Marketing in Hospitality: A Case Study of Sheraton Hotel, United Kingdom

This report explores the concept of marketing in the hospitality industry, focusing on the Sheraton Hotel in the United Kingdom. It examines the impact of the marketing environment, the relevance of the consumer market, and the rationale for developing different market segments. The report also analyzes the importance of the marketing mix, pricing strategies, and promotional efforts. Finally, it discusses the relevance of market research for Sheraton Hotel operations and outlines a marketing plan for a new hotel in Tokyo, Japan.

MARKETING IN
HOSPITALITY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 2
OVERVIEW OF THE SHERATON HOTEL, UNITED KINGDOM.................................................3
LO1.............................................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 CONCEPT OF MARKETING FOR RELEVANT SERVICE INDUSTRY..............................4
1.2 IMPACT OF MARKETING ENVIRONMENT ON THE INDUSTRY.....................................4
1.3 RELEVANCE OF CONSUMER MARKET IN INDUSTRY..................................................5
1.4 RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING DIFFERENT MARKET SEGMENTS.............................5
LO2.............................................................................................................................................. 7
2.1 IMPORTANCE OF COMPONENTS OF MARKETING MIX TO INDUSTRY.......................7
2.2 ANALYSING PRICING STRATEGIES AND POLICIES IN RELATION TO THE
INDUSTRY............................................................................................................................... 8
LO3............................................................................................................................................ 10
3.1 ROLE OF PROMOTIONAL MIX.......................................................................................10
3.2 PLANNING AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN FOR SERVICE INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION
............................................................................................................................................... 10
3.3 ROLE OF SALES PROMOTION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS IN PROMOTIONAL
EFFORTS.............................................................................................................................. 11
TASK 4...................................................................................................................................... 12
4.1 RELEVANCE OF MARKET RESEARCH FOR SHERATON HOTEL OPERATIONS.......12
4.2 MARKET RESEARCH FOR APPROPRIATE HOTEL OR SERVICE...............................13
4.3 ANALYZING THE SUITABILITY OF DIFFERENT MEDIA FOR MARKETING AN
APPROPRIATE PRODUCT OR SERVICE............................................................................14
4.4 IMPLEMENTING THE MARKETING PLAN FOR PRODUCT..........................................15
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................... 16
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................... 17
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2

INTRODUCTION
This report helps in the understanding of the concept for the purpose of doing marketing in
hospitality organization of United Kingdom. Marketing helps in understanding the needs as well
as the demands of the people so that they can offer them with the products as well as the
services (Bowie, et al. 2016). Marketing helps in building the growth of an organization by
increasing the profitability. The main component of the marketing is the market research which
is done in order to build the strategy of marketing for the UK based organization named HW
Marriott. This report will help in the understanding of the strategy needed for this organization in
order to review it. The marketing strategy is developed because of the variation in the market
forces as well as the competition in the market.
3

OVERVIEW OF THE SHERATON HOTEL, UNITED KINGDOM
Sheraton hotel is among the international hotel and it consists of a chain and resort of hotel
which is being operated by the Marriott International. Sheraton consists of about 500 hotel
across the world and these hotels are situated in Africa, South America, Asia Pacific, Europe,
North America, Middle East, Caribbean, and Central America (Taylor and Hotel, 2011). This
hotel was founded in the year of 1937 in the United States by Ernest Henderson and Robert
Moore. The size of the organization is about 145,000 employees. The hotel is situated in White
Plains, New York, United States. The aim of this hospitality industry is to deliver the best
experience of travelling. All the technical needs of the customer are being fulfilled by the hotel.
An online facility for booking a hotel is also provided by the hotel. The hotel consists of the
different types of services offered to the customer such as food as well as the beverage, the
clubbing facilities, an everlasting experience, workouts, etc. this hotel has also been recognized
as the official hotel for different leagues of baseball. The hotel consists of about 155,815 rooms
which are open and 19,616 rooms which are pipelined.
Figure: Hotel Sheraton
Source: Admin, 2016.
4

LO1
INTRODUCTION
This report will help in an understanding of the marketing concept needed for the Sheraton hotel
as well as their impact on the industry. In addition to this, the report also describes the
consumer market of the Sheraton hotel.
BODY
1.1 CONCEPT OF MARKETING FOR RELEVANT SERVICE INDUSTRY
The marketing helps in establishing the relationship with the customer through the process of
communication in order to provide the services to the customer so that the organization, as well
as the stakeholders, can receive the profit from it. The integration of the services provided by
the Sheraton hotel together with the needs as well as the demands of the customer helps in
achieving the profit of an organization (Lovelock, 2011). The main aim of this hotel is to satisfy
the needs of the consumers by analysing it through the market. This analysis helps in
generating the revenue for the organization so integration needs to be done.
