Hospitality Digital Marketing: Trends, Tools, and Strategies (Unit 24)

This report, focusing on Marriott Hotel, provides a comprehensive overview of digital marketing in the hospitality industry. It begins with an introduction to the digital marketing landscape, comparing online and offline marketing concepts, and identifying key consumer trends that drive digital marketing growth. The report then compares digital tools used by hospitality organizations, including Hilton and Four Seasons, and explores the development of e-commerce and digital marketing platforms. A digital marketing plan and strategy for building multichannel capabilities are presented, along with an explanation of how omnichannel strategies meet business objectives. The report concludes with a discussion of measurement techniques, performance metrics, and actions to improve digital marketing performance, offering valuable insights for the hospitality sector.

Unit 24 –
HOSPITALITY
DIGITAL MARKETING

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK1.............................................................................................................................................1
P1) Overview of the digital marketing landscape and compare online and offline marketing
concepts..................................................................................................................................1
P2) Key hospitality consumer trends and insights that are fuelling the growth of digital
marketing................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P3) Comparison of key digital tools used by various hospitality organisations.....................4
P4) Development of e-commerce and digital marketing platforms.......................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
P5) Development of digital marketing plan and strategy to build multichannel capabilities 8
P6) Explanation of the way in which omni channel is used to meet business objectives....10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
P7) Measurement techniques and performance metrics for a digital marketing plan and
strategy.................................................................................................................................10
P8) Present a set of actions to improve performance in digital marketing for a chosen
hospitality organisation........................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Digital marketing is basically associated with the use of the Internet, online devices, mobile
devices, social media along with various search engines and other digital channels that ensures
easy and wider reach and assess to consumers (Kotler and et. al., 2017). Thus, in today’s modern
world it become essential and crucial for all organisation in especially in hospitality sector to
make wider and more effective use of digital marketing to enhance their connection with
customers and to improve their productivity and brand image (Social Media Strategy for Hotels:
Why These Brands Rise Above the Rest, 2020). The current assignment is based on Marriott
Hotel that is well known American multinational diversified hospitality company that is
currently manages and have a franchises of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging
facilities across various locations of world and having its headquarter at Maryland, U.S. This
assignment consists of a description about the digital marketing landscape and comparison
between online and offline marketing concept along with opportunities and challenges prevailing
in digital environment. Further, this report consists comparison of various digital tools by
hospitality industry along with development of e-commerce. Beside this, a digital marketing plan
is also there along with techniques to have effective controlling and monitoring of this marketing
plan.
TASK1
P1) Overview of the digital marketing landscape and compare online and offline marketing
concepts.
Marriott hotel is also among those organisation that is having focus on developing better
digital marketing strategy in order to build an enhanced worldwide community of people and
customers who are passionate about travel and are the one who plays crucial role in driving
commerce to its hotel facilities (Kriechbaumer, 2019). Thus, Marriott hotel keeps a close eye on
all recent digital marketing Landscape to enhance its viability and growth. The digital marketing
landscape are basically associated with the constantly evolving and dynamic state of digital
media that consist of new and better ways of advertising including social media marketing, pay-
per-click advertising, influencer marketing that provide a more effective way of interaction and
connection with customers by Marriott hotel. Beside this, the current digital business
environment and digital marketing landscape of Marriott hotel consists of better use of search
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engine marketing and optimization together with content marketing, web development, email
marketing, video production and many more effective tools to have a enhanced reach to
customers at global level to attract them (Analyzing the Digital Media Industry in UK 2017-2020
- Research and Markets, 2017.). It has been evaluated that in current digital marketing landscape
all Hotels are more inclined and emphasised on use of better digital platforms that provide better
connectivity and reach to customers. Use of social media marketing and content marketing is at
peak in current digital marketing landscape by the hospitality industry including Marriott hotel.
To develop a better understanding about the role lead by digital marketing in better
growth and enhancing success of Marriott hotel or any other organisation and to evaluate the
impact of digital environment in business of Marriot hotel a comparison between online and
offline marketing concept is provided below :
Basis Offline marketing Online marketing
Performance is
measurable
In case of offline marketing use
of print media and other offline
tools like advertisement in
newspapers and radios is made
thus it is not easy to measure
progress or have idea about who
heard advertisements or read it in
newspaper thus, it is difficult to
measure the progress and
performance of offline marketing
activity (Hudson and Hudson,
2017).
