Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism

Sales –Advertising-Public Relations-Hospitality Industry

Analyze the ways in which sales, advertising and public relations can be used to promote a
hospitality establishment.

Three Principal Goals of Promotion are to inform, persuade and remind. Promotion in hospitality
industry is essential in order to establish or change image of the organization, generate sales and
send messages to publics.
A manager of a hospitality establishment can create a customer through advertisement, sales
promotion, and public relations. Behind each of these are: origination, imagination, appearance and
appeal, salesmanship and hospitality. By using these tactical instruments, the company is able to
raise its awareness, communicate the value it brings to its potential customers and helps in the sales
process.

First step in a successful promotion is identifying the target market. Managers need to understand
their target audience before they can communicate with them. Second step represents determining
the communication objectives. Thirdly, designing a message content, structure and format. Forth
step represents selecting the communication channels, whether personal (face to face, telephone,
presentation) or impersonal (print, broadcast and display media). Further comes selecting the
message source, and lastly, measuring the communication's results

The guests determine what the business becomes. The guests convert economic resources into
wealth when they rent rooms and buy meals and other goods and services. What the guests consider
"value" and think they are buying determines what the business actually is, what it provides, and
whether it will prosper.
The most difficult and important part of the hospitality manager's job is marketing-planning and
accomplishing sales. Sales are the fundamental measure of the success of a business. By
developing the proper sales promotion program a hospitality organization can gain an enormous
success. The size of the incentive is extremely important. The conditions for participation must be
decided on, as well as the way of promoting and distributing. Furthermore, a promotion dates must
be set and decided on the sales promotion budget.

Sales-Promotion tools are samples, coupons, packages, patronage rewards, premiums,

point-of-purchase, displays, contests, sweepstakes, and games.

Sales: for hospitality firm helps secure corporate clients. This segment is ideally approached
through direct sales. Direct sales are also an excellent medium to learn the service needs of
different clients - helps customize your offer.

Advantages of Sales Promotions:

• Sales promotions have some of the advantages of advertising and sales.

• Ability to get quick feedback.
• Ability to add excitement to what is being offered by the destination.
• Flexible timing.
• Efficiency
 Disadvantages of Sales Promotions

• Many sales promotions only provide short-term benefits.

• Ineffective in building long-term loyalty for the destination.
• Inability to be used in the long term without other promotional mix elements.
• Often misused by tourism and hospitality organizations (e.g., coupons).

Advertising can be defined as paid, public messages designed to describe or praise your business.
This can be done through the use of posters, newspapers, radio or other media.

There are three different types of advertising:

• Informative advertising is used to inform consumers about a new product or feature to

build primary demand
• Persuasive advertising is used as competition increases and a company's objective
becomes building selective demand
• Reminder advertising is used for mature products since it keeps consumers thinking
about the product

Every lodging business needs some form of advertising to keep revenues at a sufficient level to
produce a profit. In addition to word-of-mouth testimonials and endorsements (the most valuable of
all ways of increasing business), a well-organized advertising program is essential

The sales can be increased by:

1. Encouraging potential purchasers to visit the hotel

2. Obtaining leads for salesmen or channel members
3. Introducing market influencers to a product and getting them to recommend
4. Securing distributors-image development-enhancement

5. Promoting immediate purchases through announcements of special sales and contests

Advertising can change attitudes:

1. Change the perception of the company's brand with regard to some particular salient product
characteristics
2. Change the perception of the competitive brands with regard to some particular salient product
characteristic
3. Affect those forces which influence strongly the criteria choice used for evaluating brand
belonging to the product class

The advertising budget must be determined:

• Most common method is as a percentage of sales

• Best method is the objective and task approach

Media plan is very important. An organization must decide on the type of advertising:

• Media
• Magazines
• Television
• Radio
• Yellow pages
• Radio
• Outdoor

Launching the advertising, followed by measure of advertising effectiveness are also essential
steps in advertising program. Organizations can also capitalize on word of mouth, by:

• Persuading customers to tell others

• Testimonials
• Monitoring satisfaction-would you recommend us to others
• Internal marketing-positive word of mouth, business cards
• Publics
• Get it right the first time-Guarantees- Service recovery
• Be able to tell customers why
• Exceed expectations

Effective advertising gains the attention of the prospective guest, holds it so that the message can be
communicated, and makes a lasting, positive impression on the prospect's mind. A message is
created by:

• Advertising platform is the basic issues or selling features

• Copy
• Headline-sub Headline
• Body (readability, core message, frequency of words, sentence length, repetition-within
the message repeat the same message)
• Signature--trademark, name, and address in an attractive manner
• Border

Advertising: helps position the firm to different segments, and in creating a brand name. However
reaching out to different segments is possible through different media. This is most effective when
the firm wants to attract individual travelers/vacationers from faraway places (there are also other
means to do this).

Advantages of Advertising

• Low cost per contact.

