Marketing Essentials for Travel and Tourism - BTEC HND Report

This report, submitted by a student at ICON College of Technology and Management, examines marketing essentials within the travel and tourism industry, specifically focusing on the Ritz London Hotel. It begins by defining marketing and exploring the evolution of marketing concepts, including the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function, such as formulating marketing strategies and conducting market research. The report then discusses the interrelationship between the marketing department and other organizational units like HR, Finance, and Production. Furthermore, the report analyzes how different travel and tourism organizations, including the Ritz London Hotel and Melia White House Hotel, apply the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) to achieve business objectives. Finally, it produces a basic marketing plan for the Ritz London Hotel to meet its marketing objectives, providing a comprehensive overview of marketing strategies and their practical application in the travel and tourism sector.

ICON College of Technology and Management
Department of Travel & Tourism Management
BTEC HND in Travel and Tourism Management
Coursework
Marketing Essentials for Travel and Tourism
Tutor: Carlos Gomez
Submitted by Mihaela Cucos
ID No: 16441
Session: September 2019
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO1..................................................................................................................................................2
P1 : Define marketing and examine the development of marketing concepts and explore the
key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function...........................................................2
P2: Discuss how roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organisational
context.........................................................................................................................................3
P3: Compare the ways in which different travel and tourism organisations apply the marketing
mix to the marketing planning process to achieve business objectives......................................5
LO3..................................................................................................................................................7
P4: Produce a basic marketing plan for a travel and tourism organisation to meet marketing
objectives organisation................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
The term marketing is essential for every business organisation in order to carry forward their
business activities. This helps the business in identifying what exactly their customers demands
and how their needs and wants can be satisfied. Marketing is referred to as the activities which
an organisation undertakes in order to buy or sell their products or services. This includes various
activities such as promoting, selling, advertising of the products in the market place. In this
present report, the selected organization is Ritz London Hotel which is a travel and tourism
organisation that is located in London. This assignment covers the study about the roles and
responsibilities of the marketing along with their interdependence on other functional unit in the
organisation. Moreover, the study also considers the concepts of marketing mix which supports
the association in gaining their vision and mission within a short duration of time. Apart from
this, the project focuses on the preparation of the marketing plan for the business of Ritz London
Hotel so that the organisation can expand their business in the most effective manner by
achieving a competitive advantage over their rivals.
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LO1
P1 : Define marketing and examine the development of marketing concepts and explore the key
roles and responsibilities of the marketing function
Marketing is the term refereed to as the process of promoting and selling products and services.
The concepts of marketing had been developed to a large extent and it focuses upon finding
appropriate products for customers in place of finding right customers for the company's
products. Marketing concepts has been evaluated to a large extent such as in production concept,
consumers prefers such products which are inexpensive and are widely available. In product
concept, customers prefer such products that is of better quality and has certain innovative
features. In selling concept, consumers indulge in appropriate selling and certain promotional
tools for encouraging more purchasing. In customer concept, an organisation focuses upon
individual customers and provide them certain offers and services.
This is also coined as the survey and management of the dealing with relationship. Marketing
within the organisation foster their significance importance as this assist the business with the
current market situations and demand. There are various functions related to the marketing which
are to be performed in the association so that the business can accomplish their goals and
objectives on time. For executing these functions, there are various roles and responsibilities
which is required to be operated within the business so that organisation can attain a sustainable
development(Babin and Zikmund, 2015). Below mentioned are the key duties and
responsibilities of the marketing function which the manager of the Ritz London Hotel is
requisite to perform under their organisation:
Formulating marketing strategies: The functioning of the business starts with the formulation
of the strategies. The company of the Ritz London Hotel has been established with the purpose to
attain certain goals so that the manager of the business can focus on formulating the strategies
which are flexible and easily understood by everyone so that the accomplishment of the objective
can be done significantly.
Market research: Evaluating the market and its demand is the core responsibility of marketing
function which will help the manager of the Ritz London Hotel in identifying what exactly is the
expectation and demand of their potential customers so that the product can be avail in the
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market as per their needs. Proper market research will also assist the manager of Ritz London
Hotel to determine the ways so that the sale of the product in the market can be increased.
