Analysis of Managing Service Relationships at Marriott Hotels: Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Marriott Hotel's service relationships, examining its interactions with key stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, communities, and the government. It identifies the strategic issues impacting the company's success, such as political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors (PESTLE analysis), and assesses its customer portfolio, including target customer demographics. The report further delves into the personnel management practices of Marriott, highlighting the importance of training and development programs for employees. The findings reveal Marriott's commitment to creating value for all stakeholders through various initiatives like environmental stewardship and community engagement. The report underscores the importance of communication within the workplace. The report concludes with recommendations for enhancing stakeholder relationships and ensuring the company's continued success in the competitive hospitality industry.

Running head: MANAGING SERVICE RELATONSHIPS
Managing service relationships
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................3
Introduction: the characteristics of the nominated company...........................................................4
Findings...........................................................................................................................................5
Identify, and briefly assess the relationships with key stakeholders...........................................5
Determining the key strategic issues that have impacted on the relative success/failure of the
company and assessing the external environment and the customer portfolio............................7
External environment (PESTLE analysis)...................................................................................9
Customer portfolio.....................................................................................................................11
Target customers........................................................................................................................11
Age group..................................................................................................................................11
Visitors for business trips..........................................................................................................11
30 to 50 years old.......................................................................................................................11
Family vacation.........................................................................................................................11
12 to 50 years old.......................................................................................................................11
Regular customers for business trips.........................................................................................11
30 to 40 years old.......................................................................................................................11
Visitors who visit the hotel annually for recreational purposes................................................11
20 to 40 years old.......................................................................................................................11
Personnel management of Marriott hotel..................................................................................11

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Recommendation:..........................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................15

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to highlight numerous factors of Marriott Hotel and identify the
management’s relation with all the stakeholders of the business organization. In this report the
details regarding the business and their mode of operations are incorporated and along with that
the key strategies opted by the management of Marriott hotel has been mentioned. The hotel’s
external environment has also been explained in this report and the customer portfolio has been
incorporated. Finally in the report the personnel management of the business organization has
been described in relation to its current performance in both domestic and international market of
operation.

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Introduction: the characteristics of the nominated company.
Marriott hotels and Resorts which was earlier known as Marriott hotels is a chain of
hotels and resorts that operate in an international level and currently headquartered in
Washington DC, United States. Initially, the business organization was set up by J Willard
Marriott and as of the year 2017, the business organization has more than 570 hotels and resorts
spread across 85 countries throughout the world and those properties are administered, owned
and managed by independent operators by Marriott. Marriott hotels and resorts has become a
flagship brand and can be looked at as one of the major hotel brands in the international market.
the hotels and resorts of this company are generally located in the prime areas and the target
customers of this hotel are the niche population as the management of the organization has set
the standards of the hotel high and as they provide world-class facilities with world-class service,
their pricing structure is naturally higher than other general hotels operating in the same market
(Al-Refaie, 2015). Majority of their hotels and resorts are located near the airports, popular
vacation destinations and in major city centers that makes the organization more niches in terms
of other hotels and resorts. The management of the organization provides various services and
products and high end luxuries in their hotels and resorts and the quality of the food and
beverages provided by the management is of world-class quality (Tracey et al., 2015). It can be
said that the management quite flexibly offers a serviced accommodation and they can
accommodate for various types of individuals with different requirements.

