Hospitality Marketing: Roles, Responsibilities, Marketing Mix Analysis

This report provides an overview of hospitality marketing, focusing on the roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within Marriott International. It details how the marketing department contributes to brand building, customer awareness, promotion of hotel facilities, customer relationship management, and competitive analysis. The report further explores the interrelation of the marketing department with other functions such as finance, human resources, and research & development. Additionally, it compares the application of the marketing mix (7Ps) by Marriott and Hilton, highlighting differences in their product offerings, pricing strategies, place/distribution channels, promotional activities, people management, processes, and physical evidence to achieve their respective business objectives. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wide array of study tools and solved assignments for students.

Hospitality Marketing
Essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
LO1..................................................................................................................................................1
P1 Explain the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within a selected
hospitality organisation..........................................................................................................1
P2 Relation of roles and responsibilities of marketing to the organisation............................3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
P3 Compare the ways in which different hospitality organisations apply the marketing mix to
the marketing planning process to achieve business objectives.............................................5
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality marketing can be defined as the application of marketing strategies in the
hospitality industry and how various organisations in the hospitality sector like hotels,
restaurants make use of the marketing strategies in order to promote their products and services
in the market to attract customers (Björk and Kauppinen-Räisänen, 2016). Marketers in the
hospitality industry should ensure that the customers are aware of the offers and schemes and are
satisfied with the products and services of the organisation. Marriott International is an American
multinational hospitality brand that was founded by J. Williard and Alice S. Marriott in the year
1927. The company is recognised by people globally. The report describes the major roles and
responsibilities of the marketing department in Marriott and how they relate to other functions.
The report also compares the different ways in which various organisations in the hospitality
sector apply the marketing mix in order to achieve their goals and objectives.
MAIN BODY
LO1
P1 Explain the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within a selected
hospitality organisation
Marketing refers to all the activities that are undertaken by an organisation in order to
promote its products and service in the market as well as make itself aware to the customers. It
includes various activities such as branding, advertising, promoting, selling and delivering the
products and services to the customers (Bojanic and Reid, 2017). The current major trend in
marketing includes social media marketing which on bloom in today’s world. Through this,
brands are able to reach out to a large number of audience and attract potential customers. As a
result, there is a better satisfaction among customers also, social media is more cost effective
when compared to other traditional ways of marketing as it is one of the most popular platforms
of communication and networking and used by people worldwide. Signing up and creating a
profile is mostly free across various social media platforms which makes it easier for the brands
to communicate and network with people. Whereas the future trends of marketing include and
increased complexity in the purchasing decisions of consumers, popularity of personalisation in
products and services etc. The marketing department in any organisation ha several roles and
responsibilities for maximising the revenue of the organisation. A marketing department helps in
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building a brand image of the company and in order to ensure this, Marriott has a special
department within the premises that has several roles and responsibilities. Some of the marketing
processes and their roles and responsibilities are explained below –
 Marketing Research – The customers can choose to stay in a hotel because of several
factors like location, access to the airport or the railway station, ambience, price
reputation etc. The marketing department in Marriott International identifies various
factors that make up the appeal of the brand (Camilleri and Neuhofer, 2017). The
department also conducts research regarding customer reviews, feedbacks and any
suggestions that they give or post. This helps the company in identifying its strengths and
weaknesses.
 Increasing Customer Awareness – The marketing department of the company ensures
that the customers are aware of them. This is done by making the website of the company
appealing and attractive so that more people visit the site. The Marriott website also
contains up to date information about hotel facilities, rates, location etc. There are also
constant updates of new advertisements and promotional campaigns in order to reach a
large number of target audience. The hotel also has been seen collaborating and
sponsoring a lot of events in order to create about itself in the market.
 Promotion of Hotel Facilities – Promotions is an important part of marketing in the
hospitality industry. Various ways of promotions like customer loyalty programs, reward
points, complementary accommodation etc. can be opted in order to attract more
customers. Other promotional activities of Marriott International include offering its
conference halls and lawns to corporates and other businesses for short term use.
 Customer Relationships – In order to sustain in a highly competitive market, the
marketing function of Marriott ensures that it has strong relationships with its customers.
