Marketing Plan Analysis: Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney, Australia

This report provides a comprehensive marketing plan for the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney, a five-star establishment facing competition in a thriving hotel market. It begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by a detailed situation analysis, including market needs, demographics, trends, and macro-environmental factors (PESTLE analysis). The report examines the company's mission, services, positioning, stakeholders, and SWOT analysis, along with a competitive analysis. The core of the report outlines the marketing strategy, including value proposition, critical issues, objectives, target market (corporate travelers), messaging, and branding. The marketing mix (product, pricing, place, promotion) is thoroughly discussed, encompassing advertising, public relations, and direct marketing. An action plan and control measures are also included, concluding with a summary of the key findings and recommendations for the hotel's marketing efforts. The report emphasizes the importance of promotional strategies, particularly in social media and event management, to achieve the marketing objectives and stay competitive in the Sydney hotel market.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY HOTEL MARKETING
Contemporary Hotel Marketing
Based on Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney
Student’s name:
Name of the University:
Author’s note:

1CONTEMPORARY HOTEL MARKETING
Executive Summary
This study focuses on marketing plan of Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney and this hotel falls under
the category of five-star hotel. In Sydney, the competition is high in the hotel business as there
are many others five-star hotels. In Australia, the hotel industry has been flourishing in last five
years and it is expecting to grow about 3% for next three years. Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney is
an international hotel chain and it has one of its hotels in Sydney. The mission statement of the
hotel is to provide beliefs and principles to the guests and guests' satisfaction is another focus of
the organisation. In addition, this hotel offers exclusive suite, rooms, clubbing and dining. In
order to set the marketing strategy, Four Seasons Hotel can find the critical issue for them as the
hotel has been facing the issue in marketing. Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney finds the target
market as corporate travellers. The hotel management needs to find out the objectives of the
organisation with messaging for the branding. In marketing, pricing would be premium pricing,
the place is excellent and distribution channel would be fine. The promotional strategies of the
organisation will be based on social media, printing and event management. The budget of
marketing plan has been given to action plans in order to meet the objectives.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................5
2. Situation Analysis........................................................................................................................5
2.1 Market needs..........................................................................................................................5
2.2 Market analysis..........................................................................................................................6
2.2.1 Market demographics.....................................................................................................6
2.2.2 Market trends..................................................................................................................6
2.2.3 Market growth................................................................................................................7
2.2.4 Macro-environment analysis..........................................................................................7
2.3 The company.........................................................................................................................9
2.3.1 Mission statement...........................................................................................................9
2.3.2 Service offering..............................................................................................................9
2.3.3 Positioning....................................................................................................................10
2.3.4 Partners and Stakeholders.............................................................................................11
2.3.5 SWOT analysis.............................................................................................................11
2.4 Competition.........................................................................................................................12
2.4.1 Direct competition........................................................................................................12
2.4.2 Competition analysis....................................................................................................14
3.0 Marketing strategy...................................................................................................................16

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3.1 Value proposition.................................................................................................................16
3.2 Critical issues.......................................................................................................................17
3.3 Objectives of marketing plan...............................................................................................17
3.4 Target market strategy.........................................................................................................19
3.5 Messaging............................................................................................................................20
3.5.1 Branding.......................................................................................................................20
3.6 Marketing Strategy pyramids..............................................................................................21
4.0 Marketing mix.........................................................................................................................22
4.1 Target Audience...................................................................................................................22
4.2 Product marketing................................................................................................................23
4.3 Pricing..................................................................................................................................23
4.4 Place.....................................................................................................................................24
4.5 Promotion............................................................................................................................24
4.5.1 Advertising...................................................................................................................24
4.5.2 Public relations.............................................................................................................25
4.5.3 Direct marketing...........................................................................................................26
5. Action Plan................................................................................................................................26
6. Control.......................................................................................................................................28
7. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................29
Reference List................................................................................................................................30

