Analyzing Marketing Essentials: Britannia Hotels in Hospitality Sector

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the marketing function within Britannia Hotels, a hospitality organization, and its relationship with other functional areas. It begins by outlining the roles and responsibilities of the marketing department, including analyzing customer needs, widening the market, and increasing competitive abilities. The report then details how these roles relate to other departments such as HRM, Food and Beverage, Finance, Front Office, Sales, Cooking, Operations, and Housekeeping, emphasizing the importance of coordination and communication. Furthermore, the report identifies the business and marketing objectives of Britannia Hotels, applies the 7Ps of the marketing mix to the organization, and conducts a SWOT and PESTEL analysis to develop an effective marketing plan. The analysis includes pricing strategies, product offerings, placement strategies, promotional activities, people management, process optimization, and physical evidence considerations. The ultimate goal is to provide actionable insights for Britannia Hotels to enhance its market position and achieve its business objectives. Desklib provides students with access to past papers and solved assignments for further study.

Marketing Officer in Hospitality
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Table of Contents
Activity 1.........................................................................................................................................3
Activity 2.........................................................................................................................................7
Reference List................................................................................................................................14
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Activity 1
Introduction
Marketing is one of the most essential areas of function in an organisation. It forms a bridge
between the organisations and the consumers. In this study, the roles and responsibilities of the
marketing functions will be discussed and its interrelation with other functions of the
organisation will be evaluated. Britannia hotel is the selected organisation for this study.
Explain the role and responsibilities of the marketing function
The roles performed by the marketing function in an organisation are listed below:
 Analyses customers’ needs:
Marketing department plays an important role in identifying the needs of the customers. The
staffs of this department have the responsibility of collecting information regarding the choice
and preferences of the target audience (Rowley, 2017). Then the organisation becomes able to
make necessary changes in the current services. The marketing function of Britannia Hotels
provides the customers with the desired products and understands their future needs and
demands.
 Widens the market:
The role of marketing department is to connect the organisation with the consumers to increase
interaction among them. The marketing function helps in widening the market for Britannia
Hotels. The increased interaction of marketing department with consumers helps Britannia
Hotels to reach to a large number of buyers.
 Increases Competitive abilities:
The marketing department in Britannia hotels enables it to face the existing competition in the
market and survive successfully by gathering market data. According to Kotler et al. (2015), the
marketing function provides a link between the expectations of the consumers and the offered
products of the organisation. The better understanding of consumers’ preferences through the
marketing function helps the business to capture a larger market share.
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The marketing function possesses some responsibilities towards the organisation, which are
stated in the following points:
 Research Activities:
In case of Britannia hotels, the marketing function is responsible for market research activities of
Britannia Hotels. According to Morgan et al. (2019), the research activities help to determine the
appropriate price, quantity and quality of the product, enabling the organisation to survive in the
market and beat the competition.
 Determining Activities:
The responsibilities of the marketing department in Britannia hotels also include the forecasting
of sales, planning of the product, its price, quantity, quality, development and determination of
the objectives of the business (Armstrong et al., 2018).
 Management of Demand:
The marketing function holds the responsibility of managing the demand of the consumers of
Britannia hotels. Marketing possesses the power to influence the demand of the products and
fulfil it by effective marketing strategies. Thus, the increase in the demand and the development
of the products to meet the demand is managed by the marketing function.
 Development of Services:
As commented by Baxter (2018), marketing function is responsible for developing suitable
methods of providing service to the consumers. It aims at making the services more attractive
and satisfying through collection of customers and market information. The implementation of
this information is helpful in the development of reputation of Britannia hotels by developing
their services.
 Promotional activities:
The staffs in the marketing department of Britannia hotels are responsible for increasing the
efficiency of the promotional activities of the organisation. The designing of posters, WebPages,
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pamphlets and other promotional tools are made attractive by this department to entice the
consumers and build a strong brand reputation (Haider et al., 2019).
Explain how roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to other functional areas and the
wider organisational context of a hospitality organisation
Marketing is an essential function of a business and it plays an essential role in every unit of the
organisation as it links with each of the functional units.
In case of Britannia hotels, the marketing function is linked with the HRM department by
demanding suitable candidates possessing appropriate skills to add efficiency in the sales team.
Similarly, the HRM department in Britannia hotels must consider the requirements of the
marketing function in the process of recruitment and selection.
