Evaluation of Marketing Channels in Hospitality Organizations

This report evaluates different types of marketing channels used by hospitality organizations and how they serve organizational objectives. It also discusses the critical evaluation of an Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) plan.

Integrated
Hospitality
Marketing
Communication
s

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1..........................................................................................................................................................3
P1: Evaluation of marketing channels......................................................................................................3
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................................5
P5: Critical evaluation of IMC plan...........................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality refers to the creation of a relationship between a guest and a host in which the
guest avails certain services from the host by paying a fee for it (Baker and Magnini, 2016). This
report is based on the case study of Island Beach Resort. It will focus on Low Wood Bay Resort
& Spa which is a resort in Windermere, United Kingdom. In this report, evaluation of different
types of marketing channels and the way they serve organizational objectives will be discussed.
Additionally, demonstration of the ability to critically evaluate a hospitality case study will be
analyzed in this assignment.
TASK 1
P1: Evaluation of marketing channels
Marketing channels are channels which are used by any company to reach its customers
in the market (Marketing Channels, 2018). The marketing channels which are used by hospitality
organizations are as follows-
 Social media marketing- Social media marketing is very effective nowadays (Batra and
Keller, 2016). It is required so as to create the brand awareness among the customers of
the hotel. Therefore this helps the hospitality organizations as they can make sure that
they use it very effectively so as to increase their business. Island Beach Resort in the
case study makes use of it so as to target the required customers. Therefore for the
managers of Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa it is an attractive option which provides the
right returns.
Achievement of objectives- With the use of social media marketing the hospitality
organizations like Low Wood Resort & Spa can make sure that they are able to achieve
their required objectives without facing any kind of problems and issues. It can help them
in achieving the objective of brand awareness.
 Live events- Hosting of Live Events at the hotel can lead towards attraction of more
customers and clients towards the hotel. Thus the hospitality organizations can use them
in the right manner so that they are able to attain the required objectives. As Island Beach
Resort is a small resort it cannot host such big Live Events. However, a big resort like
Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa can host such events for boosting the business.
Achievement of objectives- By using Live Events in the right way, the resort owners can
make sure that they are able to achieve the goals as well as objectives of the organization.
In this way, they can achieve the communication objective of Low Wood Resort & Spa
by enhancing their brand image easily without any problems and issues.

 Sponsoring of events- Sponsoring of events can be done frequently so that the resort is
able to attract the attention of the customers as well as clients. Island Beach Resort in the
case study used this as a marketing channel by sponsoring some local events. Therefore
Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa can also use this channel to sponsor the events and make
sure that they are able to attract the attention of premium customers as well as clients.
Achievement of objectives- This is a very effective marketing channel which can help
the hospitality organizations like Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa to achieve their
communication objectives. This can help in achievement of objective of reaching the
customers.
 Guest reviews- The reviews given by the guests who have visited the hotel are quite
crucial in order to ensure that the hospitality organization is able to get more customers
(Dewnarain, Ramkissoon and Mavondo, 2019). Thus this is a marketing channel which
was used by Island Beach Resort effectively and efficiently for generating positive
reviews about the hotel. Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa can make use of guest reviews so
that it is able to achieve its communication objectives without any problems and issues.
Achievement of objectives- Guest Reviews are a very good and effective marketing
channel. They can help the hospitality organizations like Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa
so that they are able to achieve the communication objective of attracting the customers.
If there are positive reviews about the resort then naturally more and more people would
like to visit it for different reasons and this will ensure the success of its marketing plans
in the future time period.
 Offer memberships- Offer memberships can be provided by the hotels to their various
customers and clients who regularly visit the hotel and stay there (Ieong and Lam, 2016).
This can help the hospitality organizations to identify their loyal customers who are with
them for so many years. Thus using their references and contacts the hospitality
organizations can generate higher revenues by attracting more customers towards the
hotel. Island Beach Resort in the case study also makes use of this channel for its
marketing and therefore Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa can also utilize it in the right
manner so that it is able to achieve its communication objectives.
Achievement of objectives- By using this marketing channel in the right manner
hospitality organizations like Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa can ensure that they are able
to achieve the required objectives. Thus by using it they can achieve the communication
objective of building a network with the customers.
Therefore, it can be said that all of the above marketing channels can be used by the
hospitality organizations because they deal in the service industry by serving their
customer and clients who visit them by paying a specific fee as well as the charges. Thus,
the hospitality organizations can ensure that they are able to achieve the required

objectives through the use of these channels. By using them effectively and efficiently
and by framing a right strategy they can make sure that they can earn more revenues. By
earning more revenues the level of profits can be maximized without any issues and
problems. Thus Low Wood Resort & Spa can focus on these channels for achievement of
their desired objectives. In this way, they can ensure that they are ahead of their
competitors in the market and can also obtain a much-required strategic edge over them
and attaining sustainable success in the long-term.
TASK 4
P5: Critical evaluation of IMC plan
IMC plan is used by the organizations for applying different sort of techniques so as to
make sure that the required goals and objectives are achieved in the future time period. This will
ensure that the maximum impact is created through the marketing efforts.
The components of this plan are as follows-
 Situational analysis- The companies are required to analyze the situation carefully under
it (Porcu, Del Barrio-Garcia and Kitchen, 2017). Depending upon the situation which is
prevailing in the market an action is required to be taken. Therefore, Low Wood Resort &
Spa is required to create an action plan according to the situations in the market and then
set their marketing strategies according to it. This is also performed by the Island Beach
Resort in the case study by taking into account various factors like communication
strategy, channel choice, creative content etc. Thus it is necessary that the hospitality
organization take the decision after considering the situations. If the circumstances
require them not to take an aggressive marketing approach then it should not be taken.
However, if they require them to take the aggressive marketing approach then it should
be taken.
 Marketing Communications Objectives- Marketing Communications Objectives are
required to be analyzed by the companies in this section of plan (Seric, Saura and
Mikulic, 2016). This can be done by identifying how the customers can be communicated
through effectively and efficiently. Low Wood Resort & Spa can use this section to
prepare an effective strategy of achieving these objectives. These objectives are also set
by the Island Beach Resort in the case study by taking into account various types of
factors like communication strategy, channel choice, creative content etc. When these
objectives are set properly this result in framing of proper plans on the part of the
companies and thus the necessary actions can be taken for their achievement in the future
time period so that a strategic edge is obtained over the competitors operating in the
market.
 Marketing Communication Strategies- Marketing Communication Strategies are
required to be effectively used by the hospitality organizations in this section of the plan