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Findings
Identify, and briefly assess the relationships with key stakeholders.
It is seen that like any other business organization, Marriott hotel’s management’s aim is
also to create a value for all the stakeholders of the concern and in order to achieve their set
target; the managerial body of the organization has created a step by step program in order to
define and measure value creation throughout their operations (Nassar, 2018). It is a matter of
fact that tracking corporate performance should go beyond the hard financial indicators which is
integral to the success of Marriott hotel’s value creation strategy. The management of the
business organization leverages their wide global footprint to provide solutions for the regional
communities where the organization operates (Kandampully, Bilgihan & Zhang, 2016). The
company’s Travel with Purpose CSR strategy involves environmental stewardship, community
resiliency along with committing to create various opportunities for youths. These initiatives
taken by the management of Marriott hotels empowers more than 360000 employees of the
business organization to apply their passion for hospitality everlasting and to enable them to
make a different in people’s lives. In this regard, it is worthwhile to mention that water is a vital
resource which is at times under rated or undervalued; but it is a matter of fact that in
contemporary times, resources like freshwater is getting scarce making the situation concerning
(Kandampully, Zhang & Jaakkola, 2017). The present water challenge presents an impact on the
regional communities where Marriott hotels operates and thus the management of the
organization has taken an initiative regarding water stewardship in order to promote adaptation
of climate change and balancing the needs of consumers of water in their area of operation. In
order to lower the consumption of water in their organization, the management of Marriott hotel
is continuously trying to make useful decisions in the workplace in order to effectively enhance

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their ability to save usage of water, savings and value when they were offering data driven tools
and training facilities for the employees within the workplace. It is seen that water flows all
through the value chain of the company and that ranges from their key suppliers to the guests and
to the communities residing in the management’s market of operation (Al-Refaie, 2015). The
management of Marriott hotels thus aims to enhance the organizational effort into the parts of
value chain which is facing high risks related to freshwater as well as for the communities which
are facing severe challenges related to water. It is seen that by joining with others makes it sure
that the company will ensure the sustainable management and availability of water and sanitation
for all nearby their area of operation (Wong, French & Wickham, 2017). The stakeholders of
the business organization can be segregated into two parts which are external and internal. It can
be said that the internal stakeholders are the employees and the shareholders and on the other
hand the external shareholders are the parties who do not belong to the business organization. In
this regard it can be aid that the primary interest of the shareholders of the company is to
maximize the profit ratio and the interests of the employees of the organization includes
achieving a range of intangible and tangible compensation against their employment. The
external stakeholders of the company do have interests from numerous perspectives and the next
chart will explain it all.
External stakeholders Interests
Customers Buying services and products in cheaper rates
Communities The type of impact of the business activity to the
community
Government Corporate taxation, compliance with laws, business
employment relations, rules and regulations
Media Corporate conflicts, employee relations, corporate

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performance
Suppliers Long term partnership which is beneficial to both
them and the business organization
Figure: interests of the external stakeholders
Source: Created by author
It can be said that the relation between tha management of Marriott hotels with the
external stakeholders of the company is somewhat goo, but in some cases there are discrepancies
in the relationship between the internal stakeholders like the employees of the organization with
the management of the hotel chain. It is seen that due to some issues related to governing and
administration these issues has raised and if the management does not fix the issue right away, it
may expose the company to various challenges related to the organizational effectiveness that
can potentially harm the profitability and productivity of the company.
Determining the key strategic issues that have impacted on the relative success/failure of
the company and assessing the external environment and the customer portfolio.
The management of Marriott hotel aims to provide the best in class services to their
visitors and that is how they want to get recognized in both domestic and international market of
operation. It is a matter of fact that the effort the management of Marriott hotels put in order
to serve their visitors, it is expected that they will earn a reputation in no time. Indeed that
hotel chain is famous as their staffs are courteous and they have the ability to satisfy the
frequently changing demands of their customers. The reason behind it is the management’s
aim to continuously engaging in training and developmental programs for their employees

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(Altinay, 2016). Not only that, the managerial body of the hotel chain is ensures that the
induction training of the newly joined employees has to be good so that they have a clear
knowledge of what the management expects from them and what they can possibly expect from
the management of the hotel chain. It is possible that the employees of the organization achieved
their professional competence by engaging in numerous training and developmental programs in
the workplace and that have inarguably enhanced the organizational performance (Wong, French
& Wickham, 2017). It is a matter of fact that the management’s effort for providing best service
to their customers is satisfied and that is why the organization has earned a huge reputation. As
the business organization operates in the service industry, reputation matters a lot in determining
the success of the company, which is behind the management’s incessant effort to increase the
level of services. It has been observed that the management of Marriott hotel significantly
emphasizes on maintaining a good communication within the workplace because they feel that
in an organization operating in the service industry sustaining both formal and informal
communication is important for sustenance of the organizational performance. The management
believes that if they can create a culture of good communication within the workplace, that can
effectively increase the organizational performance and that can contribute to the profitability of
the organization. It is a matter of fact that the if the management of the organization is able to
create an environment in the workplace where the communication among the workers and the
managerial body is undisputed, the sharing of knowledge and sharing of experiences will
increase and that can effectively contribute to the overall increase of the organizational
performance.

