Marriott's Market Segmentation and Market Research

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Case Study: Marriott’s Market Segmentation and Market Research
Introduction:
Marriott is one of the most renowned hotels in the world with more than 3,800 properties across 72 countries and territories. However, the chain of hotels did not just appear overnight. What started off as a root-beer stand by J.W. Marriott, evolved into a chain of restaurants. Later on, Bill Marriott, son of J.W. Marriott, managed to expand the family’s business from a chain of restaurants to a chain of hotels in a period of over 50 years. Bill Marriott has achieved great success by expanding the Marriott portfolio which now comprises of 16 different hotel brands which include Ritz Carlton, Renaissance, Springhill Suites, Gaylord Hotels and many more (Jr, 2013).
The underlying factor to Marriotts success is the marketing plan that Marriott has which involves effective market segmentation. Market segmentation refers to the process of classifying customers and prospects into groups with similar needs and purchasing behaviour (Morritt, 1997). The reason for segmentation of the hotel industry is to define the major types of demand, identify characteristics of customers as well as estimate future growth trends (D'Antonio, 2013). Market segments has to possess the following criteria; identifiable, measurable, significant, accessible and actionable (Samli, 2013). Segmentation has to be “post-hoc” whereby market research is done in order to identify market segments (Morritt, 1997). A company may choose on focusing on a single market segment or go for multiple market segments. The former is rare while the latter is common in order for the company to meet the diverse needs of different market segments.
Marriott focuses on multiple market segments. Thus, it is i...

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...ing of the drivers of the current market, effective market segmentation can be done.
Works Cited
D'Antonio, S. (2013, September 25). Market Segmentation: Identifying Where Hotel Demands Comes From .
Jr, J. W. (2013, April 2). J. W. Marriott Jr: From Root Beer Stand to Global Hotel Company. (D. Schawbel, Interviewer)
Marriott. (2014). Retrieved from Marriott: http://www.marriott.com/default.mi
Mayock, P. (2013, March 5). Marriott dives into economy segment with Moxy . Retrieved from Hotel News Now: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/10035/Marriott-dives-into-economy-segment-with-Moxy
Morrissey, J. (2012). The Millennials Check In. New York: The New York Times.
Morritt, R. (1997). Niche Marketing for Hotel Managers. Journal of Segmentation in Marketing, 191-209.
Samli, A. C. (2013). International Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century. New York: Springer Science.

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