Hospitality Consumer Behaviour and Insight

This report discusses the impact of cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors on consumer behaviour and insight in the hospitality sector. It also examines consumer trends due to the impact of digital technology, the consumer decision-making journey map, and the path to purchasing for the hospitality sector. The report highlights the importance of marketers to map a path to purchase and understand consumer decision making in the hospitality sector. Additionally, it compares and contrasts the key differences in decision making process in B2C and B2B in the hospitality sector.

HOSPITALITY
CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR AND
INSIGHT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................3
TASK..............................................................................................................................................3
Introspection of different cultural, social, personal and psychological factors which can
influence consumer behaviours and attitudes..............................................................................3
Define consumer trends which are changing due to impact of digital technology......................5
Examine different stage of consumer decision making journey map and map of a path to
purchasing for given hospitality sector........................................................................................6
Define importance of marketers to map a path to purchase and understand consumer decision
making in hospitality sector.........................................................................................................9
Compare and contrast key differences in decisions making process in context of B2C and B2B
in hospitality sector......................................................................................................................9
Evaluate different approaches to market research and methods of research used for
understanding decision making process....................................................................................10
Evaluate how marketers influence different stages of hospitality decision making process with
examples....................................................................................................................................11
Define how marketers respond to decision making process with relevel hospitality sector
examples....................................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Consumer insight is the interpretation used by business to gain better understanding of
how consumer thinks and feels. In other words, consumer behaviours and insight are the
approach to analyze human behavior to allow business to understand the demands of consumers,
how consumers feels and their opinions (What Are Consumer Insights, 2020). Moreover,
consumer behaviours and insight define the buying patterns and habits of consumers in
purchasing and usage of goods and services. Renaissance Hotels is a luxury hotel brand of the
parent company Marriot International and is currently operating worldwide. The hotel was
founded by Marion W. Isbell in the year 1981 as Ramada Renaissance which further upscales as
Ramada Inns. The hotel was relaunched as Renaissance Hotels in 1989 which was later brought
by Marriot International in 1997. Renaissance Hotels have more than 160 hotels in dynamic
neighborhood all around the globe (About Us.). This study will outline the consumer behaviours
and its insight in context of hospitality sector business. The report will discuss consumer trends,
different factors which are responsible or influencing consumer attitude. The project will
highlight information related to consumer map and their decision-making process.
TASK
Introspection of different cultural, social, personal and psychological factors which can influence
consumer behaviours and attitudes
Consumer behavior and attitudes is the composition of three components which are
cognitive information, affective information and information concerning and past behaviours and
future intentions (Consumer attitudes, 2021). There are various cultural, social, personal and
psychological factors which can in fluence consumer behavior and insight, some of these factors
are discussed underneath:
C ultural
factors
Culture
Sub culture
Social class
Social factors
Fam ily
Role and status
Reference groups
Personal
factors
Incom e
Lifestyle
Personality
O ccupation
Psychological
factors
M otivation
Learning
Percpetion

Source: Created by self
Cultural factors: Cultural factors are associated with set of values and ideologies which belong
to a particular community. Some of the cultural factors which create an impact on consumer
behaviours are- attitude, culture, subculture and social class (Factors influencing consumer
behaviour, 2021). With addition to Renaissance hotel, in order to meet demands of consumers on
the basis of cultural factors the hotel focuses on maintaining basic values understanding
customer preferences and offering products and services which can be helpful in meeting such
demands of their consumers.
 Buyer’s culture- Cultural factors has strong influence on consumer behavior and such
factors in walls basic needs values warns perception which can be observed or learned by
a consumer from family or societal members.
Social factors: Society and social factors is one of the components for creating an influence on
buying behavior of consumers. As people try to imitate other people in order to be socially
accepted within the society which are responsible to influence consumer behavior and attitude.
Some of the cultural factors which influence consumer behavior are- family, reference group,
role and status. In context of Renaissance hotel few social factors listed below:
 Roles and status- A person can be influenced by role that they have in society and their
position also creates a huge impact on their purchasing pattern. In context of Renaissance
hotel, the consumers who have strong position in society will avail goods and services
accordingly and consumers of different role and status will have different buying
patterns.
Personal factors: Personal factors differ from person to person which creates different
perception and consumer behavior. Some of the personal factors which influence consumer
buying patterns are- economic situation, lifestyle, occupation and personality (Gao, Mattila and
Lee, 2016). In case of Renaissance hotel, the brand offers different variety of services which
helps in meeting consumer demand on the basis of their lifestyle, income, occupation and
personality.