• Ability to reach potential visitors where sales staff cannot.
• Great scope for creative versatility and dramatization of messages.
• Ability to create images that sales staff cannot.
• Non-threatening nature of non-personal presentation.
• Prestige and impressiveness of mass-media advertising.
Disadvantages of Advertising

• Inability to close sales.

• Advertising clutter.
• Ability for visitor to ignore advertising messages.
• Difficulties in getting immediate response and action.
• Difficulties in getting quick feedback and in adjusting messages.
• Difficulties in measuring effectiveness.
• Relatively high waste factor.

Public relations represent all the activities that a hospitality and travel organization engages in to
maintain or improve its relationship with other organizations and individuals. PR offers a way to
distinguish your company's products from another.

One of the major PR activities is press relations. The aim of press relations is to place newsworthy
information into the news media to attract attention to a person, product, or service.

Publicity is one public relations technique that involves non-paid communication of information
about an organization's services. Product publicity assists in new product launch as well as in
product repositioning. Furthermore, it creates interest in a product category. Publicity: is ideal
when the firm wants to communicate about a new service, any service enhancements, hosting
special events etc. As it is well known, this is most cost effective.

Corporate Communications involves communications with internal and external customers and
promotes understanding of the organization. Communication is the lifeblood of good public
relations. In other words, you must first do good things and then tell the public about them.

Lobbying represents dealing with legislators and government officials to promote or defeat
legislation and regulation. Large companies employ their own lobbyists, whether small companies
lobby through local trade associations.

Counseling is a PR activity stands for advising management about public issues and company
positions and image. It is very important when involving sensitive issues.

Favorable acceptance of your business by the public is of utmost importance. No business is more
concerned with human relations than the public hospitality industry-motels, resorts, hotels and
restaurants. It is essential to have good public relations outside your walls, as well as smooth and
harmonious relations between managers and employees.

The Public Relations Process: Research

1. Establishing marketing objectives

• Builds awareness
• Builds credibility
• Stimulates the sales force and channel intermediaries
• Lowers promotional costs
2. Defining the Target Audience
3. Choosing the PR Message and Vehicles
4. Implementing the Marketing PR Plan
5. Evaluating PR Results

• Exposures
• Awareness/Comprehension/Attitude Change
• Sales-and-Profit Contribution

An imaginative and vigorous public relations program will help establish your business as a
valuable and wholesome influence in the community. The public and your guests will recognize
your business as one which provides the best services and products for rates and prices charged.

There are many opportunities that PR marketing provides, especially in promoting hospitality
institutions. PR marketing can be especially successful in promoting individual properties such as
single hotels, tour operators, B & B s.

PR is very important in turning the poor locations into advantages as isolation and obscurity can be
a PR tactic. Furthermore, PR emphasizes unique services.

The biggest tools in Public Relation marketing include publications, events, news, speeches, public
service activities and identity media.

All of the public interests must be served. Serving one group of the public at the expense of another
does not produce desirable public relations. Good morals are the basis of sound public relations.
Each individual business manager and the business he represents must become respected and earn
the confidence of his community. There is no difference between his personal reputation and the
reputation of his business.

Periodic review of any management procedure is essential for continual improvement. Marketing,
sales promotion and advertising data should be carefully assembled and analyzed. Statistical
analysis is the best way to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the campaign. Decisions
are best made from factual data, not from guesses or hunches.

Advantages of Public Relations and Publicity:

• Relatively low cost.

• Effective because not seen as a commercial message.
• Credibility and implied endorsements (e.g., articles by travel critics).
• Prestige and impressiveness of mass-media coverage (e.g., feature articles).
• Added excitement and dramatization.
• Maintenance of a "public" presence.
Disadvantages of Public Relations and Publicity
• Difficulties in arranging consistent coverage of the destination.
• Lack of control over what gets printed or said.

The public must have factual information about your business. False information, rumors, and
gossip are detrimental. A manager must relate the actual conditions as they exist.

If marketing and promotional plans have been carefully and thoroughly made, it should not be
difficult to measure results. Find out what has been accomplished and then review these findings,
considering the cost and potentials for further progress. Compare what has been accomplished with
what was planned. Try to discover the reasons for any shortcomings. If these shortcomings can be
controlled, do so.

2. Suggest which above tools should be used and why in the following situations (more than one
tool can be used in each case)

A. A hotel in Corfu that has a guaranteed contract with a tour operator for July and August but
wishes to encourage bookings for the remainder of the year.

In this situation, the best way of promoting a hotel is by sales promotion. Sales promotion consists
of those activities directly involved with the day-to-day business of selling rooms, food, beverage,
and other lodging services. It can be
thought of as the fundamental processes of training all employees to be sales-minded; the
preparation of sales training materials; guest sales literature; direct mail programs; posters; use of
give-a-ways and similar efforts to increase sales.

