The Hospitality and Travel Marketing System (TMP) – Flashcards

Travel Industry Dictionary defines the hospitality industry as "the hotel, restaurant, entertainment, and resort industry." In addition, it includes lodging, restaurants and foodservices, and casinos and gaming.

is the national trade association for hotels, restaurant, and caterers in United Kingdom.

states "tourism has become one of the major players in international commerce, and represents at the same time one of the main income sources for many developing countries."

identifies its mission as "to raise awareness of the economic and social contribution of Travel & Tourism and to work with governments on policies that unlock the industry's potential to create jobs and generate prosperity."

states it is "a non-profit trade organization that represents and speaks for the common interests of the $740 billion U.S. Travel industry."

agrees with USTA and bills itself as "The National Newspaper of the Travel Industry."

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) states "tourism has become one of the major players in international commerce, and represents at the same time one of the main income sources for many developing countries." World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) identifies its mission as "to raise awareness of the economic and social contribution of Travel & Tourism and to work with governments on policies that unlock the industry's potential to create jobs and generate prosperity." U.S. Travel Association (USTA) states it is "a non-profit trade organization that represents and speaks for the common interests of the $740 billion U.S. Travel industry." Travel Weekly agrees with USTA and bills itself as "The National Newspaper of the Travel Industry."

says it represents restaurants, bars, cafeterias, and social and contract caterers, as well as accommodation, entertainment, and institutional foodservice.

the Food Services and Drinking Places subsector prepares "meals, snacks, and beverages to customer order for immediate on-premises and off-premises consumption."

Types and Levels of Services

Have an even narrower focus, using such term as the Hotel industry, the Resort industry, and the Campground industry.

If you move outside of your normal places, you will be exposed to another layer of industry labels.

Many economists and statisticians disagree with all of the previous definition. They have a different way of classifying industries and, in North America. which was developed for the United States, Canada, and Mexico, shows that hospitality and travel organizations are scattered among several NAICS code.

Accommodation and Food Services. Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation, which includes Theme Parks. Transportation (Airlines and other transportation carriers) Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Service (Travel Agencies and Tour Operators) Public Administration (Convention and Visitors Bureau) or Other Service (except Public Administration)

is an alternative way of looking at industries and organizations.

is a collection of interrelated parts that work together to achieve common objectives.

exists at the hospitality and travel industry level. There are a number of unique relationships among hospitality and travel organizations.

are found at the individual organization level. The term hospitality and travel marketing system is used to describe a micro-system - a process for marketing an organization that involves everyone who works for that organization.

Characteristics of Systems in the Hospitality and Travel Industry

The industry and its organizations are open systems. Unlike mechanical and electrical closed systems, open systems are not rigid, and the system parts are not precisely organized in a definite way. These systems are dynamic, constantly undergoing change. People are always coming up with new and creative ways of marketing hospitality and travel services.

A great variety of hospitality and travel organizations exist. They range from very small businesses to multinational conglomerates. The interrelationships among the different organizations are complex.

The marketplace is constantly changing. So, too, must our industry and organizations change. We must be responsive to change, or we will not survive. All systems must have feedback mechanisms. Information must be gathered from customers and others to make decisions about changes in both customer needs and competitive activities. Standing still in our industry is fatal. Marketing research provides a nourishing supply of information to help us adapt and survive.

Ours is an industry of intense competition. New organizations thro their hats into the ring almost daily. Competitive power and intensity increase as large corporations increase in size and market share. Smaller organizations collaborate to improve their competitive positions. They form consortia, referral groups, and marketing cooperatives and make other joint efforts to gain more clout in the marketplace.

Our industry (macro-system) includes a variety of interdependent and interrelated businesses and organizations involved in serving the needs of customers who are away from home. They include suppliers, carriers, and travel trade intermediaries within the hospitality and travel industry. Other organizations involved are government tourism promotion agencies, convention, and visitor bureaus (CVBs) and other destination marketing organizations (DMOs). Marketing is not the only function of hospitality and travel managers. Other areas of responsibility are operations, finance and accounting, human resources management, and maintenance activities.

Within both our industry and individual organizations, there are many points of conflict, stresses, and tensions. We do not have perfect systems. They do not perform exactly as we think they should. Airlines and retail travel agencies have had a strained relationship, as the airlines have trimmed costs, and introduced online bookings at airline websites. Lodging companies are increasingly concerned about how much room inventory is controlled by online travel companies. Hotels and resorts are always on their guard for meetings and conventions that do not fulfil their room blocks. Destinations and businesses that should be cooperating are working against one another. This imperfect world of hospitality and travel extends to individual organization. Unhealthy internal competition, personality clashes, and communication problems cause the system to function differently than it should. Marketing can promise the customer something that cannot be delivered due to these types of internal problems. Much of the job of marketing is showing everyone that they are all in the same boat.

