Service Encounter Analysis: Marriott Hotel's Marketing Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the service encounter at Marriott Hotel, a leading global hospitality brand. It explores the company's organizational structure, dividing operations into front stage (customer-facing) and back stage (support) functions, and examines the significance of each in delivering exceptional service. The report details the flow of service encounters, from initial guest interaction to internal support processes, highlighting the importance of both front and back stage operations in ensuring customer satisfaction. It also discusses the managerial implications of service encounters, emphasizing the impact on market share, customer choice, and brand value. Furthermore, the report analyzes how Marriott Hotel leverages service interactions to enhance customer relationships and brand image, and how the company can optimize these encounters to better understand and meet customer needs.

Services and Relationship Marketing
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Table of Contents
Company Overview.........................................................................................................................3
Flowchart.........................................................................................................................................4
Backstage.....................................................................................................................................4
Front stage....................................................................................................................................5
Explanation of significance of the service encounter......................................................................5
Analysis of managerial implications...............................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7
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Company Overview
Marriot Hotel is a world renowned brand of full-service resorts and hotels. The main branch of
the company is based in Washington D.C but has its operations in more than 60 countries. The
Marriot Hotel is chief example of a service provider having great experience and superiority in
service staff. Marriot Hotels and Resorts is repeatedly named as the best companies to work with
as per Times and Forbes Magazines. Marriot Hotel being a global leader in hospitality industry
delivers great service experience in between its employees and customers. Majority of the
procedures at the stated organisation are encountered between its employees and guests. Thus,
Marriot Hotel is has successfully developed and created an organisational structure and culture
that completely supports the service driven model. It has also used marketing strategies to rely
the developed organisational culture and brand image.
Service organisations are mainly divided into two different components. These two
components are front stage and back stage. Front stage functions constitute all the procedures
and happenings that are used to interact with the consumers (Rama Moahana Rao, 2011). Staffs
working in the front stage of the company’s operations are well trained with what forms of
services are delivered within a service organisation and also possess proper skills to assure that
service delivery model of the company is of superior class. On the other hand, back stage staffs
deals with the procedures that are not directly interacted to the consumers (Sheth, 2017). In order
to deliver excellent service, an organisation must have harmony between its front stage and back
stage operations.
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Flowchart
Here is the flowchart of Marriot Hotel
The above Flowchart helps to map out the stages of service encounter between a staff and a guest
of hotel management. The outlined flowchart covers both the front stage and back stage of
operations of Marriot Hotel.
Backstage
The backstage functions of a hotel establishment are referred to a procedure which is undertaken
mainly by the support department. Back stage employees are the predecessor of the front stage
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Marriot Hotel
Service Operations
Back stage
Operations
Kitchen
Preparation of meals
and beverages
House Keeping
cleaning of room
and hotel premises
Sales and Marketing
advertisement of
hotel in public
partnership with
external parties
maintenance of
website
Administrative
recruitment of
human resources
Accounts and Book
Keeping
Hotel security
employee
development
Front stage
Operations
Front Desk
Operations
guest booking
room assignment
and baggage
tour and rental car
service
Guest services
data Management
Guest Check out
Recreational
Activities
Maintenance of
pool, spa , gym and
other amenities
handle guest
advance bookings
Dining Rooms
offer meals at all
occassions
Room service
Special requests

employees in the hotel service delivery circle. The operations at the backstage are not visible by
customers (Pirrie, 2006). Employees working at the backstage functions of a company usually
don’t interact or communicate with the guests directly. At Marriot Hotel, the backstage functions
include the operations like sales and marketing, human resource activities, financial operations,
hotel security and kitchen services. It also includes housekeeping facility (Lamb, Hair and
McDaniel, 2013). Though customers do not get face to face interactions with these services, but
they are still very much significant for the assistance of front stage functions. As for illustration,
good housekeeping and good kitchen facilities is very much important for the guest satisfaction
at the hotel. Sales and marketing is also very crucial as it bring right customers at the hotel door.