Measuring performance of online
marketing is easier than offline as
a check can be led on number of
customers visit the online sites
and how many time a page is
clicked and visited by customers,
thus provided better implication
about performance of online
marketing.
Brand Development Traditional and offline form are
not much effective in developing
brand image as they have limited
reach and access.
Online marketing provided a
wider reach and assess to
customers thus, plays vital and
more effective role in brand
development.
Cost The cost of offline marketing is
quite high as compared to online
Use of online marketing is much
cost effective as no extra
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as involved use of many offline
tools and resources.
recourses or cost is incurred on
digital marketing (Herrero, San
Martín and Collado, 2018).
Thus, with respect to above comparison it can be evaluated that the current digital
environment offers a larger opportunity for Marriott hotel to expand its reach and attract larger
number of customers in a more cost effective way.
P2) Key hospitality consumer trends and insights that are fuelling the growth of digital
marketing.
The key and most recent consumer trends and insights that are seen in business environment
of Marriott hotels consists of better use of Social media marketing, Search engine optimisation,
Google map virtual tour and many new digital platforms that is filed and lead growth of digital
marketing (Viglia, Pelloia and Buhalis, 2018). This, digital business environment has lead to a
significant impact on Marriott hotel as it lead to a pressure to focus and emprises on better digital
content marketing strategy that consist use of Snapchat which is one of the biggest platforms to
target young audiences and traveller along with use of youtube channels and other social media
platforms to enhance its brand awareness and viability at global level. The main opportunity and
threats that are lead by and found in current business environment of Marriott hotel are as
follows (The Biggest Digital Challenges and Opportunities Facing Businesses Today, 2018):
Opportunities found in the digital environment of Marriott hotel
Enhanced Integration with customers- The biggest opportunity that is seen in the digital
environment for Marriott hotel is that it could make use of digital technology like social media
and other platforms to develop a better integration and connection with customers to attract
larger number of visitors (Saura, Reyes-Menendez and Palos-Sanchez, 2020).
The Internet of Things (IoT) – Digital environment facilities a better way for Marriott
hotel to provide higher customer satisfaction and meet there expectations in a more effective way
through use of IoT. Use of IoT is helpful in setting better coordination among various activities
and operations that yield a more effective way to satisfy needs of customers on time and also
develop better communication with them that creates enhanced opportunity for Marriott hotel.
Cost effective way of marketing at global level- Digital technology helps in leading
Digital workforces and new effective ways of working that facilitates a more cost effective way
of marketing that is creating many opportunity for Marriott hotel to have assess and effective
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reach at global level to enhance its productivity and profit margin (Dinis, Breda and Barreiro,
2020).
Challenge prevailing in digital environment of Marriott Hotel
Meeting expectations of customers in the digital age- The rapid advancement in
technology and dynamic needs and expectations of customers in this digital age created a
challenge for Marriott hotel to adopt and select a suitable and most appropriate digital channel
and platform that should meet the expectations and desires of customers that is quite challenging
for all organisation.
Managing the omni-channel reality- The another issues that is faced by Marriott Hotel
in digital age is relayed with managing effective omni channel that consist of setting
coordination among cross-channel content strategy to improve experience of the customers and
establish good relations with them (Fyall and et. al., 2019).
Enhanced Security threat- In this digital world customers want better online services but
are also more concerned with safety and security of there personal data. Thus, it creates a
challenge for Marriott hotel to become more aware and adopt effective security and safety
measures to protect and properly manage the personal information of customers.
Challenge of negative publicity- The another challenge encountered by Marriott hotel in
current digital environment is associated with negative publicity and defame of brand by some
unethical sites or parties that is quite risky and challenging for an orgnisation that directly
hampers and effects it performance. Digital environment provide a fast and more quick way to
spread rumours and unauthentic information thus, challenge of negative publicity has increased
for Marriott hotel in current digital environment.
