Influencing Consumer Decisions in Hospitality Marketing

This report investigates consumer behavior within the hospitality sector, focusing on cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors influencing consumer attitudes. It explores the impact of digital technology on consumer trends, highlighting mobile payments, social media, and online reviews. The report examines the stages of the consumer decision-making journey, from problem recognition to post-purchase evaluation, emphasizing the importance of mapping the path to purchase for marketers. Furthermore, it compares B2C and B2B decision-making processes in hospitality, evaluates different market research approaches, and assesses how marketers can influence each stage of the decision-making process with specific examples related to The Dorchester hotel.

Hospitality Consumer
Behaviour and Insight

Table of Content.
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Investigate the different cultural, social, personal and psychological factors that influence
consumer behaviour and attitudes within a hospitality context...................................................1
P2 Explore how consumer trends are changing due to the impact of digital technology............2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
P4 Explore why it is important for marketers to map a path to purchase and understand
consumer decision- making in the hospitality sector...................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
P5 Compare and contrast the key differences of the hospitality decision- making process in the
context of B2C and B2B, using specific hospitality examples....................................................5
P6 Evaluate the different approaches to market research and methods of research used for
understanding the decision-making process................................................................................6
P7 Evaluate how marketers can influence the different stages of the hospitality decision-
making process giving specific hospitality examples..................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
The study of customers and all the other action connected with certain procedure which is
purchase, utilization and disposal of final goods and services is consumer behaviour. It basically
deals with how, when and what individuals buy with the purpose to meet their needs and wants
(Batat, 2019). The industry which is related with providing facility of food, beverage, lodging,
event, tourism is hospitality industry. It is also considered as service industry. In this particular
report Dorchester is a five star luxury hotel which is established on Park Lane and Deanery street
in London to the east of Hyde Park. This report deals on different factor that influence the
behaviour of consumer as well their attitude in hospitality sector. It also identify and evaluate
how consumer trends are changing due to the effect of digital technology. In addition to this, it
will also study the stages of consumer decision-making with the help of map as well as evaluate
the necessity of map for the marketer in order to analyse the behaviour of consumer and its
changing trends.
MAIN BODY
Task 1
P1 Investigate the different cultural, social, personal and psychological factors that
influence consumer behaviour and attitudes within a hospitality context.
Consumer behaviour deals with the customers attitude, feeling, as well as preferences related to
the buying, use and disposal of final goods and services. It also examine the individuals quality,
willingness in an attempt to fulfil their needs and wants (Eller, Peters and Pantovic, 2020). In
context to The Dorchester, there are various factor which have impacted the overall behaviour of
consumer as well as their attitude. The factors are discussed below:
 Cultural factors: It can be referred as the set of values, ideas, customs as well as belief
which deals and analyse the behaviour of individual. The behaviour and attitude of the
consumer is influenced by the culture accepted by certain industry. These are also
considered as guides that are very unusual and it keeps on changing. With respect to
The Dorchester, the culture they follow are of people who share same values, customers,
beliefs. This can be very effective for the consumer as they don't need to make shift in
their needs and wants while they visit the hotel.
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 Social factors: Every individual have different perspective, demand and needs. As
individuals live with different people who can influence their buying behaviour. Every
sector have become so innovative that customers demand products and services which
have unique feature (Cai, Lu and Gursoy, 2018). But due to varied behaviours of
consumers profitability as well as goodwill of the organisation can get influenced. Due to
varied consumer behaviour the needs of other people are also influenced as they want the
services that are acceptable by the society. In context to The Dorchester, major social
group of people who visit hotel are family, children, officers, couples and many more.
So, the hotel administrator need to evaluate the needs and wants of every individual
visiting their hotel.
 Personal factors: These factors are influenced by the different age group, occupation,
income, living standard, individuals personality and many more. As every individual
have different income and this factor can influence the buying decision of the customers.
If the individual have high income, their spending on luxury item also increases. So,
The Dorchester hotel needs to keep the price of its products and services nominal so that
every customer can avail the services.
 Psychological factor: This factor is considered as major determinant of behaviour of
consumer. These factors includes the perception of individual, motivation, attitude,
learning behaviour of the consumer (Cai and Chi, 2018). Every business organisation
needs to understand the psychology of the consumer by conducting research, survey as
well as feedbacks. The Dorchester hotel should understand the psychology of customers
in order to comply with the individual behaviour and attitude by providing favourable
responses to them.
P2 Explore how consumer trends are changing due to the impact of digital technology.
Trends are generally the development of products and services which are getting very
popular at a certain time period. Through this we can know the needs and wants of the consumer
and way people are behaving (Legrand, Chen and Laeis, 2022). Consumer trends are the pattern
or behaviour that is related with the consumers products and services. Trends are formed due to
the new wants, demands, behaviour , expectation of the consumer. Trends keeps on changing
very frequently which can impact as well as influence the profitability. So, in order to provide
the customers with trendy products and services the organisation needs to make use of
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technology. But in context to The Dorchester, due to changing behaviour of the consumer, there
is huge impact of digital technology which are discussed below:
 Review from the application: Through the use of google and google map application
the customers can gain information as well as review of the hotel and the services which
they are providing to its customers in order to increase large number of customer base.