In order to develop the campaigns of the marketing, the management team of the organization
must focus on determining the culture of the market for the purpose of embedding it. The
integrated type of marketing is being used by the Sheraton hotel. The services provided to the
customer are of the superior quality which helps in bringing the growth of an organization. The
priority of this hotel is to focus on the needs of the customer.
1.2 IMPACT OF MARKETING ENVIRONMENT ON THE INDUSTRY
The plan of the marketing is implemented in the environment of its own consisting of the macro
as well as the microenvironment which is of a variable nature. This variability factor is
responsible for bringing opportunities and also the threats with respect to the holders of the
business. Analysis of these factors must be done by the management team in order to develop
the strategies of marketing for the organization. Another factor is the coordination among the
suppliers as well as analysing the rivals, adjusting the budget according to the strategy, comes
under the micro factors of an environment which needs to be synchronized for achieving the
profit.
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The competition can be analysed with the help of the demographics factor which includes age,
structure, size of the population, occupation, as well as the ratio of the gender. Economic factors
include the GDP, pattern of consumption, the interest rate of the current level, etc. helps in
affecting the activities as well as the operations of the business (Yazdanifard and Mercy, 2011).
The political factors consist of the patents, policies concerned with the tax, the government
stability which needs to be maintained as per the regulation as well as the laws in order to
benefit the organization. The technological factors consist of the development of the innovative
product, up gradation in the software as well as the different types of application which need to
be analysed regularly. Social factors consist of the size of the family, different lifestyle
concerning the people as well as the awareness should be developed among the masses for
the purpose of building the strategy concerned with the market.
1.3 RELEVANCE OF CONSUMER MARKET IN INDUSTRY
The purpose of developing the strategy for the Sheraton hotel is to meet the needs as well as
the demands of the people which require an identification of the target market. The end users
are those users who purchase the services of the hospitality for his own needs which are
considered under the consumer market (Janse, et al. 2010). Sometimes it is difficult for the
organization to identify the buying pattern of the consumer market.
The case study of the Starbucks helps in analysing the issues encountered in the China which
is the gratitude of the Chinese people towards the hotel was not warm. They have mistaken the
company for expanding the culture westerly. This happened because of the unawareness about
the tradition as well as the customs of China. So it is of utmost essential to understand
consumer market of the Sheraton hotel.
1.4 RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING DIFFERENT MARKET SEGMENTS
Market segmentation helps in understanding the target market by grouping the people into
groups of similar needs so that the strategies can be built accordingly (Yoo, et al. 2011). A
pattern of the consumer can be estimated with the help of market segmentation in order to offer
the best services as well as the products in the market.
The demographic type of segmentation can be applied to the Sheraton hotel which consists of
the grouping of the people according to the age, income, occupation, size of the family, etc. by
the spreading of geographical locations which consists of cities, nations, states, areas, etc. The
segmentation can also be based according to the behavioural segmentation consisting of the
attitude, knowledge, etc. of the consumer.
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Figure: Market Segmentation
Source: Administrator, 2010.
CONCLUSION
The above report helps in understanding the market of the Sheraton hotel as well as their
impact on the industry so that different segments can be developed for doing the segmentation
process of the market.
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LO2
INTRODUCTION
This report helps in the understanding the significance of the marketing mix elements to the
Sheraton hotel as well as different strategies and policies were analysed with respect to the
Sheraton hotel.
BODY
2.1 IMPORTANCE OF COMPONENTS OF MARKETING MIX TO INDUSTRY
The marketing mix is an essential part which helps in developing the strategy needed by the
hotel in the market. The marketing mix consists of the four elements associated with the
marketing namely place, product, promotion, and the price.
Figure: Marketing Mix
Source: Martin, 2014.
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PRODUCT
The product helps in realising the needs as well as the demands of the consumer and this
product depends on the lifecycle of it. The lifecycle of the products consists of the different
stages such as the creation, growth, and decline (Huang and Sarigöllü, 2014). The decline
phase states that the consumer wants to have newly developed innovative products. These
lifecycle phases must be realized by the Sheraton hotel so that it can raise the competition in
the market.
PRICE
The price of the products must be kept such that it is being paid by the consumer regarding the
product. The price of the product should be set according to the type of the product being
offered to them which can be ensured with the help of doing the market research. The view
regarding the products of the consumer must be checked so that the quality can be improved.
PROMOTION
Promotion helps in targeting the customers by providing them with the attractive features of the
product which is done with the help of advertising the products to the masses (Tomczak, et al.
