T/616/1801 Unit 15: Hospitality Marketing Essentials

Unit Number and Title

 Unit 15: Hospitality Marketing Essentials

Unit Code

 T/616/1801

The assessment comprises of an essay to be written covering several broad topics as the main requirements of the assignment. Relevant areas for discussion have also been identified under each broad topic. The beginning of each section should outline a general introduction to the broad topic with the objective of providing a contextual background to the areas of discussion to follow.

Relevant references and academic quotes and the use of case study or examples are required as evidence of broader reading and research.

Reasonable consideration will be given in the case of failure to submit the assignments on time due to any medical reasons. (Provided sufficient medical proof  is made available at the time of exemption)  

Late submissions are not allowed and will be penalised.

There is no word limit for this assignment; however, we would expect to you complete the assignment within approximately 3000 words excluding references, diagrams and tables.

Referencing should be provided in Harvard Style referencing.

The assignments should be completed in Font Type: Time New Roman/Arial with Size 12 and 1.5 spacing between lines.

Aim of the unit:

The aim of this assignment is to measure the outcome of students’ learning in terms of knowledge acquired, understanding developed and skills or abilities gained in relation to achieve the learning outcomes. This assignment will measure learners’ outcome levels.

The assessment comprises of an essay to be written covering several broad topics as the main requirements of the assignment. Relevant areas for discussion have also been identified under each broad topic. The beginning of each section should outline a general introduction to the broad topic with the objective of providing a contextual background to the areas of discussion to follow.

Relevant references and academic quotes and the use of case study or examples are required as evidence of broader reading and research.

Scenario

The hospitality industry consists of companies within the food services, accommodations, recreation, and entertainment sectors. It is a several billion pound industry that mostly depends on the availability of leisure time and disposable income. A hospitality unit such as a restaurant, hotel, or even an amusement park consists of multiple groups such as facility maintenance, direct operations (servers, housekeepers, porters, kitchen workers, bartenders, etc.), management, marketing, and human resources.

The hospitality industry is growing fast, but it`s also changing. Some people say that you have only to look at the USA to see where the British hospitality industry is going: fast food and lots of it, theme parks and themed restaurants, so many eating places that dining out becomes as common as dining in, and an emphasis on customer service.

There are now more than 3.5 million people employed in hospitality in the UK, and by 2020 that is expected to reach 6 million. And it`s an industry that`s changing fast, as anyone with an eye on the news will have noticed.

In 2018, there are about 13 new 4-star hotels scheduled for opening , with some 2000 rooms between them. Who would have thought a few years ago that we`d be ordering take-away Pizza from petrol forecourts, for example? Or having coffee and breakfast in a pub?

Or paying to cook our own food in a restaurant? These are just some of the offers coming on-stream, and there are undoubtedly more interesting ones to follow.

That is the good news. The bad news is that the hospitality industry still has problems, above all with its image. But the over-riding message from recruiters is that the low pay and long hours for which hotels and restaurants are famous are becoming a thing of the past. The sheer growth of the industry has meant that employers are putting together far more attractive recruitment packages to attract the right staff. For potential managers the prospects can be tremendous.

We must acknowledge that Brexit will have some form of impact on the hospitality sector. Whether this will be positive or negative remains to be seen. What can be stated for certain is that the hospitality sector is highly reliant on labour from European Union countries and indeed from many other countries across the world.  The UK hospitality workforce has more than 24% of workers born outside the country, of which 45% are from Europe and 55% from the rest of the world

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit a student will be able to:

1. Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units in a hospitality organisation

2. Compare ways in which hospitality organisations use elements of the marketing mix (7Ps) to achieve overall business objectives

3. Develop a basic marketing plan to meet marketing objectives for a hospitality organisation.

LO1 Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other functional units in a hospitality organisation

v  Explain the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within a selected hospitality organisation.

Guide: Learners are to Identify and explain 4 key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function in a selected hospitality organisation, by completing the table below:

v  Discuss how roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to the wider organisational context

Guide:  Using the sample organisation chart of a typical hotel below:

Draw a similar chart (organisation chart) for your chosen hospitality organisation. This is a group activity/discussion and participants in the group will have the chance to present the group’s completed work by stating how each person has contributed to the group’s arrival at the decision by giving examples.

Groups will be given the chance to review other groups based on their outcome (Peer Review) after the group presentation or discussion in class.