Sales-Promotion Objectives:

• Increase short-term sales

• Help build long-term market share
• Entice consumers to try a new product
• Lure consumers away from competitors
• Hold and reward loyal customers
• Building stronger customer relations
• Obtaining new accounts

Internal Selling

Persuading a prospective guest to patronize your business is not the sole concern of the sales effort.
Internal selling- all sales efforts made after guests have been registered- must also be considered.
Internal selling has two purposes (1) to encourage the guest to patronize all facilities of your
business, and (2) to favorable influence him so that he will return again.
Personal Selling

Personal selling, as the most impelling type of selling, provides excellent potential for increasing
business. All of the staff should be sales-minded. They must be trained to offer sales suggestions to
guests when opportunities are presented. Friendly cooperation from all staff is essential. Here are
some examples:

Desk clerk, while registering a guest: "Mr. Brown, we have a beautiful new dining room here and
hope that you can try it out. We're also open for breakfast, beginning at 7:00 a.m."

Telephone Selling

Expert selling on the telephone is important, too. The hotel's telephone operator is in a good
position to make sales. Guest's inquiries from their rooms or from outside can often be the opening
for a polite and skillful sales effort. Negatively, an unfriendly or "snappy" manner can discourage
sales. Your telephone company can assist in training.

Other Methods

Internal selling can be done by means of various printed pieces or by artistic posters and similar
methods.

In executing a sales promotion, pre-test to determine if they are appropriate and of the right
incentive size, and in the end evaluate the results against the objectives of the program

The sales promotion is a good tool in this case because it has wide assortment of tools, rewards
quick response, and efforts are short-lived.

In this case we can also use a persuasive advertising. It can help a hotel to build selective Demand.

Company specific factors to be considered when setting the advertising budget:

• Stage in the product life cycle,

• Competition and clutter,
• Market share,
• Advertising frequency,
• Product differentiation.
• Strategic versus tactical budgets,
• Overall promotional budget,
• Consistency,
• Opportunities to stretch the budget,
• The final budget.

A. The opening of a new Five Star hotel and conference center.

Informative advertising is used to inform consumers about a new product or feature to build
primary demand. In this case, the advertising promotion would be one of the choices in promoting
the new five star hotel and conference center. There are at least two dozen media which hotel can
use, but it will probably use less than half of this number. When planning a program, the media
considered as essential, valuable, and probably helpful should be listed. The selection will depend
upon budget, goals and markets being sought as well as season of the year. In this case an
advertising on the magazine would prove to be good.

For the promotion a hotel can choose execution styles:

• Slice of Life
• Lifestyle
• Fantasy
• Mood or Image
• Musical

Awareness about a company's product or service can be created by:

• Informing potential customers about product features

• Announcing new model
• Highlighting unique features of the model
• Informing customers as to where the product may be bought
• Announcing price changes

• Demonstrating product use

Following are the steps in media decisions:

Step 1. Decide on reach, frequency, and impact

Step 2. Choosing among major media types media habits of target consumers, nature of the
product, types of message, cost
Step 3.Selecting specific media vehicles, specific media within a given type, i.e. magazines. Must
balance media cost against media factors: audience quality & attention, editorial quality?
Step 4. Deciding on media timing scheduling of advertising over the course of a year pattern of ads:
continuity or pulsing

Finally, advertising is the best promotion tool because it reaches many buyers, repeats message
many times, and is impersonal.

A. A hotel that is reopening after having been closed due to the death of a guest from carbon
monoxide poisoning because of a faulty water heater.

PR helps a company to create a positive image and customer preference through third-party
endorsement.
Building good relations with the company's various publics by obtaining favorable publicity,
developing a good corporate image, and heading off unfavorable rumors, stories or events.

In this case, the best choice would be PR marketing. The PR manager is the person which is
responsible for speeches to the public, and informing the press when crises happen, in this case, the
death of the guest from carbon monoxide poisoning. Sometimes an owner finds that his business
has a poor reputation. He needs a positive, favorable public relations program to wipe out the
unfavorable impression. A careful review of the procedures outlined in this section should suggest
many ways for achieving good public relations. Product publicity assists in product repositioning.

High ethical standards, cleanliness, maintenance, and a program of accident prevention in your
lodging business can help assure a good reputation. Carelessness in these areas can undo the work
of many years and the large sum of money invested in the business.

Finally, a PR is a best tool for promotion because it is very believable, dramatizes a company or
product, and is underutilized.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: • Books:

Kotler, P., Bowen, J.T. & Makens, J.C. (2006), Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.

• Websites:

http://www.hospitalitynet.org Retrieved on 02nd February 2008 at 16.20

http://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=438 Retrieved on 02nd February 2008

at 15.20

http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=944553 Retrieved on 01st February 2008 at 20.20

http://uk.geocities.com/tourismstudy/promotinght.ppt Retrieved on 03rd February 2008 at 17.20