Unit 31 – HOSPITALITY DIGITAL MARKETING

Hospitality Digital
Marketing
Feedback.
Good effort but needs some attention as
indicated.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Evaluation of challenges, opportunities and impact of digital marketing on the hospitality
industry........................................................................................................................................3
P2 Analysis of key hospitality trends..........................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P3 Digital tools used in hospitality industry...............................................................................5
P4 Evaluation of growth of E-commerce in hospitality industry................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
P5 Digital marketing strategies for Radisson Blu Hotel.............................................................7
P6 Evaluation of Omni marketing channels in achieving the objectives....................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P7 Evaluation of performance management techniques and metrics for a digital marketing
Strategy.......................................................................................................................................8
P8 Actions to improve digital marketing strategy.......................................................................9
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
Books and Journals ..................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Digital marketing is an effective tool which involves the utilisation of the digital
platforms to build connections with the potential customers. Hotels apply digital marketing as a
way of reaching their customers which will enhance the awareness of their brand. Radisson Blu
Hotel is an international chain of hotels operated by Radisson Hotels. This brand has its roots in
1960 but Radisson Blu came into existence in 2009 (De Pelsmacker, P., Van Tilburg, S. and
Holthof, C., 2018). This report focuses on the application of digital marketing tools in the
hospitality sector. Also, this report will provide a brief understanding of the trends of the
hospitality industry which ensures its success. Lastly, this report will explain the importance of
digital marketing channels in comparison to traditional channels.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
P1 Evaluation of challenges, opportunities and impact of digital marketing on the hospitality
industry.
Digital marketing landscape can be defined as a platform where customers engage with
effective content and buying services and goods. This landscape creates awareness of the
products and the organisations that are offering that products and services. In context with the
hospitality industry, there are some of the opportunities which enhance the overall performance
of their operations. These opportunities are explained below:
 Social media marketing is an effective opportunity for the hotels as they can inform their
guests about their offers in the current scenario (Amaral, 2019). This will help them in
enhancing their customers which will elevate their productivity and profitability.
Furthermore, the hotels will be able to regenerate the services according to the customer
preferences.
 The digital marketing will help the hotels to access their customers and competitors
which will enhance their growth prospects in near future. This will help them in attaining
their marketing goals by connecting with the customers digitally. Also, there might be
chances that the customers will get impresses from the services of the hotels and they will
rate them the highest on the digital media which will enhance their followers.

 The digital marketing will help the hotels in expanding their websites and also designs
innovative email marketing campaigns that will attract large customers (Hudson, S. and
Hudson, L., 2017). Also, these marketing campaigns will enhance the business
opportunities and provide them product development ideas in order to enhance their
business worldwide.
Moreover, despite of the opportunities the digital marketing has the following impact on
the hospitality industry which creates challenges in their success path:
 The common mistake that the organisation does is not defining their target audience.
There is no product that appeals to every consumer. The company must focus on the
factors of the consumer behaviour which will help them in targeting the audience
effectively (Porcu, and. et. al., 2019). The target audience must be defined clearly as it
will be easier for them develop strategies which will help them in attaining the goals of
the company.
 The allocation of budget is also a major challenge for Radisson Blu Hotel as the budget
provided by finance department is not utilised correctly by the hotel and this will increase
the wastage of their resources. Budget helps them in allocating the resources and funds in
an appropriate manner which will enhance the growth level of the hotel.
 Furthermore, the hotel faces the challenge of managing the website and generating leads
for the website. Radisson Blu Hotel focuses on making their website on the top in the
search engine optimisation. For managing the website, the hotel must recruit effective
workforce which will work towards the enhancement of the followers and positive image
of the company (Liberato, Liberato, and Rocha, 2018).
Basis Digital marketing Offline marketing
Cost This platform is economical
and affordable in terms of the
expenses for the hotel.
Offline marketing requires
spending of lots of money by
the hotels (Watson, Weaven
and Palmatier, 2018).
Exposure Online marketing has no
barriers of the boundaries to
reach their customers.
Offline marketing does not
guarantee maximum exposure
and has its own limit.

