Hospitality Marketing: Roles, Responsibilities, Mix, and Plan for Ritz

This report provides a comprehensive overview of marketing essentials within the hospitality industry, focusing on Ritz London as a case study. It details the roles and responsibilities of the marketing function, emphasizing its connection to the wider organizational context. The report compares marketing mix applications across different hospitality organizations and presents a marketing plan designed to meet specific marketing goals. Key areas covered include marketing information, finance, promotion, and communication, as well as the interrelationships between marketing and other functional departments such as front office, housekeeping, finance, and human resources. The analysis highlights the significance of these interrelationships for driving revenue and achieving business success, with an emphasis on the role of marketing in supporting various organizational activities.

Hospitality Marketing
Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.......................................................................................................................................................3
P1) Explain roles as well as responsibilities of marketing function in context of a hospitality
organization.............................................................................................................................................3
P2) Discuss the way in which role and responsibilities of marketing department is related to wider
organizational context..............................................................................................................................4
TASK 2.......................................................................................................................................................6
P3) Compare how marketing mix is applied by different organizations within hospitality industry to
attain business objectives.........................................................................................................................6
TASK 3.......................................................................................................................................................9
P4) Prepare a marketing plan for hospitality organization to meet with marketing goals........................9
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................13
REFERNCES............................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is business function which is concerned with attracting more number of
customers with an aim to inflate current level of sales as well as profit margin. In hospitality
industry, marketing is regarded as one of the crucial activity to communicate with target
audience in an efficient manner (Baker and Magnini, 2016). Main aim of marketing within the
industry is to differentiate products and services with other competitors. In the present report,
Ritz london hotel is considered that is a well known organization of hospitality industry. It is
based on UK and offers luxury services as well as amenities to customers. The current report
includes roles & responsibilities of marketing function to attain predefined objectives. Here,
association between different departments with marketing division has also been included in the
following report. Further, a comparison on the basis of marketing mix along with comprehensive
marketing plan has also been included in the present report.
TASK 1
P1) Explain roles as well as responsibilities of marketing function in context of a hospitality
organization
Development of marketing concept and process: Marketing concept is a fundamental
concept of marketing which is based on providing the products and services to customers as per
their requirement. Here, companies prepare marketing strategies by considering maximum
benefits of customers. This is a new concept which has developed after the industrial revolution
when customers are considered as crucial stakeholders of business. Here, the gradual changes are
traced under four categories such as production oriented, sales oriented, customer oriented and
social oriented period.
Marketing is crucial business function which is related with promoting and selling
products at wide level. In context of Ritz London, roles and responsibilities of marketing
function is given below:
Marketing information: It is considered as the most important role and responsibility of
marketing function under which managers need to collect necessary information regarding needs

and requirements of buyers. For this, they undertake detailed marketing research so that they get
to know about prevailing market trend. It helps marketing manager to prepare appropriate
strategy with an aim to sustain in current market place for longer run. In context of Ritz london
hotel, marketers are required to undertake market research in order to gather detailed information
about requirements of customer. It will help them to prepare appropriate marketing strategies for
getting an edge over competitors present in market place (Dinçer and Alrawadieh, 2017). It is the
role of marketers to obtain necessary information from market place which will further help in
preparing appropriate strategies for enhancing reach of company in market place.
Finance: It has great link with marketing function as main aim of marketing function is
to drive sales and revenue for organization. In this regard, role of marketing function is to
promote products and services in such a manner that company is able to generate huge cash
inflow. In addition, it is the responsibility of marketing department to generate revenue so that all
other departments can also meet with their respective needs and requirements. For this purpose,
marketers of Ritz london hotel prepare effective strategies to promote their services at wide
level. It helps in generation of required finds for undertaking different operational activities of
organization in an efficient manner. It is analyzed that managers promote services significantly
for enhancing sales and profit margin. They run efficient marketing campaigns so that all the
departments of organization get necessary finance for operating business in systematic way.
Promotion: It refers to attract more number of buyers through advertisement and
promotional activities. It is stated that different promotional tools such as direct selling,
advertisement, public relation and more are used for promotional purpose. In context of Ritz
london hotel, the role of marketing manager is to identify appropriate tool of promotion so that
they can grab the attention of more customers. Here, they use traditional as well as online
approaches for promoting their services at large level. It will help to enhance existing market
share of organization by acquiring more number of new customers (Kotoua and Ilkan, 2017). It
is the duty of marketing manager of organization to promote services in such a manner that
customers get attracted towards their services. Effective promotion techniques will help them in
order to enhance brand awareness in market place.
Communication: It is considered transmission of necessary information from one person
to other. In marketing, main role and responsibility is to communicate with target audience in an

