Influence of Factors on Consumer Behaviour in Hospitality Industry

This document discusses the influence of various factors on consumer behaviour in the hospitality industry, including cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors. It also explores the changes in consumer trends due to digital technology and the stages of consumer decision making. Additionally, it highlights the importance of mapping a path of purchase and compares the decision-making process in B2C and B2B contexts.

Hospitality
Consumers Behaviour
and
Insights

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 : Influence of various factors on consumer behaviour and attitude..................................3
P2 : Changes in consumer trends due to digital technology...................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P3 : Stages of consumer decision making and path of purchasing for a hospitality service..6
P4 : Importance for marketer to map a path of purchase and consumer decision making.....8
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P5 : Comparison between hospitality decision-making process in context of B2C and B2B9
P6 : Approaches of market research and methods of research in decision making process 10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................12
P7 : Evaluation of how marketer influences different stages of decision making...............12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Consumer behaviour define as an study which mainly focusses on consumers behaviour
about how they buy goods, consume them & disposes off. Also the behaviour might get affected
by different elements factors which includes social class, culture as well as sub-culture where
they live. It is very essential for the marketer that they examine buying procedure of consumer
as it will assist in modifying their policies and strategies in order to ensure their survival at the
competitive marketplace (Frederiks, Stenner and Hobman, 2015). Premier Inn Hotel is taken as
the base company in the report which was founded in the year 1987 is a British hotel chain. In
this report, main consideration is given to the hospitality industry therefore all the factors,
influence and research is conducted in the context of restaurants, hotels and so on. It is very
important for an organisation to understand the behaviour and decisions making process so taste,
requirements and need of consumers can be identified.
TASK 1
P1 : Influence of various factors on consumer behaviour and attitude
Consumer Behaviour means study of how individuals as well as group buy, consume
and dispose products and services. It will assist in identifying the influence of various factors on
the buying process of consumers. This as a result help managers in order to provide goods and
services according to the requirements and demands of consumers. In the present context of
Premier Inn, management team of the company decides to examine all the factors which highly
influence buying behaviour of consumer. Some of the most essential factors are as follows:
 Cultural factors : Cultural factors affect the value, perception and beliefs which is
developed by the culture and sub-culture in which the consumer lives. It divides the
consumers into different classes such as lower, medium and upper. Accordingly the
consumer decide the hotel they want to check into. For e.g. a middle class person will
always prefer to go into 3 star hotel (Ashman, Solomon and Wolny, 2015) .
 Social factors : It is the factor which involves all those with whom users have close
relation which includes friends, family, society and many more. All these highly
influence the purchasing and buying behaviour of consumer. In the present context of
hospitality sector, it has been analysed that decision of an individual mainly based on the
mentality, attitude and on the manner they grow. For instance, in reference to Premier Inn

hotel if a child stay in a high price hotel which have ample number of facilities then he
will prefer the same for their whole life.
 Personal factors : On the basis of personal factors it includes age, economic condition,
life cycle stage and many more which influence behaviour of consumer. In the present
context of hospitality sector, if the consumer is young & wants different facilities under a
single roof then a resort or 5 star hotel is suitable for him which is also based on his level
of income (Maniatis, 2016)
 Psychological factors : This is the last factor which is based on perceptions, motivation
level as well as learning of individuals which have direct impact on consumer buying
behaviour. In reference to hospitality industry, before taking any decision or action,
consumer takes advice or opinion from others which help them in taking better decisions.
For instance, a friend of an individual recommend him a resort then he will be able to
take decision whether to opt the option or not suggested by his friend.
Apart from all these factors there are some challenges which is faced by organisations in order to
provide services to satisfy customers requirements. Some of the essential dimensions are going
to be discussed which are crucial for providing service quality includes:
 Tangibility : It has been said that physical facilities commonly visible to consumers
which need to be according to the requirements so it is essential to provide them high
quality service (Banerjee, 2017).
 Reliability and Responsiveness : With the help of fulfilling promised services as well as
providing services according to the requirements, customer will remain loyal towards the
company for longer period of time.
 Assurance : This majorly aims that staff members are required to have sufficient
knowledge as well as courtesy which assist them in order to satisfy needs and wants of
consumer.
P2 : Changes in consumer trends due to digital technology
It has been analysed that consumer Behaviours is highly influenced by different elements
and factors in which technology is one of the most essential as it assist in enhancing
requirements and demands among customers. In today’s world with the help of digital
technology, information related to service and goods might attain easily and within limited time
period (Wang and 2017). Therefore, it becomes essential for hospitality industry to upgrade their