Convenience This method is convenient and
available at 24*7.
This method is applicable only
when the outlet is opened.
P2 Analysis of key hospitality trends.
In the current scenario, there are many trends that ensure the success of the hospitality
industry. In context with Radisson Blu, the hotel uses these trends in digital ways: Metasearch: It has become an important component of hotel advertising. It is a tool that
takes the use of online information available at SEO to produce the results understand the
customers preference (De Pelsmacker, P., Van Tilburg, S. and Holthof, C., 2018). This
will help the hotel in serving the customers according to their needs. Voice Search: It is another trend that is adopted by the hospitality industry. This trends
helps the customers to connect with the hotels and make them understand about their
current needs and desires.
 Compliance Trends: This trend affects the laws and rules of the industry. It becomes
essential for the hotels to follow the rules of the sanitation, cleanliness, hygiene and many
more. The hospitality industry may face the compliance related to their digital marketing
techniques.
In context with Radisson Blu, the hotel hires Accenture for their digital marketing
campaigns. The hotel develops an effective digital marketing strategy that will enhance their
customer engagement and ensure high productivity. The digital marketing also helps in creating
the brand awareness by informing them about their products and new innovative services offered
by the hotel. Also, consumer behaviour plays a major role in the development of digital
marketing strategy. The Radisson Blu Hotel, evaluates the buying behaviour of the customers
and then make a digital marketing appeal accordingly (Buhalis, D. and Sinarta, Y., 2019).
TASK 2
P3 Digital tools used in hospitality industry.
There are many digital tools used by the hospitality industry for enhancing their digital
marketing strategies. These tools are used by the Radisson Blu hotel which helps in sustaining a
competitive advantage in the industry. These tools are explained below:

 Ahref: It is a famous SEO tool used by the market professionals to improve the google
ranking of the organisations. Radisson Blu Hotel uses this strategy to engage more
customers towards their website. This tool also helps in analysing the competitors search
traffic which has helped the hotel in devising effective strategies for future. With this,
Radisson Blu Hotel uses this software in order to analyse internal backlinks. Google AdWords: It is another tool of digital marketing for the various organisations. this
platform is developed by google at which many organisations bid to display their brief
advertisements which will enhance the awareness of their brand. Radisson Blu Hotel
uses this strategy to inform the customers about their current offers.
 Similarweb: The hospitality industry s very competitive and to satisfy the customer in
terms of the comfort zone is very difficult (Lo and Fang, 2018). This tool helps in
understanding the marketing strategy of the key competitors of the organisation. In
context with Radisson Blu, the hotel uses this strategy to analyse and compare the
statistics of their competitors namely; Crowne Plaza Orlando - Downtown.
Hence, these are the tools opted by the hospitality organisations which will help them in
serving the diversified customers in their comfort zone. This will also help the hotels in
sustaining their productivity and profitability by implementing effective strategies.
7P's of Hospitality Industry
 Product: The product involves the services that the customer will gain after they pay for
it. The hotel industry offers effective services to their customer which will erase their
boundaries and forms a way for success (Slavova, M., 2016). The product quality will
help in attaining the large customer base as the attractive services and innovative
products will persuade them to purchase them immediately. Price: The organisation must analyse the customer behaviour and then set their prices
accordingly. The must analyse the willingness of the customer to pay for their catering
services. The prices must be set after analysing the current demand and price analysis of
the industry which will provide them a competitive edge over the competitors.