2011). This also includes the providing the information to the people on the different social
media platforms. The promotion should reflect the quality as well as the value of the product.
PLACE
It includes the location for distributing the products among the masses as in the place must be
chosen such that the people must find that place. The factor of convenience should be made
available for the consumers.
2.2 ANALYSING PRICING STRATEGIES AND POLICIES IN RELATION TO THE
INDUSTRY
Following are the strategies described below:
Skimming
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This strategy is used for attractive as well as a different product whose cost is high so that the
hotel can gain high profit so that the industry can recover the high investment it has done on
developing that different product.
Penetration
This strategy is used when people don’t want to buy the products which are of higher cost so
that the volume in the production can get increased.
Competitor Analysis
This strategy helps in analysing the strategy used by the competitor for pricing the products with
the help of surveys, or through expertise so that they can gain the advantage.
The policies are the cost-plus, break-even, value-based, competition based, and the variable.
The competition-based policy helps in analysing the competitor strategies being adapted to
raise and build the target customers (Vogel, 2014). Value-based policies focus on the values
possessed by the consumer regarding their buying process of the product. Cost plus strategy
defines the cost of the product according to its features and the significance for the consumer.
Variable consists of the different policies being adopted by the Sheraton hotel in order to
increase the customer base as well as the market share of the organization.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it is concluded that pricing strategy plays a key role in reaching to the
target customers and also it utilises the concept of the marketing mix in order to achieve the
goal.
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LO3
INTRODUCTION
This report helps in the understanding the role of the marketing mix with respect to the service
industry of Sheraton hotel. Also, an advertising campaign is developed for this hotel.
BODY
3.1 ROLE OF PROMOTIONAL MIX
Promotional mix helps in bringing the products to the customer. The hotels have used different
ideas as well as the strategies for implementing it. The fusion style has been adopted by the
Sheraton hotel which includes merging of various types of rooms along with the food. This helps
in increasing the revenue of Sheraton hotel. The other approach adopted by the hotel is the
provision of the online packages which has generated a high profit to the hotel. The needs as
well as the demands of the customer must be analysed with the help of market research. The
approach in delivering the products as well as the services to the customer must also be taken
into the consideration (Sagala, et al. 2014). Also, the method must be analysed for delivering
the services to the consumers. Advanced technology is used by the Sheraton hotel for providing
customer service. The foreigners are at ease in booking the hotel online without any difficulty.
This help in building the economy of the country as a whole. The overall aim of the Sheraton
hotel is to promote the satisfaction of the customer with respect to services.
3.2 PLANNING AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN FOR SERVICE INDUSTRY
ORGANIZATION
An advertising campaign is planned by focusing on the needs of the consumer and also the
verified methods are used which the below mentioned factors:
Covering the local area helps in knowing the customer in order to build the crowd.
Technology helps in booking the hotels online which facilitates a large number of customers.
Covering the media sometimes become expensive but also helps in attracting a large number of
consumers with the help of newspaper as well as television (McDonald and Wilson, 2016).
Benefits must be received by the hotel without compromising the profit by providing the
consumer with various attractive offers.
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The transportation also helps in attracting a large number of consumers by providing them with
the required information.
3.3 ROLE OF SALES PROMOTION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS IN PROMOTIONAL
EFFORTS
The promotion helps in creating the awareness about the product as well as building the
relations publically. The advantages, as well as the features of the hotel, are being explained to
the consumers who have already build the relations with the hotel and then the sales promotion
is carried out. With the increase in the rise of competition in the hotel field, the target customers
are being developed by different types of hotel in the United Kingdom (Fawkes, 2013). Public
relations are being developed after selling the good quality products to the consumers. This
consumer creates a large impact on the hotel. The Sheraton hotel invites the press and medium
so that they can introduce those newly developed products to the consumers. The relation
developed publically also creates an impact on the stakeholders of the Sheraton hotel.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it is concluded that the organization needs to develop the campaigns for
doing advertisement of their products as well as the role played by the people also help in
bringing the growth of an organization.
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TASK 4
4.1 RELEVANCE OF MARKET RESEARCH FOR SHERATON HOTEL OPERATIONS
Market research is the process of analysing and gathering the information about the customers,
clients, stakeholders and customer groups in the business. Conducting a market research will
give a competitive advantage to Sheraton Hotels (Witell, et al. 2011). Marketing research
includes a process considering a variety of factors, for example, analysing the needs and
demands of the customers, finding the targeted group of customers, identifying the suppliers in
the area and how to position the market so that firm gains huge profit in the business.
