SUBJECT: SERVICE MARKETING

SUBMITTED TO: DR.ARIJIT BHATTACHARYA

REPORT ON HOSPITALITY
SECTOR

SUBMITTED BY GROUP 9
1 19BSP330 YASH BHARDWAJ
9
2 19BSP331 YASH DESAI
4
3 19BSP331 YASH JADHAV
9
4 19BSP334 YASHI PANCHAL
3
5 19BSP335 YATIN DHAKAD
4
6 19BSP336 ZOYENA SHAMS ANSARI
9
7 19BSP337 DIVESH KEWALRAMANI
9
NTRODUCTION TO HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
The Indian tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth
among the services sector in India. Tourism in India has significant potential considering the rich
cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, terrains and places of natural beauty spread
across the country plus niche tourism products like cruises, adventure, medical, eco-tourism, etc.
Hospitality usually focuses on extra money that people have to spend on pleasurable things and
leisure, though not always. Business conventions, trainings, and meetings in different countries
can also affect the hospitality industry greatly. While the hospitality industry can be influenced
by a type of visitor, it can also be influenced by domestic and international travelers.
MARKET OVERVIEW
India is the most digitally advanced traveller nation in terms of digital tools being used for
planning, booking, and experiencing a journey. India’s rising middle class and increasing
disposable income has supported the growth of domestic and outbound tourism. According to
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), India ranked 10th among 185 countries in terms
of travel & tourism’s total contribution to GDP in 2019. During 2019, contribution of travel &
tourism to GDP was 6.8% of the total economy, ~ Rs 13,68,100 crore (US$ 194.30 billion).
India accounts for the highest number of domestic leisure travellers in the world. Business
travellers are gradually increasing in number, owing to the rapid growth of the IT sector in India
and the emergence of several global companies. The KPIs used by the industry to measure
business development and management of hotels are average room rate (ARR) and revenue per
available room (RevPAR). ARR of the hotel industry in India stood at INR 5,844.81 in FY 2019
as against INR 5,527 in FY 2016, and is expected to reach INR 6,707.46 by FY 2024
SEGMENTATION INSIGHTS
Based on type, the hotel industry in India can be segmented into independent/unbranded
hotels, alternate accommodations, new-age hotel chain, and branded hotel chain.

 The independent/unbranded segment comprises more than 70% of the total available
hotel rooms.
 Alternate accommodation is the second-largest segment, owing to the growing
popularity of homestays among tourists.
 The new-age hotel chain is expected to witness the most promising growth during the
forecast period, from ~7.36% in FY 2018 to ~14.80% in FY 2024
 Moreover, the branded hotel segment, which dominates the organized sector, accounts
for about 5% of the overall hotel industry, in terms of room supply.
TOP 3 PLAYERS IN HOTEL INDUSTRY
The success of hospitality industry depends on the disposable income and leisure time. It consists of
multiple groups such as facility maintenance and direct operations. Top 3 hospitality companies in India
are as follows:
Taj Hotels Resorts & Places was founded in the year 1903. It is headquartered in Nariman Point,
Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was founded by Jamshedji Tata. It is one of the India’s largest business
conglomerates and top hospitality companies in India.

1: Taj hotles,Resorts and

Palaces 2:Marriott International

3: ITC Hotels

Taj, India’s Strongest Brand across industries and sectors, is an iconic hospitality brand from the
Indian Hotels Company Limited. The brand continues to be one of the most revered and loved
hospitality brands with a legacy of over 116 years of impeccable service and genuine warmth.
Embodying the spirit of “Tajness”, authentic original palaces, landmark hotels, idyllic resorts
and natural safari lodges interpret the tradition of hospitality in a refreshingly modern way to
create unique experiences and lifelong memories. The company operates 100 hotels and hotel-
resorts, with 84 across India and 16 in other countries, including Bhutan, Malaysia, Maldives,
Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, UAE, UK, USA and Zambia.

7p’s Of Taj Hotel:

