Tourism Marketing Principles
Executive Summary
The marketing audit of an organisation can help in
understanding the different factors in the internal and external market
environment which influence the businesses. The focus of this study has been on
conducting a marketing audit for the business operations of Hilton Hotels to
understand how the company is currently operating in the industry. The
different types of tools and frameworks such as Porter's five forces analysis
and STP analysis have been implemented in the study to obtain information and
provide strategic recommendations for the business operations of Hilton Hotels.
Chapter One
An Introduction that Defines
Tourism Marketing Concepts
1.1 Aim of the report
The aim of the report is to understand the concepts of
tourism marketing by evaluating the internal and the external Business
environment factors that influences the operations of Hilton hotels.
1.2 Ways in which the information will be presented
The information will be presented in an important format
where the external analysis will be conducted with the help of porters five
forces analytical framework. In addition to this the internal analysis will be
presented through the STP analysis framework. On the basis of the information
obtained the study will present recommendations for future development for
Hilton hotels.
Chapter Two
Background of the Company
2.1 Background of the company
Hilton Hotels is the flagship brand of American
multinational hospitality company Hilton Worldwide which is offering
full-service hotels and resorts across the globe. The company was founded in
1919 and currently, it is operating with more than 580 hotels across different
destinations around the world (Hilton, 2025). The organisation is currently
operating with its headquarters in Virginia United States and the expansion of
the business has resulted in the company operating across six continents with
61 different properties.
Figure 1: Hilton
Hotels
(Source: Hilton, 2025)
2.2 Introduction of the company chosen from the
tourism industry
Hilton Hotel is one of the most recognised hospitality
companies that is operating in the modern tourism industry. The statistics for
2024 show that the company was able to generate a total of $11.17 billion in
revenue in global business operations which was higher than the $10.2 billion
revenue that was obtained in 2023.
Chapter Three
External Analysis
3.1 Intensity of the competition in the industry
and the analysis of the competitors
The level of competition that is
experienced by Hilton hotels in the global hospitality industry is
significantly high due to the presence of different key players in the
industry.
Marriott International: Marriott
International is known to be a global leader in the field of hospitality and
tourism operations with around 8000 properties across the globe. It is
currently the largest hotel company in terms of the numbers of property which
is competing with the business operations of Hilton hotels (Linxi, 2021).
Hyatt hotels: Hyatt is an American
multinational hospitality company that operates with a total of 1335 hotels
across the globe. The strong portfolio of the organisation helps in attracting
major competitors across the globe.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG):
The company is one of the most significant competitors of Hilton hotels because
it is currently operating with a total of 6000 or more hotels across the globe
with a very strong portfolio of brands that attract potential consumers from
almost every segment (Lee and Legendre, 2023).
3.2 Key suppliers of the industry and their
importance
The key suppliers in the hospitality
industry where Hilton Hotels is currently operating include food and beverage
suppliers, technology suppliers, human resource suppliers and suppliers of
different products related to the development of accommodation services (Ma,
2021). Their importance is highly significant for the development
of the businesses because they offer the raw materials or the resources with
which Hilton Hotel is able to address the needs and demands of the consumers in
the hospitality industry in tourism operations.
3.3 Key buyers and their buying power
The potential buyers of the services of
Hilton Hotels include individuals who are travelling to different destinations
for different leisure or business purposes and are looking for accommodations.
The potential buyers in the hospitality sector of the tourism industry possess
a very strong bargaining power due to the presence of major competitive brands (Zeng,
2021). These competitive companies are offering similar types of
products at similar price ranges from which the consumers can choose and
thereby have the bargaining power over the prices of the products.
3.4 Barriers to market entry
The barriers present in the hospitality
industry for market entry is significantly high due to the huge capital
requirement within the market (Ghani et al., 2022).
Furthermore the economies of scales of the businesses that are currently
operating in the industry makes it difficult for new businesses to acquire
market shares the initial stages.