 Promotion: This includes how well the hotel is in promoting their services for the
customer. The hotel must focus on designing those marketing tactics which will engage
the customers. The hotels can avail the promotional campaigns which will help them in
attracting the target audience and make an effective appeal from them (Pindžo and
Brjaktarović, 2018). Place: The hotels must provide the food dishes after analysing the geographical, cultural
and demographical factors of the customer. Also, the hotels should provide world class
customer services to their customers to retain them for longer duration (Ferrone, A.,
2019). The geographical area will be forecasted effectively by thee marketing
professionals in order to provide the customers the facilities that will reflect the cultural
diversification. People: This defines that how efficient customer services are provided by the hotels. this
will create word of mouth advertising of the hotel that they treat people with care and
effective strategies. The workforce of the hotel must be focused and goal oriented which
will prioritize the customers first in order to reflect them a sense of importance to them. Physical Evidence: The hotel must focus on aligning the physical environment of their
organisation with what they are offering to the customers. Also, the hotel should analyse
the processing and packaging of their products precisely to improve the deviation their
operations.
 Process: This involves the process of positioning the product in the minds of the
customer (Sequeira, Marques and Serrano, 2019). The hotels must adopt digital ways to
attract their customers and develop positive perception of their organisation in the minds
of the customers.
P4 Evaluation of growth of E-commerce in hospitality industry.
E-commerce can be defined as the sale of services by the Radisson Blu hotel through
electronic network. The growth of E-commerce in hospitality industry involves Personalised
Services for the Customers. The Customers shopping online will get discount vouchers from the
hotel organisation which will attract them. Through e-commerce the hotel organisations will be
able to understand the customer preference effectively. Virtual Reality Experience, the hotel
organisations tries to provide effective virtual experiences with a reality check to customers.
Entering into an International Market, the e-commerce will provide a better experience to the

hotel organisations which will enhance their boundaries (Poutanen, E., 2016). This will enhance
the level of connectivity and adaptability for the hotel industry. Retargeting the Customers, e-
commerce facilitates retargeting the customers which will enhance their customer base
effectively to sustain competitive advantage in the industry. Hence, this is evaluation of growth
of e-commerce in the hospitality industry which will enhance their sales and revenues.
TASK 3
P5 Digital marketing strategies for Radisson Blu Hotel.
The hotel adopts certain digital marketing strategies which will ensure the success and
growth in the competitive environment. The challenge for the industry is to understand the
marketing tactics of the competitors which will help them in devising the strategies for their own
organisation (Slivar, I. and Bayer, R., 2017). Radisson Blu Hotel uses the following digital
marketing strategies which are explained below; Understand the Customer Journey: Radisson Blu Hotel uses this strategy which will
help the hotel in planning the activities and process of providing their services to the
customers according to their preferences. The customer preference will help them in
understanding their buying motive and helps them in providing an effective experience to
the potential customers. Be Visible Online: The most important strategy for the Radisson Blu Hotel is to be
visible online in relevant search which will enhance their brand recognition. This will
also enhance the brand position in the industry.
 Test and Learn with Google Ads: The Radisson Blu Hotel try to learn from the google
ads and design their digital marketing strategy accordingly (Tafesse and Wien, 2018).
Also, this will enhance their creativity skills and helps them in understanding the
customer’s behaviour.
Therefore, these are the digital marketing strategies opted by different hotel organisations
in targeting their potential customers.
P6 Evaluation of Omni marketing channels in achieving the objectives.
Omni marketing channels is a combination of online and offline channels of marketing.
These channels involve the physical stores, mobile applications and websites which will create a

