Hospitality Consumer Behaviour and Insight

This report explores the impact of cultural, personal, social & psychological factors on consumer behaviour in hospitality industry. It also covers the stages of consumer journey for decision making and map of the path for buying of service. The report further explains the difference in decision making of B2C and B2B and approaches to market research and methods used in hospitality industry.

Hospitality Consumer
Behaviour and Insight

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
P1 Investigation of the various cultural, personal, social & psychological factors which impact
the consumer behaviour and attitude...........................................................................................3
P2 Exploration of how the consumer trends change due to digital technology’s impact...........4
P3 Examining stages of consumer journey for decision making and map of the path for the
buying of service.........................................................................................................................5
P4 Exploring why is its vital for marketers to do mapping of buying path and decision making
by consumer................................................................................................................................6
P5 Difference in decision making of B2C and B2B ..................................................................9
P6 Approaches to Market research and Methods......................................................................10
P7 Marketers Influence on the process of consumer decision in B2B and B2C.......................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Consumer insights are the interpretation which is used by the businesses for gaining
deeper understanding of how the audience feels and thinks. Analysis of the behaviours of
humans permits the firms for really knowing what the customers need and require and mostly
why they feel it. When research of consumer insight is done appropriately, it must enhance the
effectiveness of the firm communicates with the consumers, which is likely for changing
behaviour of consumer and improve the sales. The report is made in context of The Tower
Hotel which is the hotel located at north Thames river north bank on Tower Bridge east side in
London UK(Bhushan, 2019). Hotel was made and designed by partnership of Renton Howard
Wood and constructed by Taylor Woodrow for the founders J. Lyons and Co. in the year 1973.
This report will mention the examination of various social. Cultural, personal and psychological
factors which influence behaviour of consumer, along with exploration of how the trends of
consumers are changing because of digital technology’s impact. Further the different stages of
decision making of consumers for buying and why is it crucial for the marketers to map the path
will also be mentioned. In addition, the comparison among process of decision making in B2C
and B2B will also be done and evaluation of various approaches for market research and
research methods used for the understanding process of decision making. In last the evaluation of
how the marketers may influence several stages of decision making process will be stated.
MAIN BODY
P1 Investigation of the various cultural, personal, social & psychological factors which impact
the consumer behaviour and attitude
Behaviour of consumers examines entire activities of consumers which are related to
buying, usage and products and services disposal. It even examines mental, emotional and
behavioural response for determining and follow these activities. Here are some of the
variables which affect entire behaviour of consumer and attitudes which are stated below-
 Cultural factors- It refers to the integration of beliefs of learning, values and customs
which serves for analysing behaviour of consumer. Values and beliefs are guides which
are the accepted and unusual methods of behaviour. For The Tower Hotel subculture are
cohesive groups which consists Hispanic and mature customers(Buhalis and Park, 2021).

 Social factors- It refers to aspects which consists various people which have the same
differences and behaviour. The changed behaviour impact preferences of other
individuals as they intend for having the tasks which are adequate as per the society. The
Tower Hotel main social groups are the family, references groups, roles status. They
require for analysing lifestyle, income and various factors so they may know wants and
requirements of customers.
 Personal factors- They refer to aspect which impact composition, age, economic
situation, personal concept, lifestyle and individual’s personality. When customer is fond
of services of The Tower Hotel, as they have better understanding of behaviour and
attitude of consumer. Psychological factors- They refer to factors which reflects motivation, perception,
attitude, learning and individual’s beliefs. They are aspects which should be known by
The Tower Hotel as they may comply with the attitude and behaviour of the offerings
which are encouraging responses.
P2 Exploration of how the consumer trends change due to digital technology’s impact
Consumer trends refers to the broad growth or methods by which individuals behave. It is
the famous at the given time point. Trends of consumer refers to behaviour which is
prevailing in goods and services of customers. These trends are formed on basis of the new
behaviour, consumer expectations or the habits of consumers(Chen and et, al., 2021) . In
reference of The Tower Hotel there is the great impact of digital technology because the
changing behaviour of consumers which is stated below-
 Payments Apps based on Mobile devices- They are the payments apps which are built
at time of checking in or may be done externally by the aid of mobile applications. It
provides improved experience to customers as they may opt way of payment according to
the ease which provides them in The Tower Hotel.
 Feedback from application- Google maps application helps people for reviewing hotel
and its services as there are many hotels are providing services to the consumers. Guests
may directly contact The Tower Hotel for having best consideration in market place.

