Marketing Mix of Hotel Industry

Prepared by: Egon, Liu Yun Kai (HIH1067)

1 | P a g e

Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 2
Promotion mix ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Price Mix ............................................................................................................................................... 3
Place Mix ............................................................................................................................................... 3
People Mix ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Example ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Reference .............................................................................................................................................. 6


Marketing Mix of Hotel Industry
Prepared by: Egon, Liu Yun Kai (HIH1067)

2 | P a g e

Introduction
The promotions strategy of the hotels includes the planned promotion tools and techniques, which are
very important for the hotel industry and play a major role in achieving the competitive advantage. For
the promotion of hotels the main tool used is the mass communication approach, which promotes the
hotels using the print ads over the online (internet) network and different trade publications. While
designing the promotional strategy hotels are much more focused to attract the regular customers and
also to attract expected customers from different regions. This kind of promotional campaigning proves
to be a cost effective mode to target the market successfully.


Product Mix
In any organization, we find product the focal point. The hotel services also require a fair combination of
core arid peripheral services. It is right to mention that in almost all the hotels of same category by and
large the core services are found identical and therefore the peripheral services divert a close attention
where the hotel personnel need professional excellence. More innovative the peripheral services, more
attractions is the product mix. This makes it essential that hotels and hotel companies assign due
weightage to the formulation of an optimal product mix in which peripheral services prove to be a point
of attraction.
While formulating the product mix for the hotel services, it is essential that catering management,
restaurant and cafeteria management, management of bedrooms, management of convention halls are
given due weightage. The boarding services are considered to be an important part of product mix. In
addition, the lodging services also become significant. Here it is essential that facilities like light, water,
electricity, ventilation, entertainment, sanitation arrangement of bed etc. are available to the guests.
While formulating the product mix, the hotel organizations are required to make possible a fair mix of
core and peripheral services.
The Product Mix for a Hotel will typically include:
Reception: Welcome, Enquiry and sign posts.
Boarding: Catering, restaurants and cafeterias.
Lodging: Bed, room, light, water, sanitation, ventilation and view.
Entertainment: TV, Dance, music, cultural shows and radio.
Shopping: shopping arcade, fairs and exhibitions.
Personal Care: Beauty parlour, hair cutting, gymnasium and jogging.
Marketing Mix of Hotel Industry
Prepared by: Egon, Liu Yun Kai (HIH1067)

3 | P a g e

Communication and transport: Telephone, news, papers, magazines
Medicals: first aid / ambulance.
Promotion mix
For successful marketing, it is only not sufficient to concentrate on the quality of services but it is also
impact generating that we promote our business in such a way that the prospects come to know about
the quality to be offered to them as hotel customers. This focuses the attention on innovative
promotional measures. The components like advertisement, publicity, sales promotion, personal selling,
word-of-mouth promotion and telemarketing need due attention of hotel professionals.
Price Mix
Pricing decisions are found critical, challenging and chaotic. Of course, no marketing mix is found so
much critical as pricing. Pricing is not only the outcome of the marketing forces. It conveys something to
customers even about the quality of a product. There are a number of variables influencing the pricing
decisions of an organization.
The pricing decisions are beset with many problems. No doubt in it that fixing the hotel tariffs is just like
pricing other goods and services. At the same time, it is also right to mention that the hotel
professionals need more excellence while fixing the hotel tariffs since the services are found of
perishable nature. In addition, the seasonal fluctuation in demand and increasing intensity of
competition also complicate the task of professionals. They need world-class excellence while making
strategically and tactical pricing decisions.
Pricing decisions are found important in both strategic and tactical sense. In the tactical sense, it plays
an outstanding role. This is due to the inseparability and perishability of the hotel products. This is also
due to the inability of the service engineering organizations to carry over unsold stocks as a buffer to
cope with future demand as found in the goods manufacturing organizations. Also known as price
deregulation, tactical pricing is found instrumental in promoting the hotel business. Experiences show
that in the hotel industry, it is found to be a major selling tool. There are a number of ways for practicing
and benefiting from this tool:
Seasonal Discounts found applicable in the hotel industry. Customary to charge lower prices,
especially during the off-season.
Trade Discounts Found applicable in the hotel industry as tour operators and travel agents are
offered discounts.
Special Discounts In the hotel industry, we find special function room rates for overnight
convention.
Place Mix
Marketing Mix of Hotel Industry
Prepared by: Egon, Liu Yun Kai (HIH1067)