Figure 1: Sample Chart

v  Analyse the roles and responsibilities of marketing in the context of the marketing environment

Guide: Using diagrams and examples where necessary, identify Three (3) separate Roles and Responsibilities and state how they are related to each other, and how each one contributes to marketing environment factors (both internal and external factor or Micro and Macro Factors).

v  Analyse the significance of interrelationships between marketing and other functional units within a selected hospitality organisation

Guide: Students are to analyse the significance of interrelationships between marketing department and two(2) other departments in a hospitality organisation. e.g. Marketing and Food & Beverage, Marketing and Rooms Division, etc.

v  Critically analyse the key elements of the marketing function and how they interrelate with other functional units within a selected hospitality organisation.

Guide: Learners are to give their view after considering all the functional units. Decide the importance of all the relevant positive and negative points before presenting a brief remark or decision. (Four (4) functional units will be appropriate). You can use diagrams or pictures to illustrate parts of your analysis.

LO2 Compare ways in which hospitality organisations use elements of the marketing mix (7Ps) to achieve overall business objectives

v  Compare the ways in which different hospitality organisations apply the marketing mix to the marketing planning process to achieve business objectives

Guide: Copy and complete the table below comparing how your chosen organisations use the elements of marketing mix in their marketing process to achieve their business objectives:

v  Evaluate different tactics applied by hospitality organisations to demonstrate how business objectives are achieved

Guide:  Identify two (2) of the tactics that hospitality originations can use in marketing to achieve business objectives. Explain each of the tactics with an example. You can use diagrams/pictures to illustrate your answer.

LO3 Develop a basic marketing plan to meet marketing objectives for a hospitality organisation

Case Study

Scenario

Title: Travelodge admits price alone cannot boost loyalty as it launches premium rooms

Travelodge is launching premium economy rooms or ‘SuperRooms’ throughout the UK as it looks to push its services to professionals.

The rooms include more modern ‘residential’ décor in shades of taupe and beige. More seating is available, along with more USB charging points, more choice of lighting, a full length mirror, ironing board and hairdryer. The rooms also include a Lavazza ‘A Modo Mio’ fresh capsule coffee machine for workers on the go.

“Our new ‘SuperRooms’ adds an extra choice for customers who are spending more time working in the room, are staying longer or who just value that little bit more comfort,” says Peter Gowers, Travelodge’s chief executive.

The SuperRooms will be available in five locations from today (15 May) and by autumn there will be 1,000 of the premium rooms, predominantly in central London, followed by Heathrow, Gatwick and then other regional areas.

Travelodge’s sales and marketing director, Karen Broughton, says the move has come from customer demand, as she likens it to EasyJet’s move into the premium market a few years back.

“Our story is very similar to EasyJet’s story. At the start people were almost embarrassed about travelling with EasyJet or it was frowned upon. But on the back of the credit crunch it became quite cool to see who gets the best deal and it is the same for Travelodge,” Broughton tells Marketing Week.

“People are becoming much savvier with their money now and they want more choice with what they do with it.”

Broughton believes the new offer means Travelodge will get a trickle down from those staying in five-star hotels as their business customers’ priorities change.

The premium rooms will be advertised through digital, including programmatic and social, as well as being communicated to current customers through direct marketing.

Although the more premium rooms do not have enough scale for a TV ad of their own yet, Broughton says the company’s focus on business through its current Travelodge campaign will coincide with the changes.

Source: Rachel Gee (2017), Travelodge admits price alone cannot boost loyalty as it launches premium rooms, Marketing Week, Available at https://www.marketingweek.com/2017/05/15/travelodge-loyalty-premium-business/ [Accessed on 22 July 2018]

v  Produce a basic marketing plan for a hospitality organisation to meet marketing objectives

Guide: Using the case study above, produce marketing plan for Travelodge and present this in groups of (1 to 5 persons), using Poster Presentation in class. You are free to choose any other verifiable hospitality origination of your choice.

Learners can also use a self-made video of how the marketing plan can be done for a chosen hospitality organisation.

v  Produce a detailed, coherent, evidence-based marketing plan that applies the marketing mix to meet marketing objectives for a hospitality organisation.

Guide: In groups or individually, produce an evidence-based marketing plan considering all the stages and resources required by Travelodge.

v  Design a strategic marketing plan that tactically applies the use of the 7Ps and includes measures for monitoring and evaluation to achieve overall marketing objectives.

Guide: By using a table or a diagram.

NB: Your strategic plan must cover all the elements of the Marketing Mix