Marketing Essentials in Travel and Tourism: A Report

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Marketing Essentials in Travel and Tourism

Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
LO 1 Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units in a
hospitality organisation....................................................................................................................4
Define marketing and examine the development of marketing concepts and explain the key
roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within the your travel and tourism
organisation (P1, M1)..................................................................................................................4
Discuss how roles and responsibilities of marketing in your travel and tourism organisation
relate to the wider organisational context and analyse the significance of interrelationships
between marketing and other functional units within your organisation (P2, M2, D1)..............6
LO 2 Compare ways in which hospitality organisations use elements of the marketing mix (7Ps)
to achieve overall business objectives.............................................................................................8
Explain marketing mix and compare its application in your travel and tourism organisation
with other similar organisations in the marketing planning process to achieve marketing
objectives (P3, M3)......................................................................................................................8
LO 3 Develop a basic marketing plan to meet marketing objectives for a hospitality organisation
.......................................................................................................................................................12
Differentiate between a basic and strategic marketing planning and produce a basic marketing
plan for your travel and tourism organisation to meet the marketing objectives. Produce a
detailed, coherent, evidence-based marketing plan that applies the marketing mix to meet
marketing objectives for your organisation (P4, M4, D2).........................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................18
Reference.......................................................................................................................................19

Introduction
Marketing has become an integral part of the business strategy of every organisation. In
hospitality sector, the role of marketing becomes even more important because of the high level
of competition in the market. Organisations in the travel and tourism sector have now developed
dedicated marketing departments and these organisations are focusing on the recruitment and
selection of good talent and also on the training and development of these resources. There are
different marketing strategies that hospitality organisations adopt depending upon the mission
and vision of the organisation, goals of the company, region in which they are operating and
competition in the market. The current assignment will focus on these different marketing
concepts and use the example of Marriott International to analyse these marketing concepts.
Marriott International was founded in 1927 by J. Willard Marriott and since them the company
has grown exponentially and currently operates in 130 countries with a portfolio of 30 brands.

LO 1 Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units in a
hospitality organisation
Define marketing and examine the development of marketing concepts and explain the key
roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within the your travel and tourism
organisation (P1, M1)
Marketing is a process that focuses on the promotion and sales of company products / service
including the advertisement and market research. Marketing process needs extensive market
research to understand the market trends so that a marketing strategy to address the challenges in
the marketing could be developed.
There are 4 different marketing concepts that have different roles in the marketing. These are:
1. Production Concept
The role of this concept is to focus on the products which are available in the market
easily and also affordable (Kotler et al, 2017). The economic segment of accommodation
provided by Marriott International falls in this category. The mass bookings of economic
accommodation results in revenue generation for Marriott International
2. Product Concept
The role of this concept is to focus on the products and service that have high quality and
contains innovative and creative features. Luxury segment by Marriott International falls
in this category.
3. Selling Concept

The role of this concept is to focus on aggressive marketing to sell company products.
Marriott International has developed many promotional campaigns that it implements
offline and online to sell its products.
4. Marketing Concept
The role of this concept is to focus on the needs of the customers and then develop
products accordingly. Marriott International conducts market research and then develops
its packages to satisfy the needs and wants of the customers. In this manner, Marriott
International is able to develop long term relationships with the customers.
Roles and Responsibilities of Marketing at Marriott International
While there are many established brands like Hilton Hotels that are creating tough competition
for Marriott International in the marketing, there are many other relatively new organisations in
the hospitality sector that enhance this competition further. Hence, Marriott International needs
to focus on its marketing strategy so that the company could have competitive edge in the
market. Although, Marriott International has a rich 30 brand portfolio where company has the
products that could almost suit the needs of customers in every segment, it still needs to reach
out to these customers and pitch its products (Lewis and Chambers, 2015). Hence, the first target
of the marketing process at Marriott International is to target the customers.
Marriott International needs to stay updated with the latest happenings in the hospitality sector.
Customers’ needs and wants are changing a lot in recent days and company needs to change its
tactics accordingly. Marketing process allows Marriott International to perform market research
using various tools to understand and analyse the changing needs of the customers and then
make suitable changes in the products and services. In this manner, marketing would help

Marriott International in achieving high level of customer satisfaction and develop a loyal
customer base.
Discuss how roles and responsibilities of marketing in your travel and tourism organisation
relate to the wider organisational context and analyse the significance of interrelationships
between marketing and other functional units within your organisation (P2, M2, D1)
Marketing would help Marriott International in achieving its mission and vision. Through proper
marketing strategy, Marriott International could achieve its goals of expansion in international
market, increase its share in domestic market and fulfil the expectations of the stakeholders.
Marketing would further help Marriott International in developing new products and services
which is essential for continuous growth (Morrison, 2016).
Through market orientation, Marriott International would be able to analyse the actual demand in
the market and then fulfil this demand with quality products. Another important role that
marketing plays in wider organisational context is that it helps Marriott International in analysing
the micro and macro business environment. Understanding the business environment variable is
crucial for Marriott International if it has to maintain a competitive edge in the market.
Interrelationships between marketing and other functional units
Marketing department at Marriott International works in coordination with other departments so
that proper implementation of the marketing strategy could be done.
Marriott International needs excellent resources to develop and implement its marketing strategy.
Human Resource Management (HRM) department at Marriott International works with

managers in marketing department and perform recruitment and selection as pert the
requirements raised by the marketing managers. Training and development programs for
marketing resources are also organised by HRM departments.
Finance department works with marketing department to prepare the marketing budget. Analysis
of the financial resources and their efficient use is only possible when finance unit works in
coordination with marketing unit.
The research and development department at Marriott International focus on collecting market
data and analyse that data. The results of data analysis are shared with marketing department that
helps it in developing effective promotional campaigns.

