Marketing in Hospitality: An Analysis of Hilton Group Strategies

This report provides a detailed analysis of the marketing strategies employed by the Hilton Group, a prominent player in the hospitality sector. It begins with an introduction to the core concepts of marketing, including the marketing process, and then examines the macro and micro environmental factors influencing Hilton's marketing decisions. The report delves into the relevance of the consumer market, identifying appropriate market segments, and explores the importance of the marketing mix elements (product, price, place, and promotion) in repositioning the brand. It also covers pricing policies and strategies, promotional mixes, advertising campaign planning, sales promotion, and public relations. Furthermore, the report highlights the significance of market research and discusses the implementation of a business market plan within the Hilton Group. The report concludes with an overview of the findings and recommendations for future marketing endeavors. This report is contributed by a student and is published on Desklib, a platform which provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

Marketing in
Hospitality

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
LO1.........................................................................................................................................1
P1.1 Concepts of marketing and the marketing process. .......................................................1
P1.2 Macro and micro environmental factors that affect the marketing decisions................2
P1.3 and 1.4 Relevance of the consumer market and identify appropriate market segment..2
M1 Effective approach to examine the micro and macro environment.................................3
D1 Conclusion of the market segment that has been taken in consideration.........................3
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................3
LO2.........................................................................................................................................3
P2.1 Importance of the marketing mix and its components and variables for the repositioning.
................................................................................................................................................3
P2.2 Role of pricing policies and strategies...........................................................................4
M2. Techniques or methods used to analyse the pricing policies..........................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
LO3.........................................................................................................................................5
P3.1 Promotional mix and its roles.........................................................................................5
P3.2 Plan an advertising campaign with appropriate promotional objectives........................5
P3.3 Role of sales promotion and public relation...................................................................6
M2 Relevant theories or models for promotional strategies..................................................6
M3. Structure of Advertisement Campaign:..........................................................................6
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................7
LO4.........................................................................................................................................7
P4.1 and 4.2 Relevance of market research and undertake a market research.......................7
P4.3 Different media to promote luxury suites to business executives..................................7
P4.4 Discuss the implementation of a business market plan at Hilton Group.......................8
D2. Substantial activities and projects planned and their findings.........................................8
D3. Innovation implemented for analysis of media for campaign.........................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9

REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is the blood and soul for an organisation. This is because it decides an
effective customer base for a company. The company taken for the context for this report is
Hilton Group, which works in the hospitality sector. This report contains the details of the
marketing processes as well as macro and micro environmental factors that will affect the
marketing along with the relevance of the consumer market (Ahmad, 2016). Various marketing
mix elements have been discussed and importance of the pricing policy has been considered.
Along with this, promotional mix has been taken in context and role of sales promotion is also
identified. Moreover, importance of the market research is also discussed and role of various
media for marketing has been taken in consideration with a suitable marketing plan.
TASK 1
LO1
P1.1 Concepts of marketing and the marketing process.
Marketing is the process which enables the businesses and companies to use the research
and analysis of their customers’ needs and demands and help them to build the awareness about
the brand, develop offers and promotions and get feedbacks from the clients (Ali, Amin and
Cobanoglu, 2016). The marketing process includes:
 Situational Analysis: It involves the usage of various analysis processes that helps the
company to identify the aspects that the customer wants from the company to get
considered, fulfilling his demand.
 Marketing strategy: After the demands and needs have been identified, suitable strategy
has been implemented by the company to get its opportunities developed and manage the
operations in order to get a better understanding of the market trends.
 Marketing mix: It helps to get the controllable parameters that helps the company to
develop the product, pricing distribution etc. and develop a marketing plan (Bowie and
et.al., 2016).
 Implementation and control: The marketing plan that has been developed is
implemented by the company. This helps the company to gain better idea about the
methods that have been required to be taken into consideration.

The consumer focus will help the company to target on the customer’s demand in order
to fulfil them effectively and get a better market share and performance.
P1.2 Macro and micro environmental factors that affect the marketing decisions.
Various macro and micro environmental factors that affect the decision making of Hilton
Group are:
 Political: The change in the political conditions on the global level will affect the
marketing operations of company by causing uncertainties.
 Economic: economic change will make Hilton Group reluctant to implement any sort of
new strategy or product in its services.
 Social: The change in the social conditions will also affect the demands of the products
and services of Hilton group, impacting the market share (Legrand, Sloan and Chen,
2016).
 Technological: Technological changes on the global level will also impact the operations
of the company.
 Legal: Any sort of legal changes in the business environment will also impact the
operations of the company.
 Environmental: Hilton group must also look after the environmental conditions of the
market to avoid any difficulty that can affect the business.
The micro factors are:
 Suppliers, resellers and distributors who supply raw material and services to company
and the customers.
 Competitors and customers who provide and consume the services.
P1.3 and 1.4 Relevance of the consumer market and identify appropriate market segment.
Previously, the services of Hilton Group were considered and is afforded by the upper
class of the society. But now, as the economic conditions have been changed on the global level,
more and more people can afford the services of the Hilton Group (Tsai, Dev and Chintagunta,
2015). Thus, looking at this emerging market, Hilton Group can target to the customers of upper
middle-class segment of the market.
The upper middle-class segment of market will help the company to gain a better grip in
the market and have a competitive advantage against the competitors in the luxury hospitality

