Overview of Marriott International Inc - Case Study Example

Marriott International Inc. Company Overview Marriott International Inc. is a publicly traded tourism company with its corporate headquarters located in Bethesda, Maryland in the United States of America. It was founded by Alice Marriott and J. Willard Marriott in 1927 (Brien, 1977). It has remained under the sound guidance of the Marriott family for over 80 years. It is a leading company in the hospitality and tourism industry in terms of the asset base and global reach. As of now, the company has more than 4000 properties in different parts of the world. . It has 18 brands under its name and had an estimated income of $13 billion in the year 20-13. It has 199,929 employees globally. (Marriott International, Inc., 2014) J W. Marriott junior is the chairman of the board of the company while Arne M. Sorenson is the chief executive officer and the president of Marriott International Inc. the chief Financial officer is Carl T. Berquist. Bruce Hoffmeister is the chief information officer who is in charge of related global operations. Branding and Marketing Marriott international Inc. is as shown. It has a famous slogan “Your home away from home”. The company also has another slogan that goes “Redesigned by business travelers for business travelers”. Their tagline highlights its mandate in the hospitality and tourism sector. The company aims to have brands that make a mark in the tourism sector and to have a strong service culture that makes it remain as the industry leader. Since its founding, the Marriott international Inc. has stakes its claim as a luxury brand that targets customers who desire to travel and enjoy luxurious and quiet accommodation. Most of the customers are above 30 years and are well off in terms of their income. They are mainly the upper middle class and the upper class. The customers are mostly business men who are sophisticated, individualistic and self-defined people who are comfortable with paying considerable amounts for peaceful and luxurious getaways. The company aims to offer those travelers an atmosphere that is simple where they can relax, deliberate on their actions without interruptions of any kind. The company is very keen on the market. This is the reason why it has different facilities/ franchises to cater for various market segments (Marriott &Brown, 1997). Some of these facilities include Marriott courtyard, Ritz, Carlton Hotels, Marriott conference centers, Marriott Execustay and Marriott vacation clubs. These are also related companies that the group own. The company hopes to respond adequately to demographic changes in the market through multi-segmenting. For instance, the Marriott courtyard caters for over the road travelers while Ritz-Carlton hotels targets travelers with luxurious preferences. Marriott conference centers are tourism strategies for the company to benefit from travelers who need to host meetings while Vacation clubs and Execustay are time oriented facilities that give customers a good traveling and enjoyment feel. Marriott international employs several ways to reach its target market. The company has recognized the power of social media in its outreach initiatives. Additionally, the company uses print and visual media to appeal to potential customers. It publishes advertisements in business magazines as well as other travel and tourism magazines. For instance, the company has an ongoing campaign labeled “For you, We’re Marriott” that is directed towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, Hispanic and African-American business travelers. It has put the advertisements in print and digital media. There are advertisements on TV, newspapers, travel magazines and business publications of the same. The advertisement also promotes love by appealing to the gay and minority groups. The same advertisement was promoted on social media using the tag #LoveTravels. The company has received positive responses from the use of social media as well as the traditionally used digital and print media. There is also a website launched by the company for advertisement and information purpose. Potential travelers can access http://www.travelbrilliantly.com/ for any information they may require. The Marriott group has several companies under its umbrella. Each brand is tailored to meet the needs of a specific group of travelers. The group owns Spring Hill suites, Protean Hotels, Residence inn, Marriott Executive apartments, Gaylord Hotels, Marriott Vacation Clubs, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn& Suite, Courtyard, Marriott Hotels, AC Hotels, Renaissance Hotels, Autograph Collection Hotels, Edition, BVLGARI Hotel &Hotels and the Ritz-Carlton (Marriott International, Inc., 2014). The employees of the company benefit from the diversification of the company. They are able to get diversified experience while working. Training is done on the job which can equip employees with relevant knowledge to work with different brands. This in turn offers employees a job security that is unmatched elsewhere in tourism and travel industry. Employees Marriott international Inc. has various job openings in different parts of the world. The available jobs are put into categories such as administrative, housekeeping, Food and Beverage or security. There are administrative openings for an executive assistant to GM in Beijing Marriott Hotel, Admin Assistant-Culinary in JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi, Events specialist in Courtyard Santa Barbara Goleta. There is a host of other available jobs in different categories. Marriott employees enjoy travel discounts at various locations in the world. They get discounts on hotel rooms, food and beverages and retail discounts in Marriott gift shops. Global Impact Marriott international Inc. commands a market share of 11. 31%. This is way above the second place hospitality and tourism company Accor which as 6.9% of the global market share. Other direct competitors to Marriott international Inc. other than Accor SA are Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and InterContinental Hotels Group PLC. The company strives to preserve the ecology. It holds the preservation as its social responsibility. While expanding, the company notes that sustainable use of natural resources is vital. This is why it had prioritized reduction in the use of energy, and water. It hopes to reduce its consumption of water and energy by 20% in 2012. The company aims to be the leader in being ecofriendly in the tourism and travel industry. It has partnered with Green building certification Institute and U.S green building council to build green hotels. The company has a LEED Volume program that is geared towards saving energy and water consumption by 25 %. The company is carbon free and strives to co-operate with other players to safeguard the environment from harmful emissions. Marriott dedication top conservation of energy and waste management is seen through collaboration with suppliers if products that conserve energy. Marriott is credited with forming the Hospitality sustainable Consortium. This is a platform to check the sustainability of supplies in the tourism and hospitality sector (Marriott International, Inc., 2014). It has also supported conservation globally through donations. It has invested in initiatives that help in mitigation of the negative effects of hotel activities. More than $2 million have gone to the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation to conserve natural resources in South America. There are extra funds that the company has helped to raise for the conservation of rainforest in South America and development of sustainable businesses that are considerate to the environment. Growth Potential The company has experienced steady growth since its first hotel establishment in 1957 (Brien, 1977). The most significant growth came after acquiring 49 % of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Expansion of Ritz-Carlton was a major factor in the company achieving the success and market share it has. It has concentrated on every hotel chain it has acquired (Marriott &Brown, 1997). Sound management and visionary growth have contributed to the state of Marriott International Inc. today. There is a high potential for growth in the Asian market. It has already ventured into it and currently enjoys good customer relations. It expects to double the number of hotel and rooms by the year 2016. It operates 8 brands in the Asian market which focus on midscale and luxury market. It has a loyalty program for customers that enjoys approval and has even won awards. The number of customers who have subscribed to that program has doubled. This signifies the popularity and preference of Marriott global brands. They can also expand to markets in the Middle East and Africa. The market in Africa is difficult. However, it is becoming responsive in recent times. Investing in those areas is viable considering the development plans and overall economic growth of the regions. Conclusion Marriott international, Inc. has exploited the opportunities available in the hospitality and tourism industry very well. It has bridged the accommodation gap in the tourism industry by offering quality and diversified services. References About Marriott International - Find Your World. (n.d.). About Marriott Hotels. Retrieved July 25, 2014, from http://www.marriott.com/marriott/aboutmarriott.mi Brien, R. (1977). Marriott: the J. Willard Marriott story. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co. Environment. (n.d.). Corporate social Responsibility. Retrieved July 28, 2014, from http://www.marriott.com/corporate-social-responsibility/corporate-environmental-responsibility.mi Marriott international brands: ritz-carlton, big boy, jw marriott hotels, marriott hotels. (2010). S.l.: Books Llc. Marriott, J. W., & Brown, K. A. (1997). The spirit to serve: Marriotts way. New York: Harper Business. Read More