CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO HOSPITALITY MARKETING AND SALES – Flashcards

Population growth; Longer life span; Improved incomes; Increased leisure time; Expanded highway system; Development of suburbs; Increased air travel; Convention center expansion

Field work and desk work to sell to consumers; Short-term considerations, such as today's products, markets, consumers, and strategies; Volumes and quotas, current sales, bonuses, and commissions

Market analysis, planning, and control; Long-term trends, and how to translate problems and opportunities into new products, markets, and strategies for long-term growth; Profit planning, such as determining the appropriate mix of business from individual market segments

Center Circle: The Consumer Middle Circle: Controllable Variables Product Place Promotion Price Outer Circle—Uncontrollable Variables Competitors Politics and Legal Influences Technology Social and Cultural Environment Economic Environment

Product-Service Place-Distribution Promotion-Communication Price-Rate

Without a product, the hospitality industry has nothing to distribute, promote, or price; Hospitality products include guestrooms, banquet space, and food and beverages; services include express check-in and check-out, housekeeping, and parking; The product-service mix must be tailored to the needs and wants of the guests sought; Most hospitality properties serve more than one market segment, and each segment has unique needs and wants

Place-distribution refers to the accessibility of the product to consumers; With the manufacturing industry, producers ship their products to consumers; with the hospitality industry, consumers travel to the product (hospitality properties); Distribution channels for lodging establishments are direct or indirect;. Direct distribution channels: a lodging property reaching potential guests with its own sales force through e-mail or direct mail, telephone solicitation, personal sales calls, media advertising, property websites, etc.; Indirect distribution channels: websites selling travel services and intermediaries such as travel agents, tour operators, and independent hotel representatives

Promotion is the way a hotel or restaurant communicates to target markets and can involve advertising and direct sales techniques; it is focused on persuasion; Communication is a two-way exchange; the goal is not persuasion but to determine what customers want and need

Higher prices-rates can be charged by properties that enjoy a higher reputation than their competitors; Price-rate strategies vary depending on the goals of a property; for example, a new property may charge low rates to build business and customer awareness

The elements of the marketing mix are interrelated, so a decision regarding one element usually affects others; Even the "controllable" variables in the marketing mix (the Four P's of product, place, promotion, and price) are not absolutely controllable; Uncontrollable variables (external environmental factors) have an impact on marketing efforts. A recession, energy crisis, or natural disaster cannot be controlled and requires management to make marketing adjustments

Generally there are three managers who play a vital role in a property's marketing and sales efforts: The general manager The director of marketing The director of sales

A marketing-oriented general manager is the key to a firm's sales efforts; The GM's role varies with the size of the property; at small properties, the GM is typically far more "hands on" than a GM at a large property; A GM who interacts with guests and is involved in the local community can greatly enhance a property's sales efforts

The director of marketing must be a good manager and perform tasks such as setting objectives and policies; making decisions; and selecting, organizing, and supervising the sales and marketing staffs; A director of marketing's supervisory tasks can be divided into five functions: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling; Planning is probably the most important supervisory task, as it involves determining what needs to be done and deciding how to do it

The director of sales carries out marketing strategies and directs the sales staff in finding solutions to customers' problems in order to make sales; The director of sales makes sure that the sales staff is contacting prospective or current clients and presenting the benefits of the property so that sales are made

Both marketing and sales are necessary to a property's success; neither works well without the other; Making sales is critical to every property's economic health and growth; Although marketing activities are at the forefront of hospitality promotion, many marketing activities, such as publicity and advertising, are one-way communications; sales personnel contact people directly and are invaluable in the people-oriented hospitality business

Intangibility Perishability Inconsistency Inseparability

Hotel salespeople do not sell guestrooms or banquet rooms—they sell the use of these rooms; they sell the benefits or the experience the property's products and services will provide to the customer Since customers cannot see, touch, or use the hospitality experience before they buy it, they must rely on the salesperson's description of the property and the experiences it offers Because of the intangible nature of much of the hospitality experience, a salesperson's credibility plays an important role in any hospitality sale Service guarantees are increasingly being used by hospitality firms to reduce the risk customers take and build customer confidence in a firm's promises