Therefore, the brand runs a loyalty program for its customers wherein customers who
book regularly get various benefits which is beneficial for both the hotel as well as the
customers and thus, the company is able to maintain a long-term relationship with them.
People who are primarily targeted for this include corporate clients or individual guests
who require constant accommodation for the staff as well as the visiting customers
(Cheng and Chen, 2017).
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 Monitoring Competition – The marketing department at Marriott is also responsible for
monitoring and analysing the moves of its competitors and thus accordingly formulate
new strategies that help the company in standing out in the market and gaining a
competitive edge. This also helps the organisation in coming up with new ideas that are
unique as well as innovative and help in attracting potential customers.
P2 Relation of roles and responsibilities of marketing to the organisation
The marketing function in any organisation does not exist alone but functions in
coordination with all the other functions of the company (Dinçer and Alrawadieh, 2017). There
are several ways in which the marketing department of Marriott influences and interrelates with
all the other functions in order to facilitate a smooth functioning so that the final goals and
objectives can be achieved. The interrelation and influence of the marketing department with
other functions of the organisation are described below –
 Marketing on Finance Department – The relation between marketing and finance
departments is among the most important ones in a business. The marketing department
in Marriott helps the brand in advertising and promoting itself to the customers as well as
attracting new people. The marketing department depends on the finance departments for
funds but in turn brings various sponsors who might be interested in investing in the
company.
 Marketing on Human Resource Department – The marketing department advertises
and promotes the respective organisation and the vacant positions in it which in turn
attracts a large number of potential and qualified candidates to apply for the jobs
(Eletxigerra, Barrutia, and Echebarria, 2018). This way, the human resource department
is able to conduct interviews and thus hire candidates that are best suited for a particular
job in the company and are qualified enough to fulfil the requirements of the job.
 Marketing and Research & Development Department – The marketing department
provides various inputs regarding customer feedbacks, suggestions and complaints to the
research and development department which in turn helps it to develop the products and
add as well as remove various features accordingly. Through this, Marriott has been able
to fulfil the requirements of its customers in a much more enhanced and polished way
and thus continue to maintain its brand image in the market against its competitors. This
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also helps the R&D department in addressing any complaints that are put forward by the
customers.
The value and importance of the marketing function in context to Marriott is also
explained below -
 Listens and builds a relation with customers – In order to build a relation with the
customers, Marriott conducts various studies as well as surveys to understand the
expectations and needs of the customers in a better manner and attract potential clients
(Gibson and Parkman, 2018). Also, regular meetings are held with the various teams that
perform under the department in order to get a better understanding of how the company
has been performing. The marketing function of Marriott also helps in creating awareness
about the brand and its products.
 Customer Involvement – The marketing function also keeps the existing customers
engaged as well as attempts to understand what they have to say and put forward. The
department makes sure that the feedbacks of the customers are taken into account and
addressed accordingly (Melissen and Sauer, 2018).
 Tracking Trends – The department tracks the various trends that are going in the market
and thus analyses them in order to make sure that the company gains a competitive
advantage against its competitors (Guaracino and Salvato, 2017). Through this, the
company is also able to identify its strengths as well as weaknesses which otherwise can
pose to be a threat for it in the future.
 Search for new and helpful tools for marketing – Marketers in Marriott are always
concerned about the new trends and tools that are available in the market. They analyse
and identify the tools that will suit the marketing strategy of the respective company so
that the customers are loyal to it and also new potential customers become aware of the
brand. These tools not only help in coming up with innovative and unique ideas for the
company to market itself, but also various innovative techniques to retain customers.
 Communicate with other departments – The marketing department in Marriott works
in coordination and maintains a continuous communication with all the other functions
like operations, research and development, finance, human resources etc. This helps the
company in achieving its overall goals and objectives as well as allow a smooth flow of
all the activities and tasks to work effectively.
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LO 2
P3 Compare the ways in which different hospitality organisations apply the marketing mix to the
marketing planning process to achieve business objectives
The marketing mix can be defined as a group of factors that are used by an organisation
in order to promote its products and services in the market. It comprises of 7 Ps namely, product,
price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence. An analysis of the 7Ps of
marketing mix for Marriott and Hilton is explained below -
Marketing Mix Marriott International Hilton
Product There is a lot of variety
available in the products and
services sold by Marriott
which enable the customers to
choose the best service for
them (Hassanien and Dale,
2019).
