University Hospitality Experience Reflection Report (7202THS)

This report, submitted for the 7202THS course, delves into the realm of hospitality experiences, employing the 4Rs of reflective writing—Reporting, Relating, Reasoning, and Reconstructing—to dissect the design of a memorable hospitality experience. The author examines the crucial link between customer satisfaction and marketing strategies, highlighting the significance of understanding customer preferences and effectively utilizing the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence, and perception). The report emphasizes the need for adapting strategies based on political, economic, social, and technological factors, as well as the importance of target market segmentation (demographic, behavioral, psychographic, and geographic). The analysis underscores the importance of innovation, customer-specific services, and the impact of factors like pricing, location, promotion, and customer service on the overall guest experience. The author reconstructs the existing situations with the effective use of target market segmentation and offers insights into how to enhance the customer experience and improve marketing outcomes within the tourism and hospitality industry.

The Hospitality Experience

Table of Contents
Reporting and Responding..............................................................................................................2
Relating............................................................................................................................................2
Reasoning........................................................................................................................................5
Reconstructing.................................................................................................................................7
Reference list.................................................................................................................................10
1 | P a g e

Reporting and Responding
The hospitality experience is considered to be a cordial reception and generous treatment to the
guests. The hospitality sector is required to respond to a warm treatment to their guests in order
to achieve a great customer centred outcome. Moreover, customer satisfaction has a strong
impact on the development of marketing and customer expansion in the tourism sector (Okumus
& Genc, 2013). I think marketing has a strong and constant impact on the development of
hospitality and customer satisfaction. However, the issues I can locate are the lack of
understanding the customers’preferences, inability to locate the proper customer’s services,
effective maintenance decorum and behaviour and the ineffective communication with the target
customers. My experience has enhanced my effectiveness on understanding and psychographic
preferences. However, there is an essential requirement of the proper hospitality, maintenance of
customer relation, development of target market communication and the expansion of the target
market communication.
Relating
The unsatisfied hospitality is related to the in poor marketing outcome. I have seen a great
deterioration in the marketing value of the hospitality organisations like hotels, and destination
tourism package. I analysed the deterioration and found that poor hospitality is the ultimate
reason for the setbackof the organisations. Thus, it is requiredtodevelopeffective hospitality
service in order to get outstanding marketing feedback.I think the impactful target market factors
provided in the description part can be resolved with the best use of the marketing mix strategy.
Marketing mix strategy
The product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence, and perceptionare the
essential marketing products. I have seen lots of loopholes in the place strategy, pricing strategy,
promotional strategy and target customer strategy in my experience.Thus, I can resolve the issues
with the effective implementation of the marketing mix strategy.
2 | P a g e

Picture: Marketing mix strategy
Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-8-Ps-of-Services-Marketing-
Mix_fig1_316140311
Product
Product defines the offered service to the customers. The services must be aligned with the
expectationofthe customers in order to achieve the best customer output (Okumus & Genc,
2013). I think the achievement of the best product lies in the capability of understanding the
requirement of the customers. I have witnessed that the poor service strategy of NAB Company
has promoted them to a great marketing downfall. Thus, the effectiveness in the development of
marketing is to provide innovative and customer specific services.
Price
Effective pricing should be the immediate concerns for the hospitality organisations in order to
attain a food customer output. I think the pricing must be aligned with the common financial
capability of the target customers. Low priced services cannot provide a formidable
3 | P a g e

marketingoutput. On the contrary, highly priced services may go beyond the range of the target
customers (Okumus & Genc, 2013). I think pricing must be set after analysing the demand and
capability of the customers and evaluating the demand with the previous year’s financial report.
For example- if a customer prefers green tourism, he may prefer to visit the jungles and greenery
areas. Thus, the prices must be set as per the financial capability of the customer.
Place
Place retain great value in the hospitality services. I think the managers and the decision makers
of the hospitality organisations must evaluate the places where the customers mostly prefer to
visit. For example- some may prefer as a good shopping destination while others may prefer to
visit the jungle or sea beach. Thus, as per my opinion, the issues related place may be
resolvedkeeping separate tour package to each customer group. This can enhance the good
experience of customers in order to attain good marketing feedback (McDONALD, 2016).
Promotion
I think promotion must be done as per the customer’s accessibility. Presently, the target
customers are more interested in social media and electronic media. Thus, I think the maximum
application of the promotional invest must be supposed on the social media in order to reach a
maximum number of customers. The promotional strategy must show service offerings and how
it is different from other organisations (Okumus & Genc, 2013). Moreover, I think print media
promotion, radio promotion and hoarding promotion can be used for best customer experience.
People
People refer to the target customers (Okumus & Genc, 2013). I think the improvement of the
service quality and branding system are the essential criteria to satisfy the basic requirement of
the customer. Thus, proper food service, proper guest welcome service and proper travelling
packages can be offered to the target customers. Moreover, I think the support staffs must be at
the service of the target customers at all the time in order to attain maximum feedback.
Physical evidence
4 | P a g e