Many hospitality products and services are highly perishable; an unused guestroom, an empty restaurant seat, or an unfilled tee-off time represents business lost forever Hospitality products such as a pleasant stay or a delicious meal have no shelf life; they cannot be stockpiled or inventoried to sell later The perishability of the hospitality product places heavy pressure on hospitality marketing and sales executives to develop innovative pricing, promotion, and planning strategies

The service rendered by a housekeeper or a food server may vary greatly at different hotels or restaurants—or even at the same outlet The same employee may provide varied levels of service from day to day Maintaining a consistent level of service is essential for the success of hospitality businesses; it is a special challenge for chains Even with standardized training programs, chain properties may have very different employee skill levels and levels of service

Production and consumption are largely simultaneous with services Guests not only come into contact with employees but with other guests as well; that makes the other guests part of the product and often affects the quality of service

Globalization Technology Distribution Revenue management Customer relationship management Guest preferences Niche marketing and branding Partnership marketing Environmental awareness and sustainability

Today companies have unprecedented opportunities to expand their business throughout the world; U.S. hotel and restaurant chains are establishing an international presence to serve U.S. travelers and meet the demand abroad for U.S. products; The first hotels built outside the country by U.S. chains were primarily upscale properties located in capital cities; now, mid-range and budget properties are being built outside foreign capitals; Since the U.S. hotel market is considered to have matured, it has become more important for hotel chains to look outside the country for more opportunities

Most hotels today offer their guests Internet connections through Wi-Fi or other means; Smart cards—electronically coded all-purpose cards—are being increasing used by hotels; The ability to collect, analyze, and store data electronically has made it easier for hotels to forecast revenues, adjust rates, customize services for guests, and automate forms and reports

The Internet has changed how hospitality customers make individual and group reservations and book meeting space; Rates may vary widely, depending on which distribution channel customers use; Hotels must efficiently manage the various distribution channels in order to maximize their profits

Revenue management seeks to maximize income from all of a property's profit centers; Revenue management helps managers adjust pricing and formulate sales strategies; Software is available to help managers with revenue management efforts; Most major hotel chains are hiring revenue management managers

Customer relationship management (CRM) seeks to help a business build a repeat customer base by developing and maintaining relationships with guests, thereby increasing their loyalty to the business; The focus of CRM is to show both individual and group guests that they are valued by the business CRM seeks to provide personalized attention and superior service to guests; CRM begins with upper managers who are committed to building customer trust and loyalty

Hospitality businesses must keep abreast of consumers' changing preferences and the latest demographic trends; The Baby Boomers and Millennials are both huge markets; Customers today are connected (through the Internet and social media), time-conscious, demanding, and more health-conscious; The two-income-family trend is having an impact on the hospitality industry; More customers today are accustomed to self-service and automated services

Niche marketing/branding involves designing, building, and marketing hospitality products for specific market segments; Niche marketing recognizes that there are an increasing number of market segments with varying preferences and budgets; The hospitality industry has traditionally offered three broad categories of properties: upscale, mid-priced, and economy; Some hotel chains offer their guests a number of different hotel brands

Partnership marketing involves two or more firms—ideally serving similar markets with noncompetitive products—joining together to benefit from each other's strengths; There are two types of partnership marketing or strategic alliances: like-kind alliances and related-business alliances; Like-kind alliances are marketing partnerships formed by the same type of businesses (such as two or more hotels); Related-business alliances are marketing partnerships formed by dissimilar businesses in related industries, such as hotels teaming up with airlines or cruise lines, or restaurants teaming up with theme parks

Many of today's consumers are concerned about the environment; Many of today's hotels and restaurants are employing environmentally sound practices in order to protect the environment and appeal to guests concerned about the environment; Ecotourism is becoming more popular; Many hotel and restaurant developers now take pains to preserve the environment