Survey project file on employee data analysis.pdf

1
Institute of Management and Planning & Advanced Computer Training
(IMPACT),Patna
Affiliated to Aryabhatta Knowledge University
Project Report on
STUDY ON SERVICES AND MARKETING
In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of
BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (BBA)
2024
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF SUBMITTED BY
Dr. Niharika Tripathi Ruchi Kumari
Assitant professor Impact College 21302316017

2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of gratitude, thanks and regards
towards all of the people who have directly or indirectly helped me in the
successful completion of this project. And I am really grateful to state that I have
managed to successfully complete the 2 weeks internship on time.
I am grateful to all faculty members of IMPACT College, Patna and Aryabhatta
Knowledge University to keep vision on our project and also my friends who have
helped me in the successful completion of this project.
I would like to thank our college Director Sir Mr. Manish Singh, for their constant
guidance to conduct the present arduous project.
I also sincerely thank you Mr. Nawal Kishor Yadav sir (supervisor) for his constant
supervision as well as for providing me with the necessary information regarding
the Internship Program Assignment and also his support in completing this
internship assignment.
I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to my project guide Dr. Niharika
Tripathi (Assitant Faculty) for his valuable guidance and help in completion of this
project work.
Last but not the least I am thankful to my parents, friends and relatives who
provided me their precious time, support and inspiration needed to prepare this
project.

3
PROJECT DETAILS
The education system has been affected vastly in the worldwide due to COVID-19
pandemic. This led to the near-total closure of school, colleges and universities.
The coronavirus pandemic has up end business for various colleges and
universities. The campuses have shifted to remote learning almost overnight. The
whole, including India, is passing through unprecedented difficult times due to
the outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic. The teaching and learning processes along
with research activities have been severely interrupted as most of the colleges
and universities have been shut for some time period due to National Lockdown.
Various colleges have adopted appropriate strategies which enables the UG
student pursuing Project in view of the prevailing circumstances as per the latest
UGC guidelines.
The college has contemplated to assign partial internship in which students have
to go to any office/ workplace and get work exposure. As this is a phase of
lockdown and to fight the COVID-19 Pandemic we need to follow all preventions
like maintaining social distance in the office/ workplace.
In this view, we are assigned to create project report by our faculties on the topic
which I performed in my internship at the workplace. So, I have created the
project report on the following topic:
“Study on Services and Marketing with reference to Hotel Matrya Inn”

4
PROFILE OF PROJECT GUIDE
Dr. Niharika, residing at Hanuman Nagar, Kankarbagh, Patna, brings a wealth of academic and professional
experience in the fields of Human Resource Management and Marketing. With a career spanning several
prestigious institutions and a strong educational background, Dr. Niharika's career objective is to contribute
her research-based learning and expertise to the growth of an institution while furthering her own
professional development. She holds a 10thgrade certificate from J.N.V Latehar (1999), an MBA from ICFAI
University (2007) with a specialization in Human Resource Management and Marketing Management, and
completed her PhD from Ranchi University in 2016 with a thesis on the effectiveness of training and
development in UML & TISCO.
Throughout her career, Dr. Niharika has been actively engaged in academia, both as a student and a faculty
member. She has taught various courses at different degree levels, including Ph.D. coursework classes at
Patna University and Sai Nath University, and she has been associated with prestigious institutions like LN
Mishra Institute of Economic Development and Social Change, Patna. Her expertise encompasses areas such
as Human Resource Management, Marketing, and Organizational Behavior. Dr. Niharika has contributed
significantly to her field through research and publication, with several papers published in reputed journals
covering topics ranging from employee training effectiveness to corporate governance practices.
Professionally, Dr. Niharika has held faculty positions at various institutions, where she has been actively
involved in teaching and research in the domains of Human Resource Management and Marketing. Her roles
have included faculty positions at INC Ranchi, Doranda College, Swarnarekha Institute of Technology, Patna
University, Magadh Mahila College, and LNMI, among others. Additionally, she has been involved in teaching
MBA and BBA programs, covering subjects like Performance Management, Talent Management,
Organizational Behavior, and Managing Diversity.
On a personal note, Dr. Niharika is married to Mr. Tripathi Jainendra Jaint and holds Indian nationality. Her
commitment to academia and her contributions to her field underscore her dedication to advancing
knowledge and fostering growth, both for herself and for the institutions she serves.

5
PROJECT SUPERVISOR DETAILS
Mr. Nawal Kishor Yadav
Mobile No- 919262684666
e-mail- navalkishoreyadav12345@gmail.com
Experience
 Joined the BJP 2013: He believed in the BJP ideology and asserted he
would work hard as a committed member of the party in its mission to
bring NDA to power under the leadership of Narendra Modi.
 Leader from Teacher Constituency 1995: At the age of 32 years, the
age at which people talk about recovery, veteran leaders of that time
from the teacher constituency from janta dal seat.
 Elected as a Lecturer 1985: Elected as a lecturer in the department of
psychology at SGGS college.
 Janta Dal was formed 1989: He came into the limelight and joined
janta dal party.
 Currently, he is the owner of the Hotel Matrya Inn.
Mr. NAWAL KISHOR YADAV

6
Certificate of Originally
This is to certify that the project report entitled PROJECT REPORT on
STUDY ON SERVICES AND MARKETING in HOTEL MATRYA INN. submitted to
Aryabhatta Knowledge University in partial fulfilment of the award for the degree
of BACHELOR OF BUSSINESS ADMINISTRATION is an original work carried out by
Ruchi Kumari bearing the Registration No: 21302316017 under the supervision of
Mr. NAWAL KISHOR YADAV.
The matter embodied in this project is a genuine work done by the student and has
not been submitted prior whether to this University or to any other
University/Institution for the fulfilment of the requirement of any course of study.
NAWAL KISHOR YADAV Ruchi Kumari
Supervisor Student

7
DECLERATION OF GUIDE
This is to certify that the project report entitled Project Report on service and
marketing
Submitted to Aryabhatta Knowledge University in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of the degree Of Bachelor Of Business
Administration , is an original work carried out by Mr. / Ms. Ruchi
Kumari Registration No.: 21302316017 under the guidance of Mr. / Ms. /Dr.
Niharika Tripathi The matter embodied in this project is a genuine work done
by the student and has not been submitted whether to this University or to any
other University / Institute for the fulfillment of the requirement of any course of
study.
Dr. Niharika Tripathi
Guide

8
Declaration of student
I the undersigned, a BBA student of IMPACT College bearing registration
number 21302316017 do solemnly declare that project work titled
Project Report on STUDY ON SERVICES AND MARKETING is
based on my own work, carried out under the supervision of guide Dr. Niharika
Tripathi I assert that the statements made are the outcome of my work. I
ensure that project work is original, not a copy paste job and consequences of
plagiarism. I affirm that this project work has not been submitted whether to
this University or to any other University/Institute for the fulfillment of the
requirement of any course of study.
Ruchi kumari
student

9
DATE -21ST MAY 2024
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
It is to Certify that Ms. Ruchi kumari has completed her term of training in
services and marketing from 05th may 2024 to 20th may 2024 and has proven
her competency with utmost dedication and promise .During her internship
period she was quite professional and has completed the task in the given period
of time.

10
List of Table
SL. NO. Table description Page No.
1 CLV Calculation 59
2 Cause of CLV Calculation 60

11
List of Figures
Sl. No. Figure Description Page no.
1 Marketing orientation 29
2 Four P`s of the marketing mix 32
3 Overall marketing strategy 35
4 Collaboration between sales and marketing 41
5 Long-term customer relationship 52
6 Sales & marketing integration model 54
7 Variation of customer lifetime with retention rate 56
8 Relationship between customer retention rate and CLV 61

12
TABLE OF CONTENT
SL.NO. TOPICS PAGE NO.
01 INTRODUCTION 13-14
02 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15
03 COMPANY PROFILE 16-17
04 HOTEL INDUSTRY 19-21
05 LITREATURE REVIEW 24
06 MARKETING AND SERVICES OF HOTEL SERVICE 26-39
07 SALES ANG MARKETING INTREGATION MODEL 52
08 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION IN HOTEL 64
09 SUGGESTIONS 71
10 CONCLUSION 72
11 BIBLIOGRAPHY 73

13
INTRODUCTION
To begin with, as a part of the curriculum an internship programme was to be conducted for a
period of one month. Given a choice one was allowed to choose the field in which he/she was
interested. As my interest and curiosity was in sales and marketing, I choose to work with a
renowned hotel named “Hotel Matrya Inn”, I choose this hotel because with this I can explore
myself and why the sales and marketing field? Because it is booming business, its growth is
marvellous and expected to grow more. Due to this internship, I learnt every aspect of sales
and marketing which includes business development process, content writing, social media,
etc. Marketing and sales practices have dramatically shifted with the rise of population, social
media and proliferation of devices, platforms and applications. Your prospective and current
customers are trying to communicate with you and you can listen and respond faster along
with more personalization than ever before. Also, the pandemic of COVID-19 has contributed
in this change.
1.1 A Study on marketing and sales with reference to “Hotel Matrya Inn”
This shifting environment presents new opportunities and challenges for hotel owners and
managers. To provide proper services to its customers is the goal of every organization. To
attract them and ensure that they maintain them can be done by this goal. Also, in order to
maintain the sales and ensure profitability and sustainability of the business, this is necessary.
A vivid definition of sales and marketing will be provided. The evaluation on the role of sales
and marketing in hotel will also be done. Also, the impact of sales and marketing in the
development of hotel as an industry and business performance will be deliberated. The
discussion of some of the technologies that enhance sales and marketing in the hotel industry
will also be done. Lastly, the perceptions that hotel sales and marketing professionals have
about Internet and Web integration in the group sales process will be determined.

14
Scope of the project
• To understand the hotel industry.
• To understand the sales and marketing process in the industry.
• To understand sales and marketing effectiveness.
• To understand how technology has impact on sales and marketing.
• To understand marketing and sales model of the industry.
1.3 Limitations of the project
• The time span for the project is limited.
• This sales and marketing model completely with reference to HOTEL MATRYA INN.
• Time of campaigns for some client is more than three months.
• Advertising expenditure of some companies is confidential so it can’t be revealed.

15
2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research design and methodology are presented as follows
2.1 Data collection:
The task of data collection begins after a research problem has been defined and research
design has been chalked out. While deciding about the method of data collection to be used
for the study, the research should keep in mind two types of data.
2.2 Sources of data:
i. Primary Data.
ii. Secondary Data.
2.3 Primary data:
The observation method is extremely common method. Data pertaining to sales and marketing
process and most of information is collected from project guide in the company. Review is also
very widely used in order to give a structure to the entire study.
2.4 Secondary data:
Secondary data is collected from already existing sources in various organization broachers &
records. Secondary data for the study were collected from the magazines, websites & other
previous studies. To meet the objectives, the study used qualitative research. The descriptive
study was done through review of existing literature that helped in validation and extraction
of the important variables and factors. Data was collected from secondary sources. Secondary
sources were magazines, websites, books, hotel managers and company data.

