Online Branding Strategy For Marriott Com example essay topic

Marriott International, Inc. is a leading worldwide hospitality company. Its legacy can be traced to a small root beer stand opened in 1927 in Washington, D.C. by J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott. Today, Marriott International has nearly 2,100 lodging properties located in 50 states and 59 countries and territories. Marriott has continuously apprehended the needs of the consumer market and have changed their strategy to meet those needs. For example, Marriott entered the airport terminal hotel to meet the needs of business travelers. The convenience of a hotel property near a major airport is the key to its success.

Business travelers often have layovers. Instead of having to travel a far distance to get a goodnight sleep or freshen up, airport terminal hotels are conveniently nearby, saving them time and money. Bad weather can bring in more customers, especially if the hotels are located near airports. Although storms are inconvenient to the traveler, Marriott increases sales and is provided with an opportunity to satisfy customers' needs. This enables them to build a positive relationship with the customer if they had not established one already. Marriott constantly examines the environment to check where they are positioned when compared to their competitors.

Instead of waiting for something to happen, Marriott notices the change and quickly reacts to it. Due to the increase of customer demands, Marriott has increased their mix of products. As the demands become more complex due to factors such as technology, Marriott must constantly upgrade their product to maintain their competitive advantage. Their unmatched and industry-leading reservations system and Internet sales, led by Marriott. com, are the key positioning factors in keeping their advantage in the hospitality industry. Prox icom created and developed an online branding strategy for marriott. com to serve its customers with worldwide travel information and reservation capabilities. This service has increased sales and reduced booking costs through directo online reservation facilities for Marriott's properties worldwide.

It has also positioned marriott. com as the premier e-travel resource, and it is a great driver for guest loyalty and adoption. Marriott's current portfolio includes products and services at all levels. Their wide range of products and services are difficult to duplicate by their competitors. Consistency becomes an influential factor in managing multiple lines. In order to sustain their competitive advantage, they are continuing to expand and offer new products. Marriott's product mix is well balanced and constantly upgraded either in the depth of the particular line of products or as a new line of service.

By doing so, Marriott can meet the needs of virtually all guests, even if their travel spending habits change. Marriott's competitive methods include their mix of product and service attributes that puts them at a competitive advantage. By merging with Ritz-Carlton, Marriott was able to broaden its portfolio of businesses. Before the merger, Marriott had a limited presence in the global luxury segment. They were able to see the need of having properties that attracted the luxury market and merged with Ritz-Carlton to include this product in their portfolio. Beside their hotel brands, Marriott has expanded its services to cover conference, vacation and specific business facilities.

Another good strategy of Marriott's management is to manage, and not to own all of their brands. This strategy allows Marriott to have a healthy financial situation, and it is operating easier. Brand name, such as Renaissance hotels, is well-established brand in the hospitality industry. It is well known among the guests and to re-brand it as Marriott would not make much sense. So, Marriott is keeping those well established brand names while implementing procedures which are used in all Marriott's establishments, which then makes a pleasurable stay for a guest. Due to the increase of competitors, Marriott has had to constantly expand.

For example, they saw the international market as a way to increase their market share and they went after it through franchising and management contracts. Therefore, most of the risk falls on the franchisee, which makes it safer for Marriott. The franchisee does benefit from the reservations system, the brand name, operating systems, and management services, but has to pay a royalty and other fees, such as management fees. Beside, Marriott's geographic spread of hotels within the different market segments is likely to reduce the impact of the weaker performing markets. They also built global distribution systems in as well as created cross-selling opportunities for its brands. Being able to meet the needs of customers worldwide gives Marriott an advantage above their competitors.

Multiple sales channels are enabling Marriott to sell to customers the way they want to buy. This also creates a major competitive advantage for Marriott. To be able to provide the ultimate satisfaction to the customers, Marriott is also nourishing its strong corporate culture. It invested into many programs to increase employee's morale and motivation.

This was also crucial in the time of Marriott expansion. They needed to retain their employees to be able to sustain brand consistency. Hospitality industry has established its frequent guest programs as a mean of establishing competitive ratings among the industry subjects, and also to build client loyalty. Marriott Rewards program is a corporate rewards program, which enables customers to use their points earned in one establishment in another one. By applying the Marriott Rewards program, they exceeded client expectation and gained many loyal customers..