Detailed Marketing Report: Hilton Hotel and Resorts Strategic Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the marketing strategies employed by Hilton Hotels and Resorts. It begins with an introduction to hospitality marketing and the role of the marketing department within Hilton, emphasizing its importance in understanding customer needs and expectations. The report then delves into the first learning outcome, exploring the role of marketing and its interrelation with other functional units like finance and human resources within a hospitality context. The second learning outcome focuses on the application of the marketing mix (7Ps) in the hospitality industry to achieve business objectives, comparing Hilton's approach with that of Hyatt Corporation. The report examines the product, price, and promotional strategies of both hotel chains. Finally, the report concludes with a basic strategic marketing plan designed to meet the marketing objectives for Hilton Hotel, providing insights into the company's overall marketing approach. The report is a contribution to Desklib, a platform offering study resources.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:................................................................................................................................................3
Learning Outcome 1: Role of marketing and the interrelation of marketing with other functional unites in
a hospitality context.....................................................................................................................................3
1.1. Marketing concept:......................................................................................................................3
1.2. Roles and responsibility of marketing functions in Hilton hotel:.................................................4
1.3. Inter-relationship between marketing and other functions:..........................................................4
Learning outcome 2: The use of marketing mix elements in hospitality industry to achieve overall
business objectives......................................................................................................................................5
2.1. Marketing mix:.................................................................................................................................5
2.2. Application of marketing mix:..........................................................................................................6
Learning Outcome 3: A basic marketing plan to meet marketing objectives for Hilton Hotel.....................8
3.1. Strategic marketing plan:..................................................................................................................8
3.2. Strategic marketing plan:..................................................................................................................8
References:................................................................................................................................................10
Appendix: SWOT analysis of Hilton Hotel...............................................................................................11
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Introduction:
Hospitality marketing is the process of getting hospitality products and services to the travelers,
visitors and guests. Hospitality industry segment includes hotels and resort, restaurant, touring
company, travel agency, amusement parks, etc. Hospitality marketing concept is based on the
premise that hospitality organisations determine the needs and expectations of customers, and
then design products and services which meet those needs and expectations, while meeting the
goals of the organization (Reid and Bojanic, 2010).
Hilton Worldwide, a global hospitality company operates numbers of hospitality brands in the
global accommodation service industry. As of 2020, there are more than 600 Hilton Hotel and
Resorts properties in around 100 countries. Hilton Hotels and Resorts in the flagship brand of
Hilton Worldwide. It targets mostly high-end travelers who travel for leisure and business
purpose. Hilton Hotels and Resort strive to offer quality hospitality services to the customer to
create heartfelt experience for the guests (Hilton, 2021). The marketing department of Hilton
Hotel and Resorts play the key role in determine the changing customer needs and expectation
and thereby designing the products and services and delivering them in a meaningful and
convenient way to the guests.
This written hotel marketing report is produced for Hilton Hotel and Resorts based on three
specific learning outcomes as stated in the report.
Learning Outcome 1: Role of marketing and the interrelation of marketing
with other functional unites in a hospitality context
1.1. Marketing concept:
Marketing simply refers to the process that gets the products and services of a company to the
customers (banis et al., 2013). According to Kotler et al. (2009), marketing is a process used by
the organizations to create value for the customers and strong relationships with customers in
order to attain business goals through creating and offering products and services to the
consumers.
The origin of modern marketing lies around the time of industrial revolution in the eighteenth
century. However, the concept and process has been continuously adapted and developed
because of the growth in global markets and competitiveness. Modern marketing relates to
technological development and corporate social responsibilities. The aspects of digital story-
telling and the use of e-marketing is the latest expansion in marketing concept and process
(Keelson, 2012).
Marketing concept and process is based on four pillars, customer customers, customer
requirements and expectations, incorporated market and profitability (Banis et al., 2013). The
marketing plan starts with a well-defined target market and target customers, focuses on the
needs and expectations of targeted customers, coordinates all the interrelated activities that will
affect consumers, and bring the financial value for the organization through attaining customer
satisfaction (Reid and Bojanci, 2010).
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1.2. Roles and responsibility of marketing functions in Hilton hotel:
Hilton Hotel is a global hotel chain consisting of numerous upscale hotel and resorts as well as
choice service hotels. Hilton offers a wide range of products and services to guests from different
market segments. It has been a leading hotel brands around the world over the years. The
marketing efforts helped the company to be a preferred place to the travelers. The customer-
driven marketing efforts to get competitive advantage in the global market is the key to Hilton
success (Prataph, 2020).