16
3. COMPANY PROFILE
3.1 INTERNSHIP DETAILS
I have done my internship from a renowned hotel which is ‘Hotel Matrya Inn’. It is located at
Sahdeo Mahto Marg, S K Puri, Boring Road, Patna -800001. It is situated near Karlo
Automobiles. The duration of this internship was of 1 month. The working procedure of this
organization for its employees is in physical mode. Hotel Matrya Inn is celebrated as one of the
city's best hotel in Patna. It has been established in the year 2012. Since then this hospitality
destination has grown to become the ideal place for travellers and those on business to feel at
home when in the city. Many have also reviewed the hotel to be among the sought-after Hotels
in Patna. The hotel functions from 09:00 am - 22:00 am all through the week. Catering to the
convenience of its guests since so many years, the hotel makes available various payment
methods to ease out the payment process such as cash and cheques. The skilled and hospitable
staff at Matrya Inn make sure that the guests have a hassle-free stay.
The property has an inventory of 8 rooms which are categorized into 2 Acacia, 4 Oak and 2
Maple rooms. The rooms are well-maintained, clean and adequately furnished for a
comfortable stay making it an ideal accommodation option for all kinds of travellers. The hotel
has an in-house banquet hall to host events and parties. The hall can accommodate a maximum
of 50 individuals and spreads over 1400 sq. ft. The in-house restaurant, Lumbini, serves
delicious North Indian and Chinese cuisine for both vegetarian and nonvegetarian guests.
Matrya Inn has a host of amenities to ensure the guests have a comfortable stay. Some of the
on-site amenities provided include a public washroom, full-stocked pantry, furnished lobby
with air-conditioning, elevator for easy access, chargeable third-party laundry service,
cloakroom, round-the-clock security, room service and high-speed wi-fi.
It is well-connected to most of the major transit points across Patna. The rooms in there are
equipped with plenty of amenities to ensure a pleasant stay including a wardrobe, a mini-
fridge, a comfortable bed with clean and fresh linen, luggage shelf, coffee table, sofa chair,
study table with chair, windows for natural air and light, air-conditioning, electric kettle with

17
provision for making tea or coffee, TV with DTH or cable connection and intercom facility. Also,
the rooms have an attached washroom which is equipped with modern fittings, fresh towels,
complimentary branded toiletries, a continuous supply of water and a water heater. The
property is located very close to major tourist attractions like Golghar, Buddha Stupa and
Mahatma Gandhi Statue.
3.2 ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY
I applied for an internship at ‘Hotel Matrya Inn’ and got selected through an interview. In this
interview, I was asked to introduce myself. Also, I was asked to tell some techniques which are
vital in enhancing sales and marketing in the hotel. As a result, I was selected to perform the
internship in the sales and marketing department of the hotel.
The role provided to me at that internship was of sales and marketing manager. In this, I was
in charge of building and maintaining the business through proactive direct sales, marketing,
telemarketing, direct mail, appointment calls and hotel tours. In addition, I was in authority to
create strategic action plans for hotels in order to generate tangible, additional sales revenue.
The work done by my me in this internship included various business enhancing strategies. To
begin with, I clearly understood business strategies of the hotel in order to set new goals for
the industry and to determine action plans to meet those goals. Likewise, I looked after
corporate and travel agent room sales for the hotel. I even identified the latest marketing and
business tactics in order to increase sales. Also, updated action plans and financial objectives
regularly.

18
I conducted daily sales calls and arrange site inspection trips to hotels by corporate clients. I
also participated in sales calls with other sales members to acquire new business. I
accompanied sales team on sales calls to potential clients to assist in development of the
account and to access the effectiveness and sales skills of the sales person.
Further, I kept an observation on the daily requirements of clients, that is, to provide the
highest quality of service to the customer at all times. Further, I took feedbacks and suggestions
on the changes or amenities they would like in the hotel. I was able to support hotels service
and relationship strategy, driving customer loyalty by delivering service excellence throughout
each customer experience. Also, building and strengthening relationships with existing and
new customers to enable future bookings for distinct activities. These activities include sales
calls, entertainment, FAM trips, trade shows, etc.
One more marketing strategy used by me is social media. Social media marketing is the most
common factor used these days for enhancing business. I shared information regarding the
hotel in many sites. Also, enhanced the quality of content on the hotels website so more
customers can be attracted to visit there for stay and also for hosting events. I also shared
information regarding the hotel on various social media platforms such as Facebook,
Instagram, twitter, etc. for increasing customer which thus lead to enhancing business.
Essentially, recognizing zones of opportunity in execution and prescribe apparatuses and deals
preparing to optimize execution of deals group is my obligation. Moreover, working with
person inn groups to recognize ability improvement zones and appropriately convey deals and
showcasing assets is another vital portion of my role.

19
4. HOTEL INDUSTRY
The hotel industry is one of the most important sectors in the tourism and hospitality industry.
The World Tourism organization (UNWTO) stated that the global number of hotel rooms has
grown from 14 million to 17 million between 1997 to 2005 and the figure is expected to
increase astronomically by the end of 2022. The growth in the hotel industry has been
identified as one of the major facilitators in the development of Tourism and hospitality
industry as a whole. No wonder the governments of some countries give incentives to hotel
developers and owners in order to further enhance their country’s tourism sector. Of all the
various types of accommodation available to the tourist, the hotel is the biggest and most
visible sub-sector. It is usually viewed traditionally as an establishment which provides
accommodation, food and beverage services on a pay basis to guests who are only for a short
stay. However, the modern perception of a hotel is more complex than this due to the fact that
not all of the hotels provide services such as food and beverages, at the same time, some hotels
even offer additional services such as conference rooms to their guests.
At this point, due to the variations in what is considered to be a hotel in different countries, it
is necessary to give a simple definition of a hotel in this research work. A hotel is a unit which
provides stays for visitors, typically on a daily or weekly basis, principally for short stays.
Furthermore, the services provided by such units includes daily cleaning and bedmaking as
well as offering food and beverages, parking, laundry services and recreational services to the
guests. Some of the hotels offer amenities such as conference and convention facilities. Having
given a glimpse of a hotel, the reason for variations in what constitute a hotel in different
countries can better be explained by taking a closer look into types of hotels.

20
4.1 TYPES OF HOTELS
The hotel provides home away from home to millions of travellers and tourists. The purpose
of their visit is different, so is their need and expectation of services rendered by the hotel.
Hotels can be classified based on the room charges, facilities available, lent of stays of guests,
location of the hotel, ownership and management and many more. Some of the most famous
classifications have been explained below.
Residential hotel
The residential hotels are apartment houses which are usually located in big cities and provide
hotel services to guests who stay on a long-term basis. It is also possible for guests to stay at
residential hotels for a shorter period of time.
Transit hotels
Transit hotel are located close to airports and motor-ways. It caters for guests who are on
transit and need a temporary place to stay for a shorter period of time which may vary from
one hour to few days. A distinctive characteristic of transit hotels is their design which mainly
focuses on providing comfort and convenience.
Resort hotels
The resort hotels are located in special places close to scenic beauty such as lakes, mountains,
seas and beaches. Since the emphasis of a resort hotel is usually on relaxation, it is not
uncommon to find recreational amenities such as golf course, swimming pool, skiing, tennis
courts and some other indoor sport facilities in the hotel. The main target group for this type
of hotels are people with income that is above average who are looking for a place to relax and
stay away from their daily routine. Resort hotels are mostly seasonal establishments. However,
in the recently, the trends have changed a little and some resort hotels are operating
throughout the year. Resort hotels can also be sub-divided into summer resorts, winter resorts,
health resorts, all season resorts, and hill resorts.

21
Heritage hotels
Heritage hotels are old properties of aristocratic and royal families which are renovated to
provide special experience to tourists. This type of hotels gives guests special treatment like
nobles. Heritage hotels are not as common as the commercial or residential hotels.
Commercial hotels
Commercial hotels as the name suggests are usually located in city centre and draw their guests
from everywhere. The hotel’s main focus is usually on the busy commercial centre and they
provide services such as business centre facilities and parking space. The idea of the hotel being
in the city centres may cause someone to think that the hotels’ customers are only business
travellers. However, the numbers of leisure travellers lodging in the hotel is increasing yearly.
Moreover, the commercial hotels even have guests who lodge in the hotel on a permanent
basis.
4.2 CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS
Hotel classification is “the assignment of hotels to a categorical rating according to the type of
property, facilities, and amenities offered”. The classification system was brought into the hotel
industry at a time when it was only a few establishments that strived to provide safe and
reliable lodging and food to travellers. The system was initially developed as a regulatory
framework which ensured customers protection. In the recent years, the focus of the
classification system has changed a little bit from protecting to informing the customers.
Additionally, the system is now being used to market the hotel establishment and also to
standardize the industry by various local, state and national governments. Due to the
heterogeneity of the hotel industry, it is difficult to have a unified classification system, as
different classification exists in different countries. Among the most popular and well-
respected trademark classification systems in the global hotel and travelling industry are the
stars and the diamond rating systems.

22
Diamond rating system
The American Automobile Association (AAA) was among the first authorities to approve
designations for hotels and restaurants. The criteria for its rating are based on a combination
of the overall quality, the range of facilities available as well as the level of services offered by
the hotel. Additionally, the rating also represents the type of experience which the travellers
should expect from the hotel unit. AAA ratings range from 1 to 5 diamonds of which each of
the diamonds has its unique or distinctive characteristics.
The hotels with one diamond rating are the ones that provides essential accommodation
service with no-frills besides they usually meet up with basic comfort, cleanliness and
hospitality and they usually appeal to budget minded travellers. In a two-diamond hotel, the
customers can expect affordable rooms where physical attributes, design and amenities have
been enhanced as compared to one diamond hotel. Meanwhile, a three-diamond hotel is
somewhere between providing basic amenities to providing luxury. It usually has multifaceted
accommodations with distinguished style, physical attributes, amenities and guest comfort. In
a four-diamond hotel, the customer can expect to see refined and stylish rooms with upscale
physical attributes that reflect enhanced quality throughout. One of the distinctive
characteristics between a four-diamond hotel and the other lower diamonds is that properties
designated with the four diamonds often have extensive amenities with a high degree of
hospitality and services. The five diamond hotels have the highest level of luxury with
extraordinary physical attributes, meticulous personalized service, extensive amenities and
impeccable standards of excellence.
Star rating system
The star rating system is everywhere across the globe. Most travellers and hotel guests prefer
making inquiries about hotels in relation to their stars despite the fact that the criteria for the
star rating of hotels varies from one country to another. Star rating is useful in hotel industry
for many reasons which includes providing the customers the opportunity of finding a hotel
that really conforms to their desired standard at the national level.

