万豪集团的市场细分-和-目标市场定位-(英国硕士论文).doc

Marketing Management
The Market Segmentation and Positioning Strategies of Marriot Hotel
Supervisor: Dr。 Lee Quinn
COSUMER MARKEING
MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL
Content
1。 Introduction 3
2。 Background 4
3. Segmentation Criteria of Hotel Industry and Marriott 7
3。1 Segmentation Criteria of Hotel Industry 7
3。2 Segmentation Strategy of Marriott 9
4. Marriott and its SpringHill 12
4.1 Basic Information of SpringHill 12
4。2 Positioning strategy of SpringHill 13
5。 Conclusion 15
6。 References 16
7. Appendixes 18
Appendix 1 18
Appendix 2 20
Appendix 3 21
1. Introduction
The benefits of market segmentation are widely recognized by practitioners and scholars. (Dibb， 2001） The article mainly evaluates the market segmentation and positioning strategies of the Marriott hotel group by using case study strategies. Also, the article compares the marketing segmentation of different hotels brands， such as Hilton， Four Season and Accor. This article is aimed to provide scholars and practitioners with valuable information about Marriott and its subordinate brand. In order to reach the goal， to start with， researchers have to use case study strategies to find data and information on Marriott and its competitors. Then， researchers should refine some valuable result of the research。 Finally， analyze the result of the study and draw a conclusion.
2. Background
Marriott hotel was founded in 1927 and it is one of the most well-known hotel groups over the world。 After the first Marriott hotel opened in 1957， the hotel developed really fast in the following years. In facts, Marriott is only focus on upper market until its first Courtyard launched in the market. Courtyards become popular and leaded the market in a quite short time because it met the demands of its target customers- business travelers. Until 2012， Marriot owns 18 different hotel brands in 72 countries， which target different types of travelers， include businessman， families and budget travelers。 The most common brands of Marriot include：
· Ritz—Carlton
· JW Marriott
· Marriott Hotels & Resorts
· Renaissance
· Autograph Collection
· Marriott Vacation Club
· Marriott Conference Centers
· Courtyard
· AC Hotels
· SpringHill Suites
· Residence Inn
· Fairfield Inn
· TownePlace
According to MKG Consulting Database (2006)， Marriot is the third most influential hotel group in the world。 (See Appendix 1) Furthermore， the expansion of Hyatt， Hilton and Starwood is quite fast this year. Furthermore, the following graph 1-2 shows the number of the hotels owns by IHG， Marriot and Hilton in different segment markets. （See Appendix 2）
Graph 1-2

Source: Garrido, 2012

The graph shows the three hotel giants focus on several of the segment market， especially upper upscale， upscale and upper midscale market. It may because customers have more demands in those three markets。 IHG tend to dominate the upper midscale market and Marriot owns the most hotels in the upscale market。 Furthermore, Hilton is not the leader of the five segment market， but it also owns a large number of hotels in the upper upscale, upscale and midscale market.
3。 Segmentation Criteria of Hotel Industry and Marriott
3。1 Segmentation Criteria of Hotel Industry
Before start， let us have a look at the definition of market segment and positioning. ‘Market segmentation is the process of splitting customers or potential customers in a market into different group, or segment.’ （McDonald＆Dunbar, 2004）。 In the hotel industry， product， pricing and distribution are the most significant three factors that we should consider about， (Solis, 2010） however， price cannot decide of market segmentation。 Here are some examples of hotel market segmentation， but it is just an idea instead of criterions for all the hotel groups：
In term of groups, hotels can be separate to leisure, business, conference, wedding, event and crew. It is depends on the purpose of the customers to book the hotel rooms. For instance, managers who have to attend business meetings may choose business hotels rather than leisure hotels.
Groups:
· Leisure
· Business
· Conference/Banquet
· Wedding
· Event
· Crew

In term of the sizes, hotels can be separate to giant, large, medium, small and micro. This mainly depends on the number of the room owns by the hotels. A giant size hotel should have over 2000 rooms, however, a micro size hotel can only offers 50 rooms to its customers.
Sizes:
· Giant
· Large
· Medium
· Small
· Micro

In term of the locations, hotels can be separate to highway, airport, city center and tourism region. These mainly depend on the locations of the hotels.