The marketing team of Hilton hotel work at individual brand level and enterprise level. The
individual brand marketing strategies and the enterprise marketing strategies are used to reach its
customers and potential guests (Talbot, 2019). The marketing department of Hilton Hotel and
Resort plays the key role in making the hotel viable and profitable. This department creates
awareness, engage customers, research the market and competitors and their products, prepare
marketing promotion and ensure seamless delivery of the products and service (Zarrina, 2020).
The individual marketing department of specific hotel plays the following roles and
responsibility (Pratap, 2020):
1. Developing and executing robust, destination-specific marketing strategy. Strong
consumer design targets, brand architecture and brand positioning are the keys in meeting
unique customer needs and therefore building long term relationship with customers.
2. Conducting through research to identify deep consumer insight and collect data based on
which marketing strategies are developed.
3. Refining the key message points to ensure that an adequate marketing mix is developed
and promoted.
4. Collaboration with key destination partners including county or city officials, Chamber of
Commerce and convention centers.
5. Collaboration between other Hilton-branded hotels in the market.
1.3. Inter-relationship between marketing and other functions:
Marketing department needs interact with other functional units within the organizations
irrespective to the industry or the nature of the business. The quality movement, service
expansion and the overall marketing effectiveness significantly depends on the interrelationships
between marketing and other functional units including human resource, finance, and production
(Orsini, 2015). In a hotel industry context, marketing functions needs to interrelate with other
functional areas including front desk office, housekeeping, maintenance, event management,
food and beverage, safety and security, etc (Banis et al., 2013).
Hilton hotels and Resorts have various functional units which have significance relationship with
marketing. Among them product development, human resource and finance are the key
functional units of the company. In the case of finance, marketing function need to interact to
have adequate budget allocation for the marketing activities. In addition, finance function helps
marketing department to set targets and objectives to generate profit for the hotel.
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Considering the changing traveler behavior and the other constant changes in the hotel industry,
hotel service providers need to upgrade and renovate their existing products and service lines and
the way of delivering them to the guests. In doing so, marketing department is needed to
coordinate and cooperate with the production function. Marketing department collect the market
data and set objective for the company. The research and development function offers various
information regarding customer insights and market insights so that marketing department can
set objectives and strategies for product and service development (Pike, 2015).
Finally, marketing department of Hilton needs to develop and maintain interrelationships with all
the function units of Hilton including customer service, housekeeping, maintenance, research and
development in order to develop and execute effective marketing strategies and attain the
marketing goals of the hotel.
Learning outcome 2: The use of marketing mix elements in hospitality
industry to achieve overall business objectives
2.1. Marketing mix:
Marketing mix refers to the set of controllable tactical marketing elements and tools that
organizations combine to produced desired response among the target market (Prenzel, 2010).
Traditionally marketing mix was built around the 4Ps that include product, price, place and
promotion. However, considering the breadth and complexity of current-day marketing, another
three Ps were added to the marketing mix elements to respond to the crucial change in customer
service, e-commerce and social media marketing. The added elements are process, people and
physical evidence (Kareh, 2018). The following table addresses the 7Ps of marketing mix briefly.
Table 1: 7 Ps of marketing mix elements
No Marketing mix
elements
Description and importance
1 Product It includes the variation, design, features, quality, packaging,
and positioning of the products and services offered by the
organization. In the context of changing consumer behavior
irrespective to the industry, organisations are increasingly
emphasizing on this marketing mix element to meet the more
complex market expectations.
2 Price It refers to the amount an organization charge their customers
for a specific product or service. Pricing is mostly depend on
how much a customer is willing to pay for a product or
service.
3 Promotion Promotion is the brand communication strategies to increase
brand awareness of the product or service. It is the most
important marketing elements as it allows the service
providers to reach their targeted customers and create
customer awareness for the specific product or service.
Promotion strategies includes, advertising, sales promotion,
mobile marketing, public relations, etc.
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4 Place Place or distribution is another key marketing mix that refers
to the accessibility of the product or service to the potential
customers. The goal of place strategy is to offer customer
convenience.