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1. Introduction
In this report, marketing plan of a Sydney based hotel will be discussed. Marketing plan
is a written document of an organisation that helps the organisation to market the services and
products. Marketing assists the organisation to reach the desired customers and customers get to
know the benefits from the organisation. The organisation uses various strategies to attract the
target customers setting a marketing budget (Liu et al., 2017). Before, stating the strategy of
marketing, the organisation analyses the external environment and competitive advantage of the
organisation in the industry. Moreover, the distribution channels and supply chain of the
organisation need to delineate. The strengths and weaknesses of the organisation will be
discussed in order to understand the internal condition. However, various promotional strategies
will be given for the organisation to take. The main aim of the report to provide a marketing plan
for Four Seasons Hotel that is situated in the Sydney. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is a
global organisation, however, in this report, the focus will be on Four Seasons Hotel, which is in
Sydney.
2. Situation Analysis
2.1 Market needs
Hotel industry in Australia has been flourishing and recent data shows that domestic and
international visitors growing almost 5% and 111.5% respectively in the last quarter of 2016
(McManus, 2013). It shows that Australian hotel industry has the capability to expand even more
and hotels in the metropolitan cities can use their marketing strategy to attract more customers. It

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has been noted that the visitors from South Asian countries have been increased and Chinese
visitors are the dominant contributors touching 22% almost. It is very positive sign for the
Australian market and it has the international inbound growth for the hotel industry and this
growth in tourism and hotel industry exceeds in even US and this growth is almost 15% (McPhil
et al., 2015). This hotel industry in Australia has enough potential for the five star hotels to
flourish in Australia. Market has demands and guests in Australia choose all types of hotels. The
hotel industry has positive outlook and it can grow up to 3.1% annually. The demand in the
market of hotel industry is high and revenue per available room has been getting higher for the
hotels situated in Australia. In case of Sydney, most of the international hotel chains have their
hotels and these hotels have been trying to increase in room supplies.
2.2 Market analysis
2.2.1 Market demographics
In hotel industry, market demographics are the segregation of the customers in
demographic segments. In addition, there are various types of customers who visit the hotels.
Customers with various age groups, social orientations, occupations and gender come to visit the
hotels. Moreover, in Australia, moreover, the leisure travelling is famous among the domestic
guests. In international travelling, couples and family persons use to visit the Australia for scenic
beauty and beaches. In many cases, the business persons visit the Australia for business purposes
(Mintz & Currim, 2013). The booking status of the customers shows that all types of hotels are
booked by the customers whether it is cheap or five-star. The economic growth of Australia is
significant and the customers’ buying capacity shows the changes.

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2.2.2 Market trends
In hotel industry of Australia, it looks like construction boom in most of the metropolitan
cities. In Sydney, the high rises buildings and five stars hotels are seen as the tourism spending
of the hotel management has been risen. The customers start spending in hotel booking as well
because the customers like to spend in hotel booking. The preferences of the customers have
been changed and the projected market growth can reach $170 billion by the end of 2023
(McManus, 2015).
2.2.3 Market growth
In hotel industry of Australia, Sydney and Melbourne are experiencing the unprecedented
positive outlook from the customers. The numbers of bookings in the hotels of Sydney have risen
in the last few years. In the year 2016, the hotel industry saw the transaction of $1.9 billion. The
hotel owners are making money by expanding the business as the high occupancy rate has been
seen in the industry. In the year 2016, the international passenger traffic to and from Australia
has reached record level at 35 million. Sydney can experience the record growth in next 20 years
in hotel business as the developments of the hotel industry have been seen (Leonidou & Sisodia,
2015). In addition, revenue in the last year was $8 billion Australian dollar from the hotel
industry and annual growth in hotel industry observed 2.7%. Moreover, more than 68,350 people
are employed in the hotel industry with more than 380 business units are there in Australia.
2.2.4 Macro-environment analysis
PESTLE analysis
Political: The Commonwealth of Australia is a Federal constitutional Monarchy under
the parliamentary democracy. The political condition of the Australia is stable and in tourism and

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hotel industry, political factors play a major role (Williams, 2015). The government of Australia
tries to endorse the tourism of Australia in global market and it could help the hotel industry to
have maximum foreign travellers. The terrorist events are happening in Australia that could
break the harmony of Australia.
Economic: Australia has the strong economic condition and Australia has diverse natural
resources and in the hotel industry, the strong GDP in Australia can help. The situation of
demand must be healthy in the hotel industry where the inflation rate in Australia is low now.
The inflation rate in Australia was 1.28% in 2016 and GDP of Australia was 1.205 trillion USD
in 2016 (Sheth & Sisodia, 2015).
Social: Consumer preferences in the hotel industry are significant as the people search
for various hotels before they book. In Australia, the disposable income of the people has been
raised significantly. The people of Australia can afford the five-star hotel and people use the
online medium to book their hotels and events. In the global hospitality industry, the people are
trying to visit many offbeat places to explore.
Technological: In the tourism industry, the technological factors can play an important
role as bookings are made from the online platform. The management of hotels needs to prepare
service log and world-class equipment in order to enhance the service quality (Keller & Kotler,
2016). Technology has made the communication easier in terms of customer-hotel relationship
and payment of the money.
Environmental: In the hotel industry, sustainability is the key issue. Hotels must keep
the balance in environmental factors and waste management that can benefit the society. In