TASK 2
P3) Comparison of key digital tools used by various hospitality organisations
To improve their market presence and attract larger number of customers use of various
digital tools are made by hospitality organisation. A comparison among three top hotels is
provided below to have a comparison of key digital tools used by various hospitality
organisations (Inanc–Demir and Kozak, 2019). This comparison also facilitates better
information about the enhance global and market presence of Marriott lead by use of these key
digital tool.
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Basis Hilton hotel Marriott Hotel The Four Season
hotel
Instagram To provide a single
and attractive global
platform to its
customer, Hilton Hotel
mange an Instagram
account that is
basically a newsroom
centre that provide all
relevant information
about latest offers and
services to customers
through use of
attractive images.
Marriott is having
good presence at
Instagram and have
around 8000 likes and
40 comments through
answering queries and
addressing feedback of
customers around the
world thus, provided
an effective platform
for Marriott to attract
and cater larger
number of customers
through displaying
their services and
facilitates with the
help of images.
Four season hotel
makes use of live
photos and videos to
attract larger number
of customers at global
level through
facilitating information
about experiences of
customers with use of
its Instgarm account
(Filimonau and
Naumova, 2019).
Snapchat The social media
strategy of Hilton is
centred around
connecting with
consumers and
providing them access
to exclusive content
and events thus, it also
started making use of
Snapchat videos and
ads to attract larger
Marriott ran a three
month-long campaign
with influencers
including Shaun
McBride and Brittany
Furlan (Marriott uses
Snapchat influencer
campaign to target
millennials, 2017).
Marriott focusing on
millennial consumers,
This hotel is more
often make use of
other social media
platforms and is still
not so active on
Snapcaht but has made
its debut to start
making videos on this
platform too.
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customers (Hilton is
trawling for
millennials on
Snapchat, 2020).
Thus, Hilton is
trawling for
millennials on
Snapchat through
bring unique
entertainment
experiences to guests
and Hilton rewards
program members.
thus, use of Snapcaht
lead to a more focused
approach to targeting
them. Instead of
creating a standard
Snapchat ad that is
mainly of just a 10
second clip Marriott
created a three-minute
long ‘Snapisodes’
exclusively for social
media platform to
attract more
customers.
Facebook Hilton is having
around 120000 like
and many followers on
its facebook page as it
keeps on posting
interesting stories and
pics about the new
services and its
beautiful interior to
attract and cater larger
number of customers
(Rather and
Hollebeek, 2019).
This hotel is having
around 3.6 million
followers that is
reflecting its global
presence and is
famous for its
highlights new villas
and rental program the
pics of which are like
most on its fcaebook
page.
This organisation is
having its account if
Facebook since 2009
use of which is made
to attract larger
number if customers
with the help of digital
advertising and
showcasing its biggest
features like wedding
menus or other
attraction (Molz,
2018).
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P4) Development of e-commerce and digital marketing platforms
The development of e-commerce and digital marketing platforms could be easily
understandable through use of Consumer life-cycle stages of digital adoption. It consists of five
main stages that are described below:
Innovators- It consist of foremost people who started adopting or using a new product or
services. It mainly consist of people and consumers who are technology innovations and like
new gadgets and software and mainly consist of young people (Semeradova and Vávrová,
2016).
Early Adopter- These are people or customers with high income and high education who are
pickier in their choice and have a positive attitude towards change and high social participation.
Early majority- They are the one who adopt use of new technology after the innovators and
the early adopters and are mainly belongs to above average social class and income who are
encouraged by the opinion of early adopters and liked to follow them.
Late Majority- They are the consumers who adopt use of new technology later than and
after a average number of members of society and are mainly Sceptical about the innovation and
are not directly exposed to early adopters (Peng, 2018).
Laggards- These individual or consumers are the last to adopt and make use of a new
technology and are typically have an aversion to change-agents and tend to be advanced in age
and are more focused on traditional methods.