technologies on a regular basis so that they can beat the competition available at the marketplace.
In the present context of Premier Inn Hotel, some of the most important emerging consumer
trends which highly affects hospitality industry are as follows:
 Impact of Technology : By doing up gradation in technology, it is required by the whole
industry to modify and innovate their overall service. In the present context of Premier
Inn Hotel, management team develop official website and mobile application so that
consumers can book comfortably according to their requirements. This will assist in
increasing the overall number of customers and provide assistance to retain their potential
consumers.
 Increases focus on health : In today’s world, individual become more conscious about
there health which affect the hospitality industry. Therefore, it is required by management
team of Premier Inn Hotel that they provide healthy food, environment as well as place to
consumers for spa, exercise, yoga and many more according to their requirements. This
will assist them in order to attract large number of people towards the hotel (Maniatis,
2016).
 New roles for staff : After the advancement of technology, consumers highly prefer
online check-in, check out and booking facilitates. For this managers need to have highly
skilled staff members so that they can easily adapt the changing environment and trends.
Along with this, they will be able to provide professional service to the users which
satisfy their requirements in an appropriate manner.
TASK 2
P3 : Stages of consumer decision making and path of purchasing for a hospitality service
Decision making process of consumers are the procedure which assist users in order to
examine their requirements, collect information about substitutes available, evaluation of
alternatives and then make buying decision. It is the decision which mainly influence by ample
number of factors which includes psychological, emotional, social and many more. With the
assistance of this process marketer will be able to position their goods and services at the market
place successfully after understanding consumers behaviour (Pappas, 2016). In the present
context of Premier Inn Hotel, managers need to understand the behaviour of users before
implementing new services at the market place. Different stages of buying behaviour of
consumer are as follows:

Source: Stages of Consumer Decision Making Process. 2016.
 Need Recognition : According to the first stage, needs and wants of consumer is
examined which compels them to actually buy the products and services. Identification of
individuals needs assist marketer in order to develop effective marketing strategies. In
reference to Premier Inn Hotel, managers first identify needs and wants of users.
 Searching and gathering information : After examining consumers need required
information must be gathered which is about different alternatives available at the
marketplace. For this various sources are used which includes printed source, personal
contact and many more. In this case management team of Premier Inn Hotel use personal
contact for gathering information.
 Evaluation of alternatives : After this, all the information related to cost of products in
terms of quality, cost has been identified as well as all the positives and negatives feature
related to the substitute is being analysed (Ashman, Solomon and Wolny, 2015).
 Actual Purchase of product or services : At this stage, after conducting effective
analysis, consumer take decision whether to buy the product or not in order to satisfy
Illustration 1: Stages of Consumer Decision Making Process

their desire. In reference to Premier Inn Hotel, users after examining all the available
alternatives make their decision to buy the services offered by them.
 Post-purchase evaluation : It is the last stage which comes after product and service
being purchased by consumers. According to this stage, consumer evaluate the product,
it’s features, usefulness.
In order to map a path for a specific feature, services offered by hotel is taken into consideration.
For mapping an effective situation, a conference need to be conducted and for this large number
of individuals need to be invited.
 Pre-purchase : The user will examine the hotel where they are going to conduct a
conference . Along with this, the occupancy might be satisfactory so that they can meet
with the total amount of guest who are going to attend the conference.
 Purchase : After conducting the research ample number of hotels will be there along with
the services offered by them to their consumers. In this context, Premier Inn Hotel is
chosen which is one of the biggest hotel in UK and provide various facilities to the
customers (Petersen, Kushwaha and Kumar, 2015).
 Receive : The user in this stage will achieve the goods or service. In the present context,
they will be able to receive the services offered by the hotel management for there
conference. If all the services are satisfying needs and desires of consumers then they
will become loyal towards the hotel for a longer period of time.
 Post-purchase : It is the stage where customers will evaluate all the services provided by
hotel staff to what they promised for. For example, in case of Premier Inn Hotel they
arrange a conference for their clients. If the conference is well arranged and all the guest
are satisfied and taken care properly then they will conduct all these future events in the
same hotel (Ramya and Mohamed Ali, 2016.).
P4 : Importance for marketer to map a path of purchase and consumer decision making
Each and every business organisation perform their functions in order to satisfy needs
and wants of consumer. With the help of decision making procedure of customers, marketers will
be able to examine all those factors which is consider by them while buying something.
Significance of path mapping of purchase are as follows:
 Rising ROI : As it assist in understanding the intention as well as context behind buying
goods, marketer might target their potential customers & position high quality goods as

