Integrated Hospitality Marketing Communication Strategies and Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of integrated marketing communication strategies within the hospitality sector, focusing on a small luxury resort as a case study. The report begins by defining marketing and its importance for hospitality organizations, emphasizing the need for effective communication to attract customers. It then delves into various marketing channels, categorizing them into traditional and modern approaches, with particular attention to the effectiveness of digital marketing. The report discusses search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, and social media marketing, highlighting their roles in reaching target audiences and achieving communication objectives. A significant portion of the report is dedicated to a case study of the Island Beach Resort, examining its multichannel marketing approach, including property management systems, online channels, and sales efforts. The report evaluates the resort's communication strategy, focusing on its choice of channels and their effectiveness in terms of SEO, email marketing, and creative content. The report concludes with a summary of the marketing communication and its effectiveness.

Integrated Hospitality
Marketing Communications

INTRODUCTION
Marketing can be defined as an act through which organization communicates to the
customers and potential customers about value they provide to their customers. There are several
channels through which organisations can communicate about they provide to their customers.
Marketing has become important functions of all the organisations so that they can communicate
to the right customers based on the value and facilities they are seeking for in product and
service and value and facilities that organisation can provide to them. This is also an important
function of the hospitality organisations as well. This is because their success mainly depends on
their effective communication and marketing. This is because hospitality organisations provide
services of hospitality and one has to go to entertain services of hospitality organisations. This
requires strong conviction and for that organisations can communicate through various
marketing channels. This report will also discuss about marketing communication of a small
resort. This will discuss about different channels for marketing and communication that
organizations can utilize. This also discuss case study of a small luxury resort and their
marketing efforts.
PART A
Different channels of Marketing
There are several channels of marketing through which organizations can communicate
to its customers and potential customers. In success of marketing channels and objectives of
communication it is very important that channels that organisations select for their
communication purposes are effective. Marketing channels mainly are divided in two types.
These are traditional channels of communication, these are channels that are being used by
organization from long times and these are TV, print advertisement. Other type of
communication channels are modern channels of communication and these are social media
advertising, digital platforms of communication (Key, 2017). Traditional channels of
communication does not have the capacity to communicate with specifies customer target.
Digital marketing and promotional activities allows organizations to communicate with its target
market. Presently many organizations are communicating on digital platforms and this is because

of increasing online engagements of the customers and potential customers. Success of the
marketing and communication efforts majorly depends on and affected by an effective
employment of both these types of channels of communication. In context of Island Beach
Resort it employed was based on a multichannel approach of the marketing efforts. This
multichannel approach included property management system, online channels, and sales efforts.
Island Beach Resort’s choice of marketing was property management system was tied with an
online provider that offered services for property management and along with that also provided
online marketing and some other vender functions. Island Beach Resort also had a contractual
relation with an online marketing provider. Accessibility of the resort was also limited to certain
hours and closed at 11 PM and resort used a call centre to answer calls when reception was
closed. Through various agents providing online marketing solutions to the resort and contractual
agreement of the company with other agents for ensuring their online marketing it was found that
efforts are going on the right way. Visibility of the resort was good and referencing of online
marketing channels was verified and proved to be very good with Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
Different options were available on landing page of the company in which some of the landing
pages lead to “send vacation enquiry” and some of the landing pages lead to “website” option
(Rosson, and Ford, 2016). All this discussion leads to decision that present online marketing of
resort was effective. Resort mainly was using online marketing channels and these channels were
also being operated and completed through third parties with additional services to resort. This
means that in order to achieve its communication objectives resort is using online
communication and marketing channels.
Search Engine Optimization
This is the ability of the company to streamline the marketing campaign and optimise
results. These are based on traffic and conversion in this traffic generated is more likely to
convert at a comparatively higher rate than in ad-generated traffic. This means when people
search about the resort this has higher probability that they will convert as customers of the
company rather than those who engage with ads and create traffic. This is because individual and
potential customer is searching actively because they want to get more information and when
they find information which is more relevant to their requirements and desires they will become
customers of the resort. They employ this because SEO generates from key words that means

key words that are determined by the company that customers are likely to use while they search
for the company. This means for searching a resort they might type the keywords related to
specific characteristics of the resort or about the city or location where resort is located
(Skarmeas, Zeriti and Baltas, 2016). Related to achieving communication objectives it can be
said that search results lead users to the place where they can get all the answers of their all
queries and company can communicate with the users either through their websites or by giving
specific answers to the users through mail or other communication means.
Email Marketing
This is another important way of communicating with the audience as this allows resort
to communicate directly with the customers and potential customers. There are several ways in
which resort can effectively utilize this strategy one of the ways in which this is effective is when
customer sends queries for the vacation in such situation it is useful and effective for the
company. Another way is that company can send customised offers to the customers and
potential customers, this means that company can directly communicate with the customers and
inform them about offers and value that resort can provide to them. This is also effective in
increasing customer loyalty as company can offer customised loyalty programs to those
customers so that they again buy the services of the resort.
Social media Marketing
This is one of the widely used marketing channels which includes marketing and
promotions of the company. Social media channels are being significantly used by all types of
businesses because of increasing number of social media users. Resort also uses this as important
social and digital media channel for promotion and social media allows organisations to promote
their content and brand and services in several manners (Skarmeas and et.al., 2018). There are
two types in which social media channels can be used by the company. This is known as organic
social media channels and paid social media. Organic social media marketing is that type of
marketing in which company develops their own link and pages on the social media sites. They
promote their content and customers can follow this and engage with the content on social
media. There are several benefits of this type of promotions on social media as along with
promoting the company for least possible cost. These also will allow resorts to understand and