 Income- Income is one of the primary factors which create an impact on purchasing
behavior of consumers. The higher the income, the more purchasing power the consumer
hold and vice versa.
Psychological factors: Human psychology is one of the important factors of consumer behavior
which creates major influence on buying decision of consumers. Some of the psychological
factors which creates an impact on consumer behavior- are motivation, learning, perception,
attitudes and believes. Psychological factors in context of Renaissance hotel explained below:
 Motivation- Motivation is willingness to do something or it is the set of factors which
encourages consumers. There are several factors which influence the motivation level of
consumers, these factors are based on needs of a person which can be social, basic,
security, esteem and self-actualization needs.
Define consumer trends which are changing due to impact of digital technology
Consumer Trend are habits which are formed on the basis of new behavior, attitude,
opinions and expectations (Jauhari, 2017). Digital technology helps consumers to access and
gather various information in order to meet demand for goods and services when the need. In
case of Renaissance hotel, the impact of digital technology which leads to change in consumer
trends are discussed below
 Access to information is easier- Information available to consumers has been increased
due to digital technology. Technology has helped consumer to gather information related
to brands and products by combining online and offline resources. In context of
Renaissance hotel, the access to information has led to more knowledgeable and
informed consumers which increases their expectations that must be met by the hotel in
order to maintain their competitive position within the industry.
 Market research and product comparison- Technology is responsible for changing
consumer behavior dramatically and made services easier for consumers with
convenience (How consumer trends are changing due to impact of digital technology,
2020). With the help of market research in product comparison, consumers can compare
the quality and price of products and services offered by Renaissance hotel which is
helpful in increasing the consumer engagement and will influence buying decision of
consumers.

 More adoptions of technology- Technology is adopted by greater number of peoples
and due to change in consumer buying patterns through online platforms has been
increased. The impact of technology consumer trend has been observed as greater
number of consumers shop online products.
Examine different stage of consumer decision making journey map and map of a path to
purchasing for given hospitality sector
Consumer decision making journey map
Consumer decision making process is the process by which consumers become aware of
and identify their needs. Customer journey mapping is the process of creating a customer journey
map and is a strategic approach to better understanding of customer expectations and is crucial
for optimizing the customer experience (What is customer journey mapping, 2020). In context of
Renaissance hotel, the customer journey map has been discussed below:
Source: Created by self
Awareness
Research
Considera
tion
Conversio
n
Re-
Purchase

Stage 1: Problem recognition (awareness)- The need recognition stage is the first stage of
consumer decision making process which helps in identifying the problems. This step helps in
determining recognizing the need for service or product.
Stage 2: Information search (research)- Consumers rely on internal and external factors
while looking for most desirable option (Understanding consumer decision making process,
2021). In this stage, consumers might browse through options at physical location or consult
online resources.
Stage 3: Alternative evaluation (consideration)- At this point of consumer decision
making journey, the consumers has created a criterion and understood the type of goods and
services which are required by the customers. Alternatives which will be used by the consumers
will be based on price, quality, benefits, availability and preferences.
Stage 4: Purchase decision (conversion)- This stage depicts the actual purchase of the
consumer. After the consumer has gathered all required information with the help of market
research and customer feedbacks, the consumer will arrive to a conclusion for the desired
products or services.
Stage 5: Post-purchase decision evaluation (re-purchase)- This stage of the consumer
journey is the reflection from consumer and seller (Consumer decision making process, 2018). In
accordance to seller, they must identify if the product has met demands of their consumers or
not. This will help seller gain insight of consumer happiness and satisfaction from their purchase.
Map of a path to purchasing for hospitality sector
Path to purchase outlines the consumer journey across different touchpoints before
making a purchase. The traditional path to purchase or AIDA (awareness, interest, desire and
action) model is used to understand the demands and purchase of consumers (Path to purchase,
2020). The map of a path is to understand the purchasing decision of consumers in hospitality

sector can be done by AIDA model which helps in understand of awareness of consumers, to
gain insight of their considerations and their actions which has been converted to purchase.
Source: AIDA sales funnel, 2021
This model is used to identify the stages faced by consumers during the process while
purchasing a product or service. As per the enhancement in digital technology, the AIDA model
has been evolved. The consumer path to purchase has been evolved which has been further
classified into different stages which are demonstrated below:
Source: Created by self
In context of Renaissance Hotel, the hotel can help the firm to make awareness to what
they are promoting.
Awareness- This factor supports Renaissance Hotels to grab attention of visitors,
increase attention of users. For getting customer attention, the hotel displays their images of the
facilities which are offered to consumers. This stage focuses on lead generation in order to
enhance the profitability of business.
Interest (consideration)- After understanding the idea of consumer attention the next
step is to get consumers interested in their website (Conversions using AIDA model, 2020). This
is the second stage which is a part of consideration and focuses on nurturing the leads.
Desire (consideration)- Desire is a part of consideration which explains the reader
should check on the site of the hotel. In this stage of AIDA model, the hotel will nurture the
leads for ensuring smooth conversion for influencing their purchasing decisions.
Action (conversion)- This is the last stage of AIDA which helps Renaissance Hotels to
creates as sense of urgency, exit intent pop ups. It also showcases availability to consumers to
create positive influence on the purchase decisions of consumers. This is the last sage of this
Awareness Consideration Interest Preference Purchase