Product designing and development: This is the only function which can lead the business of
the Ritz London Hotel towards the growth. The manager of the business gives their full efforts
towards the design of the product in such a manner so that the customer get more attached to its
product due to its unique features and labels which will support the business to increase its
revenues and profitability(Lane, 2016).
Explanation to the key role and responsibilities of marketing in environment :
The term marketing plays vital role and responsibilities not only in context of the business
association but also plays their crucial role in the environment. Key role and responsibilities of
marketing in the environment are:
Monitoring marketing environment: Considering environment will enables the manager to
determine the factors which can affect the business, these factors can be external as well as
internal factor of the environment. Monitoring the marketing environment will also support the
manager of the Ritz London Hotel to identify the prevailing needs of the market. Monitoring of
the environment will be advantageous to the business of Ritz London Hotel as through regular
monitoring, the company can gain competitive benefits.
Dealing with competition: Scanning the environment and identifying the level of the
competition which the company is going to face will also enable the marketing manager of the
business in forming such strategies and plans which can leads the business towards the growth
and development by beating their potential competitors(Puddle, 2015). This will also enable the
manager of the Ritz London Hotel in evaluating the capability and weakness of the competitors
so that that they can built strategies in order to gain competitive advantage.
Thus, from the above mentioned key point, it can be examine that the concept of the marketing
and its function are necessary for both organisation as well as the environment. As this helps the
business in determining the current markets demands and customers expectations and enables
company to fulfil those (Pike, 2016).
P2: Discuss how roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organisational context
There are number of department which are present within the organisation. And each of these
department interlinks to each other to some extent. Ritz London Hotel is the company which
deals in providing accommodation services to its customers . To carry these operation,
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department within the company are connected to each other. These interlinks between the
department which supports the business of Ritz London Hotel are mentioned beneath :
Marketing department and Human resource department : Both the department within the
business are interconnected as the functions of these department can not be perform without their
inter relatedness. Human resources department is the one responsible for the hiring and
recruitment of the individuals whereas marketing department deals with the activity of buying
and selling of product through proper advertisement and selling activities(SHUKLA, 2016). For
performing the activity of marketing, the person required will be hired by the human resource
department according to their capability and skills to perform these activities of marketing in the
most effective manner so that both the department will be benefited.
Marketing and Finance department: Every organisation is operating their business with the
establishment of the funds for execution of the operation. These funds within the business are
monitored and controlled by the finance department. Finance and marketing department are
interrelated to each other in such a manner so that while performing the activity of the marketing
the funds required will be allotted by the finance department. These funds requirement by the
marketing department will be fulfilled by the finance department in order to enable the business
to minimise the unessential cost which are associated with the functioning of the marketing
activities.
Marketing and production department : The interrelatedness within these departments are
essential as the marketing department will focus more on the fulfilment of the customer's demand
according to their requirement for the products. These information regarding the customers
demand and needs will be given by the marketing department to production department
according to which it will start their activity of the production. In this, the production department
will also give their full efforts and emphasis on producing the goods according to the quality
required by the customers (McDaniel, Lamb and Hair, 2012).
Marketing and research and development department : Research and development
department and marketing department are connected to each other as the department of the
research and development is concerned with the development of the new products with the new
technologies as per the market requirement. And the details regarding the new product which is
in demand by the customer is given by the marketing department to the R&D. After getting the
information from marketing department Research and development department will perform
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their task of formulating the strategies so that the services to the customers can be render
according to their preferences so that the customers get full satisfaction.
The significance of interrelationships between marketing and other functional units of an
organisation
The interrelationship between department plays a crucial role within the business association as
this will support the business of Ritz London Hotel in establishing a better relationship with
other functional units as well as their potential customers. This will also support the business of
Ritz London Hotel in raising their profit margin, sales margin, relationship with their customers,
loyalty , brand image, value and will also established a better coordination among the
departments. This will also enable the manager of Ritz London Hotel to manage their work
significantly with the support of open communication among different functional units so that
the accomplishment of the goal can be done within a short span of time. (DONNELLY and
Peter, 2012).LO2
P3: Compare the ways in which different travel and tourism organisations apply the marketing
mix to the marketing planning process to achieve business objectives
Marketing mix is considered to be the foundation for the business model. It refers to as a set of
tools that is utilised by the business association in order to pursue their activity of promoting
their brand and product in the market. With the help of this concept of the marketing mix, the
business can also promote their better quality of cosmetic product in the marketplace.