(Thaichon and Quach, 2016). This can be done by making sure that appropriate
communication is made with the customers as well as the clients. Low Wood Resort &
Spa can make use of this section in order to ensure that it is able to communicate the
strategies without any problems and issues. These strategies are also used by the Island
Beach Resort as reflected in the case study as they consider the factors like
communication strategy, channel choice, creative content etc. They are important for the
organizations because by using them they can communicate about their products and
services easily to the customers as well as clients. Thus they are required to be carried out
in the right manner by the companies so that they are able to achieve the goals and
objectives.
 Marketing Communications Mix- Marketing Communications Mix can be used
effectively and efficiently so as to make sure that the hospitality organizations are able to
frame the right mix for ensuring proper marketing communication with the potential
customers (Turner, 2017). Low Wood Resort & Spa can make use of this mix to properly
communicate with its customers as well as clients. This is also adopted by Island Beach
Resort as seen in the case study by considering factors like communication strategy,
channel choice and creative content. They are necessary because they help in having
proper communication with the intended customers and the clients. In this way, they lead
to the achievement of required goals and objectives by following the proper marketing
mix and using the right strategies for communication with the customers and clients.
 Scheduling and budgeting- Scheduling and budgeting is an important component of
IMC plan (Yılmaz and Coşkun, 2016). This is so because a proper budget is required to
be framed for the execution of the marketing plans of the organization. Hospitality
organizations like Low Wood Resort & Spa are required to focus on this aspect because
they need to allocate a proper budget for their marketing plans. This is also used by
Island Beach Resort in the case study as they also frame a proper budget to ensure the
success of their marketing plans by considering factors like communication strategy,
channel choice and creative content. This is essential because the expenditure which is
likely to be incurred in the marketing activities has to be regulated by the framing of a
proper budget for it so that the actual expenditure does not exceeds the budgeted
expenditure and no deviations and variations are there which have to be resolved.
 Implementation, Monitoring and Control- Implementation, Monitoring and Control is
also an important aspect of the IMC plan. This is so because it is necessary to implement,
monitor and control the aspects related to it. This will help in deriving the results as
expected. This is also used by Island Beach Resort in the case study as they use it to
monitor the progress. They take into account factors like communication strategy,
channel choice and creative content. This is necessary because these activities are
required to be carried out so that the problems which are being found with this process
are quickly eradicated without any issues. When these problems are quickly eradicated
this will lead towards the achievement of the desired outcomes for the hospitality

organizations in the form of increased revenues. Therefore strategic edge can be obtained
by maximization of level of profits in the future.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that hospitality organizations are required to
properly frame its marketing plans. The marketing channels have to properly evaluate by them.
Also, they are required to properly frame an IMC plan which covers details about their marketing
plans and the process which is required to be adopted for their implementation. Thus, this can
help the companies a lot to make sure that they are able to achieve their short-term and long-term
marketing goals and objectives.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Baker, M. A. and Magnini, V. P., 2016. The evolution of services marketing, hospitality
marketing and building the constituency model for hospitality marketing. International Journal
of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Batra, R. and Keller, K. L., 2016. Integrating marketing communications: New findings, new
lessons, and new ideas. Journal of Marketing. 80(6). pp.122-145.
Dewnarain, S., Ramkissoon, H. and Mavondo, F., 2019. Social customer relationship
management: An integrated conceptual framework. Journal of Hospitality Marketing &
Management. 28(2). pp.172-188.
Ieong, C. Y. and Lam, D., 2016. Role of internal marketing on employees’ perceived job
performance in an asian integrated resort. Journal of Hospitality Marketing &
Management. 25(5). pp.589-612.
Porcu, L., Del Barrio-Garcia, S. and Kitchen, P. J., 2017. Measuring integrated marketing
communication by taking a broad organisational approach. European Journal of Marketing.
Seric, M., Saura, I. G. and Mikulic, J., 2016. EXPLORING INTEGRATED MARKETING
COMMUNICATIONS, BRAND AWARENESS, AND BRAND IMAGE IN HOSPITALITY
MARKETING: A CROSS-CULTURAL APPROACH/ISTRAZIVANJE INTEGRIRANE
MARKETINSKE KOMUNIKACIJE, SVJESNOSTI O MARKI I IMIDZA MARKE U
MARKETINGU U UGOSTITELJSTVU: KROS-KULTURALNI PRISTUP. Trziste=
Market, 28(2), p.159.
Thaichon, P. and Quach, T. N., 2016. Integrated marketing communications and their effects on
customer switching intention. Journal of relationship marketing. 15(1-2). pp.1-16.
Turner, P., 2017. Implementing integrated marketing communications (IMC) through major
event ambassadors. European Journal of Marketing.
Yılmaz, H. and Coşkun, İ.O., 2016. New toy of marketing communication in tourism:
Gamification. In e-Consumers in the Era of New Tourism (pp. 53-71). Springer, Singapore.
Online
Marketing Channels. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-channels/>