HAT202 - Business Portfolio: Analysis of Hilton Hotels Marketing

This report presents a comprehensive business portfolio analysis of Hilton Hotels, a globally recognized leader in the hospitality industry. The report begins with an executive summary and an introduction to the booming hospitality and tourism sector, highlighting Hilton's establishment and global presence. It delves into Hilton's current business operations, evaluating them through the lens of the 4 P's of the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion) and market segmentation (geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral). The analysis includes a recommended integrated marketing campaign, suggesting social media advertising and customizable membership facilities to enhance customer engagement. Furthermore, the report proposes an innovative idea to expand Hilton's customer base by offering services tailored to mid-income groups, such as affordable dining options and health/beauty services. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of marketing in determining business operations, highlighting Hilton's competitive advantage and suggesting improvements to increase the scope of its business and engage a wider customer base. The report is well-structured, including a table of contents, references, and visual aids to support the analysis.

Running head: BUSINESS PORTFOLIO OF HILTON HOTELS
BUSINESS PORTFOLIO OF HILTON HOTELS
Name of the student
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1BUSINESS PORTFOLIO OF HILTON HOTELS
Executive Summary
The significant objective of the report is to provide an analysis of the marketing strategies
adopted by Hilton Hotels and thereby present a business portfolio. The report discusses the
marketing mix and market segmentation of the company to analyze its current business
operations. Additionally, recommendations have been provided pertaining to the future
marketing strategies and innovations in business processes and services provided. In
conclusion, it is mentioned how the positive brand image of Hilton Hotels can be enhanced
further by increasing its customer base.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Current Business Operations..................................................................................................3
4 P’s of Marketing Mix......................................................................................................4
Market Segmentation.........................................................................................................5
Recommended Future Campaign...........................................................................................6
 Advertisement through social media...........................................................................6
 Customizable membership facilities............................................................................6
Recommended Innovative Idea..............................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Hospitality and tourism sector is exponentially booming and becoming an integral
part of the gross domestic product globally. With increasing per capita income of the people
and preference for higher standards of living, the tourism and hospitality industry is attracting
larger proportions of people into it (Singal 2015). Hilton Hotels and Resorts is one of the
globally recognized organizations in the hospitality and tourism industry. This multinational
hospitality company is based in America and was established in the year 1919 (Hilton.com
2019). Presently the company operates in more than 85 countries across six countries. Being
one of the major brands in the hospitality industry, the organization provides its services in
various vacation destinations, convention centers and near major tourist attractions
throughout the world. The report will further provide a business portfolio of Hilton Hotels
and Resorts along with an innovative integrated marketing campaign that can be adopted by
them to maximize their productivity and profitability.
Discussion
Current Business Operations
The current business operations of Hilton Hotels are strategized according to the
primary objectives, namely establishing operational effectiveness and ensuring optimum
customer satisfaction (Wang and Chung 2015). Additionally the business activities of the
organization are aligned with its mission, which is to excel in hospitality across the globe and
create advantageous opportunities for the employees so that the organization can create a
positive impact on the global community. An evaluation of the current business operations of
Hilton Hotels can be made using various models which are discussed in the following
sections.

4BUSINESS PORTFOLIO OF HILTON HOTELS
4 P’s of Marketing Mix
The 4 P’s of Marketing Mix is a model which helps in identifying the products and services
that are made available to the customers of a business organization at specific prices and in
specific locations with the help of proper methods of promotion (Resnick, Cheng, Simpson
and Lourenço 2016). The marketing mix of Hilton Hotels can be presented as follows:
 Product – The product offered by Hilton Hotels to its customers can be identified as
high quality hospitality and luxury services. Such services include the provision of
deluxe rooms, bars and restaurants (Ionel 2016). Additionally, the quality of food
products available in the restaurants can be recognized as exotic delights to the
customers. The Hotel chain also provides the customers with facilities like
membership, discounts, room options and Wi-Fi services.
 Price – The high-quality services provided by Hilton Hotels requires it to adopt the
strategy of premium pricing. Therefore, it can be said that the products and services of
the company is made available to the high income group of customers.
 Place – The services of Hilton Hotels is provided across 84 countries in the world
with more than 570 properties. The company has a global presence and a positive
brand identity among the customers. The services provided by the Hotels is therefore
easily accessible to customers in the major cities and tourist destinations of the world
(Ivanova and Ivanov 2015).
 Promotion – Hilton hotels strategizes unique methods for the promotion of its brand
so that it may be able to acquire optimum customer satisfaction. The Company also
takes feedback from the customers for the purpose of improving to quality and
diversity of their services (Chang, Ku and Chen 2017).