Development of e-commerce and digital marketing platforms
Ecommerce marketing or digital marketing is mainly associated with the act of driving
awareness and leading an action toward creating a business that often sells its product or service
electronically. Thus, Ecommerce marketers mainly makes use of social media, digital content,
search engines, and email campaigns to attract visitors and facilitate purchases online (Popescu
and Popescu, 2016). In today’s modern world the development and enhanced e-commerce and
digital marketing platforms are seen as they facilities a more convenient and effective way to
connect and reach customers. Marriott hotel is also among such organisation that is more focused
on digital marketing as it facilitates a better platform to attract and get attention of customers at
global level and also ensures enhanced brand awareness to earn better revenues and profits.
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TASK 3
P5) Development of digital marketing plan and strategy to build multichannel capabilities
Marriot is one of the biggest hospitality sector organisations which are executing business
all around the world. The organisation is willing to build multi-channel capabilities and for this
purpose the marketers have decided to develop a new digital marketing plan and strategy. It is a
detailed document that covers information of each and every element which can help to reach
organisational goals (Sigala and Gretzel, 2017). All the elements of the marketing plan are as
follows:
Objective: The main objective for the formulation of digital marketing plan and strategy
is to enhance level of awareness among the customers about business and enhance the profits by
20% in upcoming 2 years.
Mission: The organisation is willing to accomplish the mission of becoming the market
leader with the help of digital marketing plan as it will help to enhance the number of customers
around the world.
Vision: The vision which is formed for the digital marketing plan and strategy is
improving performance and market image along with supporting the multi-channel capabilities
by using different types of digital platforms for marketing (Inanc–Demir and Kozak, 2019).
Marketing mix: It is one of the key marketing strategies which are required to be
focused by all the organisations while development marketing plan. As Marriot is working on its
digital marketing plan so it is very important for it to make sure that it modifies all the elements
of marketing mix accordingly. There are four main elements of it which are described below and
modified according to the new digital marketing plan:
Product: All the facilities that are offered by Marriot Hotel to its customers are
considered as its products. While formulating the digital marketing plan the managers have
decided that all the services of the entity will be marketed so that it can attract large number of
customers (Zhang, and Cobanoglu, 2019).
Price: While carrying out operations its I very important for all the organisations to make
sure that they are focusing upon the right pricing policy. Currently Marriot is using competitive
pricing but it has decided that when new digital marketing plan will be developed and
implemented then the pricing strategy will be replaced. With the implementation of it premium
pricing will be used which will help it to target the selected market segment.
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Place: In order to satisfy all the customers, it is very important to be easily accessible for
them and for this purpose all the entities are required to be easy to reach for all of them. While
formulating the digital marketing plan the marketers have decided that they will also market
about the location of the hotel which is poche with the help of digital media (Shabani, Munir and
Hassan, 2018).
Promotion: It is last element of marketing mix which is focused with the formulation of
promotional strategies. It has been decided by the marketers of Marriot that they will use online
promotions to attract large number of customers and attain objective. They have planned that
specific coupons to the first 200 individuals will be provided who will sign up to the website of
the hotel. These coupons could be redeemed by them when they visit the hotel.
Evaluating digital marketing channels: At this stage the management of the entity is
required to analyse different types of channels which could eb used to market the services in
digital manner (Murphy, Chen and Shapiro, 2017). There are various options available to Marriot
for the same. All of them are described below:
Social media marketing: It is one of the common and most effective channels of
marketing. With the help of it, Marriot can market all its services in digital manner on different
social media platforms. These are Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Search engine optimisation: It is also a marketing channel which is used by most of the
companies for the purpose of enhancing availability of google. With the help of it, Marriot will
be able to enhance its ratings on the first page of search engines.
Google map virtual tour: It is a type of 360-degree view of the organisation. By using it
Marriot can provide live experience to the potential customers such as Holiday Seekers about
different facilities of it (Kotler and et. al., 2017).
Technology selection: It is last step of digital marketing plan where the marketers select
the best technology which should be used by them. Some of them which will be focused by
Marriot to market itself in digital manner are chat bots, social media pages etc.
By following all the above steps Marriot will be able to support its multi-channel
capabilities which are luxury business division and reach the active holiday seekers. The
marketing plan will help to aware all the customers about capabilities of the entity.
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