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addition, hotels should keep the quality check and climate condition in order to provide benefit to
tourism.
Legal: Hotel industry is complex for legal regulation as the environmental regulation,
employee regulation and labour laws all fall under the section of regulatory bodies. In Australia,
Australian Consumers' Law is there in order to protect the right of the consumers.
2.3 The company
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is a Canada based luxury hospitality company and it
has it headquarter in Toronto, Canada. This organisation was established in the year 1961 and
currently, it is operating in more than 43 countries. In Sydney, Four Seasons Hotel is at 199
George Street, New South Wales.
2.3.1 Mission statement
The corporate mission statement of the hotel is to guide the actions of everyone in the
organisation to set the beliefs and principles of the work on behalf of the best services to the
guests (Fourseasons.com, 2017).
2.3.2 Service offering
This is a five-star hotel and it provides accommodation services with dining facilities. It
provides world-class facilities and amenities to the guests.
The hotel provides
 24-hours fitness facilities
 Heated outdoor pool
 Babysitting services

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 Mode kitchen and bar
 Complimentary standard Wi-Fi
 Luxury Australian Spa
 Undercover Hotel parking
 24-hour business services
 Lounge 32, an exclusive club for the guests
 On-site Concierge
Apart from that, the hotel provides the best accommodation with world-class food. In the
festive season, the hotel gives the unforgettable views to the celebratory drinks and enjoys the
celebration. There is a large ballroom inside the hotel that is located on the harbour side and the
guests can enjoy the view with drinks. The Lounge 32 is an exclusive Club for the business and
leisure travellers on the top floor of this hotel. Sydney based this hotel provides the hotel room in
different types, guests rooms, club floors and signature suites. It has more than 861 guests' rooms
in all sizes and all types and more than 10 concierges. In the guests' rooms, this hotel has the
privileges of Deluxe City Room, Deluxe Partial Harbour Room, Deluxe Full Harbour Room,
Premier City Room, Premier Full Harbour Room and Full Harbour Junior Suite. There are club
rooms and suites that are offered by the hotel to the guests.
2.3.3 Positioning
Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney is located by the beauty of iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge
and Opera House (Fourseasons.com, 2017). Four Seasons Hotels in Sydney is the best located
five-star luxury hotel that is located among the city’s vibrant shopping and business
precincts.The location of the hotel is exclusive and it offers the services to all age groups and all

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types of travellers. It has the prestigious venue for any event and the ballroom of the hotel does
not have any pillar. The ballroom is near the Harbour Bridge of Sydney.
2.3.4 Partners and Stakeholders
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is the owner of the business. Since the year 2007, Al-
Waleed Bin Tall and Bill gates have been majority owners of this organisation.Stakeholders of
the hotel in Sydney are employees, guests, government, staff, suppliers, managers and society.
The external stakeholders of the hotel are suppliers, society, government, shareholders and
customers. The internal stakeholders of the hotel are managers, owners and employees.
2.3.5 SWOT analysis
Strengths:
 Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney is located in very impressive place near Sydney harbour
Bride
 Effective services and five-star facilities
 Loyal customers base in the Australia from domestic and international travellers
 Market share leadership in the Australian market
 Strong brand equity
 Supply chain services of the organisation
Weaknesses:
 Bad communication with the customers and with stakeholders
 Diseconomies to scale
 Not diversified
 Ubiquitous products and services

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 The financial position of the organisation is not well as it is over-leveraged
Opportunities
 It has partnership with significant suppliers and has partnered with international airways
 Emerging markets and expansion in another market
 Services and product expansion
Threats
 Competition within the Australian market is high
 Cheaper technology they are using
 Exchange rate fluctuation
 Maturing categories
 Price wards
 Economic slowdown in Australia
 Lower cost competitors
2.4 Competition
2.4.1 Direct competition
Hotels Originates in Segment group Strengths USP
The Park Hyatt In 1995 Business and
leisure travellers
for domestic and
international
guests
 Dining facilities
and location.
 The brand
image
 Rooms quality
Top quality
accommodation,
Global presence