Through this digital technology, Guest can directly contact to The Dorchester so that they
can plan to visit and take this hotel while travelling.
 Mobile based payments apps: Due to the increasing use of technology, hospitality
sector has adopted different innovative techniques (Sharma and et. al., 2022). One of
them is mobile based payments which is used at the time of check-in and check out as
well it can be done from outside with the use of different mobile application. This can be
very flexible for the customer to use as they can make payments form anywhere through
this technology. It provide customer with better experience as they can select the method
of payments according to their comfort level. This can also lead them to gain new
experience in The Dorchester hotel.
 Usage of mobile facilities: Nowadays every aspects of life is connected with the mobile
and the use of it is also increasing day by day. Through this technology the people are
able to stay connected with each other and can easily share their reviews with each other.
Through this the business can get opportunities to enhance their business in greater
platform. Mobile facility plays an important role in the hospitality sector as with the use
of this people can easily recommend each other to avail the facility of hotel. In context to
The Dorchester, they provide customer with the facility extension landlines in the room
to the guest so that they can easily connect with the staff members of the hotel.
 Social Media: With the help of social media, the business can connect with the large
number of people within a single time period. In the current world, almost all the
individual use social media platform (Palalic and et. al., 2020). So, through this the
respective hotel administrator can attract large number of customers towards their hotel
by creating their own website and publishing advertisements and contents in different
social media platforms. This will also lead the hotel to gain more profits and build good
brand image among the market.
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TASK 2
P3 Examine the stages of the consumer decision- making journey and map a path to the
purchasing for a given hospitality service.
Consumer decision keeps on changing frequently due to the increasing trends as well as
change in technology. There are certain stages of consumer decision making as well as power
changing behaviour of buying. In context to The Dorchester those stages are mentioned below:
 Problem recognition: This is considered as one of the basic need which are considered
as one of the important aspects for every business organisation. It is also necessary to
understand the basic feature of the work given (Nam and et. al., 2021). In order to make
the customer satisfy with the services provided by the hotel then the hotel administrators
should recognise the problem faced by the customers as quickly as possible. So the
problem which consumer face in the hotel should be taken into the consideration as well
as the hotel manager should respond towards the changes they make. By satisfying the
guest, the hotel can gain competitive advantage within the market.
 Information search: After the problem is analysed and evaluated, the proper research
and survey is done by the guest with the purpose to know the services which the company
is providing. On the basis of that information, the guest can decide the whether to visit
that particular hotel or not and in what time they can visit. If The Dorchester hotel
provide customer with the proper services than it helps customers to experience better as
well as it have positive impact on the customers mind.
 Alternatives evaluation: After the analysis and research of the particular problem, the
hotel management needs to evaluate the situation and then need make strategy as well as
plan in order to make any modification with the products and services (Kim, 2020). With
this the hotel can serve better by providing innovative services to the customers. By make
proper analysis of the problem and conducting research modification can be made
according to the needs and wants of the customers. This will also lead the hotel to
develop the strong customer base within the market.
 Purchase decision: After the hotel is selected by the customer, they should also evaluate
the other necessary factors of the hotel in order to get best services. The customer can
monitor the check in and check out timings, room facilities, packages, food facility and
many more. Through this they can make the productive decision while choosing the
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hotel. Respective organisation should have flexibility in their products and services and it
should be according to the customers requirements.
 Post-purchase evaluation: It is the step that is done after the buying but this is the stage
where customer is checking the hotel facilities and wants to know more about the hotel
(Koc, 2020). This stage provide the customer perception regarding the products and
services they are availing. Here the customers can provide valuable feedbacks about the
services provided by hotel.
P4 Explore why it is important for marketers to map a path to purchase and understand
consumer decision- making in the hospitality sector.
It is very important to make the map with the purpose to select the specific hotel as the
individual is on that stage where they want to make choices which are better for them by
identifying and evaluating the products and services of the hotel (Atherton, 2019). Through this
they can avail the services in an appropriate manner as well as the consumer can enjoy staying
there. This also lead the customer to develop the image of the hotel in their mind and also have
better consideration regarding the hotel Dorchester. This particular report also assists in
acquiring personalised experience which are necessary to gain good market position. With the
help of this the marketer can make proper use of behaviour of consumer and can know the
customer perception, attitude as well. Relevant decision are also made regrading the booking of
hotel, services and then check out. These are basic phase which leads customer to make effective
decision as well as consideration regarding the purchase of the products. With the help of this
they can avail the best services from the hotel.