The Food and Beverage department is directly related to the marketing department of Britannia
hotels. It is the department primarily concerned with the marketing of services and products. As
commented by Morgan et al. (2019), the effectiveness of this department directly influences the
marketing of goods and services. Marketing provides relevant information to the F&B
department regarding consumers and their preferences to ease their functioning in handling the
customers and providing them better services.
The Finance Department is responsible for ensuring the budgets of all the units in Britannia
hotels. The marketing activities require an adequate budget for research, distribution and
promotion.
The Front Office Department is also having relationship with the marketing function. The
effectiveness of this department helps in the marketing of products and services by planting an
ever-lasting effect on the consumers. The marketing function gathers customers’ information and
the data sets the Front Office department can allow or reject a specific group of consumers. This
department is also linked with the selling of premium rooms, effectively marketing the services
of Britannia hotels.
The Sales department of Britannia hotels directly execute the marketing function of the
organisation. Marketing helps in determining the potential markets, potential buyers for the
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product in different markets (Soboleva and Parshutina, 2015). This helps the Sales department to
delegate appropriate sales team in different markets.
The cooking department in Britannia hotels prepare the foods based on the gathered data
regarding the customers’ choices. The marketing department conducts research about the
trending dishes and choice of a majority of consumers. This information helps the cooking
department in preparing foods that would derive maximum attention of the customers. The
diversity and attractiveness of the food prepared by this department links it to the marketing of
the dishes.
Since the Operations department watches over all the operations, it is directly responsible for the
marketing operations in an organisation. Therefore, all the activities of marketing in Britannia
hotels are directly linked with the Department of Operations in an organisation.
The Housekeeping department in Britannia hotels is responsible for cleaning the rooms and
maintaining them at a high level of hygiene and cleanliness. The efficiency of work of the staff at
this department helps in gaining the trust of the consumers and help to retain customer’s interests
in the hotel.
Conclusion
The affectivity of marketing influences the consumers towards buying certain products of the
organisation. The above activity reflected towards the roles and responsibilities of the marketing
function and its interrelation with other functional units.
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Activity 2
Introduction
Hospitality is one of the flourishing industries in the market. The development of hospitality
industry with growing demands has added to the competition in this industry. Thus, hospitality
related organisations must be prepared with an efficient marketing plan to capture the market. In
this activity, a comparison between the marketing mix elements of Britannia hotels and its
competitor will be made and an effective marketing plan for Britannia hotel will be prepared.
Identify some of the Business Objectives and Marketing Objectives of the organisation
The major business objectives of Britannia hotels can be witnessed in the following points:
 To maintain and increase the profitability of the business
 To enhance the efficiency and productivity of the business resources
 To provide excellent customer services
 To retain the employees and promote their interactions
 To build core values within the business environment
 To facilitate training and developmental activities for the employees
 To bring sustainable growth of the organisation into effect
The marketing objectives of Britannia hotels can be listed in the following points:
 To understand the needs and preferences of the consumers
 To meet the wants and expectations of the consumers
 To establish an effective link between the needs of consumers and the products of the
organisation
 To determine the appropriate price and quality of the products in the derivation of
maximum profits
 To build a strong and large buyers network for the enhancement of sales
Apply the elements of the Marketing Mix (7Ps) to your organisation at a tactical level
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Elements Application
Price The price of Britannia hotels is based on competitive pricing strategy,
ranging from £29 to over £100. This strategy helps the organisations to
survive in the competition without incurring losses (Kim et al., 2018).
Product Britannia hotel offers spacious, air-conditioned and well-furnished
rooms with complimentary coffee making arrangements, multiple light
systems and safety lockers. The food available in the hotel is diverse
with usually complimentary breakfasts. There are buffet arrangements
as well as separate meals on various plans.
Place Britannia hotels are established in 61 different locations all over UK
(britanniahotels.com 2019). The London Britannia hotel is located near
dockland airport, making it an ideal location to attract the large number
of visitors. Similarly, Britannia hotels must focus on setting up branches
near potential markets such as airports, heritages, museums, and centre
of the city and at the hub of nightlife in UK.
Promotion Newspapers and social media such as Facebook, YouTube and
Instagram, effectively undertake the promotional activities of Britannia
hotels. There also exists an official website for Britannia hotels for
booking and information gathering purposes. Further, the paid
advertisement sites also take part in its promotion and provide booking
facilities as well.
People The estimated number of employees involved in the activities of
Britannia hotels is 12,000 (britanniahotels.com, 2019). Britannia hotels
must focus on the retention of employees and provide them with
required training and developmental activities enhance their
productivity.
