Understanding Hospitality Consumer Behaviour and Insight | Desklib

This report discusses the factors that influence hospitality consumer behaviour and attitudes, the ability to map a path to purchase in a hospitality context, appropriate forms of research to understand influences on the hospitality consumer decision-making process, and the manner in which marketers influence the stages of hospitality consumer decision-making process. The report is based on Hilton Hotel situated in London (UK) and highlights the upcoming trends in consumer behaviour, including the concepts that affect the decision-making process.

Hospitality consumer
Behaviour and Insight.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO1 .................................................................................................................................................3
The factors that influence hospitality consumer behaviour and attitudes....................................3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
Demonstrate the ability to map a path to purchase in hospitality context...................................5
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................7
Appropriate forms of research to understand influences on the hospitality consumer decision-
making process.............................................................................................................................7
LO 4.................................................................................................................................................9
Manner in which Marketers influence the stages of hospitality consumer decision-making
process..........................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality consumer behaviour and Insight is the analysis developed by the business or
organizations to obtain a deeper knowledge of how their customers think about the products or
services. This basically makes the companies get an understanding of what the customers want
and what they feel. It is concerned with human psychology. The report is based on Hilton Hotel
situated in London (UK) is a five star Hotel. The report will highlight the upcoming trends in
consumer behaviour including the concepts that affect the decision-making process. There are
different ways in which marketers influence hospitality consumer behaviour which will be
discussed in the report.
LO1
The factors that influence hospitality consumer behaviour and attitudes.
The different cultural, social, personal and psychological factors that influence consumer
behaviour.
Consumer behaviour relates to how different consumers select, purchase, use and dispose
the various goods and services to fulfil their needs and desires. Consumer behaviour is a dynamic
and not static process and is affected by many factors which are discussed below- Cultural Factors- This includes the set of values and ideas of a particular group of
people that decides the way that person acts or behaves. Cultural factors have a very
important impact on the consumer's buying decision. It is influenced by the habits, beliefs
that the person inculcates from his/her family. Each culture is further divided into
different subcultures described below-
Religion- In Hindu culture, eating beef is a sin but in Muslims this is not the same. To eat pork is
against Muslim culture while in Hindu culture it is not so.
Status- The upper class people usually prefer the luxury hotels whereas the lower class people
prefer to stay in the medium or affordable hotels. Therefore, status of people define the
preference of hotels.
 Social factors- These are the factors that are prevalent in the society in which the
customers live in. The society consists of individuals that have their own preferences and

behaviours. The social factors have a significant influence on the consumer's behaviour.
There are various social groups such as reference groups, roles and status etc (Victor and
et.al., 2018). The reference groups interpret the messages of media and make it clear for a
larger population. The friends and family members are often the reference groups in the
case of hotel decision-making. Family is the social factor that has the strongest impact on
the people. The attitudes and behaviour of individuals are easily transmitted from their
family. Personal Factors- These are the factors that are related to individual's personal
preferences such as the age of an individual. The children between the age groups from 0
to 8 years does not have any role in choosing the types of hotels as the adults have a
significant role in deciding the types of hotels to stay in. Psychological Factors- These are the factors which include motivation, learning and
perception of the customers. The way in which the customers think about the services is
much important factor that affect their decision to avail the hotel services. For example
some customers learn better through visual images of the hotels etc.
Changing of consumer's trends due to impact of digital technology.
In today's digital world, people want to have easy access to every service. In hotel
industry also, people have moved towards digitalization. Customers prefer booking online
nowadays. Use of mobile apps- Mobile based hotel booking is done through mobile apps which
makes convenient for customers. Mobile based payment Apps- The consumers in today's world opt for payments online as
the offers and discounts are available online and has more security. Social Media- Many of the customers are more frequent to the social sites as Instagram,
Facebook, twitter etc. (Reinartz, Wiegand and Imschloss, 2019). The customers
familiarize themselves and compare different types of hotels and make appropriate
decisions.
 Voice Recognition- Through voice Search such as Alexa, the customers prefer to search
for the services using natural speech that makes them comfortable and enable the process
faster.

The use of Digital audience Search to understand consumer behaviour- It is a process by
which Hilton Hotel identifies the needs and requirements of its customers digitally and take steps
to meet those needs. It involves Website Analytics which is the process of evaluating the
behaviour of visitors using websites (Prasath and Yoganathen, 2018). This is a process to attract
more customers, retain them and to increase the amount spent by them.
LO 2
Demonstrate the ability to map a path to purchase in hospitality context
The stages of consumer decision-making journey and map a path to purchase- Need Recognition- This includes identifying the needs of the prospective consumers,
identifying the basic needs of the customers that have a significant influence on the sales
of Hilton Hotel. The needs such as the customers nowadays want to have in - room
technology, peaceful environment with beautiful view from the room etc. Information Search – Once the need is recognized, the consumer gather information
through different sources such as personal sources in which the customer discusses that
need with his family and friends, co-workers etc, commercial sources such as
advertisements, different social sites etc., and experiential sources such as through its
own past hotel experience. Evaluation of alternatives- After the necessary information is gathered, the next is to
evaluate the different alternatives and select the best of the alternatives. For example, to
select the hotel among the group of hotels which is satisfying them with the need that is
identified in the above step. Purchase Decision – After the selection of the best alternative, the customer finally go
for booking of the hotel.
 Post purchase behaviour – Once the service of the hotel is availed, the next step is after
purchase evaluation in which the customer analysis the service whether it satisfied his/her
needs or wants.
The consumer Purchase path stages of Hilton that help in significant business decisions are- Travel Inspiration- The first stage in mapping a purchase path is deciding the wish or
need to travel. The need is created through different impulses by talking with friends, TV
advertisements, reminding the consumer constantly about travel. Proper access to various