TASK 3
P5 Compare and contrast the key differences of the hospitality decision- making process in
the context of B2C and B2B, using specific hospitality examples.
B2C is the kind of business that render the services directly to their customer and B2B is
also a kind of business that provides services to the some other business. With reference to The
Dorchester,the key difference are mentioned below:
Decision making process B2C B2B
Problem recognition The problem faced by The business concern is
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customer is recognised by
themselves only as they are
only the one who are availing
the facilities of the hotel as
well as they are the one who
analyse the problem which
they are facing while availing
the services.
required to make the changes
according to the customers
needs and wants. The hotel
administrator should regularly
evaluate and monitor the
changes which are made by the
hotel.
Information research With the help of
advertisements and through
social media site consumer are
doing proper and effective
research about the hotel
(Rėklaitis and Pilelienė, 2019).
Due to the internet facilities
also the customer can make
certain decision. Due to
different mobile application
related to hotel, consumer can
make decision regarding who
is providing best hospitality.
The business concern search
related to the different
suppliers who are providing
better services as well as
quality goods. They will also
give attempt to discover the
factors which is most liked by
the another business.
P6 Evaluate the different approaches to market research and methods of research used for
understanding the decision-making process.
There are two types of method, with the purpose to conduct research. One technique is
primary research which is consider as research methodology where the data and information are
collected as well as extracted directly from the work. Along with this secondary research is done
by the other researchers and we make use of that data and information. This type of research is
also done with the help of magazines, books , journal and many more. The particular research of
the respective hotel is done in these ways:
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 Interview – This type of research can be done face-to-face or through telephone. This
type of research is also considered as open minded research (Kang,Legendre and Cartier,
2019). This is conducted by the interviewer(researcher)to the interviewee(respondent).
The answer to this can be more broad as it consists in more deep insights, view and
perceptions of them. The Dorchester takes a assessment by the customers through face to
face while checking out about the facilities and services provided by hotel.
 Survey – Survey is done through the online platform where the question are sent with the
help of Email or messages are drafted in a Multiple Choice Questions(MCQ) format.
Here the question should be not be lengthy and tricky because the respondent might feel
boring and can leave the question due to lack of interests. With reference to The
Dorchester, when the customer visit the hotel, the staff member give a page of
questionnaire that is related with the facilities and services provided by the hotel.
 Official website: Through official website the company get lots of information from the
customer point of view (Özbölük, 2021). In the official website the company have
separate section to connect with the customers. In context to The Dorchester, hotel
administrator are active in the feedback section in order to solve the customer issue and
problem and collect the data along with this.
 Observation – In this type of research there is no communication between the
investigator and the answerer. Here the response are detected by trained observers or
video equipment in terms of reactions and behaviour. The hotel detect the customer with
their expressions and behaviour after staying there. So that through this they can extract
the actual thoughts and ideas about their services from the consumer.
P7 Evaluate how marketers can influence the different stages of the hospitality decision-
making process giving specific hospitality examples
There are different stages for hospitality decision making process as well as fluctuating
power of them which are mentioned below:
 Need recognition – In this there a need to understand the customers needs and wants. So
the hotel needs to take the problem which customers are facing. They should work in
favour of customer so that they can satisfy them. Along with this the hotel should also
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know about their faults so that they can recover it in an appropriate manner. This can lead
them develop a strong customer base as well as increase profitability.
 Information Search – here the customer needs to do proper research about the hotel
before booking. They should know the rules and regulation about the hotel with the
purpose to avoid any complication at the end (Stosic, Dahlstrom and Boonchai, 2022).
They should know about the timings of check-in as well as check-out, the restrictions in
the hotel premises, the process to check-in and payment facilities acknowledged by The
Dorchester. The customer should have strong mindset regarding the hotel before their
visit.
 Option Evaluation – After the research has been done by the visitor than evaluation
option is available with them which should done in a productive manner so that they can
find the hotel where the services and facilities are according to their needs. The hotel
Dorchester, provides facilities and services which every customers can afford. As they
have facilities from the low range to high range prices and they keep on providing
discounts and offers to their customers. This leads them to develop good brand image
among the market.
 Purchase decision – According to the needs and wants the individual is required to make
the decisions related to the location, timings, services quality, affordability and many
more. The consumer should be very clear about their wants so that it can be easy for them
to select the hotel. In context to the The Dorchester the hotel provide consumer with
unique facilities that influence customer decision.
 Post purchase evaluation – This procedure is for checking out and acquiring feedback
for critical review of the hotel's facilities as well as management.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that Consumer behaviour is the idea which
helps in analysing the requirement of the purchaser in the specific industry. There are several
element which can effect the whole decisions of consumer that can be personal,social as well as
psychological. Use of social media and review from application can assist in identifying the
impact of digital technology on changing purchasing behaviour. In addition to this, there are
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different level of consumer buying journey that needs to be examined so that the consumer as
well as the hotel can make the proper judgment with the purpose to have better services.
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