LO 2 Compare ways in which hospitality organisations use elements of the marketing mix
(7Ps) to achieve overall business objectives
Explain marketing mix and compare its application in your travel and tourism
organisation with other similar organisations in the marketing planning process to achieve
marketing objectives (P3, M3)
Marketing mix is a pool of 5 different elements that are used to develop the marketing strategy of
an organisation. Marketing mix in the context of Marriott International and its competitor Hilton
Hotel is described here
1. Product
Marriott International has 30 brands and operates in 130 countries where it possesses more than
6,900 properties. Marriott International has 1.14 million rooms in these different properties.
Marriott International has a wide range of products that it has developed through own production
and acquisition. Marriott International offers The Luxury Collection, Ritz – Carlton and JW
Marriott Hotels in Luxury Segment, Design Hotels and Marriott Marquis in Upper Upscale
Segment, Marriott Hotels and Resorts and Le Meridian in Premium Segment and also Select
Class Hotels and Long Stay Hotels (Nykiel, 2018).
Hilton Hotels has its operations in more than 108 countries where it possesses approximately
5,949 properties that contain 8, 87, 000 rooms. Like Marriott International, Hilton Hotel also
provides luxury, premium and classis segments in different hotels. But the variety that Marriott
International possesses is quite higher than Hilton Hotels.
2. Price

Marriott International targets mainly high income group customers and focuses mainly on luxury
and premium segments. Because of this, the primary pricing strategy adopted by Marriott
International is premium pricing where high quality suits are sols on high price. However,
Marriott International has also launched long stay hotels where customers could stay for long
time on reasonable pricing (Ottenbacher, 2014). Marriott International is currently focusing on
its newly launched online rental platform similar to the services provided by Airbnb
Like Marriott International, Hilton Hotel also deals mainly in luxury segment as most of the
customers of the company prefer quality over price.
Figure 1: Service Marketing Mix 7P (Ottenbacher, 2014)

3. Place
The biggest advantage that Marriott International has is its global presence. Its operations in 130
countries make sure that the organisation is able to expand at international level. While most of
the properties of Marriott International are in US, UK and European countries, it also has good
presence in Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Hilton Hotel has presence in 109 countries and headquarter of the company is in Virginia, USA.
Like Marriott International, Hilton Hotel has also expanded at global level and works in
coordination with many tour operators.
4. Promotion
Marriott International is an organisation that has established itself as a brand in the international
hospitality sector. Marriott International focuses a lot on branding and uses different promotional
platforms such as online marketing using search engines and also using the social media
marketing. Free Merchandising, gifts and coupons to loyal customers, cash backs on online
payment are some other promotional strategies adopted by Marriott International. Hilton Hotel
on the other hand focuses mainly on online promotion (Reich, 2017).
5. People
Marriott International has one of the largest workforces in the hospitality sector that consists of
1, 85, 000 employees. Marriott International is ranked 3rd in the hospitality sector on the
parameter of providing best working environment to the employees. Marriott International
focuses a lot on keeping the employee turnover low. Hilton Hotel has 1, 58, 000 employees who

work in its different facilities across 109 countries. The HRM department of Hilton Hotel
focuses a lot on the training and development of the employees.
6. Process
In hospitality sector processes adopted by the organisations becomes very important. For
example, Marriott International always focuses most on customer service process. Its aim is to
make sure that customers are 100% satisfied with the services they receive from the company
during their stay at the hotel. The supply chain management process is also very efficient at
Marriott International.
Hilton Hotel is known for its excellent customer support. When customers make online purchase,
its executives are present online to assist in the process and resolve any issue customer face
during the purchase. Hilton is also known for its structured training and development process in
HRM department.
7. Physical evidence
Marriott International has different brands that have different architecture. The acquisitions
carried out by Marriott International have brought diversity in its portfolio because every
company that it acquired has a different architecture than Marriott International. Also, Marriott
International tries to use the local culture during the design of its hotels to make the hotel popular
among the local customers and provide a new experience to foreign tourists (Teare et al, 2015).
Like Marriott International, Hilton Hotel also focuses a lot on the looks of its hotels and hired
very talented architects to design its facilities. The ambience in its hotels is excellent and a
luxury could be felt as soon as customers enter Hilton Hotel.

LO 3 Develop a basic marketing plan to meet marketing objectives for a hospitality
organisation
Differentiate between a basic and strategic marketing planning and produce a basic
marketing plan for your travel and tourism organisation to meet the marketing objectives.
Produce a detailed, coherent, evidence-based marketing plan that applies the marketing
mix to meet marketing objectives for your organisation (P4, M4, D2)
A basic marketing plan is developed to handle a small scale project or to add value to an existing
project. On the other hand, a strategic marketing plan is developed to address the long term goals
of an organisation and to introduce a large scale product which is important for achieving the
long term goals and objectives of the organisation.
Marriott International is a global brand in the hospitality sector and it is known for its luxury
segment accommodation across the world. Currently the company is planning to launch Luxury
Home Sharing Platform following the footsteps of the home sharing giant Airbnb.
A marketing plan starts with the analysis of the vision of the organisation. The vision of Marriott
International is – “To be the World’s Favourite Travel Organisation”
In order to develop the marketing plan, it is essential for Marriott International to conduct SWOT
analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the company and also to assess the threats
and the opportunities in the market.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Brand Value 1. New to the Home Sharing Platform