appropriate way. It is essential to convey the message to target audience in proper manner.
There are a lot of means such as advertisement, promotion, PR events and more used to maintain
proper communication between organization and customers. In reference of Ritz london hotel,
managers maintain proper communication with target segment with an aim to earn substantial
profit margin. Here, the role of marketing manager to maintain proper communication with
customers with the help of appropriate promotion and communication tools. It will help in terms
of gaining significant amount of sales and profit margin.
With the above stated points, it is monitor that there are ample of marketing functions
such as market research, communication promotion and so on. It is the rule and responsibility of
marketing manager to undertake these functions in such a way that organization is able to a team
predefined objectives within stipulated period of time.
Discuss roles and responsibilities of marketing in context of marketing environment
Here marketing environment comprises a lot of macro and micro environmental factors.
Micro factors include such forces which are closely related to internal environment of company
and significantly affect the services they provide to customers. These elements are suppliers,
customers, competition and more. On other side macro environment are related to wider external
environment such as political, social, economical and technological conditions of a country.
P2) Discuss the way in which role and responsibilities of marketing department is related to
wider organizational context
Marketing department undertake a lot of activities for betterment of whole company and
also has significant relations with other departments as well. In this regard, association between
marketing and other departments of Ritz London hotel is mentioned as under.
Marketing and front office department: In hospitality organization, front office
Department is responsible to deal with customers who are visiting in hotel in efficient manner.
They welcome guest with greetings sand take out necessary information from them such as
name, mobile number, email address and more (Ciasullo, Montera and Palumbo, 2020). In
addition, they also greet clients & ensure to provide them better services. On other side,
marketing department is responsible to prepare appropriate strategies and tactics to strengthen
current marketing position of company. For this purpose, marketers of Ritz london hotel require

a lot of information from client side so that they can prepare customized strategies to retain
customers for longer duration. It is stated that front office people provide appropriate information
to marketing managers that is helpful in preparing effective strategies. In this regards, marketing
department drives revenue for front office department so that they can undertake different
activities in best possible way. Therefore, both divisions are interlinked with each other and this
association is important for ensuring future growth of organization.
Marketing and housekeeping Department: Housekeeping department is responsible to
provide better services to visitors by ensuring proper cleanliness & hygiene within hotel. In
addition, housekeeping people make sure that customers visit hotel frequently by maintaining
clean environment within premises of hotel. It is stated that marketing managers can attract more
number of customers but how long they will stay with the hotel depends on housekeeping
department as they are responsible for providing clean environment to visitors. On other side,
marketing managers undertake a lot of strategies so that organization is able to attract substantial
number of customers (Sertel, 2017). Further, housekeeping division requires necessary fund for
performing their operational task. These funds are provided by marketing department by
generating necessary sales. So, there is great association between both the departments that will
help organization to acquire huge market share within hospitality industry.
Marketing and finance Department: Finance department is responsible to manage funds
within company. For this, finance managers identify different sources of funds such as bank
loans, equity, debenture and so on. After then, they allocate necessary funds to each and every
division of company so that they can undertake different functions in an efficient manner. Apart
from this, finance people also keep proper control over availability as well as uses of funds. It is
analyzed that finance manager of Ritz london hotel is responsible to procure, allocate as well as
manage funds in an appropriate way. Whereas marketing manager is responsible to prepare such
an efficient strategy which makes organization enable to earn sufficient revenue and profitability.
They are responsible to ensure higher cash inflows within organization by enhancing current
customer base. By this way, marketing department provide adequate funds to finance department
which further allocated for other business activities. Thus, there is great interrelation between
finance and marketing department of Ritz london hotel. This interrelation is helpful to make