23
Additionally, hotel management also benefit from the rating because it helps to improve the
quality of the product being offered to the guests.
Just like the diamond ratings, each of the stars has its distinctive characteristics. In a onestar
hotel, customers can expect a small hotel which is often operated by the owner with a personal
atmosphere and basic accommodation services which do not include restaurant service but it
is usually within a walking distance. One-star hotels are usually located near public
transportation and major intersections, whereas, a two-star hotel is often part of a hotel chain
that offers consistent quality and limited amenities. A Customer can expect a small or medium
room size which is furnished with phone and TV. Although a two-star hotel may not have the
convenience of room service, customers can still expect a small restaurant onsite. Three-star
hotels are mostly located near a major expressway, business centre and/or shopping area. They
offer nice, spacious rooms and decorative lobbies. Onsite restaurants may be average in size
but will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. Valet and room service, a small fitness centre and a
pool are often available in this category of hotel.
On the other hand, in a four-star hotel, the customer can expect a formal, large hotel, with top-
notch service. It is not uncommon to see a four-star hotel located in places where there are
other hotels of the same calibre clustered nearby. Four stars hotels are strategically located
close to shopping malls and places full of entertainment. At the same time, the customers can
expect beautifully furnished rooms, restaurants, valet parking, fitness centre, concierge and
service room service which is above average. In a five-star hotel, customers can expect a
luxurious hotel offering the highest degree of personal service with so much elegance and style
rooms equipped with quality linens, VCR, CD stereo, Jacuzzi tub and in-room video. There can
also be multiple restaurants on site with extensive, gourmet menus, and room-service which
is available 24/7. Additionally, customers can also expect a fitness centre, valet parking and
concierge service. The five-star ratings used to be the highest in the hotel ratings system.
However, in the recent years, there has been emergence of the first six-star hotel built in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates and some other countries claimed to have seven-star hotels.

24
LITERATURE REVIEW
Previously the academic focus was more on marketing’s interaction with other functions such
as finance and researchers did not differ between the sales and marketing functions at all.
Many researchers found sales-marketing interface as a rather unexplored area with either
limited research study or not researched systematically and deeply. Both sales and marketing
may be following their own agendas, creating conflict, coordination problem and ultimately
great tension between the two groups. These issues can negatively characterize the interface
between sales and marketing and may lead to conflict that is detrimental to collaboration.
A lack of cooperation between sales and marketing has the potential to damage the overall
success of the organization. Both sales and marketing serve customers with sales traditionally
performing tactical tasks such as contacting customers executing marketing strategies and
closing the sale in the field and marketing entrusted with providing support to salespeople and
building consistent brand image in the marketplace. Improvements in collaboration and
interdepartmental relations may reduce conflict as well as enhance the formulation of strategy.
For success of the organization, market responsiveness and adaptability are important
conditions and requires seamless integration of the organization’s many functional parts. The
overcoming of functional boundaries and often the development of cross-functional teams as
important facets of customer focused organizations.
Collaboration between sales and marketing in business-to-business setting and found that it is
positively related to enhanced business performance. The research findings empirically
established that a positive senior management attitude toward collaboration between sales
and marketing, the reduction of interdepartmental conflict, the improvement of
communications, the establishment of organizational learning, and effective market
intelligence systems are important antecedents to effective collaboration between sales and
marketing. Similarly, collaboration between sales and marketing has a positive and significant
impact on both market orientation and business performance was confirmed by a study.

25
Sales and marketing are different functions within an organization and usually have different
goal orientations. The sales-marketing interface may exhibit many negative features and are
characterized by poor co-ordination, miscommunications, conflict, noncooperation, signs of
frustration and dissatisfaction with the other group’s performance, disharmony, and poor
understanding of each other’s roles which inhibits achieving the benefits of collaboration.
Improved sales and marketing interaction have a positive impact on corporate growth as well
as on new product development. With sales and marketing collaboration, firms will outperform
competition.
Hence, there is a shift from focusing only on how firms can create competitive advantages
through increased productivity within the value chain towards a perspective on how they can
increase the quality of their customer relationship via better cross functional teamwork. The
creation of superior customer value through an effective sales and marketing relationship
provides competitive advantage to the firms. Sales and marketing interaction are important for
overall performance and growth of business as their productive relations is linked to improved
productivity, competitiveness, superior value creation and market performance. Project works
in this direction and provides insights for enhancing sales and marketing integration. The ideas
presented in this paper have the potential to enhance collaboration between sales and
marketing and achieve better integration between them.
Also, the full potential of hotel Web marketing has not yet been realized because of the lack of
interactivity that can be accommodated in the present technological environment. It also
remains to be seen that Web marketing can replace some of the more traditional hotel
marketing activities that have been developed through customer relationship and consultative
techniques. The research presented here helps shed some light on these issues.

26
6. MARKETING AND SALES OF HOTEL SERVICES
Marketing and sales are an essential element in running any business. Even though they are
proven to be an important factor which determines the success of any hotel unit yet they are
a phenomenon which is often taken for granted.
6.1 Defining Marketing
A lot of people including some who have an idea about business and hotel management do
not have a clear understanding regarding the true meaning of marketing. They think that
marketing is the same thing as advertising or selling a product to customers. These people are
shocked when being told that selling and advertising are just a small part of marketing and the
most important aspects of marketing happen before the products are brought into the market.
Due to this reason, it is important to make a clarification between the daily usage of the word
“marketing” and the way the concept is used by marketing professionals.
Kotler, one of the leading authorities in the field of marketing gives a definition of marketing
from the managerial perspective as “a social and managerial process by which individuals and
organizations obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging value with
others”. Explanation in detail of marketing as a process by which companies create value for
customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers
in return. This definition gives an insight into how marketing managers view marketing.
Perhaps, the definition given by the American Marketing association (AMA) will also help to
clear some of the misconceptions on marketing and give a deeper understanding to it.
According to them “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,
communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients,
partners and society at large”. Cristian Gronroos gives a new perspective to the definition of
marketing by laying more emphasis on the customer in his definition.

27
From the definitions above, one can see that marketing is a broad concept that encompasses
more than selling and advertising. We can agree that much of decisions relating to marketing
are taken before the product or services come into the market. In fact, the goal of marketing is
to make selling and advertising unnecessary. At this juncture, it is necessary to write about how
it came into the hotel industry in order to fully appreciate its importance in the hotel industry.
The successful implementation of the marketing process is critical to the proper management
of your organization. Marketing management is crucial for easing the actions and functions
involved in the management and distribution of goods and services. Marketing management
is the only way for firms of any size, small, medium, or large, to transform these shifts into
opportunities. By analyzing consumer desires and requirements through marketing research,
marketing management has adopted the notion of delivering consumers goods and/or services
that are distinct from those offered by competitors. In every way, marketing management is
quite important.
6.2 Defining Sales
Sales is the process that aims to make the potential customer buy the product with the
strategies and policies determined by the process. Sales has an immense impact on the
business's long-term viability because it is the only activity that generates the majority of the
resources based on the company's size.
Management of the sales force is handled through sales management. The strategy,
implementation, and oversight of sales provide the sales force. Businesses should provide the
most positive feedback to client wants, make continuous product development, decide the
best tactics, and closely follow technology developments, particularly today, to boost their
sales power.

28
Sales management objectives are often classified into two categories which are short-term and
long-term objectives. Businesses want to get a market share and keep it in the near term as
well as make money and gain new clients through their sales. The most significant sub-topics
of long-term aims include gaining loyal customers, delivering technological improvements and
improving products and services with client feedback.
6.3 MARKETING AND SALES IN HOTEL INDUSTRY
Marketing started as a result of economic and business pressure due to a need which arises to
focus on embracing a set of managerial measures in order to satisfy customers’ needs. The
evolution of marketing in the hotel industry is similar to every other industry. The main reason
for the marketing in the hotel business is because of the growth in the number of guests who
are in need of accommodation and the increase in competitions by the accommodation service
providers. Moreover, the hotel industry is becoming a more and more mature market whereby
the competition is increasing globally and winning customers becomes a problem. Therefore,
there is a huge shift to marketing.
Sales management responds to rising competition and the need for new distribution systems
in order to cut costs and boost revenues. Today, the most crucial function in a firm is sales
management. Businesses achieve "strategic management" by foreseeing or anticipating the
future, devising strategies for themselves, and planning and executing their strategies. As a
result, the management structure should be particularly adaptable, fluid, and open to new
innovations. Strategic management tries to identify a company's strengths and weaknesses, as
well as assess market threats and opportunities.
The sales team is in charge of maximizing a hotel's revenue by establishing revenuegenerating
strategies and business plans. Room occupancy, event spaces, recreational facilities,
restaurants, and other business verticals are among the business verticals for which the team
is responsible. A sales staff can work for a single hotel or for the corporate office of a major
corporation that owns a chain of hotels.

29
When it comes to strategic sales management, it's important to keep your company's objective
in mind. Existing consumers, the target audience, customer expectations, and behaviour
should all be carefully considered. While sales and marketing management are occasionally
separated, their responsibilities frequently overlap. Increased sales is the most crucial goal of
both sales and marketing.
M&S orientations
The concept of marketing orientations often comes up during the process of determining
whom priority should be given to when a company makes decisions. Market environment
changes over time. Nowadays, most companies consider the customers as the most important
factor to which all marketing should be orientated. There are basically many models of
marketing orientations. Among the most popular ones are the production, product, sales and
marketing orientations. These are explained below:

30
FIGURE 1: Marketing Orientation
Under this type of orientation, mass production is the key. Companies that adopt this type of
marketing philosophy believe that if products are produced on a large scale, costs can be
reduced while a profit is maximized in return irrespective of demand for the product. In the
hotel industry, hotel units that practice this type of orientation believe in having large buildings
with many rooms and try to minimize the running costs of the hotel by employing fewer
workers, reducing overall costs and the fixed costs of the operation are usually the goal. This
was very common in the early 1900.

31
A product-oriented company focuses on making a high-quality product with functional features
which make it superior to that of the competitors, without making relevant market research to
know what the customers need. The company that uses this approach believes that a superior
product will automatically sell itself in the market. Applying this philosophy into hotel industry,
the goal is to have facilities that go beyond regular to luxurious facilities with the hope that
guests will automatically embrace the hotel product since it is superior to the ones provided
by the rivals. The shortfall of using this approach is that the outcome of it is not guaranteed
since it is not known whether or not the guests wanted the product.
A sales-orientated company makes products without much research whether or not the
product is needed in the market place. This marketing orientation is built around the
philosophy that customers will not buy a product or service unless they are persuaded to buy.
Companies that use this approach spend a lot of money on advertising and promotion. The
goal is to make sure that they sell their product irrespective of what the customer or the market
really needs. A sales-orientated company believe that an aggressive sales method is the key to
success in business.
A marketing orientated company focuses all its business activities on satisfying the customers’
needs. A company that adopts this approach usually considers the customer the king and its
primary goal is to deliver value to its customer. To achieve this, the company spends a lot of
time and researches how to meet the needs and expectations of the customers. The customers
are the center focus during product development as well as when implementing the company’s
marketing strategies. The application of market research on a continuous basis gives
companies of this type a marketing edge in understanding the needs of the customer.
Moreover, they are able to establish a positive relationship with the customers and get
feedback concerning the customers’ satisfaction with the product. This helps in improving and
inventing new products as the market changes.