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Process The process of deliverance of services in the restaurants of Britannia
hotels include the production of foods in the kitchen to their attractive
set up in appropriate trays and their service to the customers at their
table. The room service in the Britannia hotels are done to the
customers’ room directly from the kitchen. Further, the amenities and
utilities are provided to the customers in their rooms directly from the
housekeeping department.
Physical Evidence The physical evidence of Britannia hotels include its official website
where the bookings for the rooms take place and its remarkable logo
with a man sitting on a wheel holding a trident. Britannia hotels must
lay emphasis on the creation of an efficient website with no technical
errors and a logo that sticks in the mind of the viewers.
Table 1: Marketing mix of Britannia hotels
(Source: Created by Learner)
Explain how your Marketing Plan will meet your Marketing Objectives
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
 The location of the hotel is in the
midlands, nearer to the dockland
airport, bringing in more customers
who are willing to stay near the airport.
 The ideal structure of Britannia hotels
include spacious, well furnished rooms,
large halls for events and conference
halls. It offers a variety of rooms for all
classes of consumers.
Weaknesses
 Renowned newspapers such as
Telegraph and Mirrors named Britannia
as the worst hotel chain in UK IN 2017,
ranking 32nd in 2018 (telegraph.co.uk,
2019). This seriously hampered the
brand reputation of Britannia.
 The adverse review of Britannia hotels
on website severely affects the
organisation’s attractiveness, negatively
affecting its sales and demand
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(indeed.co.uk, 2019).
Opportunities
 London is the central hub for tourists,
students, immigrants for jobs, travellers
and nearby residents, providing
opportunities to Britannia hotels to host
a large number of customers.
 The growth of advanced technology in
UK offers detailed market intelligence
and appropriate strategies.
Threats
 The competition in the hotel industry is
extremely competent.
 There are many older and well-
established hotels present in the market
with a larger network of customers.
 The employees tend to join this
industry to gain experience and
thereafter quit the company to join a
better organisation.
Table 2: SWOT Analysis of Britannia hotels
(Source: Created by Learner)
PESTEL Analysis
Factors Application
Political The effect of Brexit led to the decrease in the value of pound. This offered
an opportunity to the visitors to march in with large numbers increasing the
business activities of Britannia hotels in UK and raising their profits. In the
year 2018, the profits of hotels in UK rose by 13% from £609 million to
£689 million (travelweekly.co.uk, 2019).
Economical The inflation rate in UK fell from 2.7% in 2018 to 2.1% in 2019
(tradingeconomics.com, 2019). The falling inflation rate increases the
disposable income in the hands of the consumers increasing their demand
for goods and services. Therefore, the effect of such fall in the rate of
inflation leads to the rising demand for Britannia hotels in UK.
Social The population of UK rises almost all through the year with a large number
of visitors entering into the country. There were 41.7 million visitors in UK
in 2018 (theguardian.com, 2019). This increases the demand of hotels in
UK due to rising outsiders, requiring a place to stay, positively influencing
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the growth of Britannia hotels.
Technological UK is the fourth most technologically advanced country in the world
(independent.co.uk, 2019). The availability of high-tech advanced
technologies in the country would help Britannia hotels to ensure security
at the hotels and provide highly equipped facilities to the consumers. It will
also help the company in the establishment of rooms and the production of
food.
Environmental The pollution index in UK is lower than many countries in the world.
These low levels of pollution release the pressure of stringent pollution
check measures existing in the country. Thus, it provides flexibility to the
activities of Britannia hotels in context with the adoption of pollution
check measures. Moreover, the unpredicted rainfall and weather conditions
in UK might drive people into checking in a hotel, positively affecting
Britannia hotels.
Legal According to the Hotel’s Proprietary Act 1956, hotels cannot willingly
refuse a walk-in customer from checking into the room except in cases of
inability to pay or under unacceptable condition (visitbritain.org, 2019).
Thus, even if a guest is blacklisted due to inappropriate behaviour
previously, Britannia hotel is bound to take the guest in unless the
individual is lawfully charged.
Table 3: PESTEL Analysis of Britannia hotels
(Source: Created by Learner)
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STP analysis
Segmentation
The segmentation of market of Britannia hotels must include demographic segmentation with the
division consumers of all classes based on their incomes. The market segmentation must also
reflect on the availability of rooms from low prices to high, offering economical rooms to suites.
Targeting
The targeted customers of Britannia hotels must be ranged from low-income earning groups to
rich consumers. The targeted market of the hotel must be diverse.
Positioning
The position of Britannia hotels is low than its competitors, offering low quality for moderate
costs.
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