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External environment (PESTLE analysis)
Political: The management of the hotel chain tries to comply with all the set regulations by the
government of their area of operations in order to avoid any political issues. It is a matter of fact
that the changing policies regarding tourism in many countries are invoking some challenges for
the hotel chain as due to their contribution in the challenges faced by the environment, the
governments are nowadays significantly changing their policies in order to sustain the
environmental balance (Al-Refaie, 2015). It can be said that the management of Marriott hotel is
trying to increase their reputation in both their domestic and international market of operation by
getting engaged in numerous CSR activities and that is actually increasing their reputation
politically.
Economical: The management of the organizational aims to improve their economic condition,
but the slowdown in the economic growth in their market of operation and the economic turmoil
of Europe is affecting the business organization’s profitability (Ferrary, 2015). The economic
turmoil is restraining the tourism industry and people are getting deluded about touring and that
is having an adverse effect on the productivity and subsequent profitability of the hotel chain.
Not only that, the higher exchange rate of currency of America I discouraging the Americans to
travel and also the other tourists to visit America, and naturally this is affecting the profitability
if the hotel chain in a significant manner.
Social: it can surely be said that the social factors are actually helping the management of
Marriott hotels to increase their productivity along with the profitability in their market of
operations. To support the above statement it can be said that between the years of 2013 to 2014
the management have experienced an increase of 13% in the visitors list of the hotel chain and it
can be regarded as a good progress in the given economic situation throughout the world (Simón,

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Narangajavana & Llorente, 2016). The cultural changes in their numerous market of operation
could have been some potential threats for the company, but the management of the business
organization has effectively retained a workforce where the cultural intelligence is significant
making it easier for the employees to deal with the visitors who come from different ethnicity or
socio-cultural background.
Technological factors: It can be said that technology plays a significant role in determining the
company’s profitability. As the managerial board of the hotel chain has adopted the latest
technologies in their operations to maintain all the records and to sustain the safety and security
of the visitors of the hotel. It is a matter of fact that the management of the hotel understands the
importance of implementing latest technologies in the workplace to increase the organizational
effectiveness.
Legal: The major legal factor that can effectively improve the hotel chain’s effectiveness is the
status of services like Airbnb. It is seen that authorities in the cities as diverse as New Orleans,
New York and Barcelona has already fined Airbnb and the hosts of it regarding violating zoning
laws along with the standard regulations of hotels and safety and health regulations. It has been
noticed that in the operational market of America, the management of the hotel chain faed
possibility of an increased minimum wage and this has increased the annual budget of the
company and thus it can be said that changing policies and regulations can either help the
organization to thrive in challenges or can expose the company to numerous threats.
Environmental: it can be said that in contemporary times the increase in the cost of fuels have a
negative impact on the profitability of the business organization as it has led to a decrease in the
tourist’s flow in the hotel chain. Apart from that the management of Marriott hotels have faced

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severe challenges for not complying with the set regulations in some of their operational markets
and those can expose the company to face some challenges. It can be said that the hotel business
is liable for harming the balance of the environment and that is why the management of the
business organization should engage themselves in performing various CSR activities that can
help the management to gain significant recognition in their both international and domestioc
market of operation.
Customer portfolio
Target customers Age group
Visitors for business trips 30 to 50 years old
Family vacation 12 to 50 years old
Regular customers for business trips 30 to 40 years old
Visitors who visit the hotel annually for
recreational purposes
20 to 40 years old
Personnel management of Marriott hotel
It can be said that the management of the business organization has a long history of prioritizing
the needs of the workforce in order to sustain a workforce that is motivated and loyal towards the
business organization (Prayag & Hosany, 2015). The board of directors stated in a press meet