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Market Segmentation
The concept of market segmentation involves the division of the targeted customer
base of a business organization into specific categories on the basis of shared characteristics
(Venter, Wright and Dibb 2015). Such characteristics may be classified as geographic,
demographic, psychographic and behavioral.
 Geographic segmentation – Hilton Hotels provides its services to the customers
residing in or visiting popular tourist destinations and major cities.
 Demographic segmentation – The demographic segmentation of Hilton hotels can
be classified as individuals belonging to the high-income groups with a high standard
of lifestyle and social class.
 Psychographic segmentation – The psychographic segmentation of Hilton Hotels
can be described as ambitious individuals who like to reflect their social status and
achievements by indulging in the luxury services provided by the Company.
 Behavioral segmentation – In terms of behavior of the customers, Hilton hotels
targets the individuals who are appealed by the brand identity of the Company and
prefer the luxury services provided by them (Kucukusta, Heung and Hui 2014). This
further induces customer loyalty for the Hotels.
Geographic Segmentation Demographic Segmentation
Popular tourist destinations and
major cities.
High income groups with high
social status and lifestyle
Psychographic Segmentation Behavioral Segmentation
Affluent and ambitious individuals
who prefer to depict their high
social status.
Individuals with preference for
luxurious services and lifestyle.

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Figure 1: Market Segmentation of Hilton Hotels.
(Source: Author)
Recommended Future Campaign
Integrated marketing campaign involves various tools like advertising, social media,
sales promotion and direct marketing in order to make the customers aware about the goods
and services provided by a business organization (Luxton, Reid and Mavondo 2015). The
recommended integrated marketing campaign for Hilton hotels can be strategized as
described below:
 Advertisement through social media – The future marketing campaign of Hilton
hotels can be designed in a way so as to incorporate means of advertising the facilities
provided by them with the help of social media. This is an effective method, as with
the age of rapid developments in technology, people are getting engaged in the use of
social media to keep themselves updated about the recent development in industries.
Furthermore, the tourism industry is highly aligned with the use of social media.
Therefore, advertisements on social media about the luxury services provided in
various tourist destinations across the world can make the customers more interested
in trying them.
 Customizable membership facilities – Hilton Hotels can further market their brand
and its services through the provision of special customizable membership options
that may include discounts on specific services as per the preferences of the
customers. This method will help the Company to engage the customers in their
business processes, thereby obtaining their trust and maximizing their satisfaction and
loyalty.

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Recommended Innovative Idea
Hilton hotels can choose to expand the scope of its business by strategizing means to
increase its customer base. Hilton Hotels being a globally renowned brand in the tourism and
hospitality industry has an extensive customer base, which is mostly limited to the people
belonging to high income groups. However, the company may start a new line of services
that are comparatively affordable to the mid income groups, such as adjoining eateries and
cafeterias. This will further create a positive brand image for the Company as a larger number
of individuals will be attracted to use its services apart from the already existing loyal
customer base. The Company may also incorporate additional luxury services to its existing
customer base such as health and beauty services during their stay at the hotels. Such services
may include exotic spa, body massages from trained individuals, therapeutic relaxation
sessions and the like.
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it can be deduced that marketing plays an important role in
determining the business activities and operations of an organization. Moreover, the
marketing strategies help in ensuring that the products and services offered by the
organization reach out to its target customers in an efficient manner. Hilton Hotels being one
the most renowned brands in the hospitality and tourism industry, has a positive brand
identity in the market and a loyal customer base which helps it to maintain a competitive
advantage in the market. However, certain improvements in their marketing strategies can aid
it to increase the scope of its business exponentially. Furthermore, the addition of innovative
facilities can enable the Company to create an improved awareness of the customers
regarding its products and services, thereby engaging a wider customer base in its business.

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References
Chang, Y.C., Ku, C.H. and Chen, C.H., 2017. Social media analytics: Extracting and
visualizing Hilton hotel ratings and reviews from TripAdvisor. International Journal of
Information Management.
Hilton.com (2019). Hilton Brands | Global Hospitality Company. [online] Hilton.com.
Available at: https://www.hilton.com/en/corporate/ [Accessed 30 Sep. 2019].
Ionel, M., 2016. Hospitality industry. Ovidius University Annals: Economic Sciences Series,
1(1), pp.187-191.
Ivanova, M. and Ivanov, S., 2015. Affiliation to hotel chains: Hotels' perspective. Tourism
Management Perspectives, 16, pp.148-162.
Kucukusta, D., Heung, V.C. and Hui, S., 2014. Deploying self-service technology in luxury
hotel brands: Perceptions of business travelers. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing,
31(1), pp.55-70.
Luxton, S., Reid, M. and Mavondo, F., 2015. Integrated marketing communication capability
and brand performance. Journal of Advertising, 44(1), pp.37-46.
Resnick, S.M., Cheng, R., Simpson, M. and Lourenço, F., 2016. Marketing in SMEs: a “4Ps”
self-branding model. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 22(1),
pp.155-174.
Singal, M., 2015. How is the hospitality and tourism industry different? An empirical test of
some structural characteristics. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 47, pp.116-
119.

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Venter, P., Wright, A. and Dibb, S., 2015. Performing market segmentation: a performative
perspective. Journal of Marketing Management, 31(1-2), pp.62-83.
Wang, Y.C. and Chung, Y., 2015. Hotel brand portfolio strategy. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(4), pp.561-584.