I must suggest the customer should be guided properly the best service that they require to satisfy
their requirements. I have observed that can properly guide can eradicate the confusion of the
customers regarding the required services. This would enhance the hospitalityexperiences.
Perception
Perception is a cognitive understanding process. I think the support staffs of the hospitality
services should percept the possible requirement of the customer and provide the services to
them before they ask for it. This would enhance the marketing value of the organisation.
Reasoning
The description provided in the report part states to the ineffectiveness of providing hospitality
and the factors impacting on the hospitality development with the best use of marketing. The
application of the four factors depends on the social factor, political factor, economic and
technological factor. These factors enhance a profound understanding of the unique
characteristics of hospitality experiences is essentially required for the holistic development of
tourism marketing. I think the understanding of motivations and customer behaviours are very
much eloquent to differentiate the marketing goods and services. Hence, the application of the
political, social, economic and technological factors can provide a best-suited outcome.
5 | P a g e

Picture: Political, social, economic and technological factors
Source: https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/strategic-analysis/what-is-pest-analysis/
Political
The analyses of the political factors are essentially required for the holistic development of the
hospitality. The existing rules, policies, terms and conditions and local regulation must be
analysed properly in order to attain the best outcome (Okumus & Genc, 2013). I think the
marketing strategy to provide hospitality must be aligned with the local legislation. Additionally,
I think the best emphasis must be provided on making ethically perfect strategies.
Economic
The economic factors must also be analysed properly in order to understand the existing
capabilities to implement the marketing mix strategy. I must say that the financial resources must
be properly analysed before implementing the target market segmentation. The segmentation
requires proper financial invest in each aspect of the customer demand (Okumus & Genc, 2013).
Thus, best customer services must be provided with the effective uses of all the financial
resources.
Social
6 | P a g e

The social factors define the people and their preferences for the best use of the services. I the
religious value, ethnicity value, cultural value and the linguistic value of the target customers
must be observed properly in order to attain the best possible outcome. Additionally, the
diversity of the target market must be respected in a proper manner (Okumus & Genc, 2013). I
think no proper marketing strategy in the hospitality sector can be developed with the
disrespectful behaviour towards the diversified target market. Hence, the diversity must be
observed with high value.
Technological
The best use of technology can provide the best outcome of customer hospitality. I think
Personal and professional preference of each customer must be recorded in the online database.
This could be helpful to provide hospitality service to that particular customer in future (Okumus
& Genc, 2013). The customers can be communicated through various social media and websites.
This requires hospitality staffs to be tech-savvy and must be eloquent in using technology in
order to provide all the required services to the customers.
Reconstructing
The existing analysis and situation can be reconstructed with the effective use of target market
segmentation. I have experience that successful implementation of the target market
segmentation is an essential part of developing marketing in the hospitality. I have observed that
offering destination package to the customers according to their preferences can provide
effective marketing outcome. Additionally, keeping sustainability between the tour package and
financial capability of the customer can provide them with the best hospitality experiences
(McDONALD, 2016). I have understood that marketing is an integral concept in the tourism and
hospitality industry that revolves out the differentiation in goods and marketing services. I think
the target market must be segmented according to their financial capability and preferred
destination.
7 | P a g e

Market segmentation theory
The segmentation of the target market according to their demography, behaviour, psychographic
and geography is capable to provide the best marketing possibility.
Punctured: Target market segmentation
Source: https://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/marketing-and-strategy-terms/
16952-market-segmentation.html
Demographic
I think the demographic segmentation must be used according to the product and offered
services. The clients must be offered tourism services according to their scenic preference,
financial capability, family size, occupation and region (McDONALD, 2016). I think this is the
best possible way to convey hospitality to the target customers.
Behaviour
Based on the behaviour the target market can be segmented I order to satisfy the customers with
the necessary of hospitality. The young people can be offered adventurous tourism, the newly
married couple can prefer a romantic place and the old aged people can prefer religious tourism
(McDONALD, 2016). I think tourism packages must be aligned with the customers’ preferences.
8 | P a g e

Psychographic segmentation
Psychographic tourism is based on the lifestyle of the customers. I have observed that
psychographic tourism is an extended part of the behavioural tourism where the customers prefer
to choose their destination according to their mental preferences (Okumus & Genc, 2013). The
mental satisfaction of the customers helps to increase the market value and target market.
Geographic segmentation
The geographic segmentation also defines the preference of the customers according to their area
of living (Okumus & Genc, 2013). I think the hospitality must be provided understanding the
geographic location of the customers. For example- the people from European countries prefer
jungle safaris while the people of the USA may prefer to visit the attractive city travelling
package. I think the packages and services must be offered as per the residential preferences of
the customers for a better marketing outcome.
9 | P a g e

Reference list
McDonald, M. A. L. C. O. L. M. (2016). Strategic marketing planning: theory and practice.
In The marketing book (pp. 108-142). Routledge.
Okumus, H. S., & Genc, E. G. (2013). Interest-free banking in Turkey: a study of customer
satisfaction and bank selection. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 9(16).
10 | P a g e