segment. This will not only help the company to promote its services and products on the wider
level but also, increase their customer base which will improve the market share and
profitability. Besides this, it will help the Hotel to get a suitable exposure to the requirements of
this newer market segment and take effective measures to fulfil them effectively.
M1 Effective approach to examine the micro and macro environment.
The micro and macro environmental factors can be classified by the means of various
analysis like PESTLE approach or Porter's 5 force method that helps the company to identify the
needs of customers (Šerić, Gil-Saura and Ruiz-Molina, 2014).
D1 Conclusion of the market segment that has been taken in consideration.
It can be said that the market segment of upper middle-class can be considered by Hilton
group which will help to increase its customer’s base and profitability which will prove a great
advantage to the company.
TASK 2
LO2
P2.1 Importance of the marketing mix and its components and variables for the repositioning.
The marketing mix factors such as product, price, place and promotion play a very
important role in the market and repositioning of Hilton Group. The quality of the product will
determine the extent of customer satisfaction. A good quality of product or service will help the
customer to have a goodwill for the company (Legrand, Sloan and Chen, 2016). Also, the price
will be a crucial factor that will help the company to set the strategies and attract the suitable
customers.
Placing of the hotels by Hilton group will give the company a geographical advantage
and will help the company to have a better share of market by attracting the large number of
customers. Besides this, the promotional strategy that will be followed by the company will also
help the organisation to gain a better customer base. This all factors will help in improving the
quality of the services by Hilton Group, which will lead to have a better market share (de la Peña
and et.al., 2016).

P2.2 Role of pricing policies and strategies.
One of the major variable of the marketing mix, pricing help the companies like Hilton
group to identify the standard where they can have the maximum of the market growth. Effect of
various pricing policies are:
 Premium pricing: It includes the process to keep the prices higher that the competitors.
This can be done by Hilton Group to make its products or services unique and of high
quality for the customers.
 Penetration pricing: It will help Hilton Group to enter into a new market segment and
attract the new customers towards the product and services of the company
(Kandampully, Zhang and Bilgihan, 2015).
 Economy pricing: It will help the specific segment of the market, which is very sensitive
about the pricing of the products and services.
 Price skimming: This approach will help Hilton group to have a suitable revenue from
the market and offer a service before its competitors.
 Psychological pricing: This includes the smart pricing approach to make the consumers
of Hilton Group believe that the product or the service has been offered on a lower cost.
This approach will help the company to gain better market share and regain an improved
market position. The effective pricing will help the company to gain a sustainable market
position and the productivity that will help in the rise of the profitability. The pricing will help
Hilton group to get suitable and loyal customers who will be able to afford the products and
services that have been provided by the company.
M2. Techniques or methods used to analyse the pricing policies.
Various techniques like cost based pricing, value based pricing, demand based pricing
and competition based prising can be taken into consideration to determine the suitable pricing
method and implement at Hilton Group (Kim, Vogt and Knutson, 2015).

TASK 3
LO3
P3.1 Promotional mix and its roles
The promotional mix is one of the major element of the marketing mix techniques that
have been taken in consideration by Hilton Group and involves the use of advertising, public
relations, personal selling of goods and promotion of sales. It helps the company to connect with
the target market and fulfil the goals and profits of organisational sales.
The major role is to communicate with the target customer of the company by the means
of advertising or the sales promotions based on the goals and budget of the company. The budget
plays a very crucial part as it will determine the necessary steps that have been taken into
consideration by Hilton Group (Law, Buhalis and Cobanoglu, 2014). It helps the company to
choose suitable tactics to meet requirements of customers and help them to meet the customer
satisfaction.
P3.2 Plan an advertising campaign with appropriate promotional objectives.
The promotional plan that will be followed by Hilton Group which will help the company
to get a better share of the market is:
 Research: An extensive research will be carried out by Hilton Group to gain a better idea
about the demands of the customers.
 Make a target: Hilton group has to identify the target customer base in order to plan
strategically.
 Setting the Budget: after the target consumers of the dervice and product are been
analysed, te budget for the operations is been set by the management.
 Media selection: Based on the budget, the promotion media will be selected in order to
make the customers aware about the product or services.
 Execution: The plan will be executed to get the product or the service promoted and the
feedback is been analysed to make future plans (Legrand, Sloan and Chen, 2016).