5 People Organizations need right people with right skills to make
things happen. Since employee meet the customer and offer
customer service, the people strategy plays a key role in
marketing success as well as organizational success. The key
goal of people strategy is to find a diverse, goal-oriented and
motivated workforce as it is the most important advantage of
an organization.
6 Process Systems, automation and process play a key role in marketing
mix. An effective process strategy is important in achieving
customer satisfaction and measuring outcomes.
7 Physical evidence It refers to the physical environment experienced by the
customers
Based on Kareh (2018); Johnson (2018) and Kotler (2012)
2.2. Application of marketing mix:
Organizations apply marketing mix in marketing planning procedure to achieve organizational
goals. They use diverse methods and tactics for marketing mix application (Kotler, 2012). The
following section compares the application of marketing mix among the two upscaled global
hotel chains, namely Hilton Hotel and Resorts and Hyatt Corporation.
Application of product mix:
Both Hilton and Hyatt consider product and service as the key to their success. Product and
services entail what an organization can offer to meet the requirements and expectations of their
customers (Kumar, 2010).
As an up-scaled luxury hotel chain, Hilton emphasizes on offering to-notch hospitality and
luxury services. The way Hilton develops and creates its product and service that ought to create
an effect that will keep their customers coming. The product mix strategy focuses on offering
high-quality standards products and services to the guests. The modern diligence and advanced
facilities in room design, exotic food and beverage, and excellent service operations demonstrate
how effectively Hilton applies product mix strategy. The differentiation product mix strategy
helps Hilton to meet the changing customer needs and expectations.
On the other hand, Hyatt Hotels focus on offering authentic hospitality products and services in
the luxury hotel segments. Spacious accommodations with world class amenities, banquet halls,
restaurants, gardens, spacious parking facilities and a range authentic and delicious food and
beverages are the example of Hyatt’s products. The product mix strategy helps the company to
offer luxury and authentic services to every guest through fulfilling and caterings the needs of
the customer efficiently.
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Applications of price mix:
Price mix strategy is an important marketing tactic that represents the value to the customers,
while competing with contemporaries with better offer. The value that an organization attaches
to their products and services must match with the customer perception that they receive what is
worth their money (Kumar, 2010).
Both Hilton and Hyatt focus on leading the accommodation industry through offering best
products and service in all luxurious manner. Hilton adopts premium pricing policies for its
luxurious services which are offered to the upscaled guest. The premium pricing strategy allowed
the company to generate desired revenue for the company while meeting the expectations of
guests who seek for luxury. Similarly, Hyatt hotel also applies the premium pricing strategy for it
authentic and luxuries products and services which are catered to high profile business class and
upper class of the society. The pricing is determined in a way that can meet the requirements of
both the company and their guests.
Application of promotional mix:
Hilton hotel adopts unique promotional mix to help them stand out of the crowd. A well-
dedicated marketing and advertisement team focus on marketing strategies to bring about unique
promotional technique. As a part of its unique promotional activities, the company collaborates
with various groups, multinational companies, and domestic business entities of their booking
priority. In addition to traditional advertisement strategy such as using the content of magazines,
the company has been increasingly taking the opportunity of digital platform to promote its
brand and thereby create potential customer awareness for its brands.
On the other hand, Hyatt Corporation mostly use the media channels including print and digital
media platforms to create customer awareness. Hyatt emphases on customer satisfaction and
excellent customer relationship management so as to influence the customers to work as positive
word of mouth. As a part of promotion, the company further offers various discounts, loyalty and
festive schemes.
Application of place or distribution mix:
Hilton Worldwide, a global hospitality company operates numbers of hospitality brands in the
global accommodation service industry. As of 2020, there are more than 600 Hilton Hotel and
Resorts properties in around 100 countries. The distribution strategy of the company is based on
selecting a location which is located in an important destination. Most of the Hilton hotels are
located in the major vacation spots. Being nearest to airport, city center and other key locations
offer easy accessibility to travelers and business people. The selection of location surrounding in
well-selected manner make it a desirable landing option for the travelers and visitors.
On the other hand, most of the Hyatt hotels are located in the city center or in the heart of a
destination spot. The goal of its destination strategy is to offer customer convenience.