Front stage
The front stage operations of Marriot Hotel are mainly like a hotel. The front stage operation of
the company starts with customer’s action and visible staff actions. The main operations are
related to front desk of the company (Zboja and Hartline, 2010). Front desk operation involves
the greetings of the guests with a happy and positive attitude, checking them in, handling their
personal information, arranging and delivering the baggage to respective rooms, handling the
guest inquiries, booking rental cars and tour services for the guests and many more (Lamb, Hair
and McDaniel, 2013). All these process are front line operation between an employee and a
guest. Each of the process at the front stage is about delivering physical evidence which creates
positive perception about the hotel in the mind of the customers (Halinen, 2012). The front stage
employees sometimes have to handle very complex situation and have to adjust regarding their
delivery of service in order to bring the heated situation in hand. The front stages operations of a
hotel bring extensive work to staffs as they have to deliver multitask and also have to handle
guests, other employees and higher management.
Explanation of significance of the service encounter
A service driven company always have customer oriented operations which is about positive
interaction between a customer and the organisation. This interaction is all about development of
a formulation on the part of a customer or about leaving a positive impression in the minds of the
customer. Providing an excellent service is about determining the views and perception of the
customers regarding the organisation or the brand (Gummesson, 2017). Marriot Hotel has to face
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much direct or indirect interaction with the customers and also with the staffs of the hotel. A
customer satisfaction is regarded as the most significant factor for determining the success of an
organisation. Marriot Hotel operates globally and thus has a brand value and it is important for
the stated firm to maintain that global standard. Marriot Hotel has to manage both its front stage
and back stage operations effectively to ensure that they have to make the service experience of
the customers better. The management of stated hotel have to design these services in such a way
that it can convert emotional experience of the customers while entering the hotel premise as a
positive one (Catherine Myhal, Kang and Murphy, 2008). Each and every service interaction of
the Marriot Hotel is an opportunity to outline their brand value. Thus, it could be said that each
positive experience of the customers have to developed as per the brand image. Marriot Hotel
must maximise the operations of its services in interacting with the customers and understanding
their needs and wants to develop the company’s service accordingly.
Analysis of managerial implications
Marriot Hotel makes use of the above stated services in getting the customers to their fold. A
service encountered cannot be determined on the terms of any mathematical calculations and
there are lots of qualitative factors influencing the same. The managerial implications that the
encountered services could have may directly influence the hotel market share as it has direct
linkage with the customer’s choice and brand value. This linkage is crucial in the case of a hotel
brand where quality service matters the most. In terms of amenities, most of the hotels may be
one and the same, but it is the way of delivering the services that matters the most (Blythe,
2006). It is important for the managers to locate various service interactions that the guests will
have during their stay in the hotel and must recognise what can affect the customer satisfaction in
a negative manner. The management of Marriot Hotel to make improvement in their services in
order to make sure those customers are made aware of all the completeness of the process
(Catherine Myhal, Kang and Murphy, 2008). The encounters with the employees and customers
could be used by management to enhance sell on various service the company offers. In the
current business context, companies are spending a lot in promoting their brand with the help of
various advertising tools but if they could manage to get their services at the right place, the
image of the hotel or brand can get to the top of the mind of the customers.
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References
Blythe, J. (2006). Marketing. London: SAGE Publications.
Catherine Myhal, G., Kang, J. and Murphy, J. (2008). Retaining customers through relationship
quality: a services business marketing case. Journal of Services Marketing, 22(6), pp.445-453.
Chitty, W., Hughes, A. and D'Alessandro, S. (2012). Services marketing. South Melbourne, Vic:
Oxford University Press.
Gummesson, E. (2017). From relationship marketing to total relationship marketing and
beyond. Journal of Services Marketing, 31(1), pp.16-19.
Halinen, A. (2012). Relationship Marketing in Professional Services. Hoboken: Taylor and
Francis.
Lamb, C., Hair, J. and McDaniel, C. (2013). Marketing. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage
Learning.
Pirrie, A. (2006). Services Marketing Management. Taylor & Francis.
Rama Moahana Rao, K. (2011). Services marketing. New Delhi: Pearson.
Sheth, J. (2017). Revitalizing relationship marketing. Journal of Services Marketing, 31(1), pp.6-
10.
Zboja, J. and Hartline, M. (2010). Using Internal Relationship Marketing Activities to Enhance
Cross-Selling Performance in Services. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 9(3), pp.117-131.
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