link with the customers which will enhance their diversification in different marketplaces. These
channels help in achieving the objectives of the Radisson Blu Hotel in the following way: Increase in Turnover: These channels help Radisson Blu Hotel in enhancement of the
turnover of hotel by achieving high level of customer satisfaction. This will help in
maintaining effective customer relationships with the customers in the external
environment (Lynn, M., 2019). Better Customer Retention: These channels also enhance the customer retention rates
which will enhance the convenience level of employees. Radisson Blu Hotel uses cross
marketing channels which will improve their customer retention rates.
 Improved Collection of Customer Data: These channels will help in collecting the
customer data through online and offline channels which will enhance the efficiency of
the Radisson Blu Hotel. The hotel uses this data in providing services to the customers
according to their needs and desires.
Hence, this is how Omni channels helps in attainment of organisational goals which
enhances their efficiency and effectiveness in the external environment.
TASK 4
P7 Evaluation of performance management techniques and metrics for a digital marketing
Strategy.
Digital marketing strategy defines the success growth of the company. It is necessary to
evaluate its performance in the external environment. The strategy adopted by the company
affects their customer base in a positive and negative way. In order to evaluate the digital
marketing strategy following techniques are used:
 Key Performance Indicators: These can be defined as the quantifiable goals which are
prescribed by the hotel in order to measure their success. In the challenging external
environment it is important for the Radisson Blu Hotel to define their short term goals
which can be achieved easily. Starting With a Goal: The success of the digital marketing strategy can not be checked
with the goals (Tumbas, Berente and vom Brocke, 2017). It is necessary to set
measurable goals to compare them against the success growth of the strategy. Radisson

Blu Hotel uses this strategy to find out the deviation in their growth performance of the
strategy opted for digital media promotion for further improvement. Time Frame Commitment: It is important to follow the time frame for measuring the
success of the strategy in the external environment. There must be concrete time frame
for the goals accomplishment. Radisson Blu Hotel uses this in order to maintain
parameters of time frames which helps them in recording the success measured ( Kannan,
P.K., 2017).
 Evaluate the Success Factors: These success factors can be defined in accordance with
the customer preference and the external environment of the organisation. Radisson Blu
Hotel defines measurable success factors that will help in achieving the growth
opportunities for the company.
Hence, these are the performance metrics used by the above mentioned hotel in order to
maintain their success level and compete efficiently in the external environment.
P8 Actions to improve digital marketing strategy.
Digital marketing strategy is developed by marketing professional according to the
current scenario and trends in the operational environment of the company. It is their duty to
revise their strategies regularly to ensure proper continuous growth of the company (Bizhanova,
and. et. al., 2019). Radisson Blu Hotel uses some of the actions that help them in improving their
digital marketing strategy. The hotel must assess and update their technology on a regular basis
which will sustain their effective performance at efficient levels. Radisson Blu Hotel focuses on
finding the gaps in their workflow in order to remove them for achieving the success and growth.
In addition to this, the hotel must utilise their SEO in an efficient way which will ensure effective
content at digital platforms. The Radisson Blu Hotel uses this in order to improve their customer
engagement and enhance their market share. It is necessary for the hotel to measure the Content
Reach. As they works at a global level so at regular interval they have to measure the content
reach (Wambui, Judy and Stephen, 2019). This will ensure a broader picture of the market trends
and the customer’s preferences. Radisson Blu Hotel uses this in order to attract the potential
customers. In the external environment it is necessary for the hotel to track their Social
Platforms. This is the most important step which involves the tracking of the online channels of
the company. The customers sometimes provide feedbacks about the services of the company on
their social media platforms. Radisson Blu Hotel uses the feedbacks and ensures that the

improvements in the services are to be noticed by the customers (Khan and Islam, 2017). Hence,
these are the ways used by the hotel in order to keep a check and improve their adopted digital
marketing strategy. This will help in enhancement of customer engagement by breaking the
boundaries limit and enhancing their workspace across the globe.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above report that the digital marketing is an effective tool
for ensuring the success and growth of the company. Also, different organisations adopt different
marketing strategies to attract their potential customers and enhance their profitability. It also
explains the different Omni channels adopted by various organisations in order to reduce their
operating costs and to keep an effective record of their performance. Only developing the
strategy is not enough. The companies must also evaluate the performance of the strategies
through effective techniques. There are some of the actions taken by the companies in order to
improve their digital marketing strategy according to the demands of the current scenario.

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