Application of people strategy:
Both Hilton and Hyatt understand the importance of people in meeting customer expectations in
today’s dynamic business environment. Both the company give extra focus on people as they
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make things happen. In order to offer world class hospitality service, they focus on recruiting
skilled and knowledgeable as well as potential workforce. They further offer necessary training
and development to them.
Application of process:
Hilton adopts a reliable service delivery process. The efficiency in the flow of the process,
services to the customers helped the company to attain tremendous guest satisfaction. In
addition, the flow of the process helped it to reduce the operating cost. Automation in the process
has been the key of its process innovation.
On the other hand, Hyatt Corporation, adopts a sophisticated process to ensure that the authentic
and luxury services are delivered to the guests in a way which can meet customer satisfaction.
Application of physical evidence:
Both Hilton and Hyatt emphasis of luxuries presence of physical evidence such as rooms,
banquets hall, health club, swimming pool, restaurant bars. They focus on classy and luxuries
design and arrangement for the amenities including reception desk, waiting rooms, interior
decoration, etc. in addition, well-dressed employees offer an excellent visual satisfaction to the
guests.
Learning Outcome 3: A basic marketing plan to meet marketing objectives
for Hilton Hotel
3.1. Strategic marketing plan:
Strategic marketing planning process helps organizations to understand the dynamic market
place and identify their goals and develop tactics to attain them (Wilson, 2010). In the context of
hotel industry, a strategic marketing plan gets back to the basics and focuses on what is
important for the guests.
A basic marketing plan deals primarily with the marketing mix elements; while the strategic
marketing planning deal with every aspect on an organization strategy in the market place. A
strategic marketing plan develop strategic marketing goals and the means by which those goals
will be accomplished (West et al., 2015).
3.2. Strategic marketing plan:
A strategic marketing plan starts with identifying the strengths and weaknesses as well as the
opportunities and threats of the company. The following figure summaries the findings of a
detailed SWOT analysis outlined in the appendix section.
Figure 1: SWOT analysis of Hilton
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Brand recognition and
acknowledgment
2. Interesting administration
3. Diverse range of products and services
4. Excellent customer relationship
5. Adoption of state-of-the-art
1. Not much-developed network
2. Higher dependencies on proprietors
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technology
Opportunities Threats
1. Expansion opportunity in emerging
markets
2. Improved relationship management
3. Acquisition of new hotels
1. Increasing cost of operations
2. Extensive rivalry in the luxury hotel
business
3. Dramatic changes in the market and
the changes in the customer behavior
Marketing objectives:
1. To position Hilton hotel as a place where excellent services are provided to the high-end
customers.
2. Offering services that given the highest level of comfort to the guests.
3. To create and sustain super relationship bonding with customers so as to create strong
loyal customer base.
4. To offer superior customer convenience in term of booking and reservations as well as
getting the products and services offered by the company.
Target customers:
The target customers will be the high-income travelers and the business people who are willing
to pay premium price for personalized and luxuries services. The luxury tourist, business clients,
conference guest, and the stars will be the main target segment of Hilton.
Marketing mix tactics:
Product: The product and service features will be in a way that can give every customer the
highest level of comfort. In addition, considering the current and future trends in the hotel
industry, the products and services will be innovated or renovated to ensure that the products and
services meet the changing expectations of customers.
Price: In addition to the premium pricing policy, the concept of the value for the money will be
applied as the customers are increasingly becoming price sensitives and seeking for value for
money. The pricing will be determined based on through research and the pricing of the rivals in
the market.
Place and distribution: Booking experience is the most important aspect of hotel marketing
strategy. The raise of online platform offers the opportunity to seamless and smooth hotel
booking (Maxwell, 2017). Having an effective hotel homepage with the sections that guests can
scroll to find the information they needed to book a room. Considering the raise of mobile device
usages, the homepage will be both web and mobile friendly.
Promotion: The media channels including print and digital media platforms will be used to
create customer awareness. Hilton will emphasis on customer satisfaction and excellent customer
relationship management so as to influence the customers to work as positive word of mouth. As
a part of promotion, the company will further offer various discounts, loyalty and festive
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schemes. Finally, strong public relation will be adopted to develop and maintain strong
relationship with guests and thereby foster guest satisfaction and repeat visit.
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Wilson, S. (2010) Strategic Marketing Planning, 2nd Edition, London: Routledge
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Appendix: SWOT analysis of Hilton Hotel
The Author (2021, based on market research)
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