value for the customers utilized by
the hotel industry. The various factors that can affect customer preferences concerning the
concept in the accommodation industry are presented through the study. The concept of home
and its feasibility towards the effective marketing of accommodation services have to be
essentially discussed.
Business background
The company in focus in the report is Best Western Hotel. The company is a significantly
large hotel sector business predominantly operating in the US and North America (Heyes and
Aluri 2017). In Australia, the subsidiary company of the Best Western Hotels is the Best Western
International, which is moderately successful. It operates relatively large number of hotels in the
country. The hotel company have recently opened its accommodation services in some of the
popular tourist destination in Australia and wants to attract customers that are mainly
international travelers. The company wants to strengthen its marketing functions in the
southeastern region of Australia (Zervas, Proserpio and Byers 2017). The company is located

4CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
primarily in New South Wales. As previously mentioned, the company wants to attract
customers that are primarily visiting Australia from abroad but will stay in the country for
relatively longer periods. As the customers are slightly different from tourists, the company will
be using the marketing motive of home. It will focus on providing customers with a homely
accommodation environment.
Concept of “Home”
In the current era of globalization, the travel requirements of people across the world
have greatly increased. Travels have become far more frequent than before and people are able to
travel far more easily than ever before. This has fostered the concept of ‘home’ especially
concerning the accommodation industry. People who travel across the world definitely miss
many of the important tangible, non-tangible, emotional, physical or other essential aspects that
they associate with their home (Baker, Davis and Weaver 2014). The word home also provides a
sense of security in the traveler’s mind. It is something that the modern day tourists and travelers
can easily relate to. Thus, the modern day travelers are very much inclined towards finding home
away from home (Heyes and Aluri 2017).
It is much essential that the non-tangible requirements of the customers concerning home
are strongly considered when the concept of home is being used for marketing and promotion. In
the modern times, the hotels have become transnational enterprises (Chatzigeorgiou and Simeli
2017). A single hotel enterprise can have a large number of operational hotels across the globe.
This had created a gap in the recent past between the places that were visited and the
accommodation facilities availed. This essential issue came to be identified shortly, leading to
the rise of the usage of the home concept in accommodation industry. It can be seen that the new
hotels are increasingly projecting home comfort through their product promotion and offerings.

5CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
Hotels are now promoting home comfort rather than a projecting themselves as luxurious palatial
entities. Larger room spaces are being promoted along with trendy interiors that can give
customers a feeling of having their own personalized spaces. Travelers frequently complained
about disconnections between the hotel and the destination. Thus, hotels are now trying hard to
provide the customers with experiences that will be identical to their homes. For example-
kitchen spaces are made available at hotel suits with all kinds of essential kitchen instruments.
This is ensuring that the customers are able to do their own cooking if they require. This feature
is almost instantly transferring the customers to the comfort of their homes (Kensbock et al.
2014). Additionally, the concept of home does not merely consider replication of the homely
environment of the traveler. It also essentially considers the integration of the concept of home of
the traveler with the new home that is the destination. The non-tangible aspects such as feelings,
emotions, connections and experiences are more important considerations when the concept of
home is being projected (Kim, Vogt and Knutson 2015). This is mainly because home is a
concept that is bigger than the physical aspects that are connected with a home. The travelers are
frequently affected by a longing for their homes. Home becomes both the locality where the
traveler belongs, the city, the country and even the part of the world he/she comes from. Thus,
home as a concept is more emotional, philosophical and feelings oriented. People more often
than not refer to their living areas as their homes. Places where they have friends and
acquaintances they have known throughout their lives. Emotionally, home is a place that gives a
person emotional security and relative peace of mind (Mody, Suess and Lehto 2018). Home is a
feeling one feels when one comes across a place, which he can relate to, a place that can contain
all the essential aspects that govern his/her life and self-awareness. Factors that essentially affect
the emotional, psychological and aesthetic requirements of the travelling person are

6CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
considerations that are more important. The customers will relate to the visited place through the
similarities and differences it has in regards to his/her home (Baker, Davis and Weaver 2014). A
bonding will only be created when the traveler can identify with some of the aspects that is
offered by the new destination. This can happen if there are certain essential similarities of the
home of the traveler with the visited place or if the destination provides the same comfort to the
customer that he/she used to feel at home.
Use of the concept of “home” by Accommodation Businesses
Accommodation oriented businesses across the world are paying more attention towards
optimizing their product offerings using the ‘home’ concept. The hotel companies are taking the
promotion and marketing process even further through market segmentation (Mody, Suess and
Lehto 2018). The customers are being segmented according to their age and preferences
considering essentially the impact of the same on their conceptions of home. Millennials are
being approached according to their specific requirements. This group is focused more as it has
been projected that half of the travelers will be millennials by 2020 (Ferguson, Giuseppi and
Australia 2017). The companies are increasingly focusing towards giving the travelers a story to
tell about the destinations they visit. One important aspect that has been identified is the
technology dependence of millennials. Most millennials want to stay connected wherever they
visit or roam. Thus, hotels are paying much more attention towards giving the millennials all the
required facilities such as wifi, internet calling and other thing that can help them stay connected.
Staying connected with closed ones are also an essential aspect connected with a homely
environment.
Whether millennials or customers from other age groups, the attitude of travelers in
regard to their expectations have changed. Travelers now want to engage more with the local

7CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
environment that the travel destination provides (Andriotis and Agiomirgianakis 2014). Thus,
companies are focusing more on the cultural experiences of the customers. The marketing and
promotional activities are often focused towards enhancing the cultural experiences of the
customers. Moreover, many companies are focusing towards providing interactive cultural
experiences of the customers. The promotion and marketing is simultaneously focusing on the
concept of discovering a new home for the traveler. The concept of home is being rediscovered
by not only the hotel sector but also the travel-oriented business sectors in general. As an
example, Qantas projects Australia as its home. Another example can be given of Jo and Joe,
who are trying to increase the homely experiences of customers through the wide ranges of
accommodation offerings. The accommodation company is providing customers with completely
rentable portions of houses where facilities of home cooking, living spaces and other homely
aspects are available (Accorhotels.group 2018). This is increasing their essential value for the
customers that are increasingly inclined towards alternative modes of accommodation services.
Indigo hotels are striving towards providing the customers with local flavors, cultures and
surroundings. Indigo have designed a product offering that can help the customer to connect well
with the traditional culture of the destination. Hotels previously used to be highly continental
with most hotels offering universally popular food and facilities (Ren et al. 2016). The focus
towards upholding the traditional attributes of tourist destinations are helping the company to
garner more acceptability among the new age travelers. It is important to understand that the
new age traveler is much more informed about the socio-cultural and traditional aspects of the
destinations they visit (Kandampully, Zhang and Bilgihan 2015).

8CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
Creation of the home experience by Best Western
Best Western is focusing more on the customers they want to attract towards their
products. The hotels of Best Western are being renovated in trendier fashions. People normally
like to decorate their personal spaces in trendy designs. This gives them a feeling of
personalization. Hotels are focusing towards using colors that can enhance the home factor for
customers. Lighter shades like orange and green are being used as these are popular colors
people use at their homes (Dzhandzhugazova et al. 2016). The target is to make the customers
comfortable enough in the hotel rooms that they can easily associate it with their new homes at
the new destination. The hotels rooms are being decorated in different ways in order to ensure
that each customer gets a unique home environment. Moreover, mini kitchens are being installed
in more rooms to provide customers with better home experiences. Mini kitchens are important
for the home factor. Customers can associate this with aspects of life at home, such as getting up
in the morning and making coffee or cooking snacks for oneself. This will give a new meaning to
hotel accommodation as customers can get almost the same things that they get at home
(Dzhandzhugazova et al. 2016). Market segmentation is the first step towards implementing an
optimally effective business plan that will definitely integrate the home concept. Best Western
are a company that essentially locates its operations in the southwestern regions of Australia. It is
important that in order to project its offerings as an integral part of the home concept, it
concentrate on the local aspects of this part of Australia (Bowie et al. 2016). The first thing Best
Western Australia need to consider is the accommodation offerings. Most people associate home
with the ambience it provides. Thus, is it important that the hotel rooms are designed, decorated
and managed in ways that will quickly remind the tourists of their home. It is important to apply

9CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
the concept of comfort when designing and decorating the hotel rooms. This is because home is
usually associated with comfort by people across the globe (Guttentag 2015).
The target customers of the hotel will be visitors from abroad that will be staying for
relatively longer periods in the country than the general tourists. It is important that the concept
of home is more importantly applied in the product offerings of the company (Heyes and Aluri
2017). The aspects such as furnishing, bedding, home decoration and other intricate aspects of
rooms have to be enhanced. Anything that can be perceived as claustrophobic by the customers
has to be changed. Food and beverage offerings should be in line with the environment of
comfort. The hotel should try to effectively integrate the home of the customers with the local
home. Food and beverage offerings should be at par with the home comfort that the customers
would be promised. The food offered should reflect the local cuisine. Since the customers will be
staying for longer periods, effective focus should be given towards introducing the customers to
the local cuisines, traditions and environment of the destinations (Heyes and Aluri 2017). The
customers should be made aware of the local traditions in a way in which they can relate to. An
essential aspect will be to make the customers identify their homes with the home of the people
they have visited. Interactive sessions and recreational activities will be much important in this
context. Best Western will have to provide a channel for social interactions. This will help the
customers to know the fellow travelers and customers with whom they will be spending a long
time during their stay (Dzhandzhugazova et al. 2016).
Best Western should focus towards providing gourmet kitchens to the premium
customers as well. This will be beneficial for some of the customers that may stay for a month or
longer. The main thing will be to make the customer feel at home both inside and outside the
room (Bowie et al. 2016). The hotel ambience will need to be enhanced through comfort

10CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
enhancing room freshening agents. The hotel should definitely consider providing open-air
kitchens and once in a week camping events if possible. The customer interactions of staffs
should be formal and friendly at the same time (Leung, Bai and Stahura 2015).
Recommendations
It is important to understand that a home is much more than just a comfort zone for the
customer. It is a feeling of security and happiness at the same time. Home gives the customer a
feeling of belonging, it is a privilege for some people to belong to a place and have friends and
acquaintances in that particular area. The hotel should essentially understand the implications of
a customer identifying with the concept of a home by providing ample scope for socializing,
recreation and self-realization (Bowie et al. 2016). At the same time, it is also essential for the
new age traveler to establish a connection with the home of the people of the visited destination.
Thus, more opportunities should be provided to the traveler to understand the destination of
travel and discover a new home throughout their stay. The hotel should focus more on providing
the customer with effective opportunities to realize the aspects connected with a destination.
Effectively merging the destination tourism value, the home factor and the customer experience
within a wholesome customer experience will ensure both long-term profitability and goodwill
for the hotel enterprise. The hotel should take smart steps towards ensuring this and become one
with the experience of the customer.
Conclusion
The modern traveler has grown with regards to his/her travel requirements. Visiting
places are no longer just being acquainted with famous places. The implications of the study
point towards the fact that with the change in preferences of the customers, the hotel industry is

11CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
also witnessing major changes especially in regards to its offerings. Hotels are trying hard to help
the traveler discover a new home through the destination that is visited. Best Western can
implement the specific changes that will make sure that they cater to the most important travel
needs of the customer. The major implications of the study further point towards the fact that the
new age traveler wants to find a corner of home in all the travel destinations he visits. The
concept of home is thus, becoming an established norm concerning the accommodation industry.

12CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
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13CONCEPT OF HOME IN HOTEL MARKETING
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