32
Market positioning of hotel services
Marketing of hotel services cannot be discussed without mentioning market positioning.
Positioning is the act of designing the company’s offerings and image to occupy a distinctive
place in the mind of the target market. The rationale of positioning hotel services is to create
a brand in the minds of the customers so that the company can maximize the benefit it’s
derived from the customers. Positioning a product in the mind of the customers also helps the
hotel in differentiating its product and services from that of its competitors. Much of the
emphasis of position is based on what the guest will receive or benefit by lodging in the hotel
or using its services. Of course, the ultimate goal of positioning is to have a win-win situation
whereby both hotel service provider and the guests can benefit from the transaction. In order
to achieve effective and efficient positioning, it is a prerequisite that the hotel is able to identify
the target market, its competitors and the ideal points-of-parity and points-of-difference brand
association. Once the hotel’s product and services have been positioned in the right place
within the mind of the target customers, the hotel can make the right investment in utilizing
its resources and skills in the market place. That is, the right product or service is placed on the
market at a money-making price.
Hotel marketing mix
Marketing mix refers to a combination of a number of elements which is made into a workable
program to make a whole. It comprises of various factors that influences marketing efforts. The
primary marketing mix includes the four P’s of marketing, i.e., product, price, place and
promotion. Three additional P’s which are people, physical evidence and process were later
added to the initial 4 P’s to form the extended marketing P’s. The researcher will stick to the
4P’s of marketing because they were the ones that are widely used and accepted by marketing
professionals. The figure below shows the 4 P’s of marketing mix.

33
FIGURE 2: Four P’s of the marketing mix
The product refers to the goods and services combination the company offers to the target
market. In the hotel industry, the product includes the physical attributes of the room offer to
guests as well as the other auxiliary services. The hotel products are so unique and differ from
commodities products in the sense that there is no transfer of ownership of the actual product
(room) to the guest. Rather, the product is consumed or rented in the location of the hotel.
Hotel management need to pay attention to top formulation because the success of the hotel
as well as its marketing largely depends on a product that suits the changing needs of the
guests. Studying the existing market conditions will help the hotel management in product
development. It is needless to say that the hotel management needs to be aware of the
changes in lifestyle in society so that they can innovate or upgrade their services in time.

34
The price is the actual amount of money that customers have to pay in order to obtain the
product. Due to the seasonality and perishability of hotel products, it is important that a hotel
sets the right price for its product to ensure high occupancy rate. In a situation where the
customer considers the price to be too expensive there is a high tendency of the customer
switching to the product of the competitor or searching for an alternative accommodation
option. At the same time, if the price is too low, the probability of the hotel running on losses
will definitely increase. The pricing decision is one of the most difficult decisions to make when
it comes to hotel business.
There are different types of pricing systems which a hotel usually adopts. These range from
cost-oriented pricing to demand-oriented pricing. There is a huge difference between these
two pricing systems. The demand-oriented pricing actually considers the demand for the
product before the price for the product is fixed. Examples are discrimination pricing, backward
pricing, psychological pricing, market penetration pricing and skimming pricing. On the other
hand, cost oriented pricing considers the cost of making or purchasing the product as the most
important element when fixing prices. Under this pricing system, additional money is added to
the cost of the product to make the selling price. When deciding on the best pricing policy to
adopt, hotel administration should know that there are other factors such as the quality of the
product, season of the year and brand name affecting the perceived value of the hotel product.

35
In the hotel industry, the place usually refers to the location of the business as well as the
distribution channels used in marketing the hotel services. The location is an important factor
to consider when setting up a hotel unit, since no actual product is distributed to the
prospective customers and the only clue is given about the product via communication with
the guests. Furthermore, a well-located hotel is able to pick up passing demand, making the
hotel easily accessible to guests. Although some people may argue the fact that the hotel
services cannot be placed on shelves like other commodities the distribution channels do not
affect the overall marketing outcome as much as other marketing mix elements. However, this
is not true at all. Many of the successful hotels that truly know the role of distribution channels
in marketing are creating points of sales within and outside their hotels. We cannot deny the
fact that continuous development of Computers reservation systems and Global Distribution
Systems such as Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and others, has brought tremendous changes
regarding the distribution of hotel products. Nowadays, agents have real-time access to check
the availability of hotel rooms and make bookings on behalf of guests.
Promotion refers to all activities by the company that communicate the merits of the product
and persuade target customers to buy it. Different promotional strategies, such as advertising,
personal selling and public relations can be used to ensure that the customer buys the product.
When it comes to promoting hotel business and hospitality industry generally, advertising is
found to be effective in promotions. However, the advertisement has to be well planned by
ensuring that the right message is being conveyed, the right channel being used and a suitable
place is selected for the advertisement.
Finding the right balance for a marketing mix is a big challenge to many companies. Hotel
administration needs to put many factors into consideration when setting the marketing mix.
Sometimes a hotel may need to select more than one mix because marketing mix is only a tool
for achieving the overall goal and objective of the hotel. Since creating the right marketing mix
strategies requires a lot of planning, hotel management should ensure that the mix adopted is
flexible enough to adapt to the future changes in the market.

36
6.4 Market Strategy in Hotel Industry
The hotel industry is so competitive that it requires the hotel to formulate a dynamic
mechanism which can adapt to the changes in the market environment, the competitiveness
of the market as well as the economic climate. The ultimate goal of having a marketing strategy
is usually to identify opportunity to serve the market in a way that is profitable and effective
enough to the extent that it becomes difficult if not impossible for another company to take
up the venture without running into losses. Some authors believe that at the initial stage of
starting a hotel business, the hotel will not make a profit, even in the second year the hotel will
only break even and the hotel may start to make a little profit from the third year. On the other
hand, other marketers in the hotel industry think that the hotel can start to make a profit
immediately from the first year of entering into the industry if the right marketing strategies
were used.
A hotelier that wants to achieve success needs to have a deep understanding of marketing and
how to combine various marketing elements such as the price, product promotion and
distribution.

37
FIGURE 3: Overall Marketing Strategy
The above graph is a representation of the entire marketing strategy of a hotel. A hotel needs
to use different combinations of various inputs such as advertising marketing channels,
personal selling, and advertising and so on to get the desired return on investment. It is
common to see society changes in its value and needs so hotel marketers also have to change
the overall marketing strategy to fit the changes in society.

38
6.5 Digital marketing in hotel industry
Digital marketing is a term that is used to describe the use of ICT (information and
communication technology) in marketing. In the hotel industry, digital marketing includes the
use of internet-based marketing as well as other kinds of activities that are based on digital
technology such as email, phone communication, and interactive digital television. Nowadays,
digital marketing is becoming an integrated and vital part of marketing activities. There are
several ways through which digital marketing is conducted by hotels. These ways are referred
to as digital marketing communication.
Digital marketing has made a remarkable change in marketing industry and opened new
channels for selling products like social media marketing by internet and mobile applications
and search engine optimization to advertising on Google and online magazines by search
engine marketing competition from intermediaries like travel agents, tour operators, etc. will
be there for all hotels because they are one of the source who brings guest to hotel with help
of their advertisement media and their behaviours in determining their customer search
according to location and facilities based on the intensity of market competition. Online videos
through youtube about hotels can market their facilities precisely by showing their rooms,
restaurants, banquet hall, spa, fitness centre, bar, coffee shop, etc. It is an enhancing source to
get more familiar and clearer in social networking sites with a best video of facilities on a hotel
website will improve content for watching and reading for online visitors, frequent visits,
commitment for considerable better growth in website. As well as a better picture of hotel
location and facilities is mandatory.
Hotels are interested in making required steps to customize their approach in guest interaction
to develop a new marketing competence and it will be helpful in enhancing guest satisfaction.
By knowing the customer needs brands becomes less powerful as customers getting
information through online. During holidays hotel restaurant has to have the day’s special on
menu and then taking a video of food preparation done by the chef of the kitchen and to
introduce the hotel special dishes and giving short offer during holiday that these dishes
available on Hotel menu for a short period hotel. This is a right way to promote hotel by online,
for the guest who is already staying in your hotel.

39
Digital marketing communication channels
Digital marketing communication is the communication and interaction between a hotel and
its guest using digital channels and information technology. Some of the noticeable
communication channels are explained in the paragraphs below.
Email marketing: Email marketing allows a company to establish and maintain communication
with their customers. Email marketing has evolved beyond sending mass messages to multiple
customers at the same time. Companies have made an interesting distinction between mass
emails (spam) and direct email to customers based on their relationship with them. Many
companies that use email marketing have come to the realization that a lot of customers are
irritated when they get messages which are irrelevant to them, therefore, they have been
sending messages based on their understanding of the customers and what their taste is.
Viral marketing: Viral marketing is an internet adaption of marketing using the word-ofmouth
effect. It is actually an advertising message spread by customers among other customers. In
today’s age, the way people communicate and share information with each other has changed
compared to what it used to be about one or two decades ago. Many of the changes are due
to social networking.
Word-of-mouth: Word-of-mouth refers to direct communication between one or more
customers on a particular product or services. Traditionally, word of mouth is usually
considered to be interpersonal communication (face-to-face) however the technology has
made it possible for customers to communicate electronically with one another. This is called
electronic word-of mouth (eWOM). One of the reasons why companies prefer to use this as a
marketing channel is that customers consider it to be more credible since it’s provided by
individuals who have no direct marketing interest about a company or its products.

40
6.6 ROLE OF MARKETING IN HOTEL BUSINESS
Marketing plays a vital role in the success of any business organization. Since all aspects of the
business depend on successful marketing, it is difficult to highlight all the roles which marketing
plays in a company.
Marketing helps in building a company’s brand name and placing the company’s product or
service in the heart of prospective customers. In the hotel industry, the success of any hotel
often depends on good reputation. As the reputation of a hotel grows bigger within society,
more customers will lodge in the hotel, thereby making the hotel’s room occupancy rate
increase and generate more income to the hotel. Additionally, it is fair to say that marketing
really helps in the aspect of branding as it creates and supports effective communication within
and outside the hotel unit.
Effective marketing campaign gives a company an edge over its competitors. A business may
offer the best product in the market, but without a good marketing campaign, it will not
generate the desired returns on investment because it is marketing that makes the product or
service known to prospective customers.
A good marketing campaign helps a company to efficiently manage its resources. When an
effective and efficient marketing strategy is adopted in a company, resources wastage is
reduced if not eliminated. The hotel industry is an industry with perishable products, in other
words, if a room is not occupied during a particular period, the income that is supposed to be
realized on that particular room is lost forever and it cannot be regained. Efficient marketing
helps in ensuring that the hotel has a high occupancy rate at all time.
Marketing helps to ensure that a company’s income increases. As more people get to know
about a company’s products or services, the company’s share of the market increases as well
as its sales revenue.