effective use of available resources which will lead company towards enlargement of business in
an efficient manner (Shulga and Busser, 2020).
Marketing and human resource Department: It is analyzed that human resource
division is responsible to recruit competent employees for betterment of company. For this
purpose, they arrange recruitment drives, walk in interviews for selection of most suitable and
qualified person to perform assign job rules & responsibilities in best possible way. In addition,
HR department of Ritz London hotel also prepare effective strategies for motivating employees
of different departments. In this regard, they adopt monetary & non monetary approaches so that
competent employees stay with organization for longer duration. Here, marketing department of
respective hotel prepare job advertisement in such a manner that HR people get more and more
responses. By this way, HR people can create a pool of competent candidate & select the best
one for undertaking business activities incorrect way. It is stated that HR managers of respective
organization prepare appropriate strategies with an aim to select best suitable candidate for
marketing division. So, there is great interrelation between human resource and marketing
department of Ritz London hotel that will help to perform both the function in such a manner
that company can achieve desired objective within predefined period of time (Dogan and
Erdogan, 2020).
Marketing is an imperative activity of organization and also put a significant impact of
other activities in an efficient manner. Without marketing, it will be quiet difficult to operate
business in an efficient manner. It is analyzed that marketing is helps front office department by
offering necessary information. In addition, it is a source of income for whole company so has
significant relation with finance department. It also assists HR department by advertising the
vacant position effectively. Therefore, marketing Ritz London has great association with other
activities in wider organizational context.
Discuss significance of interrelationship between marketing and other functional areas of
hospitality organization
It is stated that marketing is an imperative department of a company as it helps to drive
revenue. Here, revenue is helpful in undertaking all the business operations in efficient manner.
But there are some other divisions such as finance, human resources, front office, housekeeping
and more which also play a crucial role ensuring business growth and success. The all functions

of an organization are interrelated with each other. In this regard, interrelationship between
marketing with other department is crucial for promoting services at wide level and drive
adequate revenue. Without marketing function, it is not possible to drive revenue which is
required for all other functions. So, marketing has significant relationship with other
departments.
Analyze the key elements of marketing function also describe their interrelation with other
functional units
There are a lot of elements of marketing functions such as marketing information,
finance, communication and more. These all functions have great association with other
functional areas. For getting market information research department helps marketing manager.
On other side, they also required finance to promote products and services at wide level. Here,
finance department assist them in keeping appropriate control over funds. They also provide
sufficient fund for promotion and advertisement. In context of Ritz London, marketing functions
such as promotion, finance, and marketing information are likely to have significant association
with other functional units for meeting with marketing goals of company.
TASK 2
P3) Compare how marketing mix is applied by different organizations within hospitality industry
to attain business objectives
Marketing mix is a tool which is used to prepare appropriate strategies to gain higher
competitive edge at market place. It is considered as the combination of different elements such
as product, price, place, promotion and more to attain predefined marketing goals. In context of
hospitality industry, there is extended marketing mix is used which comprises three additional
elements such as people, process & physical equipment (Zhang, Cheung and Law, 2018). Main
aim of this tool is to prepare such an efficient strategy by which a company can gain competitive
edge in market. It is stated that marketers of Ritz London hotel use this framework by combining
all the necessary elements of marketing mix. These elements are mentioned below:
Basis Ritz London Hotel Hilton hotel

Product It refers to the services which
are being provided by hotel. In
this regards, there are facilities
such as room service, WI-FI,
easy check in and checkout,
Spa and more are provided by
respective hotel so that they
can serve guest in best
possible way (Gaur and Afaq,
2020).
It is stated that Hilton hotel
provides food & beverages,
room service, bar and other
such services so that they can
fulfill requirements of
customers in an efficient
manner.
Price Under this, pricing is
determined for services. Here,
competitive pricing strategy is
being adopted by respective
hotel. In this, they modify
price as per strategies of
competitors.
They provide services in at
premium price range with an
aim to cater the needs of target
segment. By this way, they
manager prestige of brand in
an efficient manner.
Place Place is one of the crucial
consideration of marketing
manager which refers to a
place from where products as
well as services are offered to
customers. Here, respective
hotel is located at such a
location which is easily
accessible by customers.
In this, hotel is located at
prime locations of UK and
also maintain branches at
different location so that
people can easily avail their
services.
Promotion In this, there are different
promotional tools such as
advertisements; TV
commercials and more are use
by companies. But, Ritz
In case of Hilton hotel,
marketing manager use online
platform for promoting
services at wide level. They
ensure to add some new and

