Hospitality Marketing Essentials: Roles, Plan, and Strategy

This report delves into the core aspects of hospitality marketing, using The ELM Tree Hotel as a case study. It begins by outlining the roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within a hospitality organization, emphasizing the importance of setting market strategies and identifying customer needs. The report then explores how marketing interacts with other departments like Food & Beverage, HR, and Finance, highlighting their interdependencies. The core of the report is the development of a comprehensive marketing plan, including an executive summary, SWOT analysis, objectives, strategies (segmentation, targeting, positioning), and cost analysis. The plan aims to increase revenue and market share for The ELM Tree Hotel through strategic initiatives and measurable controls like KPI and benchmarking. The report concludes by emphasizing the vital role of marketing in the hospitality industry and the significance of a well-defined marketing plan in achieving business objectives. The report is a good example for students who want to study marketing in the hospitality sector and is available on Desklib.

HOSPITALITY MARKETING
ESSENTIALS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Roles and responsibilities of marketing function in hospitality organisation........................1
Roles of marketing relates with organisational context.........................................................2
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................3
Marketing plan for hospitality firm to attain objectives.........................................................3
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality sector is a part of service industry which involves activities like food &
beverages services, lodging, transportation, theme parks, event planning, travelling, cruise line
etc. This industry is dependent on the disposable income and availability of leisure time (Bačík,
Štefko and Gburová, 2014). This assignment is based on The ELM Tree hotel which is a UK
based hotel, situated in North Wales. This report will cover about key responsibilities and roles
of marketing functions & marketing in organisation. Also, a marketing plan will be prepared to
achieve objectives of company.
TASK 1
Roles and responsibilities of marketing function in hospitality organisation
Marketing is a tactics which is performed by a business firm to promote and advertise their
products so that high profits can be earned. Hospitality marketing are marketing efforts that are
carried out to extends profits and revenue in hospitality sector. Nature of hospitality marketing is
very unpredictable as demands of people changes on regular basis due to changing market
trends. The ELM Tree hotel is a United Kingdom based hospitality organisation which is
headquartered in North Wales. This hotel is considered as one of the best small hotel in UK. But
now, owner of company has decided to expand its business presence in UK so that high revenues
can be earned. One of the best way to expand business is marketing which benefits in increasing
customer base of a firm (Cheng and Chen, 2017).
Development of marketing concepts
 Production concept: As per this concept, consumer will buy those products that are not
costly and easily available. The ELM Tree hotel needs to provide good services in
genuine price to satisfy customers.
 Product concept: This concept states that people wishes to use those services which are
standardised, appreciable and have innovative aspects. Offering complementary and
regular services in good way will help The ELM Tree hotel to increase their sales.
 Selling concept: It states that a customer is not going to buy a product itself, manager in
The ELM Tree hotel will be required to promote and advertise it so that maximum
number of people can acknowledge about it (Dinçer and Alrawadieh, 2017).
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 Customer concept: This concept is based on customers and defines that to achieve wide
sales and popularity, a company is needed to give offers, discounts and complementary
service to customers. This will help The ELM Tree hotel in retaining their customers for
maximum time.
Roles and responsibilities of marketing function
 Setting market strategy: Main role of marketing department in a hospitality
organisation is to set right market strategy so that attention of customers can be gained in
maximised numbers. For example, for introducing new product in market or entering a
new region, marketing manager of concerned hotel have responsibility to formulate right
strategy. If manager in The ELM Tree hotel will not set right market strategy, company
will not be able to give good performance in market place.
 Identifying customer needs: This is another role of marketing department in The ELM
Tree hotel. Employees in marketing unit are needed to acknowledge the requirements of
their potential and existing customers. This will help other departments to serve
customers in efficient manner. If marketing manager in The ELM Tree hotel is not able to
know about needs of customers, people will feel dissatisfied. This will reduce the image
and revenues of company within marketplace (Eletxigerra, Barrutia and Echebarria,
2018).
Roles of marketing relates with organisational context
Marketing plays an essential role in the smooth working of an organisation. Without the
help of marketing unit, it is not possible for other departments to work in appreciable manner.
Role of marketing in organisational context is stated below:
 Marketing and Food & Beverage department: Marketing department in a hotel helps
in identifying the food and drink choices of customers. This helps F&B department to
prepare only those dishes and drinks which are highly liked by people. Also, F&B
department helps marketing team by providing them free samples of Food which are
given to customers to promote and assure about the quality of Food served in The ELM
Tree hotel. If these departments will not work in a coordinated manner, concerned hotel
will not be able to earn high revenues.
 Marketing and HR department: HR department in The ELM Tree hotel recruits and
train employees which then works under marketing department with full efficiency. This
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help marketing teams in accomplishing their targets properly whereas marketing team
helps in advertising about vacant positions in hotel due to which HR department is able to
recruit right candidate for right position. Hence, these two departments are interrelated
with each other.
 Marketing and finance department: Finance team in The ELM Tree hotel have the role
to manage all the funds and finances of company. Marketing team of concerned hotel
helps finance manager in identifying those people or firms which can invest in hotel so
that no shortage of financial capital can be faced. Whereas to perform marketing
activities properly, capital and funds are needed. These funds are given by finance team
to the marketing department (Joshi, 2012). If these two department will not work in
coordinate way, finance department will have shortage of money due to which budget of
marketing team will also get compromised. This will lead to inefficiency while
promotion and advertisement of products.