well as service. This as a result, help in enhancing their overall sales along with returns
on investments by offering them personalised services.
 Unified Customer Data & continued engagement : Mapping highly assist a business
organisation in order to arrange information of customers which they already have but
was not arranged in a proper manner. This will assist in maintaining all the data in a
systematic way of various customers and emphasises on specific consumers (Karimi,
Papamichail and Holland, 2015).
Mapping assists in examining different level of decision making. Some of the essential level are
going to be discussed as follows:
 Extensive Problem solving : It is define as the level where user buy those unfamiliar
products or services which mainly takes long duration for deciding. Along with this, it
requires effective information by conducting appropriate research.
 Limited Problem solving : In this level where users are familiar with the offering as well
as different available substitutes. In order to identify the difference it is essential to put
some extra efforts.
 Routine Problem solving : According to this level where users buy products on a regular
basis and requires very little or no information. These are the goods which are necessary
for their day to day life.
TASK 3
P5 : Comparison between hospitality decision-making process in context of B2C and B2B
It is said that there are two main ways B2b & B2C for doing commercial transactions
among customers as well as organization (Petersen, Kushwaha and Kumar, 2015). The
comparison is made between B2B & B2C are going to be discussed in reference to hospitality
industry :
Basis B2B B2C
Meaning In this context, products, commodities
as well as services are being sold to
different business organisation. For
example, a restaurant owner buy tissue
paper & napkins direct from the
on the other hand in this case,
products, goods & services are given
to the end consumers in order to
satisfy their requirements. For
instance, food ordered by customers

distributors. directly served to them by the hotel
staff.
Customer The customers can be an organisation
also just like hotel is customer for
restaurant are they provide food to the
hotel so that they can serve their end
consumers.
In context of B2C end users are the
customers. In the present case of
hospitality sector, consumers are those
who order food and gave it.
Focus The main focus is to maintain a
positive relationship with other
business entities. For instance, a hotel
generally focuses to maintain a strong
relationship with other restaurant as
they assist each other in order to
satisfy their needs and wants.
The primary focus is on commodity
or product which is sold to the end
users (Rezaei, 2015).
P6 : Approaches of market research and methods of research in decision making process
Market research assist a marketer in order to examine the current market condition as
well as requirement of customers. According to the collected data and information, organization
produce products and services. It is very essential to conduct research on a regular basis so that
companies will be able to beat the competition (Charter and Polonsky, 2017). For conducting a
research various methods as well as approaches are used by management team for B2B & B2C.
Market Research approaches in B2B : It has been analysed that it is the type of
business which is concerned with other business entities, so the source used to conduct the
research is secondary sources. The data and information is already gathered by the organisation
so that they can use it for future reference and maintain healthy relation with business partners.
Along with this, these research assist in identifying all the factors which might affect these
business relations. Some of the sources which is used for gathering information are as follows:
 Government agencies : With the help of these agencies, all the gathered information are
relevant which might provide assistance in various segments. Along with this, it will help

hospitality industry in order to reduce the negative impact on trade at the market place
(Verhoef, Kooge and Walk, 2016)
 Publications : With the assistance of publications in the magazine and newspaper
hospitality sector can decide upon the modifications which might influence their overall
relation with suppliers.
Market Research approaches in B2C : It is an business entity which is mainly
concerned with direct users, therefore data collection is required which is primary source of
collecting information. Some of the most essential primary source of data collection are as
follows:
 Questionnaire : With the help of questionnaire, marketer will be able to identify the
requirements of customers. Along with this it assist in identifying the elements which can
affect consumers buying behaviours (Banerjee, 2017).

TASK 4
P7 : Evaluation of how marketer influences different stages of decision making
For every business organisation, customers play very essential role as they are their
major source of earning. Therefore, for hospital industry it is required by the managers to
consider all there needs and wants. On the other hand, marketer within each and every business
plays important role as they influence customers in order to buy and gain experience (Karimi,
Papamichail and Holland, 2015). For understanding marketers influencing power there are some
examples which are given below:
The marketer within hotel sector must emphasize on implementing new & innovative
services which will assist them in order to influence whole process of decision making of
customers. For instance, a marketer within hospitality industry develop and implement a strategy
where they provide customised services to their consumers as per their requirement. If an
individual is planning to organize a board meeting then it is required by the manager of hotel to
provide conference room where they can easily do their work. This as a result influence decision
making process in a positive manner of customers (Charter and Polonsky, 2017).
Another example for a hotel sector which influence customers is that there should be an
arrangement of picking the consumers from their place and drop them to the location which
influence the mind set in a positive manner. Along with this, they motivate others to choose such
hotel rather than others. In this context, Premier Inn Hotel, provide all these facilities to their
customers which highly influence the whole process of decision making in a positive way.
Therefore, it has been analysed that these are some factors which need to be emphasized by the
marketer so that customers decision might be influenced in most effective and suitable manner.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above stated report that it is very essential for every
business entity to examine the behaviour and attitude of customers. It is the report which develop
an understanding of how an individual react with the influence of society, family and friends
they belong to. Along with this, emerging trends do have their impact on the functioning of an
organization which might affect their overall profitability and performance at the marketplace.
Furthermore, it has also been analysed that market research assist in examining all the possible

issues and problems which might arise in front of an organization related to customers and
suppliers both.

REFERENCES
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