The major promotional objective behind the planning of an advertisement campaign by
Hilton Group is to get the maximum number of the customers for the company. Also, it will help
the company to generate an awareness about its product.
P3.3 Role of sales promotion and public relation.
Sales promotion and public or customer relationship plays a very important role in the
management of the company. The sales promotions are the additional activities that a company
follow to gain a better idea of the promotional activities. It includes activities like issuing of
coupons, organising various contests and offers to attract a greater number of customers etc.
The personal relations are being maintained between Hilton Group and its customers,
stakeholders and public. Hilton Group can use various media tools in order to get the company
on public forum (Radojevic, Stanisic and Stanic, 2015). It may lead to positive as well as the
negative impact and is meant to be held with caution in order to gain better market share and
retention of loyal customer towards Hilton Group.
M2 Relevant theories or models for promotional strategies.
Some major theories that have been followed for the promotion are:
 Sales promotion: It will help the company to gain better idea about the services that will
be required to maintain a balance between various types of promotional activities
undertaken by Hilton Group.
 Event marketing: Hilton Group can organise an event or promote its products or
services to the customers (Riasi and Pourmiri, 2015).
M3. Structure of Advertisement Campaign:
The marketing campaign can be structured in the following steps:
Step 1: Performing the research process.
Step 2: Setting up of goals.
Step 3: Deciding budgets and operations.
Step 4: Using the media platforms and performance.
Step 5: Execution of the plan and taking feedback.

TASK 4
LO4
P4.1 and 4.2 Relevance of market research and undertake a market research.
The market research is very important for better management of operations by getting
idea about the requirements and demands of the company and plan accordingly. Hilton Group
will undertake the strategic market research to get good idea of planning its operations that it
requires undertaking in order to gain customer base in the market. It will help Hilton Group to
reduce the loses and increase the sales of its products and services. Also, it helps to manage the
competition in the market (Šerić, Gil-Saura and Ruiz-Molina, 2014).
Hilton Group provides better services like lounge, room services, fitness rooms and
comfortable suites that will help the company to attract many customers and meet their
requirement criteria. Hilton Group will go for a market research in the upper middle-class
customer segment in order to gain better productivity and profitability. The services provided by
Hilton Group will be high in quality and will help the company to meet the requirements of its
potential customers (Tsai, Dev and Chintagunta, 2015).
P4.3 Different media to promote luxury suites to business executives.
Hilton Group can adopt various types of the media to fulfil the requirements of the
business executives which are as follows:
 Social Media: With the technical advancement, the social media marketing has become a
very famous tool to promote the product or services. The business executives can get the
details of suites from the social media about the products provided by Hilton Group.
 Mail order: The business executives can provide order regarding the booking of a suite
at the hotels of Hilton Group. They can get their rooms through the mails and get it
confirmed.
 Product Giveaway: Hilton Group can give away some of its quality products in order to
gain better trust from the business executives. This will encourage them to use the suite
services repeatedly and thus will provide the company with customer retention (Walker,
2016).

 Organising a seminar or workshop: Hilton Group can provide their venue for
organising a business event or a seminar that will help the company to attract more and
more business executives to use their suites.
P4.4 Discuss the implementation of a business market plan at Hilton Group.
Hilton Group can use the strategic business plan in order to meet the targets of attracting
the upper middle-class customers towards the services and products of the company. The
strategic planning helps the company to gain better idea about the management of the marketing
operations that have been undertaken by the company (Leung, Bai and Stahura, 2015). The
strategic plan will cover business vision of the company, its mission, critical success factors
decided by the company and scheduling of implementation of the business or marketing plan at
Hilton Group.
The strategic planning of the marketing will include all the levels of the company in the
operation and inspire the employees to work together as a team to fulfil the targeted goals of
Hilton Group (Yang, Pan and Song, 2014).
D2. Substantial activities and projects planned and their findings.
Activities and projects implemented. Outcome
 Organising a business seminar at Hilton
Group.
 The seminar helped the company to
promote its quality services and
products to the business executives
(Ali, Amin and Cobanoglu, 2016).
 Organising an event to attract the new
and young customers.
 It will help Hilton Group to attract the
young customers and make them aware
about the products and services
provided by the company that will help
them to gain better satisfaction level.

D3. Innovation implemented for analysis of media for campaign.
With the technical advancement and emergence of mobile technologies, Hilton Group
can opt for the launching of a mobile app for its customers, so that they can easily get the details
of the products and services (Ahmad, 2016).
CONCLUSION
Thus, from the report it can be concluded that marketing is very necessary for an
organisation. On the basis of the various concepts of marketing and environmental factors
discussed, it can be said that consumer segmentation is very necessary for the planning of
suitable market strategies. In addition to this, different marketing and promotional mix factors
have been considered and an advertisement campaign has been developed. Also, the importance
of market research has been focused in the report describing the details of suites of Hilton Group.