TASK 3
Marketing plan for hospitality firm to attain objectives
Marketing plan is referred to a business document which outlines marketing strategies of
a company so that varied activities can be performed in systematic and efficient manner.
Importance of marketing plan
An appropriate marketing plan benefits in popularising services of hospitality sector due
to which a firm is able to earn high revenues. In context with The ELM Tree hotel, marketing
plan will help the manager in reaching their target audience, boosting customer base and
preparing right objectives for company (Long and Jerath, 2018). A good marketing plan helps in
creation of effective market strategies and objectives that results in attainment of competitive
advantage over rivals. Marketing plan for The ELM Tree hotel is prepared below:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ELM Tree hotel is a North Wales based hotel which operates within UK. Owner of hotel
is planning to further expand business in UK due to which an appropriate marketing plan is
needed. Business owner of Hotel has decided to open up a branch in Birmingham exclusive for
premium class. By preparing a marketing plan, new branch in Birmingham can be made very
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popular among high class customers. This will benefits the hotel in achieving high market shares
and profits.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Weakness
 The ELM Tree hotel has wide
popularity in UK due to its standardised
services.
 Hotel do not charge high due to which
average income people can afford it for
accommodations and food.
 High class people do not prefer to visit
it due to its economic pricing.
 Hotel has less marketing channels due
to which people are not well aware
about their services.
Opportunities Threats
 Hotel can enhance their online presence
to target maximum customers
(Ogunmokun and Hsin Tang, 2012).
 Special facilities for premium section
can be introduced like parties, golf
playing etc.
 High competition from big hotels like
Hilton hotel, Marriott international
impacts The ELM Tree hotel negatively
.
 Local hotels are giving tough
competition which is a big treat for
concerned hotel.
OBJECTIVES
 To increase their revenues by 40% within 6 month of new branch's inauguration.
 To enhance their market shares by 60% within one year.
STRATEGIES
 Segmentation: For new hotel branch in Birmingham, manager is going to segment
customers on the basis of age and income. To show off their status, these people will
happily accept the services offered by The ELM Tree hotel.
 Targeting: High class People within 18 to 60 years’ age and will be mainly targeted by
company. Hotel is also going to focus on youth due to their interest in vacations and trips.
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 Positioning: To position itself in front of targeted people, hotel is going to offer high
class facilities like, Bar, opera show, Golf club, Pool activities etc. This will help the
concerned hotel in achieving high sales and profits (Wirtz, Tuzovic and Kuppelwieser,
2014).
COST
Expected cost for marketing of new branch of The ELM Tree hotel is around 10,000
pounds.
CONTROL AND MEASURES
To control and measure the activities related with promotion & advertising of new hotel
branch in Birmingham, manager of company can use tools like KPI and Benchmarking. KPI will
helps in acknowledging efficient performance indicators which will be beneficial for earning
high profits. Benchmarking will help the concerned company in comparing their marketing
efforts with rivals so that required modifications in marketing strategies can be carried out
properly. This will allow the company to attaining their expected objectives and targets within
time (Pike, 2015).
CONCLUSION
As per above given report, it can be said that marketing plays a vital role in the
functioning of hospitality industry. Main role of marketing department is to acknowledge the
needs of customers and formulating right business strategies so that high revenues can be
attained. If other departments will not work in coordination with marketing team, attaining
targets and goals will not be possible. Marketing plan benefits a firm in accomplishing objectives
of high profits in desirable manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bačík, R., Štefko, R. and Gburová, J., 2014. Marketing pricing strategy as part of competitive.
Cheng, J. C. and Chen, C. Y., 2017. Job resourcefulness, work engagement and prosocial service
behaviors in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management. 29(10). pp.2668-2687.
Dinçer, M. Z. and Alrawadieh, Z., 2017. Negative word of mouse in the hotel industry: A
content analysis of online reviews on luxury hotels in Jordan. Journal of Hospitality
Marketing & Management. 26(8). pp.785-804.
Eletxigerra, A., Barrutia, J. M. and Echebarria, C., 2018. Place marketing examined through a
service-dominant logic lens: A review. Journal of destination Marketing &
Management. 9. pp.72-84.
Joshi, M., 2012. Essentials of marketing. Bookboon.
Long, F. and Jerath, K., 2018. Dynamics in Textual Content and Ratings in Online Product
Reviews. under review at Journal of Marketing Research. 23.
Muralidharan, K. and Raval, N., 2017. Six Sigma marketing and productivity improvement. A
Quarterly Journal of the National Productivity Council. 58(1). pp.107-114.
Ogunmokun, G. and Hsin Tang, E.C., 2012. The effect of strategic marketing planning
behaviour on the performance of small-to medium-sized firms. International Journal of
Management. 29(1). p.159.
Pike, S., 2015. Destination marketing: essentials. Routledge.
Wirtz, J., Tuzovic, S. and G. Kuppelwieser, V., 2014. The role of marketing in today's
enterprises. Journal of Service Management. 25(2). pp.171-194.
Online
How to create marketing plan for home business. 2019. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-is-a-marketing-plan-1794426>
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