41
6.7 SALES AND MARKETING COLLABORATION
The interface between sales and marketing has proved to be of growing academic and
managerial interest. Sales and marketing do not always act collaboratively to the benefit of the
organization. Every company should improve the relationship between Sales and Marketing.
There is also a long-standing contention that sales and marketing activities should be
coordinated because their functions are interrelated. Marketing relies on sales people to
deliver the marketing message externally and to collect valuable customer information. In
addition, sales functions are frequently dependent on marketing activities to provide a
consistent supply of prospective customers through their promotional activities.
Both sales and marketing have the ultimate goal of selling products and services. Logically,
sales and marketing functions should be working symbiotically to the benefit of the
organization. Anyone would expect sales and marketing to be aligned in any successful
organization yet in fact the opposite is often true. The reality is that sales and marketing need
to synch up or sink. The two need to be integrated in order to build customer relationships,
enhance brand, capitalize on leads, improve market share and to boost revenue. The cross-
functional relationship between sales and marketing suggest that this interface exhibits many
negative characteristics. Historically there has been tension between sales and marketing, bred
by physical and philosophical separation and by poor communication. In addition, there is
often poor coordination between sales and marketing, particularly in planning and goal setting.
Several factors that contribute to sales and marketing collaboration although these have not
been tested and provided only limited evidence regarding the consequences of the
relationship. It appears timely to examine the proposition that improving collaboration
between sales and marketing benefits the organization in terms of business performance. The
collaboration measure was adapted from Hult, Ketchen and Slater. The items on collaboration
between sales and marketing were called team orientation in the study and defined the degree
to which the members of the organization stress collaboration and cooperation in performing
activities and making decisions.

42
CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT
Our conceptualization identifies five antecedents to collaboration between sales and
marketing and proposes a positive relationship between sales and marketing collaboration and
business performance. The integration of two groups is facilitated if the groups have a vested
interest in the outcome and development of final positions that represent the convictions of
both can be done. The flowchart below indicates the proposed antecedents to collaboration
between sales and marketing and business performance. Interdepartmental conflict between
the sales and marketing functions is based on poorly aligned goals and differing backgrounds
and philosophies. Further, some sales and marketing departments experience role ambiguity
and there may be a lack of understanding of each other’s roles. Therefore, it is proposed that
interdepartmental conflict will have a negative impact on collaboration between sales and
marketing. Cross-functional learning can lead to improved collaboration between groups
because information may be transferred through informal networks. Accordingly,
organizational learning is included in the model as an antecedent to collaboration.

43
FIGURE 4: Collaboration between sales and marketing
Market intelligence may be a process upon which both sales and marketing can focus to
achieve joint success and it is proposed to support collaboration. Improved collaboration
between sales and marketing may also be founded on the level and quality of communications
between the two groups. The attitude of senior managers toward collaboration between sales
and marketing is a key construct within the framework especially as collaboration is not just
based on close working relationships but must be supported by aligned goals and integrative
processes. Finally, where senior managers succeed in improving cross-functional activities
within the marketing function, organizations experience superior profit levels leading to the
proposal that higher levels of sales and marketing collaboration will be associated with higher
levels of business performance.

44
Collaboration and Business Performance
There are two distinct processes to integration. Those related to interaction and those
concerned with collaboration. Interaction is defined as physical activities such as meetings, e-
mails, telephone calls and cross-functional training whereas collaboration comprises intangible
elements, such as mutual understanding, common vision and information sharing or building.
Developing interactive behaviours and emphasize the use of formal communication between
departments representing the structural nature of crossdepartmental activity including routine
meetings and the flow of standard documentation. However, successful organizations are
moving away from emphasis on formal control systems to adopting processes that are more
flexible and promote collaboration. Collaboration represents the unstructured, affective nature
of interdepartmental relationships.
Sales and marketing have necessarily different activities performed by different people
appropriate to each function. However, sales and marketing are often required to interact
repeatedly. To some extent, they rely on each other to be able to carry out their tasks
effectively and they need to collaborate. Nonetheless, there is a tension between the need to
retain the distinctiveness of sales and marketing functions because they perform differentiated
tasks and simultaneously facilitate a collaborative stance to coordinate efforts around
organizational goals. Unsurprisingly, there have been several calls for additional research
concerning this organizational interface. Indeed, nowhere is the need to work together more
important than in the twin customer facing functions of marketing and sales and this should
improve operating performance and financial performance.
With the growth of competition in many markets, there is an urgent need to develop the cross-
functional collaboration of sales and marketing to improve performance. There is a positive
link between internal collaboration and improved business performance. The coordinating
activities across departments can provide superior value to the customer and many
organizations now believe that enhanced cooperation leads to business success and are
adopting relevant managerial initiatives. For example, it was found that collaboration

45
between two groups led to improved productivity, enhanced competence and increased
confidence in work relationships. Ineffective interaction resulted in dissatisfied customers and
lost business. Similarly, lack of cooperation between sales and marketing has the potential to
damage the overall success of the organization.
There is some consensus that poor collaboration between sales and marketing may have a
detrimental effect on business performance whereas effective collaboration should improve
business performance. Critically, the establishment of appropriate levels of interaction and
collaboration across functions promotes opportunities for greater performance success.
Collaboration between sales and marketing functions is positively associated with business
performance. The measure of business performance was adapted from Behrman and
Perreault. This measure is similar to measures of business performance in prior research.
Interdepartmental Conflict
Interdepartmental conflict can be defined as working at cross-purposes having incompatible
goals, being obstructive and not appreciating each other’s roles. Prior research has found
evidence of marked interdepartmental conflict between sales and marketing which is
obstructing the development of a collaborative relationship. Conflict is also described as a
breakdown or disruption in normal activities in such a way that the individuals or groups
concerned experience difficulty working together. There are many reasons cited for the lack of
collaboration between sales and marketing including that they have very different philosophies
and that individuals often have different backgrounds (e.g., education and experience) which
may also be aggravated by poor communications and the need to work interdependently.
Research into team identification indicates that the value and emotional attachment that
group members assign to their “team” encourages them either to interact freely or to
disengage from interaction with other groups. Sales and marketing appear to have some
cultural resistance to working together created by the acquisition of specialized knowledge and
skills that are linked with functional identities. Groups create boundaries that are both

46
cognitive and real, that are meaningful to the members and that affect subsequent
identification and behaviours. Sales and marketing have a history of poor cooperation.
Frequently, sales and marketing have developed mutual negative stereotyping, distrust and
non-cooperation based on the strength of their group identities and goal conflict. Even in well-
coordinated organizations, poor relationships between sales and marketing may create
interdepartmental conflict that will be detrimental to establishing collaboration, therefore,
interdepartmental conflict between sales and marketing functions will be negatively associated
with the level of collaboration between sales and marketing.
Interdepartmental conflict relates to the type and depth of interactions which includes both
formal and informal that can exist between sales and marketing. These measures were adapted
from prior research concerned with the impact of interdepartmental interaction, the tension
that occurs in interdepartmental interactions and the existence of goal incompatibility
between departments.
Organizational Learning
Organizational learning refers to both process and structure and facilitates the development of
new ideas that have the potential to change behaviour. Importantly, it has been noted that
effective learning requires integrating concepts, knowledge and experience from multiple
disciplines. Everyone in the organization is a potential contributor to learning. Organizational
learning encourages groups to achieve organizational and group goals through positive
interactions and information exchanges across departments. The rationale is that
organizational learning will help to align paradigms, share good practice and allow flexibility of
response to the marketplace. Multidisciplinary teams that bring together representatives from
diverse areas are more likely to be successful if they can create a sense of shared team
identification as their decisions will be based on a range of perspectives and knowledge.
Part of learning is sharing knowledge that promotes successful collaboration. Inner
environments influence learning processes and some are more conducive to learning than
others. The proposition is that sales and marketing need to develop these integrating and
sharing behaviours. Therefore, a commitment to organizational learning will be positively

47
associated with the level of collaboration between sales and marketing. Our measure of
organizational learning was adapted from Hult, Ketchen and Slater who were concerned with
learning climates and cycle times in supply chains. Organizational learning was termed learning
orientation in this study and defined the degree to which members of the group stressed the
value of learning for long-term benefits to the organization and the specified strategic units.
Market Intelligence
It is necessary to build a corporate architecture to facilitate learning at the organizational level
to create knowledge sharing and dissemination mechanisms across the organization. It is
proposed that gathering, analysis and dissemination (sharing) of market intelligence provides
a method of improving organizational learning between sales and marketing. Researchers have
described organizational learning systems and mechanisms as formal, information, cultural,
structural or procedural arrangements that allow organizations to systematically collect,
analyze, store, disseminate and use information relevant to their performance. Improving
market intelligence is beneficial to both marketing and sales and they should hence be
motivated to develop this area together. It is suggested that learning begins at the individual
level and moves to the group through the individual interpreting and integrating his or her
knowledge into the group and finally, is transferred to the organization through
institutionalization. Participating in the joint generation of market information will provide a
process and structure whereby sales and marketing can integrate knowledge into the group
and develop institutionalized learning through sharing their jointly acquired knowledge. The
facilitation of organizational learning should include information dissemination and the
effective sharing of the interpretation of that information.

