EG704 MSc International Hospitality Management Assignment Sample

Introduction

In this report, Hyatt has been chosen as the hospitality organisation which is carried forward in the development of an effective marketing plan for increasing the attractiveness of the foreign clientele needs of consumers in the USA. In this report, a detailed investigation of the international marketing strategy and destination marketing is analysed in the identification of challenges of the internationalisation process. The marketing plan is created in reflecting the service design and marketing mix for Hyatt to increase attractiveness for UK foreign clientele.

Review the current marketing communication strategies applied for domestic markets and adapt them to meet the needs of the foreign clientele

It is identified that Hyatt Hotels has focused on building integrated marketing communication strategies which have created a useful platform for using brand awareness to effectively reach the domestic market of the USA. The creativity imposed by Hyatt in the current marketing communication strategy has focused on the process flow for execution along with campaign design for utilising the marketing channel of social media platforms for USA consumers (Stankov et al., 2022).

Additionally, Hyatt in designing the marketing communication strategies through Social media platforms has focused on curating the national culture needs of the domestic market consumers to develop culturally inviting advertising mediums in increasing brand awareness. The driving factors of UK culture are effectively aligned in the current marketing communication strategies of Hyatt which is based on the Hofstede Cultural Dimension Theory.

Upon analysing the Hofstede Cultural dimension theory, it is highlighted that the marketing communication strategy in using social media for promotional activities has to adapt to the UK cultural belief of lower inequalities in society ranking 35 as compared to the US holding 40 (Refer to Appendix 1). The cultural imposition in UK and USA society has showcased the route of happiness through personal fulfilment indicating to focus on individualistic lifestyle choices (Amrane et al., 2022).

Hyatt Hotels has to focus on adapting the marketing communication strategies through social media marketing to meet the needs of individualistic culture in gaining success to increase brand awareness among the UK foreign clientele. The Hofstede Cultural dimension theory has highlighted differences between the USA and the UK in terms of national culture emphasising masculinity where the UK scored 66 and the USA obtained a 62 ranking (Refer to Appendix 1).

This indicates that Hyatt Hotels has to adapt to the cultural notion that the foreign clientele needs to be success-oriented and be driven in the development of marketing strategies to be focused on the value system of culture. The organisation in the US has focused on catering to the needs of domestic consumers in the US market in the process of formulating innovative and new ideas for marketing communication strategies in meeting the cultural needs of local consumers (Chakravorti, 2023).

However, in terms of UK culture, the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions theory has highlighted the differences in uncertainty avoidance in the culture of the UK and the USA, UK scoring at 35 and USA at 46 rankings (Refer to Appendix 1). The organisation has to adapt to the change in national culture for the foreign clientele in being comfortable in ambiguous situations along with values of fair play (Bone, 2021).

Hyatt Hotels has to develop unique marketing communication strategies in introducing the services advertised to the UK clients to be matching with real-life consumer experiences in increasing brand value and awareness to potential consumers in the new cultural domain.

In analysing the cultural differences in UK and US for Hyatt Hotels to make changes in the current marketing communication strategies of using social media platforms, Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension theory has highlighted a major gap in long-term orientation. The company has carefully developed marketing strategies for the promotion of the Hyatt Hotels services in advertisements as for meeting the cultural need of domestic consumers scrutinising ads in checking truthfulness (Krotoszynski, 2022).

In contrast to that, Hyatt Hotels has to focus on developing the marketing communication strategy through social media marketing ads in adapting to the cultural needs of a pragmatic approach in developing the services as advertised to meet the needs of the new clientele in the UK market. It is analysed through the Hofstede Cultural Dimension Theory, that both UK and US cultures emphasise highly on indulgence ranking 69 and 68 simultaneously (Refer to Appendix 1).

The organisation has to focus on maintaining the strategies involved in marketing communication through social media posts for the UK foreign clientele in adapting to the new consumer culture. The consumer culture in both countries has showcased the importance given to meeting personal desires and impulses to indicating in having fun and enjoying life.

Hyatt Hotels in the hospitality industry in the foreign market has to develop marketing strategies catering to the consumerism of personal interest and the importance of leisure time in the advertisements to attract potential consumers. The importance of the cultural needs of indulgence and leisure time is to be adapted in the new market with an attractive price range in meeting the services and the value of money given by the cultural notion of the foreign clientele (Wang et al., 2021).

Critically analysis of international marketing strategy, destination marketing and potential challenges facing the internationalisation process of Hyatt

The process of international marketing strategy for Hyatt

It is analysed that at Hyatt Hotels, the international marketing strategy has led to the development of well-designed and maintenance of brand value while meeting the specific business requirements of the hotel options on a global scale. It is to be opined that Hyatt Hotels has focused on both product and standardised pricing as part of the global marketing strategy in increasing brand attractiveness to foreign clientele.