4 | P a g e

The problems hotels experience in reaching new customers lead them to use third parties as
intermediaries. This costs money in the form of commissions, of course, but then so does advertising.
The Internet does away with these limitations, as more and more customers are discovering. Any
would-be guest equipped with a computer and a modem can now call up a hotel database covering his
proposed destination and select an establishment on the basis of its location, price and facilities. He can
use the built-in e-mail facility to check its room availability, make a booking and even pay a deposit by
quoting his credit card number, all without having to leave the comfort of his home or office. With a fax
connection as well, he can have a confirmation slip printed off. In short, it allows him to select a hotel
anywhere in the world and offers him instant connection at minimum cost, with all the advantages of
immediate response and a permanent record.
People Mix
In an age of sophisticated information technologies when we have been making superhighway for
communications, there is a basic change in the expectations of users. The personnel serving the hotel
companies no doubt depend substantially on the instrumentality of information technologies but here it
is also important that hotels and hotel companies assign due weightage to the development of
personnel. Sky is the limit for perfection. This phrase is meaningful not only for the technologies but
even for the people who manage them. It is against this background that the marketing experts the
world over has been found making a strong advocacy in favour of an ongoing training programme for
the personnel servicing the hotel companies.
The prime focus is on the front-line-personnel working in hotels in different capacities. The receptionists,
the porters, the housekeepers, the waiters and waitresses and even the doormen play an incremental
role in promoting the business. The sales executives, the marketing managers, the senior executives
bear the responsibility of managing the front-line-personnel in such a way that the promised services
reach to the ultimate users without making any distortion.
Of course, they are supposed to have proper education and knowledge regarding the services they need
to offer but here, it is also important that the hotel organizes for them an ongoing training programme,
refresher courses, and capsule courses, lecture programme, specially related to the behavioral profile.
There are several cases to quote that even the five star hotels where the users stay with high
expectations; a minor mistake committed by the receptionists or the housekeepers has resulted in a big
loss. The frontline- staff in particular needs to identify the changing levels of expectations of users and in
a majority of the cases they virtually fail in doing such.
A gap is generated between the quality promised and the quality-offered. If the hotel personnel prove
to be high-performers, personally committed, professionally sound, value-oriented, aware of the
behavioral management; familiar with the aesthetic management; they can satisfy the users even if the
sophisticated technologies develop a fault. This makes it essential that the hotel personnel are made
available an ongoing training facility efficacious in enriching their professional excellence.

Marketing Mix of Hotel Industry
Prepared by: Egon, Liu Yun Kai (HIH1067)

5 | P a g e

Example
The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel decor with Victoria architecture, 5-star property with spectacular
seashore view and provides 400 rooms for leisure tourists. It incorporated with sense of Resort and Spa
that tends to meet taste of mature demographic.

Product
The theme hotels built are providing total 1000 room, restaurants, shopping and conference services.

Price
Normally, the room charge of hotel will be sold as package with the ticket of theme park. The main
ticket price is on date specific basis, disparate prices offered for weekdays and weekends. There are 3
types of admission ticket: 1-day access, 2-days access and Magic Access which is for whole year
admission.

Promotion
Key event promotions are lying during the whole year, like Halloween, Star Guest, Lightning McQueen
Live and New Year, the company carried out slew of direct promotional works in order to strengthen
publicity to local and oversea markets, typically mainland China and Southeast Asia regions. Advertising
includes TV commercials, movies and celebrity endorsements. Other marketing facets fall into
association of promotion programs with travel industry partners, airline companies, banks and beverage
bottling distributors. Under sustainability strategy, the company is committed in social responsibility
that engaged deep involvement in community work with on-going outreach programs that running in a
whole year

Place
The theme park is well located at Lantau Island amongst mountains and oversight the South China. Built
nearby Hong Kong airport with availability of public transit system, its location is being considered to be
extremely convenient for its accessibility. Also it is appealing geographically as a destination for both
regional and world travelers. Under the companys perspective it is highly appraised to be dominant
gateway to capture the enormous potential market in Mainland China.

People
After completion of the expansion, the company anticipates to handle over 8 million visitors each year.
Large scale of recruitment and training become imperative program to the company objectives. With
commitment on skilled and qualified workforce development, the company is obliged to invest
considerable amount of resources in professional and technical training in a year.




Marketing Mix of Hotel Industry
Prepared by: Egon, Liu Yun Kai (HIH1067)

6 | P a g e

Reference
Principles of Marketing: an Asian Perspective Philip Kotler, 2011

TEA/AECOM 2011. Theme Index: The Global Attractions Attendance Report. AECOM. P11-12, 5 June
2012. http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com. Apple Daily, 20 January 2010

"Disney Culture Shock". The Standard. Hong Kong. 19 March 2007

Administration's paper on update on Hong Kong Disneyland Legislative Council, HKSAR P1, 17 January
2012