The Hospitality and Travel Marketing System

System Fundamentals

is the process of developing long-term (three to five or more years) plans for marketing. It involves selecting a definite course of action for long-term survival and growth. Long-term planning is required to guarantee success.

it means that satisfying customer needs and wants must have the top priority in an organization.

there are differences between marketing services and marketing products. Ours is a business of marketing and providing services. Using the hospitality and travel marketing system assumes that we are aware of these differences.

the system is most effectively used if we fully appreciate the personal and interpersonal factors that influence customer behavior.

Benefits of Using the System

six basic purposes of plans

Organizations that use the hospitality and travel marketing system are forced to plan ahead and to anticipate future events. Multi-year, strategic market plans are required.

Marketing budgets and human resources are more effectively used because the right questions are asked at the right time.

The five questions are and should be given equal priority. All available marketing techniques are carefully considered. There is a constant re-evaluation of activities, rather than a continuous repetition of past efforts. Effective marketing decisions are based on sound research.

is a systematic process of planning, researching, implementing, controlling, and evaluating an organization's marketing activities.

An organization must assess where it is and where it has just been. If an organization is to succeed in the long run, it must always be assessing its strengths and weaknesses, and its marketing performance in the present and previous time periods. A great deal must be known about past and potential customers, and about primary competitors.

There are many alternative routes that an organization can follow, the key is to determine which one is most effective. Specific techniques are used to achieve this goal, including market segmentation, target marketing, positioning, marketing mixes (8 P's), and marketing objectives.

The marketing plan is the key tool here, because it acts like a blueprint for action. The marketing plan documents how the organization will use the 4 P's (product, place, pricing, and promotion) and the other 4 P's of hospitality and travel marketing (packaging, programming, partnership, and people) to achieve its marketing objectives.

Having a marketing plan does not automatically guarantee that an organization will be successful. Checks and controls have to be built in to ensure things go as planned. There is a need for marketing management, budgeting, and controls. If an organization finds that parts of its marketing plan are not working, it may have to make changes to get to where it wants to be.

Many organizations put great effort into developing marketing plans and very little into measuring the results of these plans. This is unfortunate because they can learn from both their mistakes and success. Measuring and evaluating results of a marketing plan produce useful information that is fed back into the next attempt to answer the question, 'Where are we now?'.

Relationship of the System to Strategic and Tactical Marketing Planning

Planning marketing strategy requires a thorough understanding of trends in the industry, the competitive position and the demographics and buying habits of the target customer. Achieve this understanding through industry and market research; then formulate your goals. Your strategy is the road map that helps you to achieve our goals and comprises a financial plan entailing your marketing budget as well as a conceptual plan. If you run out of money before your strategies can be implemented, your marketing may not achieve your goals.

Perform a SWOT analysis to discover the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats presented by the industry. Do industry research and market research to develop a thorough understanding of your company's business environment. Identify and prioritize the main opportunities and threats. Don't attempt to tackle all the opportunities and threats in a single marketing season. Choose only those that are supported by your company's strengths and financial capabilities. Don't hesitate to plan your strategies around only one element of your findings -- too many goals will overwhelm your staff and dilute the effectiveness of your marketing message. Settle on the brand identity message you wish to convey and apply SWOT analysis to the messages conveyed by your competition. Use this analysis to determine where you can fill gaps and take advantage of the weaknesses of your competition. This is your strategy.

Once you have goals, including specific strategies for achieving your goals, determine how you will implement your strategies. If you want to increase your revenues, one tactic might be to raise your prices in conjunction with rebranding a product or service as upscale. If you want to increase market share among health-conscious consumers, you might start sponsoring sporting events or advertising in health and fitness magazines.

Advertising, community building and sales promotions are all parts of your tactical marketing plan. Advertising entails online, radio, television and print marketing. It communicates your brand image and informs your target customer of your presence in the market and any promotional events you're hosting. Plan only activities that directly support your strategic marketing plan. If your strategy involves expanding into the high-end consumer market, your tactics might aim to convey a quality image at a reasonable price. Advertising and events showcasing the newest products and informational events designed to educate your customer community about use and maintenance of your products can help to convey your company's reliability as a prime reason the customer is better served by purchasing your high-end product line.

Apportion the budget established in your strategic plan as necessary to cover your advertising, community building and sales promotions. Set benchmarks for revenue production and adjust your strategic assumptions if they aren't met. Tactical marketing is an ongoing set of activities and evaluations. Schedule your advertising and events to optimize key times of your marketing season and plan social networking efforts and newsletters to build a community of current and potential customers. Spread your tactics out evenly through your marketing season so you maintain the interest of your customer community and prevent your competition from taking advantage of any lulls in your marketing.