Furthermore, the company has positioned itself in the global hospitality industry as a prominent player highlighting its strength in being a culturally rich brand name which showcases its importance to the cultural, traditional and local community differences.

The emergence of health and increasing business activities across the domestic border has led to the company investing heavily in developing International marketing strategies to attract foreign tourists and clientele. The development of a competitive edge in marketing strategies through standardisation and adaptation has led Hyatt Hotels to obtain a competitive edge in the global industry.

Hyatt has developed a global marketing strategy through successfully segmenting distinctive guests which have led to the business of the company reaching the anticipated success in the global hospitality industry. In determining the success of the global marketing strategies, the organisation has set the target guests and clients in the global space on set income levels and has differentiating strategy to offer customers high-quality resort experiences (Krupskyi et al., 2019).

Figure 1: International marketing strategy (Source: Krupskyi et al., 2019)

Destination marketing for Hyatt

A destination marketing strategy refers to targeting a particular country, market, area and many more to boost the target consumers of the company to expand the marketing. Hyatt is a reputed company within the hospitality industry and destination marketing is one of the effective strategies for the organisation in the international market. In recent times, technology boosts the destination marketing strategy and helps in formulating a marketing strategy based on the pre-visit, on-site, and post-visit phases of the target audience (Marasco et al., 2018).

A destination marketing strategy provides several benefits such as targeting niche markets, improving brand reputation, taking competitive advantages against local companies, enhancing the experience of the consumers and many more. On a particular note, stakeholders are an integral part of business and destination marketing helps in increasing the participation of stakeholders by providing preferences to the local stakeholders of a region.

From the research, it may be stated that destination marketing strategy takes a unique position within the tourist destinations along with the hospitality industry and sustainability destination becomes an important part of the strategy (Gowreesunkar et al., 2018). It may be argued that the gap within the destination marketing strategy may affect the growth and development of the business of Hyatt as competition is increasing within local markets.

Potential challenges which are facing by Hyatt

Hyatt faces several challenges due to the sudden outbreak of the pandemic as stringent lockdown has forced it to cease operational activities in the initial days of Covid-19. Economic uncertainty due to the pandemic is recognised as another crucial challenge for the company and it increases the debt of the company which fuels the financial challenge in recent times. Due to gaps within the financial profit, the marketing strategies are affected which provides a negative impact on digital marketing strategy as well as a traditional marketing strategy.

From a report, it is evident that Hyatt is facing challenges with diversifying marketing activities as the company deals with Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency as well as Grand Hyatt which reflects on the managing clients (Refer to Appendix 2). Multi Brand marketing becomes challenging for the hospitality company and brand marketing motivates the targeted consumers within any region which provides a positive influence on the overall profitability of the company.

Considering research, it may be stated that after the pandemic inclusion of internal, external, substitutional, and interactive marketing channels are highly required and a transformative marketing structure may bring change within the marketing strategy of the companies in the hospitality industry (Altinay and Arici, 2022).

In the hospitality industry, the demand and consumption of consumers are changing and gaps within online marketing strategies may amplify the challenges for the company to attract the attention of the consumers. Considering research, it has been noted that the traditional marketing process does not allow for reaching desirable consumers at both local and international levels whereas deployment of online marketing techniques boosts the growth of the companies.

Creation of a marketing plan for developing the business in international markets

STP Analysis

Segmentation

Segmentation refers to the marketing strategy which consists of four types of market expansion based on demographic, psychographic, geographical, and behavioural. Hyatt needs to provide attention to the psychographics as well as the demographic population of the UK which improves the target market analysis of the company.

Targeting

Hyatt may target consumers from the high-income group of people whose age is between 30-55 years in the UK and targeting consumers will boost the marketing strategies through developing relevant marketing content for attracting the target consumer in the business process.

Positioning

In recent times, offering gift cards with the service may help to improve the positioning strategy which enhances the profit of the company by targeting the consumers. From the research, it may be stated that positioning is one of the fundamental parts of marketing strategy which encourages the consumers to choose the repurchase option (Gozali et al., 2022).

Figure 2: STP Framework (Source: Gozali et al., 2022)

Marketing Mix

Product/services

Hyatt offers services related to hospitality and it offers a great place to live, enjoy and facilitate travel by maintaining safety as well as well-being. Product or service is one of the pillars of the marketing matrix which helps in grabbing the attention of the consumers and boosts the purchasing intention by increasing satisfaction.

Price

Pricing strategy is another crucial matter which positively influences marketing strategy which supports attracting the attention of the targeted consumers. In addition to that, Hyatt may include a competitive marketing strategy which helps in taking competitive advantages in the foreign markets along with the market of the UK. Considering the strategy, it may be stated that competitive strategies among the companies are effective as consumers in recent times compare the pricing from different sites of hotels (Gibbs et al., 2018). It may be argued that increasing pricing or expensive price range may demotivate the targeted consumers as there are several options available within the UK market.