funnel which involves evaluation and purchase which will lead to completion of sales
transaction.
Define importance of marketers to map a path to purchase and understand consumer decision
making in hospitality sector
Customer journey mapping is the approach to visualize the customer experience and how
they interact with business (What is customer journey mapping and its importance, 2018). This
allows to determine opportunities for improving the overall customer experience. Customer
journey mapping supports business in many ways which helps organization to meet customer
experience. The importance of marketers to map a path to purchase in context of Renaissance
Hotel has been discussed below:
 This will help the hotel to understand consumer perspective and preferences which will
be helpful in meeting their demands and reach level of satisfaction (Why customer
journey is important, 2018). This will support Renaissance Hotel to enable better
customer experience.
 It will help the hotel to see factors which encourages and increase customer interest for
interacting with the hotel.
 Mapping a path to purchase is important for Renaissance Hotel for focusing on specific
consumer needs at numerous stages in purchasing process.
 Mapping a path to purchase is important as it highlights development priorities. This also
aids in determining the deviation between desired customer experience and the customer
experience which has been received.
 It is important for a marketer to map a path to purchase as this will help them in getting
insight of consumer touch points which will be helpful in determining areas which needs
to be improved in order to complete sales transaction.
Compare and contrast key differences in decisions making process in context of B2C and B2B in
hospitality sector
Decision making process B2C B2B
Need recognition In B2C business, consumers
analyze their needs and in
context of Renaissance Hotel,
In B2B business, such
companies collaborate wit
other companies to offer

the hotel manipulates
consumers by promoting their
facilities with different
mediums such as social
media platforms, TV and
through attractive offers.
services which can be helpful
in meeting customer demand
and experience (Kustos and
et.al, 2019). In context of
Renaissance Hotel, the brand
will work on their
infrastructural development
which will be helpful in
meeting fine customer
experience.
Decision making process The B2C decision making
process simplifies the process
which supports in utilizing
their expertise in conversion
funnel to maximize the return
on investments.
The decision-making process
for B2B maintains open
communication which
appeals to more emotional
and rational decisions for
business (B2B vs B2C
marketing differences, 2020).
This can be highly effective
for encouraging the company
to maintain their competitive
position.
Evaluate different approaches to market research and methods of research used for understanding
decision making process
In order to understand decision making process of the hospitality industry, there are
various research methodologies which can be helpful for the hospitality industry. With the help
of such approaches to market research, a systematic and more effective approach to analyze the
decision-making process of consumers. In case of Renaissance Hotel, different approaches to
market research used for understanding decision making process are outlined beneath:

 Focus group- This is one of the feasible approaches for performing research as it
supports in organizing research in small sectors which will be helpful in gathering
important information which will aid in enhancing the growth of business (Martin,
Rosenbaum and Ham, 2015). In this form of research method, a small group of people
will gather at Renaissance Hotel and avail the services offered by the hotel which will be
helpful for the hotel to understand the improvement requirements.
 Interview method- In this approach of research methodology, the information will be
gathered by collecting information through face-to-face interaction which will be helpful
in understanding the improvement criteria through which strategies can be formed by the
hotel. With this research approach, the management of the hotel will be able to
understand the consumer decision making process more clearly as in this approach hotel
will engage in effective communication with the consumers trough which their
experience sand their opinions can be understood (Patwary and Rashid, 2016). This will
also help in understand the area of improvement which will be helpful in meeting
consumer demands and level of satisfaction.
In case of Renaissance Hotel, the hotel will use focus groups and interview method which
will help them in understand the consumer decision making process and this will help them in
getting insight of services and activities which are mostly liked and preferred by greater number
of visitors.
Evaluate how marketers influence different stages of hospitality decision making process with
examples
Consumer decision making process comprises of various stages such as awareness,
research, consideration, conversion and repurchase. The decision-making process of consumers
can be influenced with different factors, such as emotional engagements, creative advertising,
trendsetting using creative and attractive content and through managing attention. The influence
of marketers on different stages of hospitality deciosn making process in case of Renaissance
Hotel is mentioned below:
Awareness- This is the first stage of consumer deciosn making and in context of
Renaissance Hotel, the brand implements various marketing tools and techniques though which