Locations:
· Highway
· Airport
· City Center
· Tourism region

In term of the facilities and service, hotels can be separate to luxury, upper upscale, upscale and upper midscale. Luxury hotels should offer best service and facilities, but upper midscale hotels can only own some basic facilities and offer a small-range of service.
Facilities and service:
· Luxury
· Upper upscale
· Upscale
· Upper midscale

3。2 Segmentation Strategy of Marriott
During the 1950s to 1990s， Marriott established and purchased several of the hotel brands which dominate the market nowadays。 Although launch a brand in a segment market sometime needs to take risk (Foedermayer &piamantoulous， 2008)， the boost of the sales revenue actually shows the segmentation of the specific market is quite successful. According to the Garrido (2012), Marriot owns 3743 properties in 72 countries。 As it can be seen from graph 2-1， the percentages of the upscale， upper midscale, upper upscale and luxury hotels are 52%， 23% 21% and 4% respectively， which show Marriot is a consumer-based marketing hotel(Wind and Green， 1989) that not only focus on upscale market， but also pay attention to the different demand of the whole market. Jobber and Fahy (2009) suggested that there is a positive relationship between the quality levels of hotels the price of the rooms, (See appendix 3） so the proportion of the each segment market is actually quite suitable for the demand of the market because it is obvious that most customers want mid—price accommodations rather than luxury or cheap price with poor-quality one。
Graph 2-1

Source: Garrido, 2012

Marriott uses disparate marketing strategies in different segment market. In term of behavioral segmentation approach， apart from groups， locations and facilities＆ equipment segmentation criteria, benefit sought is the main factor that can influence the company to make decisions in separating the big market。 For instance， customers who live in SpringHill are actually want to find a place like their own houses， so Marriott not only offers an affordable long-term stay price and comfortable room, but also give chooses of relaxing activities and business service. Furthermore, the size of Marriott is a huge， so it chooses to cover the whole market rather than just focus on a single or several segment markets。 In fact， Marriott commit to find the blank area of the market， which means the company reacts rapidly to the new or unsatisfied demands of the customers by doing some researches。
In conclusion， customers may not choose one type of segmentation market all the time， they sometimes need some change (Dibb, 2001)， and so the segment criterion of Marriott is not totally heterogeneous。 However， Marriott makes great profit and attracts millions of customers every year， the segment criterion is actually measurable， substantial， accessible and practical.
4. Marriott and its SpringHill
In this report， the well—known brand SpringHill will be discussed in the following contexts:
4。1 Basic Information of SpringHill
· SpringHill Suites （Kham， 2009 and Garrido， 2012）
Type of the hotel: upscale – extended stay
Number of the hotels and the location(s）: 299 worldwide
Proportion in total Marriott hotel： 8%
Target markets: Business travelers， Sightseeing travelers （Especially women and families travelers。）
The brand of SpringHill Suite offers inspiring style at a reasonable price， which include：
· Complimentary daily breakfast buffet
· Spacious guest suites with separate areas for sleeping， working and relaxing
· In-suite microwave and mini—fridge Pull—out sofa bed
· Free Wi—Fi in public spaces and free high
· Relaxing pool and spa
· Invigorating fitness room
· Lobby computer and on-site business services
· access to food and beverage
4。2 Positioning strategy of SpringHill
Marriott uses a variety of positioning strategies in different segment market。 However， the positioning strategy of Marriott is actually to satisfy the demand of different customers in different segment markets and this is based on customers’ understanding of their own needed. Unlike Hilton， Marriott does not use a single brand strategy in its segment markets。 Some of the well-known hotels like Ritz Carlton， Edition and Renaissance; customers cannot see the name of Marriott on the trademark of those hotels。 In fact， single brand strategy means the customers can trust the quality of the brand， so the multi-brand strategy of the Marriott represents the hotel group is actually concern more about how to satisfy the demand of the guests。
The positioning strategy of SpringHill is ‘Style and space。 Beautifully priced’. The slogan means SpringHIll aim to offer a beautiful modern and spacious hotel room with a reasonable price。 Targeting markets of SpringHill are business travelers， Sightseeing travels. （especially women and families travelers） In fact, the facilities and equipment that SpringHill offer are quite suitable for their target customers. On one hand, business travelers can work in a big room with free Wi—Fi, lobby computers and on—suite business services。 After work， they can also relax in the fitness centers and game areas。 On the other hand， families or women travelers can have fun in the spacious room with in—suite microwave and mini—fridge Pull—out sofa bed。 They can enjoy complimentary daily breakfast buffet and buy foods in the stores near hotels。
The expansion of SpringHill represents the positioning strategy of the hotel can satisfy the demand of customers quite well。 Until year 2012, SpringHill owns 299 hotels all over the world and the number of hotels also takes up 8% in the Marriott hotel group. （Garrido， 2012)
5. Conclusion
The report mainly evaluates the market segmentation and positioning strategies of Marriott hotel。 To sum up， Marriot is a consumer-based hotel and the positioning strategy of the hotel is to satisfy the demand of different customers in different segment markets and this is based on customers' understanding of their own needed。 The percentages of the upscale， upper midscale， upper upscale and luxury hotels are 52％, 23％ 21％ and 4％ respectively. The positioning strategy of SpringHill is ‘Style and space。 Beautifully priced’. The slogan means SpringHIll aim to offer a beautiful modern and spacious hotel room with a reasonable price。
6. References
1。 Dibb， S。 （1998） “Market segmentation strategies for success”, Marketing Intelligence and Planning， Vol。16 No.7， pp。 394-406。
2。 Jobber，D ＆Fahy，J。 （2009) Foundation of Marketing, 3rd ed。 Berkshire。 McGraw—Hill
3. Dibb， S。 (2001) “New millennium， new segments: moving towards the segment of one？”， Journal of Strategic Marketing， Vol。 9 No。 3, pp。 193—213。
4。 Foedermayer, E。 ＆ Diamantopoulos， A。 (2008) “Market segmentation in practice: review of empirical studies， methodological assessment， and agenda for future research”， Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol。 16 No. 3, p223—265。
5. McDonald， M。 and Dunbar, I。 (2004） Market Segmentation: How to do it。 How to profit from it， Elsevier Butterworth—Heinemann， Oxford。
6。 Silivia， D ,Cristiana, P& Sefania， M（2007） “Brand Segmentation in Hospitality industry "， University of Romano Americana， Bucuresti
7。Hilton, Marriot and IHG Hotel Brand Market Segments[online］，Available:http://boardingarea。com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2012/01/15/hilton-marriott-and—ihg—hotel-brand—market-segments/
8. Yankelovich， D。 and Meer, D. (2006） “Rediscovering market segmentation"， Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84 No。 2， pp. 122-132.
9. Wind， J& Green， P （1989) “Courtyard by Marriot： Designing a Hotel Facility with Consumer-Based Marketing Models”, Vol. 19 No。1 25-47
10。 Kham， D （2009）， Marriott International INC: Rank 208 in 2009, Fortune 500 Company Project
11。 Solis， M (2010)， Proper market segmentation yields result, ［online］， Available：http：//www。hotelnewsnow。com/Articles。aspx/4246/Proper—market-segmentation—yields-results
7. Appendixes
Appendix 1
Chart 1-1