 Social Media- In the present world there are latest technology which are used by
business organizations and aids for having improved reflection in market place, by this
individual are able for connecting to the big groups all around the globe at given time. Using the mobile services- As use of mobile devices is increasing on daily basis and
individuals have opportunity of staying connected with every one and share the review in
an easy way to the persons they know and recommend to them. In this manner they may
make better connection with hospitality industry(Dinis and et, al., 2019). In The Tower
Hotel the landlines extensions are used by guests for contacting .
P3 Examining stages of consumer journey for decision making and map of the path for the
buying of service
Stages of consumer decision making process
Consumer decision making process is very complex in nature but consumers has to go
through this process because they have to decide whether this product suits their needs or
not and this includes the procedure of identify needs, gather information about concerned
product, analysing substitute available in market and finally making the decision based
on the economic and social factors. Each consumer differs, so the needs, the 5 factors are
explained below for the references(George, 2021).
 Need Recognition – Primary step is the consumer needs which are needed to fulfilled
and the reason behind the consumer behaviour of buying. The Tower Hotel which trade
in beauty and heath products and their targeted market segment is those who are more
focused on looking healthy and good. And the marketers of the organisation focus on this
segment. And uses advertisement to attract the targeted market.
 Searching Information – Consumers are not very effective in gathering information
about the products they buy and use. While making decision the internet plays a vital role
in this research and it is very easy to access any kind of information from internet. And
the decision of the consumers was also affected by their friends and family. The Tower
Hotel uses online marketing to advertisement and surveys to know the efficiency of their

products. And also runs the campaigns to influence the consumer by keyword marketing,
positive reviews and other ways to manipulate the decision making process of consumer.
 Evaluation of alternatives – After the information gathering process they look for best
deals available regarding the product itself in which price and quality , comparing various
products pricers, reviews and choose out of them. The Tower Hotel offers their products
at discounted prices in premium quality comparison with their competitors.
 Selection stage – At this stage after comparing and analysing the products and the deals
available now they need to make decision. The Tower hotel markets do their marketing in
a way that they can highlight the organisation and attract fresh consumers.
 Evaluation- After purchasing product now to evaluate whether its quality is good or bad
and is the consumer satisfied. The Tower Hotel provides excellent quality in a pocket
friendly price so it can retain its customers.
P4 Exploring why is its vital for marketers to do mapping of buying path and decision making by
consumer
Consumers mapping journey refers to the way of visualization of consumer’s experience.
It aids the marketers for telling story of experience of with the hotel all across all the
touchpoints. All these activities aid the firm to watch the business from perspective of
consumers how they may enhance it. It is crucial for the marketers for understanding the
behaviour of consumers. Mapping aids them for looking at the wide angle and look at the
hotels services from different points and know issue which they are thinking to solve. The
Tower Hotel provides premium services to guests and marketers map journey of
experience of consumer so they may get idea of issues and resolve it. It aids them in
identifying various opportunities such as mapping which enables them for communicating
the aspects of experience of consumer and tap in new market places. It built solutions for
the problems of future. Mapping journey provides benefit to the business as the marketers
required for discussing the experience of consumers, seeing the requirements and enhance
the services. Mapping enhances the sales as positive experience of consumer about

business revenue. This way aids for enhancing the service and customers trust more on
publicity of mouth.

Journey Mapping
 Identification of all the touchpoints- Marketers start by the listing of entire existing
touchpoints where the consumer may interact with hotel. The Tower Hotel provides
services at different touch points so the marketers has to locate entire points were the
consumers may connect with the business. For example- media apps and online sites.
 Opting target consumers- By creating the target market aids the marketers for
clarifying and building the framework for contacting to the possible consumers. The
Tower Hotel mainly focuses on the high net worth consumers so its builds the experience
at every touch point. Entire strategies are made for the increase in high net worth
consumers.
 Understanding of the objectives of consumers- For moving with the consumers in
buying journey for understanding the goals of consumers. The Tower Hotel marketers
regularly review touch points for knowing expectation of consumers such as online site
for hotels information, application for service cost and many others(Tanrikulu, 2021).
 Visualising and mapping out customer’s interaction flow – It comes when journey of
consumers come to reality and now The Tower Hotel have opted the target consumers
which are high net worth and marketers places the touch points in the linear path for the
final goal which is purchasing the service.
 Prioritizing the touchpoints-By looking at the wide angle marketers look at the main
touch points were target consumers were more reactive. They formulate the growth
strategy. The Tower Hotel analyses every touch points and enhance them as they will
affect decision of customers.
 Reviewing and updating – Marketers of The Tower Hotel enhances the services but in
coming time when required they review map and look for the improvement as market
keeps changing.
It is vital for The Tower Hotel marketer for consumer journey mapping as it impacts the
making of decision and enhance the experience of consumer.