online and offline sites to give them inspiration (Customer journeys: a systematic
literature review, 2018). Hilton Hotels appear on Instagram, Facebook which arise the
interest of various customers through Hotel information, providing special offers etc. Research- Once the customer has decided the destination of travel, the next step is they
have to make a choice between whether to stay in hotel or an apartment. If the person
chose to stay in hotels then he or she needs to decide the best hotel. For this various sites
are searched by him or her. Booking.com, Book a trip, etc. are the different platforms for
making comparison between the hotels. After selecting the hotel, reviews of previous
guests are checked that help in making the booking. Booking- At this stage, the customer will decide for or against the Hilton Hotel. The
customer will not straight away go for booking. This process can last for hours, weeks or
even months. The process of booking must be kept as easy as possible so that the
consumers faces no difficulties in booking. On- Location/ Service- This stage involves decisions that are made in such a way that
makes the guests return and also suggest it to their relatives or friends. It depends on
different factors such as cleanliness of rooms, quality of service etc. Hilton also handles
complaints of the customers. Post Stay- The objective of Hilton Hotels is to secure the customer loyalty. It is not
always possible to influence each and every person but it is quite possible to motivate the
guest to re book and thank them for booking and frequently reminding them of their stay.
Various discounts, travel offers are provided to them.
Importance of map a path to purchase in consumer decision-making process-
Path to purchase means various channels that customers use in order to convert into
purchase. The channels that customer uses are emails, search engines, review channels etc.
Mapping a path to purchase helps Hilton Hotels to understand the stage where the customers
interact with the organization. It helps to focus the organization on the needs of consumers,
evaluate where the journey of the customer is in the logical order. The map also highlights
various development priorities through showing difference between the needed customer
experience and one that is being received (Rosenbaum, Otalora and Ramírez, 2017). The
customer journey mapping assists the organization to understand the business from the
customer's perspective. Path to purchase is very significant for the organization as it assists

Hilton Hotels to obtain insights into basic customer pain points and analyse what the prospective
customers or general consumers wants in order to complete the purchase.
LO 3
Appropriate forms of research to understand influences on the hospitality consumer decision-
making process.
Key Differences of the hospitality decision-making process in B2C and B2B-
Basis B2B B2C
Telephone, Web and Email As in B2B, higher
management level are involved
therefore, the research studies
involved more use of
telephone, email etc.
In B2C, person to person
interviews are involved in
decision-making and is not
much cost effective.
Involves units rather than
individuals
B2B focus on the individual
units of the organization with
which Hilton is dealing.
Therefore, it has to keep in
mind their perspective.
B2C focus on individuals of
the whole country and not a
single business organization or
unit.
Market segments The market segment includes
the different travel
organizations, offices,
institutions etc.
Independent travellers make
individual booking and the
target market is individuals.
Pricing Decision B2B prices are usually higher
than B2C as they do not have
to keep in mind the individual
opinions (Pidada, 2020).
B2C prices are lower than B2B
as the customers need to be
appropriately informed while
doing bookings.
Customer relationship B2B have longer customer
relationship as the
organizations with which they
are dealing are in close contact
B2C have shorter customer
relationship as the different
customers comes in contact
with them on a daily basis.

with the hotels over years.
Market research It involves not a very detailed
market research as they are not
dealing with the diverse
groups of people.
A detailed market research and
study is involved as B2C is
dealing with the diverse
individuals.
Customer acquisition costs In B2B, the customer
acquisition costs are higher as
multiple marketing campaigns
are conducted.
In B2C, cheap micro
influencing campaigns are
conducted, therefore it has
lower customer acquisition
costs.
The different approaches to market research used for decision-making process- Qualitative Market Research- It involves seeking information about what the consumers
feel about the services that Hilton is offering (Erickson, 2017). It takes all the non
quantifiable data that involves the customer's preferences, etc. and gives the company a
deeper insight into consumer behaviour. Quantifiable Market Research- In this, data is collected in the form of charts, figures and
through this numerical data Hilton Hotels make decisions. The data can be such that how
many customers are satisfied with the services of the hotel, how many of them visited the
hotel's website etc. Social Data Collection Method- It involves collection of relevant data through social
media sites such as Instagram, twitter, Facebook etc. that proved to be a great source of
collection of information. Through this data, Hilton can do focussed advertisements
(Voramontri and Klieb, 2019). Interviews Method- Personal interviews through collection of online questionnaires are
conducted to reach a vast number of customers as there are different perceptions of the
customers.