Rank
Group
Hotels
Evolution(Compare with last years）
Chambers
Evolution（Compare with last years)
1
INTER CONTINENTIAL HG（IHG)
3606
+2。2％
537533
+0.9％
2
CENDANT
6344
—0。8%
532284
+2.2％
3
MARRIOTT INTL
2664
+4.0％
485979
+3。6％
4
ACCOR
4065
+2。3％
475433
+2。6％
5
HILTON CORP
2747
+18。9％
472720
+33.3%
6
CHOCICE
5132
+2。8%
417631
+3。4％
7
BEST WESTERN
4195
+2。3%
315875
+2。5%
8
STARWOOD HOTELS
845
+13。3％
257889
+11。8％
9
CARLSON HOSPITALITY
922
+3。5%
147129
+0.0
10
GLOBAL HYATT
738
+51。9％
144671
+29.6％
Source: MKG Consulting Database 2006

As we can see from the chart, Marriot is the third most influential hotel group in the world. Furthermore, the expansion of Hyatt, Hilton and Starwood is quite fast in this year. According to Silvia， Cristiana and Stefania (2006）， the power of branding is that the brand is related to the quality of the facilities and service of the hotel。 The fast expansion means customers actually like the brand in recent years to some extent。 Marriott should not only pay attention to the hotel giants who own the most hotels or Chambers， but also, should find out the reasons why Hyatt， Hilton and Starwood expand so fast and acquire some experience from them.
Appendix 2
Appendix 2 shows the number of the hotels owns by IHG， Marriot and Hilton in different segment markets and the names of the hotels。 （Garrido， 2012）
Luxury market segment
· IHG 171 hotels （InterContinental）
· Marriott 143 hotels （Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott）
· Hilton 41 hotels (Conrad， Waldorf Astoria）
Upper Upscale market segment
· Hilton 791 hotels （Hilton， Embassy Suites， Hilton Grand Vacations）
· Marriott 776 hotels （Marriott， Renaissance， Autograph Collection, Marriott Vacation Club）
· IHG 0 hotels (based on STR chain scale rankings, but in reality many Crowne Plaza hotels are upper upscale）。
Upscale market segment
· Marriott 1，934 hotels (Courtyard， Residence Inn， AC Hotels）
· Hilton 1，074 （Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites， DoubleTree）
· IHG 634 hotels (Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo， Staybridge Suites)
Upper Midscale market segment
· IHG 3，341 hotels (Holiday Inn， Holiday Inn Express）
· Hilton 1,806 （Hampton Inn）
· Marriott 8