P5 Difference in decision making of B2C and B2B
B2B is also called as Business to Business activities of exchanging products and services
where both traders are business entities. Whereas, B2C is known as Business to consumer
activities where businesses sell its products and services directly to the customers. There are
companies operating business in both B2B and B2C segments or carrying its activities in single
segment only.
Hereby, mentioned is detailed differences between B2B and B2C business operations of
The Tower Hotel -
B2C B2B
Pricing Tower Hotel has multiple pricing
available for its multiple services
package. Discounts and offers are
given on the purchase of 3 or
more stay packages to the
customers.
Tower Hotel commences
B2Bbusiness with corporate
companies, college/university
groups with offers on bulk
purchase of services.
Customer Service Tower hotel specifically focuses
on resolving issues of their
customers in minimal timespan
with their customer support
representatives.
Managers are responsible of
bringing B2B business. All orders
and queries are handled by the
managers themselves.
Trade Process In B2C Segment, customer
purchases frequently , and are less
informed about the purchase of
stay packages.
Its takes time in buying products
as bulk orders are made by
corporate companies for business
or leisure trips.
Checkout Structures There is a hassle free checkout
structure at tower hotel,
Uninterested customers can be
easily avoided for efficient
working.
In B2B business the checkout
structure is more convenient and
hassle free as well.
The Tower Hotel commences its business operations in both B2B and B2C market. For
B2C customers it offers individual holiday and leisure packages with discounts and offers on
multiple purchase of such packages(Sann, Lai and Chen, 2021). The purchasing process is
smooth and customer can book stay and leisure package with just a click on Hotel application.

Customers in B2C market are very frequent in placing orders as Hotel offers attractive packages
in one go plan. On the other hand, B2B customers i.e. corporate companies, University groups
etc. takes time as they search the available options in the market thoroughly before placing order
for holiday or business packages. Sales and Marketing techniques are quite similar for both B2B
and B2C market. Tower Hotel uses digital marketing methods, it arranges discounts competitions
at tourist destinations to involve customers in games and leisure activities to grow its brand
popularity. B2C customers doesn't care about post sales services. B2B customers carry business
activities after taking in consideration the reviews, services offered, and value for money. All
such decisions affect the consumer buying preferences.
P6 Approaches to Market research and Methods.
Efficient market research reveals a lot about the services being offered in the market by
an organisation in respect to its competitions. Proper market research concludes to know about
the factors that contributes to company's success along with getting familiar to customer
preferences prevailing in current market conditions. It helps in introducing services in the market
according to customer preferences. There are two types of researches which Tower hotel as an
organisation uses to analyse its market -
Primary Research – It refers to the initial or original research a company conducts by collecting
information directly from the market customers. It is basically questionnaire research methods
used by companies(Sánchez-Franco, Navarro-Garcí and Rondán-Cataluña, 2019). Few of them
are listed below -
 Surveys – E-mails and online forms are used by companies to collect the views and
suggestions of customers involved in B2C market. Whereas, in B2B market company
tries to directly involved in feedback conversation with its B2B customers. It also
includes in-person meeting with customers and conducting surveys to gain knowledge
about services offered by hotel and the ways to improve them.
 Field Trials – The Tower hotel offers some of its services in gift packages to its regular
customers and observe their reaction to the offered services. B2B customers like

companies and colleges are also offered with such free packages to know about the
reaction of customers on newly added services in stay packages offered by Tower hotel.
 Focus Group – There are several groups of travelling enthusiast on various social
platforms. Company gathers information with such groups related to the rising demand in
market to know about the wants and taste of customers. It helps in introducing new
services as per the need and wants arising in market at current time period.
 Personal Interview – Sometimes various surveys are conducted by the companies in
sessions where it pays or render free service to the attendants of such surveys against
which a representative from company asks questions regarding services offered in the
market. This is similar to in-person interaction. In B2B segment, a company
representative visits personally to its B2B customers to gather similar information.
 Observation – In B2C market segment, customer's orders and package of offered
services, purchasing habits are observed by company's marketing division to understand
the taste and preferences of its customers. While in the case of B2C, marketers study the
habits of corporates and other entities purchasing hotels packages in bulk.
Secondary Research – In secondary research method, company uses data that has been
already extracted by its competitors to understand the market conditions and customer
preferences. Such information can also be gathered from online journals and articles. This
method is generally used by the companies having less resources to conduct proper market
research(Samala and Raganathan, 2020).
All the above mentioned methods are used by The Tower Hotel to conduct efficient
market research and to know about the factors affecting decision making power of the
consumers, so
that it can improve its services being offered in the hotel industry.
P7 Marketers Influence on the process of consumer decision in B2B and B2C
Process of decision making of B2B and B2C gets impacted by the marketers as they affect
entire process by use of different strategies such as campaigns of marketing,
advertisements etc. Requirements of consumers are distinguishing from others so the
marketers plan the campaigns according to it for establishing brand among customers.

