A Comparison of the Marketing Methods of Hilton and IHG Hotel Chains

This report provides a comparative analysis of the marketing methods employed by two multinational hotel chains, Hilton and IHG Hotels & Resorts. It examines their historical marketing approaches, current strategies, market positioning, and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis covers Hilton's focus on innovation, digital marketing, and sustainability initiatives, as well as IHG's brand transformation, luxury service offerings, and environmental engagement system. The report also highlights how both companies have adapted their marketing strategies in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, including increased digitalization and adjusted promotional campaigns. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and emphasizes the importance of strategic marketing in the hospitality industry.

A comparison of the
marketing methods of
two multinational hotel
chains

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is one of the most important and premier operation that is undertaken by a
business enterprise as it encompasses and involves a variety of processes that goes beyond the
traditional notion of selling such as market research, designing and executing the promotional
mix and providing after sales service (Agyapong, Mensah and Ayuuni, 2018). A marketing
strategy is a key element which is responsible for efficient promotional tactics to take place as it
is a broad game plan which uses a company's brand strength and recognition and it's marketing
channel efficiency to target consumers and turn them into loyal customers.
The role of marketing strategy and tactics is even more tricky when it comes to the
hospitality industry as it deals directly with customers and has been the sector which has bore the
primary brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to survive and thrive in the hotel sectors,
companies have to keep evolving and innovating their market offerings and degree of leisure
provided. This report will consist of a comparative analysis between 2 highly successful
multinational hotel chains in regards to their past and current marketing tactics, their current
market positions and features along with their status report and response in regard to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
MAIN BODY
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. formerly names Hilton Hotel Corporation is an
American multinational hospitality company which has multiple premier hotel brands under it's
belt which it manages and franchises on a global scale with an exceptional expertise. It was
founded by Conrad Hilton in 1919 and is currently led by Christopher J. Nasetta and is
headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States (Ezzaouia and Bulchand-Gidumal,
2020). Intercontinental Hotels Groups PLC (IHG) on the other hand is a British owned
multinational hospitality giant which is marketed by the name of IHG Hotels and Resorts which
was formed in 2003 when the parent company Six Continents PLC split into two.
The comparative parameters of the multinational hotel chain analysis which is to be
undertake in this report are Hilton and IHG Hotels and Resorts and both these candidates are
taken from a group of such companies after due consideration and a myriad of reasons. Hilton is
the 4rd largest hotel chain operating in the world right now with more than 900,000 rooms in
more than 118 countries worldwide meanwhile IHG has been chosen for it's rich legacy and it's

marketing and brand transformation which started in 1777 and has continued to evolve till this
day turning it into a big time player in the hospitality industry with more than 800,000 rooms
across nearly 100 plus countries.
Hilton started from humble beginnings in 1919 with a 40 room mobley hotel situated in
Cisco, Texas but made some bold marketing moves from the start which helped build it's brand
name in the hotel sector such as being the first hotel in America to feature cold running water
and air conditioning which became a talking point in it's marketing campaigns as Hilton used
word of mouth marketing tactics in it's initial years as it provided world class service to it's
guests. Hilton was also the first hotel chain in the world to install televisions in guest rooms and
was also the pioneer in the field of airport hotel building and service providing which were used
as building blocks for it's marketing campaigns (Fernandes Sampaio, Hernández Mogollón and
de Ascensão Gouveia Rodrigues, 2020). In recent years Hilton has undergone a rebrand but it's
focus on innovation and technology remains the same. It became the first major hotel to
livestream a concert on YouTube and has been using digital marketing to focus on it's premium
services.
IHG Hotels and Resorts in contrast to Hilton is a study of marketing evolution and brand
transformation over the years as it all began in 1777 when Bass which was a UK brand
marketing giant started it's own brewery business and filed for UK's first ever trademark which
gave it's products a premium feel in the eyes of the public. A big revolution came in the 1950's
when the hotel concept of “The Holiday Inn” which was focused on providing travelling families
with a secure, affordable yet fancy form of accommodation was established and it became the
first hotel franchise in the world to hit 300,000 rooms. Bass marketed itself as the new place for
luxury stay as it fully bought the Holiday Inn and expanded it's portfolio by buying the
Intercontinental hotel brand which focused on luxurious post flight travels. In 2003 after Bass
renamed itself to Six Continents PLC, it split into two brands, one focusing on retail and another
focusing on hotels called IHG Hotels and Resorts (Guo, and et.al., 2021). In recent years, IHG
has successfully managed to redefine luxury stay by becoming the host of Olympics, focusing on
sustainability and becoming a market leader in the UK.