Products and services sold by
Hilton are highly differentiated
with different features that are
not offered by the customers.
Price Marriott follows a competitive
pricing strategy as the data of
its competitors is available due
to their large number. The
company sells its products at a
higher price than that of its
competitors.
The company uses bundle
pricing strategy wherein the
products of the company are
bundled together and sold at
prices that are lower than other
brands (Kotoua and Ilkan,
2017).
Place Marriott is known to sell its
products through 2 channels of
marketing that include direct
selling and its own website.
Hilton follows an omni-
distribution strategy which
involves the integration of its
offline as well as online stores.
Promotion The company uses multiple
media channels to promote
itself like advertising through
Hilton promotes and advertises
itself on various platforms of
social media like Facebook,
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television, website, radio etc. Instagram etc.
People Marriott has a large workforce
with different people working
in various departments like
sales, customer service,
finance, operations, research
and development etc.
Hilton appoints people in
various retail stores and other
departments who are contacted
by the customers to assist them
(Loo and Leung, 2018).
Process The company has a process of
online delivery wherein orders
from the customers are
received in the computer
system and based on this the
relevant product is shipped to
the delivery service provider
(Rahimi and Akgunduz, 2017).
The company is constantly
involved in seeking various
new opportunities to
understand its customers in a
better way. The company is
able to do so by analysing
customers' feedbacks that are
collected at the stores and its
social media pages on various
platforms.
Physical Evidence Marriott sells its products in a
different colour packaging that
can be easily identified by the
customers.
Hilton has a website that is
easy to use and navigate
through. The website also
contains pictures that are of
high quality and attract
customers (Mahadevan, 2018).
LO 3
Covered in PPT
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that organisations need to keep in mind
various factors in order to ensure their smooth functioning and attain the goals and objectives in
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an effective manner. The hospitality industry should ensure that the customers are aware of the
offers and schemes that it comes up with and are satisfied with the products and services. The
organisations in the hospitality industry must also ensure that they follow the recent trends of the
market to sustain themselves in a highly competitive and dynamic environment. Also, there are
several ways in which the marketing department of an organisation influences and interrelates
with all the other functions in order to facilitate a smooth functioning and that all of these
departments work in coordination with each other.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Björk, P. and Kauppinen-Räisänen, H., 2016. Local food: a source for destination attraction.
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 28(1). pp.177-194.
Bojanic, D. C. and Reid, R. D., 2017. Hospitality marketing management. Wiley.
Camilleri, J. and Neuhofer, B., 2017. Value co-creation and co-destruction in the Airbnb sharing
economy. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 29(9).
pp.2322-2340.
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.
Gibson, P. and Parkman, R., 2018. Cruise operations management: Hospitality perspectives.
Routledge.
Guaracino, J. and Salvato, E., 2017. Handbook of LGBT tourism and hospitality: a guide for
business practice. Columbia University Press.
Hall, C., 4 4. Tourism, hospitality and event organizations: the human resources context.
Strategic Management for Tourism, Hospitality and Events. 9(6). pp.395-406.
Hassanien, A. and Dale, C., 2019. Hospitality business development. Routledge.
Kotoua, S. and Ilkan, M., 2017. Tourism destination marketing and information technology in
Ghana. Journal of destination marketing & management. 6(2). pp.127-135.
Loo, P. T. and Leung, R., 2018. A service failure framework of hotels in Taiwan: Adaptation of
7Ps marketing mix elements. Journal of Vacation Marketing. 24(1). pp.79-100.
Mahadevan, R., 2018. Examination of motivations and attitudes of peer-to-peer users in the
accommodation sharing economy. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management.
27(6). pp.679-692.
Melissen, F. and Sauer, L., 2018. Improving sustainability in the hospitality industry. Routledge.
Rahimi, R. and Akgunduz, Y., 2017. Driving force analysis of East European students to study
tourism and hospitality in the UK. Anatolia. 28(2). pp.224-238.
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