London hotel, moreover
depend over digital
technologies to promote their
services. For this purpose,
they also maintain their own
website from where people
can make online bookings
(Melissen and Sauer, 2018).
unique features at website of
company to make it more
attractive. Further, social
media platform, SEO, Google
analytics are also used by
organization to enhance their
reach in market place.
People Being in hospitality industry,
Ritz London hotel recruit
competent as well as qualified
people who can handle
situation in polite manner. In
this regard, they hire candidate
after multiple rounds and
arrange proper training session
for developing required skills
in work force.
It is analyzed that the
respective hotel recruit
qualified personnel’s to
represent company in front of
customers in an efficient way.
Further, they also organize
training sessions for
improving efficiency of work
force so that they can perform
different activities in an
efficient manner.
Process It is analyzed that Ritz London
hotel group undertakes
effective process in order to
cater the needs of customers in
best possible manner. Here,
process used by Hotel is
effective and has been
designed for convenience of
customers. Here, they also
provide facilities of online
payment so that visitors do not
require to wait in the queue for
Here, they provide complete
online services to customers
right from booking to check
out. Customers can place the
order online using mobile
application of the hotel. This
online assistance is helpful for
customers to keep away from
the hassle of long queue,
offline payment and more.

several hours (Baggio and
Baggio, 2020).
Physical Equipment There are a lot of physical
equipment available within
hotel. They have attractive
ambiance, interior in order to
provide better experiences to
customers. In addition, there
are also such kind of facilities
are being provided to
customers that are attractive &
help to retain customers for
longer duration.
It is stated that hotel provides
a lot of physical equipments
such as interior, bills, rooms
and more. In addition, they
also have competent front
desk as well as housekeeping
staff members who are able to
interact with visitors in an
efficient manner.
It is analyzed that in hospitality industry, there are expanded marketing mix is used which
comprises different elements such as product, price, place and more. There is difference between
the ways in which different companies adopt marketing mix strategies. It is a strategic
framework under which effective strategies are prepare for attracting customers and gaining
competitive edge at market place.
TASK 3
P4) Prepare a marketing plan for hospitality organization to meet with marketing goals
Marketing plan is a document which states marketing strategies of an organization. It is
formulated by an a company so that they can attain predefined marketing goals in stipulated
period of time. For this purpose, marketing managers perform extensive market research in order
to gather insights from market and prepare strategies accordingly. There are some predefined
steps used to develop a market plan which are discussed underneath:
Company Overview:

Ritz London hotel is a renowned company of hospitality industry which offers a range of
services such as rooms, food and beverages and more. It was opened in 1906. Now, it has been
expanded and providing ample of luxurious amenities to customers.
Mission: “To deliver higher quality of services to customers for maintaining value of
company at global level”.
Vision: “To be one of the leading hospitality organization by providing value as well as
impressive experiences to customers”
Marketing objectives:
 To increase in current customer base by enhancing market position of company.
 To enhance the rate of occupancy with 30 % in upcoming year.
 To increase in sales and profit margin by 20 % in each and every financial year.
STP approach:
It is an effective tool which is often used by marketers to make optimum use of available
resources. Under this tool, the whole market is divided in such a way that company can target
appropriate segment (Teeroovengadum and Nunkoo, 2018)
. Further, it also helps to position the product and service in right manner. STP
framework for Ritz London Hotel is given as under:
Segmentation: It refers to divide the whole market into smaller components so that
organization can target right audience. Here, marketers use geographical segmentation as they
majorly target people belong from urban areas of UK. In demographic segmentation, they target
higher income group of people who belong from the age group of 19- 55. So, this approach is
vital for company to effectively utilize their available resources.
Targeting: It is stated that Ritz London hotel target premium group of customers who can
avail services at higher price. For this, they prepare appropriate strategies to get the attention of
target people.