Place

Hyatt utilises both online as well as offline networks to sell the service of the company and online networking helps to reach more consumers at national and international levels. Thabit and Raewf, (2018) articulated in the research that different elements of the marketing mix help in providing an impact on the distribution process, enhancing the sales of the company, promoting effective policies and many more. Hyatt may provide attention to the international network to enhance the satisfaction of the consumers by meeting the expectation in an effective manner which reflects on the growth and development of the company.

Figure 3: Marketing Mix (Source: Thabit and Raewf, 2018)

Promotion

Promotion is an integral part of business and advertisements support to promotion of the product or service of the company whereas helping in taking advantage of the consumers. In addition to that, in the UK people is highly engaged within social media platforms and different digital platforms support enhancing the knowledge regarding products or services which reflects on sales positively. From the research, it is evident that promotion helps to design survival strategies within the highly competitive market and technology supports boosting promotional activities (Darmawan and Grenier, 2021).

Marketing communication

Marketing communication plays a significant role in the business development plan and the inclusion of digital marketing is highly required to retain its growth and development in the UK market. There are several marketing communication channels such as direct promotion, online marketing, consumer recommendations, sales promotion, advertising, public relation and many more.

In recent times, innovative blogs, vlogs, videos, and many more improves the quality of advertisements and provide more information regarding the products of the company. On the other hand, positive feedback from different platforms the consumers boosts the intention of the consumers to avail of the service of the hotel and resolving the issues may boost this type of marketing communication. Considering the research, it may be stated that online communication provides the opportunity of reaching a better number of audiences and boost long-term relationships with consumers (Krizanova et al., 2019).

Conclusion

From the overall discussion, it has been concluded that Hyatt is one of the reputed companies and the report will help to evaluate the current market communication strategies based on the culture of the different nations. The challenges which have been addressed through this report may provide a negative impact on the organisation and the marketing development plan may help to improve the current operation of the organisation in the future by overcoming the challenges.

References

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Amrane, M., Chouaf, H. and Hafsa, N., 2022. Bret easton ellis’s american psycho.

Bone, J., 2021. Scotland and England’s colliding nationalisms: Neoliberalism and the fracturing of the United Kingdom. British Politics, pp.1-19.

Chakravorti, S., 2023. Customer Relationship Management: A Global Approach. SAGE.

Darmawan, D. and Grenier, E., 2021. Competitive Advantage and Service Marketing Mix. Journal of Social Science Studies (JOS3), 1(2), pp.75-80.

Gibbs, C., Guttentag, D., Gretzel, U., Yao, L. and Morton, J., 2018. Use of dynamic pricing strategies by Airbnb hosts. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

Gowreesunkar, V.G., Séraphin, H. and Morrison, A., 2018. Destination marketing organizations: Roles and challenges. In The Routledge handbook of destination marketing (pp. 16-34). Routledge.

Gozali, L., Irawan, A.P., Tunjungsari, H.K., De Candra, C., Lim, V., Nowescophor, R., Zagloel, T.Y.M., Haron, H.N., Masrom, M., Tjahjono, B. and Saraswati, D., 2022. The Development of Several Marketing Models in Performance Measurement in Industrial and Business Management Systems.

Krizanova, A., Lăzăroiu, G., Gajanova, L., Kliestikova, J., Nadanyiova, M. and Moravcikova, D., 2019. The effectiveness of marketing communication and importance of its evaluation in an online environment. Sustainability, 11(24), p.7016.

Krotoszynski Jr, R.J., 2022. On the Importance of Being Earnest: Contrasting the Dangers of Makeweights with the Virtues of Judicial Candor in Constitutional Adjudication. Ala. L. Rev., 74, p.243.

Krupskyi, O.P., Dzhusov, O., Meshko, N., Britchenko, I. and Prytykin, A., 2019. Key sources when formulating competitive advantages for hotel chains. Tourism: An International Interdisciplinary Journal, 67(1), pp.34-46.

Marasco, A., Buonincontri, P., Van Niekerk, M., Orlowski, M. and Okumus, F., 2018. Exploring the role of next-generation virtual technologies in destination marketing. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 9, pp.138-148.

Stankov, U., Gretzel, U. and Filimonau, V., 2022. The Mindful Tourist: The Power of Presence in Tourism. Emerald Group Publishing.

Thabit, T. and Raewf, M., 2018. The evaluation of marketing mix elements: A case study. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 4(4).

Wang, P., Kuah, A.T., Lu, Q., Wong, C., Thirumaran, K., Adegbite, E. and Kendall, W., 2021. The impact of value perceptions on purchase intention of sustainable luxury brands in China and the UK. Journal of Brand Management, 28, pp.325-346.