12MANAGING SERVICE RELATIONSHIPS
that they always try to ensure that all the employees of the organization should feel that they are
a part of the concern and only that can keep them motivated and loyal towards the organization
(Chen, 2015). This approach of the management has been backing up their profitability and t
reputation in the market since they have realized the importance of a motivated workforce. In
this regard, it can be said that the management understands that the workers are the nucleus of
the company and without their cooperation the management will not be able to do anything to
experience profitability as there will be no productivity (Kim et al., 2019). Therefore managing
the human resources has huge importance in sustaining the profitability of a business concern. It
has been seen that in the recent years the management of the business concern has improved their
HR policies and have amended it in order to satisfy the demands of the employees of the
organization to experience more profitability and productivity with high quality. It has been
observed that the management of the business organization should understand that if they can
effectively keep the workforce motivated and loyal towards the organization it would immensely
help them to achieve the desired profitability and reputation in their market of operation in a very
short time and thus they have exactly done that (Li, Wong & Kim, 2016).
Apart from that the management of the business organization emphasizes on continuous training
and developmental programs for the employees to enhance their professional skills and that has
effectively helped them to attain desired productivity. As the company operates in the service
industry, maintaining the quality of the productivity is significantly important and therefore the
management of the business organization has rightly implemented various training and
developmental programs in the workplace to sustain their productivity and reputation in both
domestic and international market of operation. the management’s continuous try to enhance the
skills of the employees by introducing number of programs related to training and development

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of the employees have been significantly beneficial for the employees of the business
organization and that has rightly helped the business organization to experience more
productivity while maintaining the quality of the services they provide to their clients. It is seen
that the hotel chain is widely known for their good treatment with the employees and it is also a
matter of fact that in the service industry Marriott Hotel is one of the leading organization in
terms of retaining a motivated and loyal workforce for a long period of time.
Recommendation:
It has been observed that in contemporary times the performance of the business
organization is improving and the visitors of the hotel chain are returning with immense
satisfaction as they are receiving good services and the employees are courteous and has a
friendly attitude towards the clients. This has been possible due to the good treatment of the
management of the company with their workforce and being motivated and loyal towards the
organization, naturally the level of performance of the employees of the organization got better
with time (dos Santos, Méxas & Meiriño, 2017). In this regard, it can definitely be said that It
has been noticed that the management’s continuous try to maintain a good communication in the
workplace has helped the workforce to get better in terms of productivity as a good
communication in the workforce can effectively increase the bonding among the employees of
the business organization and that can have an impact on the quality of their work (Mejia et al.,
2016). Not only that, good communication in the workplace invokes sharing of knowledge and it
can effectively help the management of the organization to experience better productivity along
with profitability. Sharing of knowledge within the workplace can effectively help the employees
to get to know the experiences of the colleagues and from their failures the other employees can
learn and that can potentially reduce the mistakes in the operations.

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Conclusion
Therefore to precisely conclude, it can be said that, as the business organization operates
in the service industry, the above mentioned programs which were introduced by the
management of the business organization has immensely helped the management to sustain their
business in both the domestic and international market of operation . Thus, it can definitely be
said that in order to experience more profitability along with productivity, the management of the
business organization should introduce numerous new policies and training and developmental
procedures for the best interest o the company.

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References
Al-Refaie, A. (2015). Effects of human resource management on hotel performance using
structural equation modeling. Computers in Human Behavior, 43, 293-303.
Altinay, M. L. (2016). MSc International Hotel & Tourism Management. Management, 3294,
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Chen, J. (2015). The Role of Human Resources in Hotels in China. In Educational Strategies for
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dos Santos, R. A., Méxas, M. P., & Meiriño, M. J. (2017). Sustainability and hotel business:
criteria for holistic, integrated and participative development. Journal of cleaner
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Ferrary, M. (2015). Investing in transferable strategic human capital through alliances in the
luxury hotel industry. Journal of Knowledge Management, 19(5), 1007-1028.
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Kandampully, J., Zhang, T., & Jaakkola, E. (2017). Customer experience management in
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