48
However, many organizations fail to develop systems to analyze competitor intelligence
collected by the sales force or to give them feedback on market intelligence. Pooling market
intelligence and discussing its implications should facilitate team identification as it is mutually
beneficial and will promote organizational learning through sharing knowledge, capabilities
and experience.
We conclude that the development of a joint market intelligence system between sales and
marketing functions will be positively associated with organizational learning. The measures
evaluate the role of sales managers and salespeople in marketing information systems and the
extent to which the organization uses sales as a source of information and considers the
importance of sharing information.
Communications
Effective communication across boundaries is a key construct in collaboration. It was noted
that frequent combined meetings to discuss joint involvements and to increase the sharing of
information aid in the establishment of closer inter-functional relationships. Managers often
wish to improve relationships between departments by increasing contacts through
information flows but simply increasing frequency of communication may be ineffective in
reducing conflicts between sales and marketing. It was suggested that increasing the frequency
of communication between sales and marketing is likely to damage collaboration if the
interaction is acrimonious. However, bidirectional (consultative or interactive) communication
has a strong negative impact on conflict because it is a collaborative form of communication.
Effective communication is bidirectional and can help to reduce interdepartmental conflict by
aligning targets, improving understanding, and sharing ideas. We conclude that effective
communications between sales and marketing functions will be negatively associated with
interdepartmental conflict.
A number of studies recommend that feedback from the sales force should be included in
gathering market intelligence. Further, it was noted that after collection, market intelligence
needs to be disseminated. Correspondingly, intelligence data can be rendered useless if not
properly processed and analyzed and if not communicated quickly and effectively. Collation

49
and dissemination of information may form part of the process required to improve
communication between sales and marketing because it promotes both formal and informal
communications. Inter-functional communication may be improved by encouraging
information-sharing behaviours. The development of a robust system of market intelligence
requires sales and marketing to exchange information and discuss implications which should
improve bidirectional communications.
Consequently, we accomplish shared market intelligence between sales and marketing
functions will be positively associated with the level of communications. The communications
measure is concerned with intelligence dissemination and responsiveness and is adapted from
prior research. Communications are frequently cited as important in improving collaboration
and this receives support from Gupta, Raj and Wilemon who found that improved
communications can lead to greater inter-functional integration. Also, it was found that
effective communications had an impact on business performance.
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
To improve the sales and marketing interface, senior management are required to develop a
positive attitude to their coordination so that they can help to reduce interdepartmental
conflict and develop a culture of sharing. This may partially be achieved through focusing on
creating a joint market intelligence forum where both parties can contribute market
information, develop joint strategies and disseminate the information to their staff. Senior
managers may reduce interdepartmental conflict by creating a joint vision, aligning goals and
promoting collaborative planning. Interdepartmental conflict will also be reduced through
improved bidirectional communications between sales and marketing. Collaboration between
sales and marketing can be further enhanced through the development of organizational
learning. In conclusion, improving collaboration between sales and marketing should be an
ongoing focus for senior managers as the research suggests that this will be linked to improved
business performance.

50
Management Attitudes Toward Coordination
Functional specialization is important for operational effectiveness but must be accompanied
by creating a collaborative working environment. It was suggested that the role of senior
management is to create the culture and environment of the organization. Also, top
management should consider programs that encourage departments to achieve goals
collectively, have mutual understanding, work informally together, ascribe to the same vision
and share ideas and resources. The process of building a shared vision can lead to staff
achieving more than they thought they could. The vision becomes achievable as it becomes
more real in the sense of a mental reality.
Sharing vision is important to collaboration and processes need to be identified that may be
relevant to establishing shared vision. As many of these activities are strategic, any program
aimed at improving collaboration between sales and marketing should include modifications
to the company’s strategic planning process. If marketing and sales do not cooperate, the
company’s strategy will be inconsistent and weak and execution will be flawed and inefficient.
Similarly, senior managers should intervene to prevent interdepartmental conflict created by
competition for scarce resources. However, sales and marketing have frequently been set
different goals by senior management and may be working at cross-purposes to each other.
Senior managers frequently have difficulty in assessing the trade-offs between short-term and
long-term financial performance. One aspect of the general management role is to reduce
interdepartmental conflict between sales and marketing. A positive management attitude
toward coordination between the sales and marketing functions will be negatively associated
with interdepartmental conflict can be considered as inference.
A critical dimension of effective collaboration is information sharing. However, in many
organizations, market information may be available but organizational structures and
processes fail to facilitate prompt and meaningful market information exchange. Information
sharing may be promoted through setting up integrated market intelligence processes that
allow sales and marketing to work together formally and informally. Such collaborative
developments are highly dependent on supportive senior manager attitudes. The main

51
concerns about the sales and marketing interface are that they may not exchange information
or collaborate to improve performance and senior management is not focused on establishing
coordination between these two areas. A positive management attitude toward coordination
between the sales and marketing functions will be positively associated with the creation of
market intelligence.
The items were developed in conjunction with senior sales and marketing executives and
subsequently tested for comprehension with executives. Senior managers should be aware of
the benefits of integration and promote cross-functional involvement. Moreover, managers
should formalize overlapping activities that require inter-functional coordination and should
clarify roles that are mutually dependent and have potential for role ambiguity.
S&M Conflict
Conflict is not a top notch to have in any business but it is especially harmful in sales. Conflict
in sales is frequently tied to compensation structures and it is exacerbated by discrepancies
between what sales personnel believe they have accomplished and what sales leadership
believes. Sales conflict can be reduced if compensation plans are well-structured and take into
consideration as much ambiguity as feasible.
Despite their tight collaboration, marketing and sales are two distinct disciplines. Marketing
attempts to position the organization for the future by focusing on broad demographic and
market trends. Sales focuses on the present, but it frequently relies on strategies that have
proven successful in the past to close the next deal. There are numerous constituents involved
in the disputes that arise between sales and marketing.

52
Following are major components of conflicts between sales and marketing:
A. Separate Identity
Although sales and marketing are sometimes considered being part of the same function with
the same objectives in reality they are often managed differently. Sales and marketing are
usually structured and managed as two distinct departments with independent goals.
Although there may be advantages in locating sales and marketing in close proximity in many
organizations sales and marketing are separated, sometimes geographically. Many
organizations do not have a clear idea how sales and marketing should interact and relate.
Problems arise with the sales and marketing interface when large, separate departments
become independent silos that do not operate well together.
B. Communication Flow
Cross-functional integration requires employees from different departments of the
organization to communicate and interact in order to exchange work, resources and assistance.
Sales often complain about the lack of timely availability of information from marketing while
marketing reply that the information in which they invested time and money to gather it are
not being used by sales. To enhance bidirectional information flow among the different
functional areas and decrease conflicts in communication, increased cross functional
integration, a greater number of focused meetings and documented information exchange are
needed.

53
C. Goal Difference
The significance of goal differences on the effectiveness of the sales and marketing interface.
The goal differences may be a source of interdepartmental friction and its resolution are often
the responsibility of senior management of the organization. The goal differences may be
attributed to a lack of understanding of the importance of coordination on the part of senior
management.
D. Conflict of time-frame
Traditionally, one of the most cited reasons of conflict between sales and marketing is the
difference in the time frame they refer to in the processes of goal setting, resource allocation
and performance evaluation. Such differences obviously translate into conflicting priorities and
inconsistent activities because sales primarily focus on relationships, tactical and shortterm
objectives such as revenue targets while marketing are highly analytical, data oriented, long-
term focused and believe in building competitive advantage for the future and hence mainly
adopts a strategic, long-term perspective such as brand building. Several researchers have also
highlighted the difficulties created by the short-term orientation of sales goals conflicting with
the long-term orientation of marketing.

54
7. S&M INTEGRATION MODEL
Sales and marketing integration facilitate firms to foster long-term relationships with
customers based on customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty. Sales and marketing integration
focus on meeting customer needs and provide greater value to its customer than competitors.
Trust is a cumulative process that develops over the course of repeated and satisfactory
interactions with the firm. Customer trust will result in the customer’s willingness to develop
and maintain a long-term customer relationship with the firm and build solid customer loyalty.
Customer trust has a positive correlation with customer loyalty. Loyalty causes customers to
buy a particular brand, which improves the customer’s value and ultimately the firm’s
performance. Customer loyalty can result in favorable operating cost advantages for firms,
fewer markdowns, reduction in inventory and simplified capacity forecasting due to lesser
fluctuations in demand.

55
Figure 5: Long-Term Customer Relationship
Since customer loyalty is considered to be the complement of trust, the degree of customer
loyalty is an important consideration for firms. Customer loyalty has been recognized as an
important source of sustained competitive edge in terms of customer retention, repurchase
and long-term customer relationships. Above figure shows relationship between customer
trust, loyalty and long-term customer relationship.

56
The need to create value in turbulent times has increased demand for new conceptual models
and indicators to determine successful measures of sales efficiency and marketing
effectiveness. CLV is the only metric that incorporates into one, all the elements of revenue,
expense and customer behaviour that drive profitability. CLV focuses on longterm profitability
instead of immediate sales outcome. CLV depends on three main components of customer
relationship - acquisition, retention and cross-selling. This metric also manages to score over
other metrics by adopting a customer-centric approach instead of a product-centric one as the
driver of profitability.
CLV is a calculation of projected net cash flows that a firm expects to receive from the customer,
adjusted to the probability of occurrence and are then discounted. The lifetime value of a
customer for an organization is the net revenues obtained from that customer over the life
time of transactions with that customer minus the cost of attracting, selling and servicing the
customer taking into account the time value of money. Although organizations are interested
in knowing the CLV of their customers, they are also keen on identifying the factors that are in
their control that could increase the CLV.
Hence, there is a shift from focusing only on how firms can create competitive advantages
through increased productivity within the value chain towards a perspective on how they can
increase the quality of their customer relationship via better cross functional teamwork. The
creation of superior customer value through an effective sales and marketing relationship
provides competitive advantage to the firms. Sales and marketing interactions are important
for overall performance and growth of business as their productive relations is linked to
improved productivity, competitiveness, superior value creation, and market performance.

57
Figure 6: Sales and Marketing Integration Model

58
Framework as shown in above figure describes how sales and marketing integration of a firm
influence customer behaviour such as customer acquisition, customer retention and customer
expansion in the form of cross-selling / up-selling which in turn affects customers’ CLV or their
profitability to the firm. CLV of customers (current as well as future) often eventually forms a
proxy for firm or enterprise value and share price. Here, CLV is the dependent variable whereas
sales and marketing integration are independent variable. The positive link between CLV and
firm value was confirmed after research. The CLV of a customer represents the amount the
customer will contribute to the bottom line of the firm over the span of the business
relationship with them. Hence, it cannot be seen in an isolated way but rather in the long-term
relationship context occurring throughout the customer lifetime.
As the cost of acquiring customers is high, the profitability from a customer arises if customers
make many repeat purchases. Customer retention is very much a function of customer loyalty,
and hence, strategies that strengthen the relationship between the firm and the customer
should improve retention. Many researchers have documented the financial benefits to a firm
of increasing retention rates. Retention can be increased with better products and services,
more competitive pricing, promotions, particularly valueadded ones and increased brand
value. Also, it was found that increasing customer retention rates by 5% could increase firm’s
profit by 2% to 9%. As shown in above figure, sales and marketing integration of a firm
enhances customer trust, loyalty and satisfaction, strengthens customer relationship and
ultimately increases CLV through customer acquisition, retention and expansion.
Calculation Methodology
CLV is influenced by retention rate, lifetime revenue of customer as well as profit margin. CLV
provides the present value of a customer relationship over the lifetime with an organization
and is calculated based on a number of sales transactions with customers. The retention rate
is the probability that an individual customer will remain loyal to the firm for the next period,
provided that the customer has bought from firm on each previous purchase. Retention rate
and life time tenure of customers are interrelated and are key drivers of firm’s profitability.