Distinguish between the market strategy of Ritz London Hotels and :
Elements Ritz London Hotels Melia White London House Hotel
Production
The business deals in providing
their customers with variety of
services such as accommodation,
food, beauty spas, gym, restaurant,
and many other such facilities.
This hotel deals with various services
such as accommodation, food, bar,
restaurant, complimentary breakfast,
and so on.
Price
The company of the Ritz London
Hotels focuses on high pricing
strategy and provide its services at
higher prices.
The brand of the Body shop have
focused on the pricing strategy that is
price skimming where the prices of the
products are generally high as the
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products which they render to their
customers will be of high quality.
Place
This hotel is situated in London
and provide its services all over
London.
This hotel is situated in London and
provide its services there only.
Promotion
To promote the products among the
public the manager of the Ritz
London Hotel have focused on the
effective promotional tools such as
online marketing, direct selling,
television advertisement so that the
image of the brand can be built at
the top of the mind of their potential
customers.
The promotional tool that this
hospitality organisation is using is
advertising through social networking
sites and billboards advertisement.
Process
The business have used various
channels can process for
distributing their products among
the customers. Customer can book
their hotel room from its official
website and can enjoy their
luxurious time in this hotel.
Customers can open its official website
and book its services online by using
online payment method.
People
To increase their sales and profits
margin, the manager of the Ritz
London Hotels has focused on
conducting various training and
development programmes for their
employees which can enable them
to perform their roles effectively
and offer quality services to
customers (McDaniel and Gates,
The business here have planned various
strategies for motivating their
employees so that the employees can
come up with the better amount of
customer base and can perform
effectively for the business to raise their
profits margin.
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2012).
Physical
evidence
Its beautiful ambience is its
physical evidence and its official
website is also proved to be its
physical evidence.
Its beautiful and attractive ambience is
considered as its physical evidence.
Evaluate different tactics in order to accomplish business goals and objectives.
The manager of the Ritz London Hotel have utilised various form of techniques and tools for
increasing their products sell in the market. The use of these tools will enable them to compete
with their competitors prevailing in the market. Through the implementation of these effective
techniques the business can easily understand what are their customer preferences, their wants,
their expectations so that the need and wants of the customers gets fulfilled as per their
requirements so that the goals and objectives of the business to serve their potential customer
with better quality of the products get accomplished. Apart from this, the business also focuses
on the use of different marketing channels that support the association in gaining competitive
benefits, solving the issues related to the misinterpretation of the strategies etc. to attain growth
and success(Brooks and Simkin, 2012).
LO3
P4: Produce a basic marketing plan for a travel and tourism organisation to meet marketing
objectives organisation
Preparation of the marketing plan is essential for the business as this will enable the business in
deciding the tactical course of action for the future period of time .This supports the association
while launching the new product in the competitive industry. Marketing plan for the business of
Ritz London Hotel is :
Overview of the company :Ritz London Hotel is the leading brand of hospitality that deals with
providing accommodation, food and certain other services to its customers such as body
massage, hair and beauty treatments. This hotel is listed in 5 star hotel and it is recognised as one
of the top hotels in London. This hotel is planning to launch pick up and drop facility for its
customers. For this purpose, a market plan is developed so that this plan is implemented in an
appropriate manner.
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Mission : Company seeks to expand their customer base by the introduction of the new service
in the market.
Vision : Business aims to become more competitive and world renowned so that the customers
can easily recognise and recall the brand(Ionita, 2012).
Objective : To launch new product the manager of the business have targeted a SMART
objective which includes:Specific: The business aims to beat their competitor through correct
implementation of Plans and Objectives.Measurable: Seeks to gain larger section of the market
from 50% to 70%.Achievable: The business of Ritz London Hotels seeks to attain the level of
growth through the launch of new product within the period of 4 months.Relevancy: The
manager of the Ritz London Hotels desires to attain a prestigious position in the industry in
comparison to its competitors(Wirtz, Tuzovic and Kuppelwieser, 2014).Time bound : The
association of the Ritz London Hotel expects to accomplish goal within the period of 5 months.