Hilton has built a worldwide brand on the backs of multiple world class hotel brands
under it's hospitality portfolio combined with an efficient marketing mix strategy. Hilton's
current market positioning is that of a diversified luxury hotel provider which has various
different hotel chains to satisfy a variety of customer enquiries such as luxury stay with Conrad
hotels, personalized vacations in Hilton Grand Vacations and focused and full hotel services
with Double Tree and Hilton Garden Inn. Hilton's primary customer segmentation and targeting
is done on middle and old aged business owners, government and corporate professionals with a
high income ceiling (Kim, Han and Ariza-Montes, 2021). Compared to it's extensive use of
traditional media in the past, Hilton has employed a robust digital marketing system where it
uses it's social media channels to great advantage by partnering with Instagram influencers to
promote their hotel locations and focus their marketing strategy on the experience they provide
to people in photos and live videos such as it's Instagram handle which has more than 250,000
followers.
IHG on the other hand is a direct competitor of Hilton in multiple sectors of the
hospitality industry and positions itself as a niche hospitality service provider which focuses on
all aspects of hotels which it's competition like Hilton doesn't have. It is a major world leader
which targets the high end super rich customers through the Crown Plaza Hotel which provides
super premium stay and fine dining services and offers private club memberships to the elites of
the society. At the same time it differentiates itself from Hilton by marketing towards the mid-
price and economy class customers with Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express which presents
affordable yet comfortable and fancy stay through decades old trusted brands. Holiday Inn
Express also provides corporate packages for organizations in need of conference style of
accommodation without burning a hole in the pockets of people which is a major plus.
Hilton has been a driving force towards environmentally friendly change and green
polices and measures since the day it began monitoring the amount of waste and emission by it's
total portfolio using it's LightStay system (Ting, 2019). Hilton is committed to reduce it's
environmental footprint by half come 2030 by focusing on zero carbon operations and clean
ingredient sourcing for it's dining. IHG Hotels and Resorts on the other hand uses a robust Green
Engage System which is a multilevel certification which helps reduce harmful emission and

waste by providing more than 200 green solutions to hotels under the IHG group. It has made a
level 1 certification compulsory for all IHG hotels and resorts.
The entire hospitality industry has been struck hard by COVID-19 and hotel brands like
Hilton and IHG have been forced to innovate and come up with COVID-19 strategies to combat
the hit to their sales and profit margins. Hilton has successfully managed to evade the effects of
the pandemic now with an increased focus on a digital transformation with an increase in
robotics and automated services catered towards the costumers to enhance their experience with
minimal contact. It also changed it's advertisements and focused on a new beginning for the
brand and appealed to the emotions of the people in order to evoke their memories of travels and
hotel stays. IHG has employed a host of digital technologies as well to minimize human contact
including a digitalized process of check in and check out and automating most of the reception
area. It has also shifted it's marketing campaign by being open for any form of gathering and
IHG hotels and resorts are also offering rebates on room bookings to attract travellers back.
CONCLUSION
The above concluded report discussed the role, importance and various complex strategic
marketing processes involved in the hospitality industry with respect to a comparative analysis to
Hilton and IHG Hotels and resorts which are both successful multinational hotel chains with
impressive brands of hotels under their belt. The discussion in this report also included a brief
history of both the companies and the reason they were included in the report, their history and
evolution of personal means of marketing and their current marketing strategies and market
positioning in the eyes of their target audience. There was also a focus on the sustainability
efforts and specific strategies built to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by both the companies.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Agyapong, A., Mensah, H.K. and Ayuuni, A.M., 2018. The moderating role of social network on
the relationship between innovative capability and performance in the hotel industry.
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Ezzaouia, I. and Bulchand-Gidumal, J., 2020. Factors influencing the adoption of information
technology in the hotel industry. An analysis in a developing country. Tourism
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Fernandes Sampaio, C.A., Hernández Mogollón, J.M. and de Ascensão Gouveia Rodrigues, R.J.,
2020. The relationship between market orientation, customer loyalty and business
performance: A sample from the Western Europe hotel industry. Tourism and
Hospitality Research, 20(2), pp.131-143.
Guo, and et.al., 2021. Recovering hotel room sales during the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons
from OTA information using the quantile regression approach. Current Issues in
Tourism, pp.1-21.
Kim, J.J., Han, H. and Ariza-Montes, A., 2021. The impact of hotel attributes, well-being
perception, and attitudes on brand loyalty: Examining the moderating role of COVID-19
pandemic. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62, p.102634.
Ting, C., 2019, August. The Applied Research on the Virtual Reality Technology in the Hotel
Marketing Management. In 2019 International Conference on Smart Grid and Electrical
Automation (ICSGEA) (pp. 242-246). IEEE.