Recognition of Need
Marketers of The Tower Hotel impact the consumers of B2C by giving them essential
info about services by running advertisements so when there is need of specific service they
select hotels services(Nusair, 2020). They build image of brand among customers so they
purchase services whereas consumers of B2B gets influenced by the marketers by the imagery of
brand as the wholesalers who purchase services from established brand and her image of the
brand matters lot. The Tower Hotel marketers demonstrates that they have all services which will
accomplish the requirements.
Information Searching
Consumers of B2B who search thoroughly about services before purchasing, here the
marketers use various techniques for converting them in possible consumers by engagement with
them individually and available at times and resolve the problems. Consumers of B2C are
influenced by The Tower Hotel marketers by using SEO, marketing by internet and many others.
Marketers provide all information of services to the consumers by different ways.
Alternatives Evaluation
Customers of B2C are little bit cost centric so The Tower Hotel by providing more offers
and discounts so the customers gets attracted to the hotels services( Kustos and et, al., 2019).
Consumers of B2B are focused on quality and need deals which not impact the budget so The
Tower Hotel provides them better deals for purchasing services.
Stage Selection
Retail consumers after the getting of better discounts and deals from The Tower Hotel
marketers they are likely for opting hotels services but the marketers select various approach for
consumers of B2B as they purchase by seeing the offers, they need better services and hotel
provides them personal services so they have the knowledge of the services and about its quality.
Evaluation
The Tower Hotel Marketers gives post services to the consumer of B2B in an effective by
constantly connecting with them and ask if there is any problem faced by them but customers are
given support as they don’t have any problems. Marketing aids for increasing industry share by

the attraction of new consumers by various ways. It impacts consumer decision by doing endless
engagement of consumers, marketing and trendsetting( Hu and et, al., 2019).

CONCLUSION
From the aforesaid description, it is analysed that consumer behaviour is the study of the
buyer's regular needs that are analysed by several co-operations and on the basis of their past
buying behaviour the organisation makes a strategy on that analysis and turn into their market
opportunities. It depends on several factors which effects the buying behaviour of the consumer
in various ways like distinctive, collective, and mental. And analysing buying behaviour of the
consumer on the basis of the growth of the digital technology, now it is more convenient to track
the transactions that happened through online payment. Furthermore, there are several phases
remain unlighted within the context of consumer buying behaviour which were needed to be
analysed which can make the organisation a better server for its final consumer. Those
mentioned above are the factors which are affecting the functionality of the organisation.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bhushan, S., 2019. Design thinking in hospitality education and research. Worldwide Hospitality
and Tourism Themes.
Buhalis, D. and Park, S., 2021. Brand management and cocreation lessons from tourism and
hospitality: introduction to the special issue. Journal of Product & Brand Management.
Chen, S.H., ande et, al., 2021. Hospitality services in the post COVID-19 era: Are we ready for
high-tech and no touch service delivery in smart hotels?. Journal of Hospitality
Marketing & Management, 30(8), pp.905-928.
Dinis, G and et, al., O., 2019. Google Trends in tourism and hospitality research: a systematic
literature review. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology.
George, R., 2021. Marketing tourism and hospitality: Concepts and cases. Palgrave Macmillan.
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attribute effects on satisfaction and Re-Patronage. Tourism Management, 74, pp.345-
357.
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.
Nusair, K., 2020. Developing a comprehensive life cycle framework for social media research in
hospitality and tourism: a bibliometric method 2002-2018. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Samala, N. and Raganathan, K.M.S., 2020. Applications of AI and ML Techniques on Twitter
Data to Understand Consumer Behavior: Critical Insights. Asian Journal of Research in
Marketing, 9(3), pp.1-8.
Sánchez-Franco, M.J., Navarro-García, A. and Rondán-Cataluña, F.J., 2019. A naive Bayes
strategy for classifying customer satisfaction: A study based on online reviews of
hospitality services. Journal of Business Research, 101, pp.499-506.
Sann, R., Lai, P.C. and Chen, C.T., 2021. Review papers on eWOM: prospects for hospitality
industry. Anatolia, 32(2), pp.177-206.
Tanrikulu, C., 2021. Theory of consumption values in consumer behaviour research: A review
and future research agenda. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45(6), pp.1176-
1197.