3.5 Substitute products and their attractiveness to
consumers
The
threat of substitutes for the operations of Hilton Hotel is high because of the
different types of alternative accommodations such as vacation rentals and
homestays that individuals can choose over the different types of accommodation
services of Hilton. The low switching cost is one of the primary factors that
increases the threat of substitute products in the tourism and hospitality
industry (Mirjalolova, 2025). However, the brand loyalty of the company is the primary factor that
helps in addressing the threat where the company attracts consumers with the
help of its strong brand image.
Chapter Four
Internal Analysis
4.1 Segmentation analysis
Geographic segmentation: Geographic
Segmentation focuses on segmenting the consumers on the basis of the type of
locations that they prefer for accommodations in different destinations. In
most of the cases, the urban preferences of the consumers are segmented under
this specific strategy. The organisation primarily focuses on the development
and establishment of different hotels across popular locations with target
customer segments (Blythe and Martin, 2023). One of the most
significant examples of such geographic segmentation is the presence of Hilton
hotels in the popular business and travel locations in London including the
Tower Bridge, Aldridge and Trafalgar Square.
Demographic segmentation: the focus of
the organisation is to segment the consumers majorly the age group of middle
and older individuals who are looking for luxurious and comfortable stays in
their vacations. It mostly segments the consumers with high incomes. Hilton
Hotels primarily focuses on targeting consumers who pursue a luxurious
lifestyle and are not negatively influenced by the premium prices for the
products and services of relevant polity that are offered by Hilton Hotels.
Psychographic segmentation: The
psychology of the consumers or the travellers who want to express their status
and achievement through luxury hotels is attracted and segmented by Hilton
hotels (Morrison, 2022). This specific
psychology of the ambitious individuals who can represent their statuses
through the five-star rooms that are offered by the hotel at premium prices is
the major area that is segmented by the business operations of Hilton Hotels.
Behavioural segmentation: The behaviour
of the consumers in booking for travel purposes and business purposes along
with the focus on the loyalty programmes are considered in the segmentation
strategy in Hilton hotels.
4.2 Targeting strategy
The targeting strategy of the
organisation includes a differentiated marketing strategy where multiple
segments of the tourism hostility industry are targeted with different types of
Product operations. The differentiated portfolio of the services of the company
contributes to the development of the marketing strategy in the hospitality
industry (Kotler and Armstrong, 2023). The target market of the organisation
primarily includes different types of individuals belonging to the wage group
of 25 to 50 who are travelling to different destinations with a high disposable
income. These individuals prefer to spend on luxurious and comfortable
hospitality services that can help them portray their statuses and achievements
while travelling to different locations. The target market of the company also
focuses on attracting business travellers who prefer different types of
bleisure services. The strong portfolio and the wide ranges of services that
are offered by the business operations of Hilton Hotel helps in targeting
consumers from different segments.
4.3 Positioning map
Hilton Hotels is majorly known for the
five-star hotel and hospitality services that it offers to consumers. However,
the company is known for its range of hospitality services at different prices
which are majorly less expensive in comparison to the most significant
competitors. Hence the company positions itself as a brand that can offer
high-quality services at medium ranges of prices.
Figure
2: Positioning map
(Source:
As created by the author)
Chapter Five
Future Development and
Conclusion
5.1 Issues raised by the marketing audit
From the overall analysis of the
marketing audit, it can be concluded that the primary issue that Hilton Hotels
has been experiencing in the hospitality industry is the strong presence of
competing companies. The competing companies have significantly diverse product
and service portfolios that address the different types of needs and demands of
the consumers in the market. In addition to this, the threat of substitute
products due to the increase in price sensitivity of the consumers is becoming
a major issue that the company needs to focus on addressing.
5.2 Analysis of the Marketing Strategy and
Recommendations for an effective marketing plan
The development of the marketing
strategy will require a very significant focus on product differentiation and
diversification for Hilton Hotels. The company is currently operating in a
market where the majority of the competing companies are offering similar types
of hospitality services at similar price ranges which is increasing the
bargaining power of the consumers. In order to address this the company needs
to focus on developing product differentiation and diversification (Ahmet
and Hancer, 2022). On one hand, it will help the company
to address the different types of demands of the consumers and on the other
hand it will make the services rare in the industry. This will make the
consumers choose Hilton Hotels over the competing companies that are present in
the market.