 Advertising Method- It is significant for Hilton to assess whether the advertisement was
being understood by the people and if they are affected by such advertisement. This help
Hilton to know the level of sales response etc. Focus Group Method- This method is more common to understand the whole customer
behaviour. In this method, a part of the population is focussed that represents the whole
population. For example, age group between 19 and 24 are analysed and a conclusion of
the preferences of all the customers is drawn.
 Online Surveys- These are conducted to form business intelligence and sales strategies
through mobile phones.
Influences on decision-making process- Personality- It can be defined as pattern of behaviour and thoughts that characterizes a
person over time. Consumer choose for the services that suits their personality.
Therefore, the organization needs to provide the hotel services keeping in mind the
personality traits of its target customers. Self- It includes self-esteem, body image and personal identity. Self esteem describe an
individual's overall self-worth, body image means attitude of individual that is dynamic
and personal identity begins to develop since childhood. Hilton makes its policies
keeping in view how the self concept of its customers are satisfied. Motivation- It is the process that makes the people to avail the service. It provides an
insight about the reason why the service is availed by customers. Hilton provides the
customers with basic human needs.
LO 4
Manner in which Marketers influence the stages of hospitality consumer decision-making
process
Hotels use 4 elements of marketing mix to influence the decision-making process-
Product- The product in Hotels can be defined as the experience or satisfaction that the customer
receives after visiting the hotels (Toma and Grădinaru, 2018). The satisfactions can be of various
types such as- Physiological or Inner Satisfactions- It can be in the provided to customers in the form
of good quality food that fills their stomach, quenched thirst and comfortable beds etc.

 Economic Satisfactions- When the customers get good value of the money they paid to
avail the services which includes quick service, peaceful and convenient location etc. Social Satisfactions- This can be in the form of good company at the hotels, attentive
services and getting the best advice for food etc. Psychological Satisfactions- The services of Hilton enhances the self-esteem of its
customers and provide them good status and security.
Price- Competitive guests are significantly influenced by the prices and packages. The rates of
hotels are decided with respect to various seasons such as- Peak Season- In the peak season, Hilton charges higher prices for the services as
demands of hotels is higher in the peak season. Off season- In off seasons, prices are kept low. Eg – Discounted rate of packages are
offered by Hilton.
Place and Distribution- It includes the choices of location. For eg – in city, outskirts, hill areas
etc. Hilton has its chain of hotels in various locations. The distribution channels to reach the
potential customers of Hilton are-
 Telephone calls
 Printed Advertisements
 Website booking system Travel agents of Hilton etc.
Promotions- It is the form in which Hilton communicate with the target customers (Social media
analytics: Extracting and visualizing Hilton Hotel ratings and reviews from Trip Advisor, 2017).
They can use the following promotions-
 Hotel Website
 Facebook Page
 Google
 Billboards Twitter etc.
Evaluate how the marketers are responding to the decision-making process-

 In the need recognition stage of decision-making stage, the company respond by targeting
the appropriate group of customers by making the necessary content to the target
customers so that they can analyse it (Olya and et.al., 2021).
 In the information search stage, the consumers want to know what is accessible or
available to them. The marketer's respond in this stage is to develop the hotel image by
attracting the attention and making it visible in online websites etc. This is also possible
through blog posts, guides etc. of Hilton Hotels.
 In the evaluation stage, Hilton Hotels need to make sure that it is providing best services
in order to be selected among its different competitors. The chances of getting out of the
customer's wish list must be avoided. This can be done by involving in middle of the
funnel marketing, creating question and answers pages so that when the consumers look
for any additional information, they can easily get that.
 In the purchase decision stage, the customers make the booking decision so in order to
make the customers place bookings without any hesitation, adequate security is provided
to them at the time of making the payment online. This involves giving as much
information as possible of Hilton Hotels. The process of purchase should not be very
complicated rather it should be kept easy.
 In the post purchase stage, Hilton Hotels is required to maintain the revenues and
customer loyalty. It must be ensured that the customers are satisfied and to enhance the
customer relationship by follow-up surveys and thanking the customers who visited the
hotels through emails.
All the above points clearly show that the response addresses every step of decision-making
process which ultimately lead to increasing the revenues of Hilton Hotel and building customer
loyalty.
CONCLUSION
The present report concluded about the different factors that affect consumer behaviour in
Hilton Hotels. The factors included the various cultural, social and personal factors. The

customers' behaviour is significantly affected by the digital technology. The customers want to
place their booking online through various modes which make the services easily accessible. The
report also highlighted the different forms of research such as qualitative, quantitative etc. are
adopted for understanding the decision-making process of customers. The various stages of the
consumer decision-making process are identified. The company take various steps to respond to
these stages such as making the customers of Hilton satisfied with the services offered to them.

REFERENCES
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Online
Customer journeys: a systematic literature review, 2018. [Online]. Available
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full/html?fullSc=1>
Social media analytics: Extracting and visualizing Hilton Hotel ratings and reviews from Trip
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