measure user engagement on the content of the company. They can engage with the content in
form of likes, share and views of the content. Other than this one another form in which
company can promote their services and brands on social media channels are paid social media
marketing. This marketing includes that company pays to other social media pages and links so
that they can promote content and services of the company. This will allow resort to increase
their visibility as company can promote it through other parties and their followers and viewers
will get to know about the services of the resort and what makes it valuable for the company
(Printezis and Grebitus, 2018). Resort is a type of company operating in hospitality industry and
this is why they can pat travel bloggers and such parties that can influencing represent resort on
their websites and increase visibility of the resort. This type of digital marketing channel and
marketing tactic is used by the resort to fulfil their communication objectives that are relevant
with increasing visibility of the resort and when they are willing to implement their promotional
activities with less cost than other mediums of promotions will take. Social media marketing is
also done because this has highest possibility of being successful because popularity and users of
social media both are increasing regularly.
Another benefit of social media marketing is that company can also employ content
marketing through social media. This means employing blogs, video message and content
through social media. Resort can target its audience and select the content that is according to
and effective for the target market of the resort. Content marketing is considered to be most
effective in generating leads and show results to the resort and provide highest return on
investment (Andrei and et.al., 2017). Other than this there are several benefits of the company as
content marketing is most influential form of communicating with customers and potential
customers and through effective and attractive content company can achieve all its objectives of
communication to the company and its target market.
Evaluation of the Hospitality case study
Communication Strategy
Communication strategy refers to strategy that has been employed by the resort is typical
multichannel marketing approach. This was multichannel and was on online mediums but this
was based on contractual agreements of the resort. Regarding their communication strategy they
were in contractual relations and this is standard practice that is being followed at the resorts

presently. Further analysis of the case study suggest that resort was mainly employing SEO
strategy for online communication though performance of the resort in this was good and resort
was able to generate adequate return on investments. But in context of communication strategy
of the resort it can be said that they should also employ social media marketing as increasing
users on social media expect that companies must be present on social media and they can search
on social media. Other than their search resort can also increase its visibility through social
media sites.
Choice of Channel
Search Engine Optimisation
Resort is mainly focusing on this strategy of communication and this channel has been
chosen by the company. This channel is suitable for the resort because Communication
objectives of the resort are to increase their customers and ensuring that resort gets best return on
investment and this is possible when company uses effective keywords that lead users to
customers and appear on top. With this channel communication objective of getting the higher
rank also gets fulfilled and this increases traffic on the website and this is a clear indicator of the
potentially more business. This also ensures that when audience is searching for the business it
gets showed up on the right time. This is an effective channel of communication through which
resort can generate higher traffic and communicate in most effective way with its customers and
answering all the questions of the customers related to the service they are willing to buy.
Email Marketing
Regarding this channel of communication it can be said that though company is not
directly indulge in this but they are applying this when they get queries from the customers about
vacation and their details and another type of queries related to the resort and its services.
Though it is not directly a marketing strategy and channel but while their answers to queries
company can ensure that they are able to influence user to buy services of the resort. This fulfils
the communication objectives of the resort in which it includes direct and influential
communication to the customers.
Creative Content

This means content which is creative and able to attract users so that they visit the page
and engage themselves with the content. This also includes different types of multimedia that
form part of online presence of the company. These can be content in form of video, blog, photo
and graphic designs. Creative content can enables resort to make people and users get involved
with the content.
PART B
Included in PPT
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above discussion it can be concluded that marketing communication plays
important role in ensuring that organisation is able to encourage and convince people to buy its
services. This is because marketing communications are designed in such way that influences
customers to buy products of one company rather than its competitors. This report discussed
about some of channels that are being used by the company and what are their benefits and what
make them preferred choice for the organisation. Later one of the case study was also analysed in
this report in context of its marketing communication strategy, choice of communication channel
made by the resort and creative content.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Andrei, A.G and et.al., 2017. Word-of-mouth generation and brand communication
strategy. Industrial Management & Data Systems.
Bekessy, S.A and et.al., 2018. Ask not what nature can do for you: A critique of ecosystem
services as a communication strategy. Biological conservation. 224. pp.71-74.
Choi, H.J. and Jung, J.H., 2017. Enhanced power line communication strategy for DC microgrids
using switching frequency modulation of power converters. IEEE Transactions on
Power Electronics. 32(6). pp.4140-4144.
Darmawan, D. and Harahap, E., 2016. Communication strategy for enhancing quality of
graduates nonformal education through computer based test (CBT) in West Java
Indonesia.
Ebbers, W.E., Jansen, M.G. and van Deursen, A.J., 2016. Impact of the digital divide on e-
government: Expanding from channel choice to channel usage. Government information
quarterly. 33(4). pp.685-692.
Key, T.M., 2017. Domains of digital marketing channels in the sharing economy. Journal of
Marketing Channels. 24(1-2), pp.27-38.
Printezis, I. and Grebitus, C., 2018. Marketing channels for local food. Ecological
Economics. 152. pp.161-171.
Rosson, P.J. and Ford, I.D., 2016. Stake, conflict and performance in export marketing channels.
In Proceedings of the 1979 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual
Conference (pp. 66-69). Springer, Cham.
Skarmeas, D and et.al., 2018, July. ON RELATIONSHIP VALUE IN INTERNATIONAL
MARKETING CHANNELS. In 2018 Global Marketing Conference at Tokyo (pp.
1330-1330).
Skarmeas, D., Zeriti, A. and Baltas, G., 2016. Relationship value: Drivers and outcomes in
international marketing channels. Journal of international marketing. 24(1). pp.22-40.