they focus on increasing customer awareness regarding the services offered by the hotel (Ulker-
Demirel and Ciftci, 2020). Such marketing strategies help the hotel in grasping customer
attention and enhancing business profitability.
Research- In case of Renaissance Hotel, the marketing personnel of the hotel will
promote the services with the help of using innovative content and this will be helpful in getting
customer attention. Such strategies will support the hotel in promoting the quality and benefits
which can be availed by the consumers.
Consideration- In this stage, the marketers of Renaissance hotel will represent and offer
relevant and full information related to the goods and services offer by the hotel which will
encourage consumers to buy and avail offers from their hotel.
Conversion- In this stage of consumer decision making process, the marketers of
Renaissance Hotel will ensure effective pre and post-sale services to their coon summers through
which they can maintain string customer relations and this will also help them in increasing their
customer base and customer loyalty with the brand.
Repurchase- This is the last stage of consumer decision making process in which the
marketers of Renaissance Hotel will use feedback forms and surveys which will helps them in
communicating with consumers (Viglia, G. and Dolnicar, 2020). Such strategy will help the
hotel in understanding the consumer demand and bring change in their plans and programs
through which consumer satisfaction can be met.
Define how marketers respond to decision making process with relevel hospitality sector
examples
There are several factors which must be examined by the marketers for responding to
decision making process of consumers within the hospitality sector. It is essential for the
hospitality industry to reach to wider number of consumers with their innovative and creative
marketing initiatives which will be helpful in positively influencing the purchase decision of
consumers. The management if the hotel must plan strategies and initiatives which will support
the hotel in meeting demands of their consumers at each stage of consumer buying decision
process.

Some of the examples from the hospitality industry and in context of Renaissance Hotel has
been listed below:
 Enhancing consumer awareness- For enhancing the consumer awareness, the marketers
of Renaissance Hotel will focus on enhancing awareness of their consumers through
offering them full information related to the products and services (Zaltman, Olson and
Forr, 2015). This will support Renaissance Hotel to creatively define ad represent their
ideas to their customers which will be helpful in positively influencing the decision-
making process in the hospitality industry. In order to enhance consumer awareness, the
hotel can use various social media platforms through which they can attract customers
with their attractive offers and incline their interest towards the goods and services
offered by the hotel.
 Market researchers- The marketers of Renaissance Hotel will follow deep market
research which will be helpful in understanding consumer demands and promoting the
goods and services accordingly to meet consumer satisfaction level (Zhang and
Benyoucef, 2016). With the help of effective market research, it will help marketers of
Renaissance Hotel to gain better insight of consumer behavior and trends which will
support them in effectively performing their operational activities.
 Customer relations- Public relations and marketing department of hospitality industry
are crucial departments which helps the business in creating strong customer relationship
through which they can enhance their brand image, strengthen customer base and
increase loyalty which will be helpful for generation of higher revenues.
CONCLUSION
From the mentioned information, it can be stated that consumer behavior entails
consumer activities and consumer responses which can be studied to analyze the attitude and
behavior patten of consumers. Social, cultural, personal, economic and psychological factors are
responsible for creating an impact on consumer attitude and behavior. Therefore, consumer
behavior and attitude are based on beliefs, feeling and intentions towards a particular goods and
services. Customer journey mapping is an essential activity which is performed by business as
this gives better clarity to organization through which they can understand the level of

satisfaction of their consumers and their preferences which will be helpful in meeting consumer
demands. Moreover, it can be stated that consumer decision making is an important factor which
creates positive as well as negative influence on the revenues and profitability of business, as
decisions can be in favor or not which will influence and affect business profitability.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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environment-friendly initiatives in hospitality research. International Journal of
Hospitality Management. 54. pp.107-115.
Jauhari, V. ed., 2017. Hospitality marketing and consumer behavior: Creating memorable
experiences. CRC Press.
Kustos, M and et.al., 2019. Using consumer opinion to define New World fine wine: Insights for
hospitality. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 83. pp.180-189.
Martin, D., Rosenbaum, M. and Ham, S., 2015. Marketing tourism and hospitality products
worldwide: Introduction to the special issue.
Patwary, A. K. and Rashid, B., 2016. The impacts of hospitality services on visit experience and
future visit intention of student travelers. International Journal of Business and
Technopreneurship. 6(8). pp.107-125.
Ulker-Demirel, E. and Ciftci, G., 2020. A systematic literature review of the theory of planned
behavior in tourism, leisure and hospitality management research. Journal of Hospitality
and Tourism Management. 43. pp.209-219.
Viglia, G. and Dolnicar, S., 2020. A review of experiments in tourism and hospitality. Annals of
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Zaltman, G., Olson, J. and Forr, J., 2015. Toward a new marketing science for hospitality
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Zhang, K. Z. and Benyoucef, M., 2016. Consumer behavior in social commerce: A literature
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Image Source
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