Marketing research also helps in identifying the competitors in the business and for Sheraton
Hotel the main competitors are the Whitbread Plc, and Hilton chain of hotels in the industry
(McQuarrie, 2015). It will help the company to determine what types of product and services
customers actually want and what are their likes and dislikes. Market research involves a team
of marketers who conduct surveys, questionnaire and interviews sessions in the market thereby
identifying the needs of the customers. The customer’s feedback will help Sheraton hotel in
identifying the opportunities for growth in the business.
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4.2 MARKET RESEARCH FOR APPROPRIATE HOTEL OR SERVICE
The market research is conducted for the launch of a new hotel to be opened in Tokyo by the
name of Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay hotel that will have 175 rooms and the management of
Sheraton hotel is planning to expand the facilities of this hotel with additional 1000 rooms by the
end of the year 2018 (SANABRIA, et al. 2012).
Figure: Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel
Source: [Trip advisor, 2018]
In the market research conducted it was found that the new hotel in Tokyo Japan is being
funded by a leading financial services group named ORIX Corporation. It is stated by the
management of ORIX group that this Sheraton Hotel will have additional 175 guest rooms that
will add to the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay hotel being co-invested by ORIX (Takizawa, 2015).
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4.3 ANALYZING THE SUITABILITY OF DIFFERENT MEDIA FOR MARKETING AN
APPROPRIATE PRODUCT OR SERVICE
There are many tools of media that can be used by the Sheraton hotels for popularizing its
products and services. With the increased popularity of the internet and mobile technologies,
the management of Sheraton Hotels can use the methods of media for marketing its products
and services. Some additional methods of media include newspapers, billboards, emails, direct
mails, social media websites etc., as these are also considered some effective tools for
marketing the products and services. The advantages of the methods of media for Sheraton
hotels are explained below (Smith and Zook, 2011).
Reach to larger audiences
With the use of media service, Sheraton hotels can increase its reach to larger audiences. For
example, the Sheraton hotel can market its products and services by using social media
websites like Facebook, twitter etc. thereby attracting more customers in the business (Smith
and Zook, 2011).
Affordable
Some of the traditional advertising methods like the radio and other commercial means of
promotion are costly and company will have to invest a huge sum of money to avail these
services (Smith and Zook, 2011). But if these methods of media are used than more and more
customers get to know about the company’s products and it is an affordable way for building
loyal customers in the business.
Use of media for establishing a more effective presence
Some additional applications of media like the YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest can also be
used for reaching out to larger audiences in the business (Neti, 2011). Marketing the products
via YouTube is quite helpful as people especially the youths use this app for entertainment and
leisure. Moreover, the social media methods for marketing the products and services are a cost-
effective strategy as there are little investment and more profit (Smith and Zook, 2011).
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4.4 IMPLEMENTING THE MARKETING PLAN FOR PRODUCT
A marketing plan helps in developing a systematic approach to the marketing strategies. A
successful marketing plan analyses many factors and there are many benefits of implementing
a marketing plan, for example, it helps in understanding the business, its customers, and
competitors (Westwood, 2016). A marketing plan is made for the newly launched hotel in Tokyo
Japan, named as Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel. Various factors to be covered in the
marketing plan for marketing this hotel is explained below.
Goal Setting
In the first stage, the members of the marketing team discuss and set the goals for product
marketing. The goals and objectives set are measurable and the task is allocated to all the
members of the marketing team. The prime goal is to market the newly launched hotel and
increase the sales to up to 500 customers.
Analysing the Current market trends
After the goal is set the marketing team analyses the current trends in the market relating to the
services offered by other players in the market. The varying needs of customers are analysed at
this stage (Westwood, 2016).
Creating a marketing strategy
After analysing the needs of the customers a proper planning strategy is made that may include
segmentation, targeting and positioning. In order to market this hotel, segmentation technique is
used by dividing the customers into a subgroup of customers.
Allocating marketing resources
The marketing team is allocated the required resources like the financial resources,
infrastructural resources for marketing the hotel (Westwood, 2016).
Launching the product & Monitoring
The product is finally launched into the market or the customers start accessing the services of
the hotel. The launches product is continuously monitored and the feedback is collected from
the customers for improvements in products and services (Westwood, 2016).
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CONCLUSION
The above discussion clearly concludes that marketing in the hospitality industry plays a crucial
role in the main essence of marketing is to get company's products to more and more
customers. Marketing in hospitality covers various segments as to how a particular hotel,
restaurant or resort will utilize the marketing techniques for promoting its products and services
to the consumers. Marketing is an essential segment of any industry, as the main purpose of
marketing is to increase the sales of the company and in the hospitality or hotel segment, the
prime motive is to lure and woo the customers by providing high-class hotel services thereby
increasing a loyal customer base in the business.
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