59
Retention rate or survival rate of customer is a measure of number of customers remaining in
a user group over a specific period of time. Likewise, attrition rate or chum rate is a measure
of the number of customers moving out of a collective user group over a specific period of
time.
Retaining customers is a crucial function for any firm. Customer attrition impacts a firm in
several ways. The primary impact is the loss of revenue from customers who have defected.
Second, attrition results in the lost opportunity for the firm to recover the acquisition cost
incurred on the customer. Third, the firm loses the opportunity to up-sell and cross-sell to
customers who have defected and this can be treated as a loss of potential revenue. Fourth,
there are some lost social effects, such as influencing other customers on product/service
adoption and potentially negative word of mouth. Further, firms must also invest additional
resources to replace lost customers with new customers. This drains the firm’s resources,
which are already impacted by the loss of customers to competitors and puts an undue burden
on the firm to break even.
Customer churn can have an adverse effect on the profitability and even the survival of a
business. An annual chum rate of 25% is the same as an annual retention rate of 75% i.e., on
an average, 75% of the customers continues to remain customers in the next period. As
calculated below, both imply a customer life time of 4 years:
Lifetime duration of a customer = 1⁄(1 − 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒)
= 1⁄(1 − 0.75)
= 1⁄(0.25)

60
Figure 7: Variation of Customer Lifetime with Retention Rate
For a different retention rate of customers, change in customer lifetime duration is calculated
and plotted in above figure. It is evident from this figure that any increase in retention rate
after value of 70% results into steep rise in average customer lifetime (e.g. it increases by 20%
with 5% increase in retention rate, i.e. from 70% to 75%). With increase in customer retention
rate from 90% to 95%, average customer lifetime has increased by 100%, i.e. from 10 years to
20 years. A study found that profits could be raised 100 percent by retaining another 5 percent
of customers.
𝑒𝑎𝑟

61
S&M Integration
Consider a hypothetical illustration of a big retailer with sales and marketing integration issues.
As there was no integration between sales and marketing functions of a retailer, there was
major issue of delivering the right product to the right place at the right time. Hence, customers
were dissatisfied because of non-availability of desired products in desired quantity. Lack of
integration between sales and marketing resulted into loss of customer satisfaction, trust and
loyalty and deterioration of customer relationship. Hence, it translated into low customer
retention rate, i.e., 50%. However, after resolving various issues of sales and marketing
integration, retailer was able to achieve better customer satisfaction, built environment of trust
and loyalty and ultimately increased customer repeat purchase and retention rate. Hence, with
sales and marketing integration initiatives by retailer, retention rate of customer has increased
to 75%. Calculation given below shows impact of sales and marketing integration in terms of
high retention and enhanced CLV. As calculated earlier, the major cost of customer acquisition
for retailer was cost of customized catalogue sent to potential customers.
Calculation
If ‘M’ and ‘c’ are relatively fixed across periods, then CLV calculation can be simplified by
assuming an infinite economic life, which leads to:
𝐶𝐿𝑉= −𝐴𝐶
Where CLV = Customer lifetime value
M = the margin of retailer generated by a customer in the year (Rs. 25) c
= the cost of promotions targeted to the customer (Rs. 9) r = retention rate (75% or
50% depending on degree of sales) d = discount rate for calculating Net Present Value
(NPV) (10%)
AC = acquisition cost (Rs. 25)

62
CLV for both cases, i.e., with sales and marketing integration (retention rate 75%) as well as
during lack of sales and marketing integration (retention rate 50%) can be calculated with
above equation. The only difference in calculation for both cases is change in the retention
rate.
CLV (Without sales and marketing integration) = Rs. 1.67 &
CLV (With sales and marketing integration) = Rs. 20.71
As above CLV calculation is approximate value with assumption of infinite economic life,
detailed stepwise calculation of CLV for both cases is given in the table below.
Table 1: CLV Calculation

63
Table 2: Cases of CLV Calculation

64
As calculated in earlier table, sales and marketing integration has increased CLV by 43.5% from
Rs. 4.28 to Rs. 22.94. Figure below shows stepwise decrease in customer retention rate
because of sales/marketing integration issues and its impact on CLV. Notice how small
increases in the retention rate have a dramatic effect on CLV.
Figure 8: Relationship between Customer Retention Rate and CLV

65
S&M Major Benefits
The working relationship between the sales and marketing is often described as unsatisfactory
so that any improvement at the sales and marketing interface will have a positive effect on top
and bottom line growth of the firm. Good working relationship between sales and marketing
enhances capabilities of the firm to adapt to the rapidly changing environment as this requires
cross functional support as well as even more focus on the customer.
Organizations that effectively integrate their sales and marketing activities are much more
likely to achieve better corporate performance in terms of sales, profitability, market share and
even customer satisfaction. Following are major benefits of sales and marketing integration:
A. Enhanced Return on Investment
Sales and marketing integration help organizations to sense consumer demand and respond to
it in real time and provides a superior consumer experience at every opportunity while also
decreasing time to market, trimming overall costs and optimizing productivity. Integration of
sales and marketing will enhance customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is an important
driver of firm’s profitability. There is a positive influence of customer satisfaction on financial
performance indicators of an organization such as return on investment (ROI) and return on
assets (ROA). Firm generates benefits for itself beyond the present transaction by satisfying a
customer. These benefits arise from the positive influence of the satisfied customer’s future
shopping behavior. For example, satisfied customers are more loyal and over time impact their
purchase intention. Some of this increased level of purchasing is due to satisfied customers
being more receptive to crossselling efforts. It is emphasized that satisfied customers can be
viewed as economic assets of the firm that yield future cash flows.

66
B. Understanding the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing communications and
promotions
Firms with effective sales and marketing integration are more likely to know how well channel
partners participated in promotions schemes and how consumers responded to it. Thus,
marketing department is able to know if the marketing communication and promotion plan
met their ROI criteria and other objectives.
C. Improvement in the top and bottom line
Effective sales and marketing integration have a strong impact on productivity and profitability
of firms. It helps firms in creating the business value they seek. The primary forces for driving
this are cost reduction and revenue generation achieved by superior performance of various
cross-functional drivers of sales and marketing.

67
8. TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS IN HOTEL
The importance of a well-functioning and well-regulated PMS (Property Management System)
is essential for the profitable running of a successful hotel. A system can be implemented
making use of technological advances with the adoption of a suitable software program.
Consider the following work processes:
a) Would you like to be able to write to all of your customers addressing them by name and
thank them for their business?
b) Would you like to be able to compare the profitability of two or more customers each
vying to buy your products on same day?
c) Can you predict the level of demand for your products up to a year ahead?
Hotels can do all of this and more by using the technology already available to them. Back in
the early seventies, before the age of computers, reservations were taken in diaries or loaded
on to Whitney boards. This was an ingenious system, whereby the details of the guest’s name,
arrival and departure dates were printed on a multi-part slip of paper and loaded on to a rack
for the specific arrival date. As the guest checked in, the top copy was removed and given to
the cashiers so changing the colour and status at Front Office. On the departure date, the top
copy was again given to the cashiers to change the colour and status in both Front Office and
Accounts.
At this time, there were strict definitions of job title and working practices within the Front
Office and on the reception desk of the larger hotels. For instance, receptionists reported to
the Front Office manager and never handled any cash. The cashiers, who had their own station,
reported to the Chief Accountant and rarely did the cashiers speak to the receptionists. The
Front Office manager was responsible for all room reservations and the room rate achieved.
The Director of Sales was rarely consulted on matters such as availability or future rate
strategies. As for paying commission to travel agents, many hotels refused even to consider the
idea.

68
In the mid-seventies, the first computer systems for hotels were initially devised as aids for the
accountants to automate all of the reporting processes and extract more and better financial
data relating to the revenues and profits that the hotel was generating. Until this time, all such
operations were carried out manually by accounts and clerks. These new systems could also
benefit, as a secondary consideration, the reservations function. Then began the cross training
of receptionists and cashiers and the gradual merging of the two functions. The first IT
managers to be appointed in hotels were often assistant Front Office managers or assistant
accountants.
Still the sales and marketing opportunities presented by these new systems were totally
ignored. When a system was installed into a property, it never occurred to anybody to train any
of the sales team on how to use the system and learn about what data could be used to drive
sales. Even today, the great majority of hotels do not see the need for the sales people to have
any access to or knowledge of the Property Management System (PMS). Yet the more
enlightened hotels are completely reorganizing the hierarchy in their management structure
to develop a better sales attitude and they are gaining the benefits from better occupancies
and yields.
Under this new structure, all of the Reservations and Front Desk departments are under the
control of the Director of Sales and Marketing. The Conference and Banqueting Coordinator
will now also work from within the Reservations Office and often the Reservations Supervisor
and Conference and Banqueting Coordinator are one and the same person. Thus, the Director
of Sales and Marketing now has much better control on the product distribution channels and
market mix in reservations. Plus, not only will the Director of Sales and Marketing have a PMS
terminal on their desk but all of the sales team will also have access to the data stored in the
PMS relating to each of their customers.
All modern PMSs have extensive guest history files. This data relates to individuals, companies,
travel agents and tour operators. Each company that has made a reservation at a hotel and
every individual that has stayed at an individual property will have a guest history file.

69
In addition to the obvious information such as address, phone and fax number, each guest
history file will record:
• The number of reservations that have been received from this individuals company
agent
• The number of room nights generated
• The revenue received from this source
• How often they cancel or no-show
• When they last stayed
• When they first stayed
• What days of the week they most often stay
• What rate they pay
This information will be added to the guest history file automatically by the PMS and so the
details will be actual amounts taken from guest folios. Such data can prove invaluable when
negotiating future rates and when allocating rooms during periods of high demand. The hotel
will know how many room nights a company gave to them over the previous year and the
average rate paid and if that company was in the habit of cancelling reservations or producing
no-shows. This will strengthen the hand of the sales department when faced with requests for
volume discounts. Correspondingly, when the hotel is experiencing a period of high occupancy,
both sales and reservations can see the past track record of any customer when deciding who
will get the last available room.
Even details such as the name and address of the individuals who stay in a hotel is a
muchignored marketing resource. Most hotels seem to have a great a version to just writing to
their customers and thanking them for their business yet such a simple courtesy can pay great
dividends. A modern PMS will allow the generation of a letter of confirmation at the point of
reservation with several alternatives depending whether the reservation is guaranteed on 4.00
pm release or a deposit is needed using the address in the guest history file. Guests can be

70
written to after a stay, thanking them for using the hotel, telling them about developments and
forthcoming promotions. The PMS should have an integrated word processing module or allow
the transfer of the document to a word processing package.
The filters built into the PMS allow the selection of data according to:
• Address, split by country and/or post code
• Alphabetical order, i.e., a large mailing can be spread out, with A-E first, FK later and so
on.
• Date of stay, for example, if the Christmas package is to be mailed to everybody that
stayed last Christmas.
• Rate paid for those who paid weekend rates or all rack rate customers.
• Date of birth -for birthday cards or special mid-week rate offers to the over 65s.
• Number of stays perhaps for a frequent guest club?
All of this data is held on the PMS within the guest history files. In addition to processing
reservations and controlling room sales, the PMS will now also interface with Conferences and
Banqueting (C&B) to maximize sales and revenues in the area. Sharing the same guest history
database, the C&B sales module gives additional data on:
a) Contacts: A greater number of contacts per company can be recorded. This can include
those persons responsible for room reservations, the various secretaries, the meetings and
seminar organizers and the person responsible for paying the accounts.
b) Follow lip: Who should be called and when? What for? A full trace and follow-up system
with notes for each contact should be an integral part of the system. When confirmation of
arrangements and/or rooming lists by a certain date are needed, these actions can be logged
for that date.

