HA401 : The Class : Marketing : Marketing : Responsibilities

Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the Director of Marketing of a resort to plan and market the resort to present and promote it’s features and advantages. He will use the marketing tools defined above to put together a marketing plan that will not only feature the resort but meet the needs and expectations of specific target markets. This often includes coordinating with company national marketing plans and activities, hiring local public relations representatives, and even working with local Chambers of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureaus to coordinate and leverage marketing activities.

The resort market can be divided into two main markets — the resort leisure traveler and group business. Since the expectations and requirements for these two markets are very different, the resort will have a separate marketing plan for each of them. We will start by comparing the typical hotel guest to a resort guest and then look at customer profiles and marketing plans for the leisure traveler and group markets.

Guest Profiles — The profiles for hotel guests can be divided into several categories or market segments. This is because guests have different expectations and behavior patterns that can be categorized into different segments. For example, hotels might segment their markets by week day and week end, transient, group and contract, or business and pleasure. They might use all of these segments in tracking their customer base. Following are typical examples of the profiles for hotels and resort guests:

Lets now look at different ways that a resort might market to these different segments.

Resort Leisure Traveler — This traveler can be referred to as pleasure traveler, Frequent Individual Traveler (FIT), or transient guests. Their expectations can be quite different from individual business travelers. The section of the resort marketing plan for this market segment might use some of the following to reach potential guests:

• magazines, select the ones that will be read by your target market
• newspaper/feeder markets, which ones, when and where
• direct mail, utilize mailing lists in house and out of house
• intermediary, such as travel agents or travel departments
• Internet, web pages and special packages and pricing

Resort Group Business — This market segment involves a wide range of type and size of groups. Group business will be defined by the hotel company specify the number of rooms and length of stay to qualify for group rates which are typically discounted. For example, to qualify for group rates a piece of business must be more than two rooms for more than two nights. A large resort might require a minimum of 10 rooms a night for more than three nights and include some catering and meetings.

There are several main types or resort group business. The resort marketing department is organized to effectively market and service these segments. These major market segments are:

The resort marketing plan can utilize different means to reach the corporate and association markets and coordinate with the incentive houses. For example:

• ASAE, an association of meeting planners
• MPI, Meeting Planners International
• Incentive House relationships
• Group Resellers
• National Sales department

The marketing plan for a resort allocates financial resources available among marketing tools — advertising, promotion, and publicity. Studies are made to determine which marketing tools are most effective in reaching target markets and then marketing budgets are established including amounts to be spent, when they are spent, what combinations are used, and ways to identify the effectiveness of each marketing tool.

Following is a list of some marketing tools and factors that are considered when developing a marketing plan:

• Length of time such as monthly, quarterly, annual or the five year plan.
• Marketing a specific time period such as holidays, low group business
• Seasonal business levels
• Target markets — new or existing
• Advertising media to use
• Promotional programs
• Responsibility and due dates for preparation and execution

Following is an example of a resort marketing plan targeting the slow summer season for a Scottsdale Resort. The Plans and Actions for the second and third quarter for Marriott’s Mountain Shadows Resort are shown in the following exhibit. Notice how the marketing plan is organized to focus on the goal (plan), action to achieve the goal, due date and the person responsible for each action. Each action has a specific target market and a specific plan to reach that market.

Once you have completed this module you should:

Go on to Assignment 1 : Final Project
or
Go back to Topic 1: Foundations of Marketing

E-mail Lloyd Shelton at Lloyd.Shelton@nau.edu
or call (928) 527-7518

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