Bethany Cronk
HVS International

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02/08/2001  

The Marketing Plan & Hotel Operations: New Allies

Considered the road map to realizing an organization's marketing and sales goals, a hotel's marketing plan can take many forms. However, the way in which a plan is developed and implemented is critical. Once completed (often by only a few staff members), does the plan sit on a shelf collecting dust or is it incorporated into everyday operations by all departments? As all departments have the ability to affect the guest experience, a hotel's reputation, and its future sales, the overriding goal of the marketing plan process should be to generate a dynamic working document with input from all departments, to be used by both sales and operations, in order to achieve the property's marketing and sales goals.

Guest Contact Plan - An Essential Marketing Plan Component

The marketing plan process is sometimes treated as an annual exercise of "filling in the blanks" in order to submit the plan to the corporate office and check the task off of a to-do list. Nonetheless, a major value of the marketing plan is derived from the actual process of assembling data from a variety of sources, including input from the hotel's staff. Standard marketing plan components include, among others:

	National and local market trends
	Area demand generators
	Competition analysis
	Description of property features and benefits
	Top account contribution
	Market segmentation analysis
	Sales objectives and strategies
	Occupancy and average rate goals
	Marketing and public relations calendar outlining sales and public relations efforts for the coming year

What is generally missing from these components is the essential contribution of the hotel's operational departments. To fill this void, a "guest contact plan" component is recommended as an addition to the standard marketing plan.

Staff Plays Vital Role

The involvement of operations in the marketing plan process is imperative, as a hotel's entire staff plays a vital role in solidifying repeat business from existing clients and enhancing the reputation and revenue potential of a property. The guest contact plan is an operational component of the marketing plan that outlines specific, measurable steps set forth by each department to increase guest satisfaction and sales. When employees are involved in the marketing plan development process, they gain awareness of market trends and their property's competitive advantages and disadvantages from the unique perspective of their department. Specifically, committees, with representatives from all departments, should recap and analyze the prior year's highlights and lowlights. In addition, brain-storming teams and discussion groups should be deployed to illuminate ways individual departments can enhance guest relations and sales efforts to improve the hotel's performance in the future. For example, how can the hotel's business center increase sales during major conventions or corporate meetings? Or, how can bell services support the sales effort and take advantage of its extensive opportunities for guest contact? How can the food and beverage staff contribute to a positive reputation for the overall hotel and not merely for the outlets? How can the rooms division insure guest needs are fulfilled from reservations to check-in? A guest contact plan, which should be updated with quantifiable goals for ways to improve guest relations by market segment or by client type, is a means of connecting the marketing plan goals with everyday guest-service actions.

Incorporating the Marketing Plan into Operations

To be effective, a hotel marketing plan must move beyond merely providing a written description of the hotel's proposed sales-related goals. The plan must also be action-oriented and incorporated into the everyday operations of the property. The guest contact plan is one way to engender employee buy-in and support of the marketing plan. For example, the revenue potential of upcoming groups or in-house guests should be discussed at operational meetings, along with planned guest contact moments by department. These guests should be targeted during their stays in whatever way a particular department can make such an impact to insure that they receive excellent service and know their business is appreciated. Efforts such as these are quantifiable and, for the employee, connect the importance of guest service with the booking goals of the plan.

In addition to reporting the progress of the guest contact plan at weekly and monthly meetings, the status of achieving overall marketing plan goals should be shared with all departments. As operational departments may not be aware of business that is currently being sought or was recently won or lost by the hotel, it is essential to communicate updates to the staff. Oftentimes, employees are lulled into thinking a property is doing well, which leads them to believe that their performance is fine, when actually sales are down, or large bookings were recently lost. Constant communication with all staff, including front line personnel, is vital in linking day-to-day guest interactions to the fulfillment of marketing plan goals.

Alliance of the Marketing Plan and Operations

Beyond the typical components found in hotel marketing plans, a guest contact plan should include goals by department to increase hotelwide sales and improve the property's reputation in the market. The involvement of operations throughout the planning process is essential to provide an increased understanding of the market in which the hotel operates and to stimulate the support of sales strategies as a foundation for achieving the property's overall goals. Furthermore, integrating the marketing plan process and the resulting working document into everyday operations is vital to demonstrate to employees the connection between service and sales. Reaching or exceeding marketing or sales goals may not be the only benefit of increased integration, however, as enhanced employee buy-in and participation levels are additional by-products of this hotelwide exercise. Who knows, the age-old rift between sales and operations could be diminished if all parties are involved in the ongoing marketing plan experience.

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About the Author

Bethany Cronk started with HVS Boulder in January 1998 as the Director of Marketing, after earning her MBA from the University of Denver. Prior to joining HVS, Cronk gained nearly 10 years of management experience in the hospitality industry with companies such as Friden Hotel Corporation, Medallion Hotels, Beacon Hotel Corporation, Gourmet Lauren Catering, and Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. Cronk earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration.

In the spring of 1999,  Cronk began a focus on consulting work, and has gained experience completing market studies, appraisals, and other related assignments in a variety of markets. Regions visited include the greater Boston area, Dallas, Shaumburg, Memphis, Salt Lake City, and New Orleans, to name a few. Cronk is a certified general appraiser in the State of Colorado. 

bcronk@hvsinternational.com

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