71
c) Revenue and profits: Not just room revenues generated by each customer but their
conference and banqueting revenue as well, both this year and last year, plus the profitability
of the business that they have given.
The better C&B systems will not only allow blocking off the required function rooms, develop
the function order on screen, reserve equipment and resources, allow for set-up and
breakdown of the room but also work out the total revenue and profit of each function.
This then allows management to decide which potential customers are most valuable in terms
of profit during heavy booking periods. One major hotel chain recently calculated that the
investment in an automated C&B sales system would be recouped within six weeks. The
minimum investment for an effective system is nearly 7,000 for the software and training alone
plus the hardware.
The big issue with PMS supplies at the moment is yield management. While yield management
has been used for many years in the airline industry, it is relatively new to hotels. We are now
seeing yield management programmes being developed from airline systems that can interface
with existing PMS installations. In its simplest form, yield management is the manipulation of
the available rate categories to achieve the greatest combination of occupancy and revenue.
In order to do this, yield management system will gather together groups of customers into
yield classes, such as airlines, tour operators and corporate. This comprises those customers
that have similar buying patterns. They buy similar types of rooms at similar rates with similar
lead times.
The yield systems then monitor the demand levels of each yield class, to determine the total
demand pattern for the property. The yield system will make comparisons with previous weeks,
months or years to detect any changes to the demand levels. The more historical data a yield
system has access to the better if will work. Having made the comparison of actual current
demand to historical demand, the yield system will then predict future demand levels and the
bid price that the hotel needs to achieve.

72
For example, let us assume that there is a hotel in central Bihar with a range of rates from the
very low air crew rate of Rs. 50,000, a tour rate of Rs. 60,000, a promotion rate of Rs. 70,000,
contract rate of Rs. 90 and rack rate Rs. 115,000. There is an air crew contract loaded in the
PMS. Observing early May, historically a period of heavy demand this year for this period,
demand is coming in early. Normally, two months out there would be 30 per cent occupancy
already on the books but this year there is 55 per cent occupancy on the books two months
prior to arrival. Consequently, the yield system suggests a bid price of Rs. 75,000. Any new air
crew, tour or promotion business must therefore be refused.
The bid price or hurdle rate is the lowest rate that the hotel should accept. If the hotel takes
business at a rate lower than its bid price then it will be taking low-rated business while
displacing higher rate business. In order to make these calculations and predictions, the yield
systems run very complicated algorithms based on the daily changes made to the PMS
database. Existing yield management programmes takes a snapshot of the PMS database once
a day usually at the time of the night audit run. This allows the yield system to compare all
reservations and changes and cancellations taking place that day with its historical data.
In order to operate with a yield management system, the hotel PMS needs to have the ability
to close out rate types. During periods of high demand, the hotel would want to close the lower
promotional rates, while keeping the higher rack rates open. Some of the older PMS can only
close out room types. The situation is further complicated by the buying tactics of the major
travel agents and companies with major travel budgets. At present, the big buyers negotiate
rates with hotels and hotel chains that are fixed as one single rate for 12 months which is from
January to December. The rate that they negotiate is much less than the published rates
because of the volumes involved and often the contract includes a clause forcing the hotel to
grant the low rate on last room availability.
So, what happens when the hotel has negotiated a rate of Rs. 90 with a major customer and
the yield system says that due to high demand the bid price is Rs. 110,000 and the hotel deny
business from a commercially important customer or over-ride the yield system. There are two
ways around this dilemma which both require a new way of thinking from the hotel sales

73
department. First, the hotel can negotiate rates which are seasonally adjusted. For instance,
rates in January and February are Rs. 80,000 whereas in March to July Rs. 110,000, however,
August to September Rs. 80,000 and October to December Rs. 100,000. Alternatively, the hotel
can negotiate rates from Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 110,000 depends upon demand. It will not be long
before PMS suppliers are offering yield management as part of the package. Already some
systems such as Fidelio are developing programs to work actively with yield systems to
establish bid prices and take snapshots more frequently throughout the day to give a more
accurate update of demand.
The days when hotel sales people could get away with being computer illiterate are over. The
sales team needs to know what is happening with their business and the amount of
information that they can get from their existing technology can be of immense help to them.
The sales team needs to be fully trained on the PMS and have its own terminals. Without this,
the investment that the hotel makes in technology is only partly effective.
Today’s technology has a key role in sales and marketing. It also makes collaboration between
the two business areas easier. The customer relationship management (CRM) system is
another good example of sales and marketing technology. A CRM serves as a central repository
for all client data. This data aids sales people in comprehending how a customer becomes a
lead. CRM may, for example, include details on a potential customer's source such as a trade
show or an internet advertisement.
Likewise, knowledge about the recent competitions can be done via technology. Different
hotels used different strategies for increasing sales and marketing. Further, they adopt some
changes to enhance business performance. We can learn all that through computers or other
similar technologies.
Reviews or feedbacks are also very essential to enhance the sales and marketing process in the
hotel industry. Many people perform blogging and share their experience of being at that
place. It makes a great impact on the image of hotels. So, we can increase the sales by having
a good review through bloggers because many people make choices of hotels on the basis of
experience shared by them in the recent times. Thus, technology is an important factor in the
sales and marketing of hotels.

74
9. SUGGESTIONS
• The Marketing objective are in keeping with needs and abilities of the trainee and it is
this that proves to be the major reason for success of the Marketing as whole.
• The trainee fills the feedback form and from time to time test are conducted to know
the gauge the effectiveness of Marketing to Marketing to check their memory if they retain
anything or not.
• We think that time management is one of the things on which hotel team must emphasis
so that there Marketing can be more productive as it was found during the visit to the
corporate office people, they lack in managing themselves.
• Stress management Marketing is more important for Marketing as it was observed that
people are all the time in tension like situation as to how to do what to do when to do, no time
and things like that which kept them tensed all time. Last but not least behavioural Marketing
is more important as while doing the study it was found that people are less cooperative and
outgoing to help out.

75
10. CONCLUSION
Throughout our research was possible to realize the importance of sales and marketing in the
hotel industry. We saw that the hotel group are better adapted to the evolution of hospitality
to the extent that accompanied the new trends in hotel management in particular regarding
the definition and implementation of a marketing thinking, developing marketing strategies
and communication actions quite effective, trying to use every means to communicate and
reach to customers or the market. Add that it was possible to define a set of external and
internal actions that can be implemented easily and without great financial cost to the hotels
and can bring added value in improving awareness and increasing occupancy rates and overall
results.
There has been a drastic increase in the pressure on firms to find new ways to create and
deliver value to customers through sales and marketing collaborative initiatives. Sales and
marketing must work together in order to achieve organization goals as sales and marketing
integration is increasingly recognized as a key driver for improving financial and operating
performance. The absence of cross-functional integration may result in promises made by the
firm’s marketing department that have not been coordinated with sales, marketing promotions
that are not synchronized with sales delivery schedules, and failure to deliver product by a firm
in a specific requested format because it is not the most efficient way to do so. Without sales
/marketing cross-functional collaboration, firms cannot be expected to respond optimally and
promptly to customers’ requirements.
As suggested in this paper, through an effective sales and marketing integration, firms could
enhance overall efficiency by interlinking the sales and marketing operations. The collaboration
of sales and marketing helps to enhance business performance. Also, technology is essential
for increasing sales. Future research may focus on a case-based approach to quantify benefits
of sales and marketing integration in terms of customer satisfaction, sales revenue and firm
profitability. The main objective of this research is to gain a better understanding of the
antecedents and consequences of sales and marketing integration.

76
11. BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.hotelandrestauranttimes.ie/2021/11/01/what-is-the-role-of-sales-
andmarketing-in-the-hospitality-industry/ https://hospitalitystudy.eu/sales-marketing-
manager/ https://www.socialtables.com/blog/hotel-sales/hotel-marketing-plan/
Armstrong, J. Scott, and Terry S. Overton (1977), “Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail
Surveys,” Journal of Marketing Research, 14 (3), 396–402.
Behrman, Douglas N., and William D. Perreault, Jr. (1982), “Measuring the Performance of
Industrial Salespersons,” Journal of Business Research, 10 (3).
Evans, Kenneth R., and John L. Schlacter (1985), “The Role of Sales Managers and
Salespeople in Marketing Information Systems,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management, 5, 2 (November).
Viswanathan, Madhubalan, and Eric M. Olson (1992), “The Implementation of Business
Strategies: Implications for the Sales Function,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management, 21, 1 (Winter).
Hoffman, D.C. & Novak, T.P. (1996). Marketing in hypermedia computer-mediated
environments: Conceptual foundations. Journal of Marketing (60), 3.
Giblin, S. (2000). Five ways the Internet will transform the hospitality industry in the next six
months. The Bottomline, 15(1).
American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), Information Center (2002). Top 50 hotel
companies, Retrieved January 17, 2002 from http://www.
ahlaonline.org/infocenter/top50.asp
Murphy, J. (1999). Surfers and searchers: An examination of Web-site visitors’ clicking behavior.
Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 40(2).
The Host Study, 2006 ed. 2006. Hendersonville, TN: Smith Travel Research.

77
Barsky, J., and L. Nash. 2002. Evoking emotion: Affective keys to hotel loyalty. Cornell Hotel
and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 43 (1): 39-46.
Chauvin, K., and M. Hirschey. 1993. Advertising, R&D expenditures and the market value of
the firm. Financial Management 22:128-40.
Prasad, K., and C. Dev. 2000. Managing hotel brand equity: A customer-centric framework for
assessing performance. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 41 (3): 22-31.
Yandle, Jo, and Jim Blythe (2000), “Intra-Departmental Conflict Between Sales and
Marketing: An Exploratory Study,” Journal of Selling and Major Account Management, 2
(3), 3–31.
Business Fundas 2011. Available: www.business-fundas.com/2011/the-4-ps-
ofmarketing-the-marketing-mix-strategies/ http://newsroom.aaa.com/diamond-
ratings/diamond-rating-definitions/.
Brody, D. 2009. Latest Trend in Hotel industries. Delhi: Global Media.
www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/images/0/14.png.html
Enlightenme, 2014: Available http://enlightenme.com/what-is-the-star-rating-for-hotels.
ICMBA, 2010: Available http://www.netmba.com/marketing/process.

Survey project file on employee data analysis.pdf

More Related Content

Similar to Survey project file on employee data analysis.pdf (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Survey project file on employee data analysis.pdf