SWOT analysis and PEST analysis of the association :
Strength Weakness
The strength of the company like Ritz London
Hotels is that the it captures the larger areas of
the economy through its effective distribution
channel.
The weakness to the business is that the brand
charges high prices to its services which many
customers are not able to afford.
Opportunity Threat
The business has the opportunity to expand
their business into the areas where there is
more consumption of these product. And also
has the opportunity to raise their brand recall
and recognition through the introduction of
new service.
Threat to the business is from huge competition
in the market where other rivalry firm are also
into the selling of these services which are
homogeneous in nature.
PEST analysis of The Ritz London Hotels:
Political factor : The business can easily sustain in the UK economy by launching their new
services as the policies and legislation over the UK is not modified in a rapid manner so the
chances of their livelihood over the economy is increased(Desai, 2013).
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Social factor : The business have the higher chances to earn more profit margin through the
launch of their new cosmetic product as the consumption of the cosmetic product over the UK is
done on the uninterrupted basis.
Economic Factor : As the economy of the UK is developing so the business of Ritz London
Hotels has the advantage to grow their business through the launch of new service.
Technological factor : The launch of the new service over the UK economy will only be
successful if the product which is going to be introduced in the market is manufactured through
the updated technologies.
Marketing Mix
Product- The business of Ritz London Hotels can expand their market and profit margin by
introducing free pick up and drop facility. Managers of Ritz London Hotels are thinking to
launch pick and drop services to consumers as complementary which provides more growth
prospects for association.
Price- The company will adopt the pricing strategy of low cost at the beginning stage so that the
larger section of the customers mind can be covered(Guffey and Loewy, 2012). The best pricing
strategy for this service is penetration because this can be charged as per distance from
consumers.
Place- This service will be available in its hotel. This service will available to consumers, from
picking up from airport and while they are residing in hotel and they want to avail this service for
their personal or official purpose, then they can avail it.
Promotion- To launch the commodity in the new service business will focus on the adoption of
the different promotional tools such as online and offline promotional tool. In order to promote
this service, best technique is hoardings, social media and personal ids of consumers.
People- The business must consider on hiring the person who are highly skilled to perform the
activity of marketing for the new product. This pick and drop facility is available for consumers
who reserves their room or any other service in advance.
Physical evidence- This service will be made available to customers and its official website is its
physical evidence. The physical evidence for this study will be with the logo of Ritz London
Hotels at cars and travellers.
Process- The business must use effective channels for delivering their products and message
related to its so that the confusion in the mind of the customers related to the product can be
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reduced. The pick and drop service will avail to consumers in planned manner, if consumer have
advanced booking, then booking departments can ask for pick and drop facility., so it will ease in
planning and providing proper services.
STP Strategies :
Segmentation : This process of segmentation will enable the business in their easy
determination of the segment to launch their new service which is free pick up and drop facility.
Targeting: After the segmentation the the market the company will target customers who prefer
luxurious services and have busy life (Simkin and Dibb, 2013).
Positioning: This will enable the business of the Ritz London Hotels to position their service in
the competitive market so that the sales margin of the business can be increased.
Marketing budget for Ritz London Hotels:
Rough idea has been drawn about the cost that are going to be incurred while marketing a new
service of the Ritz London Hotel:
Budget
Particular Amount
Initial money investment £ 45,000
Promotional activities £ 10,000
Marketing outlet £ 3,000
Transportation £ 5,000
Total £ 63,000
Monitoring and controlling:This is necessary for the manager to estimate the budget before
launching the new product in the market and should also analyse the market situation whether
the economy is going through a sustainable condition or is suffering from economic crisis so that
they can take an overview whether the launch of the new service will be successful or
not(Pappas, 2017).
CONCLUSION
From the above mentioned report it can be concluded that marketing plays a vital role in the
business in order to promote their products in the market. Various roles and responsibilities
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