1. Product Element:
Taj Hotels is one of the leading hotel chain based out of India. The Taj Hotels brand consists of
90+ hotels and resorts in India . The hotels come under three main categories – Luxury,
Business, and Leisure. Also, there are three names that the Taj Hotels operate under in India,
namely Taj, Vivanta, and Gateway. The hotels live up the luxury status it has and it can be seen
in the atmosphere on the premises, the services they offer, the amenities in the rooms, the
common area.It has 80+ of them in India and 10+ in countries outside India like Singapore,
Malaysia, USA, UK, Maldives, etc. While the brand was mainly into the hotel business, it
forayed into various other areas later. Taj Hotels opened its first resort in 1974 at Fort Aguada,
Goa. Around the same time, they tried an entirely different idea. They started converting Indian
palaces to Hotels to give them an authentic royal touch.
A few of the facilities and services followed are as follows:
-582 centrally air-conditioned rooms including 49 suites.
-Tower Wing Rooms
-Heritage Wing rooms
-Taj Clubs
-Suites
-Broadband wireless Internet access at selected Taj Hotels
-Facilities and Services
 2. Pricing Strategy:
Taj Hotels caters to a group of people who have refined and luxurious tastes in their travel and
business. These are the premier group of hotels aimed at providing an unmatched and unique
experience to their guests. They are priced higher than the hotels in the same category. Taj
Hotels are the market leaders in the sector and have gained a name worldwide. Their target
customers include the upper middle class to upper-class individuals. The brand is known for
luxury, excellence, quality, leisure and hence follow premium pricing strategy. The three sub-
brands of Taj, namely Taj, Vivanta, and Gateway have different levels of service and luxury
where Taj is the highest and Gateway being the lowest among the three. Taj is the flagship brand
which provides the highest level of luxury service, Vivanta being the contemporary luxury brand
and Gateway the mid-market brand. It is aimed at providing service to the upper strata of the
society. It is just not the service that the brand charges you for but the experience.

3. Place And Distribution Strategy:

In India, Taj Hotels are present in many states like Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Goa, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Delhi,
Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir. Outside the country, it is present in places like South
Africa, Zambia, Bhutan, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Dubai(UAE), UK, and the USA.

4. Promotion And Advertising Strategy:

Since Taj Hotels are a luxury brand, it heavily relies on advocacy. Word of mouth publicity is
what is of utmost importance and the customers tend to be loyal to the service. The promotion
for the brand includes the prime locations of the Hotels, Resorts or Palaces. It always chooses the
best amongst the lot and provides the best for their customer. Although there might not be many
price slashes like the other ones in the sector, it has some price difference between the on and
off-peak seasons. Taj Hotels have a membership for the group of Hotels and provides
promotional offers to their loyal customers. They are also involved in TV advertisements, Direct
Marketing and Social Media advertisements. It also provides training to individuals who are not
well off.

5. Physical Evidence:

Taj Hotels provide the customer with an enriching and fulfilling experience. It provides its
customers with several amenities during their stay and makes them comfortable during that time.
There are many services on the premises which would take care of their luxury needs and satiate
their leisure needs. There are spas, high-end restaurants, exquisite décor, and a top quality
service.

6. People:

Taj Hotels has a strong focus on its customers and employees. When providing a brand a service
of this stature, it is very important to provide a good experience to its customers. People are
given the utmost importance here for it is through them that your customers would enjoy their
stay and wish to come again. People are trained extensively on their tenure and are made to learn
rigorously throughout their course so as to gain perfection of service. There are various levels
where the people will be placed under. There are Front Desk Staff, Managerial Staff,
Technological staff, Concierge Staff, etc.

7. Process:

Taj Hotels has several processes which take care of its business. When the customer wants to
book a hotel, he usually does it at the concierge or he does it beforehand through the official Taj
Website where he would see a list of hotels. Then he chooses the preferred hotel and the room.
When he reaches the hotel, he checks in into his room. The bell boy picks up the luggage and
welcomes the guests. He will be provided with food every day based on what the package
contains. He could order for in-room services or on-call services as and when he wishes. After
the trip is over, he goes to the counter to checkout and pays the bill. During his stay, he judges
the hotel based on these parameters and they should be taken into account to provide the
customer with an unmatched and delightful experience. This completes the marketing mix of Taj
Hotels.

Consumer Profile And Behaviour

Service-based industries such as hotels and restaurants are spending a tremendous effort to
measure and improve the service quality of their businesses. All of them share one thing in
common, that is to provide customer satisfaction. Service satisfaction is a function of consumers
experience and reactions to a provider’s behavior during the service encounter
Taj Hotels' audiences are slowly changing to add the age group starting 25 + which was earlier
from a 35 + dynamic. A spokesperson from Taj Hotels explains, "Our core target group is above
the age of 25 going up to 60 years of age. This segment largely takes at least 2 holidays in a year,
one internationally and one domestic in a 5-star hotel. Balance of SEC A1 and SEC A2 coming
from Metro A and tier 2 cities largely constitute of families with children, DINK’s and singles
which is now slowly growing."
Millennials and families are gravitating towards hotels and itineraries that immerse them in local
culture, provide interaction with locals and provide out-of-the-ordinary experiences. Consumers
are increasingly looking for experiences that matter luxury with a dose of reality, where they can
interact with the local environment and learn more while enjoying their stay. 

Difference In Positioning
Taj, India’s Strongest Brand across industries and sectors, is an iconic hospitality
brand from The Indian Hotels Company Limited. The brand continues to be one
of the most revered and loved hospitality brands with a legacy of over 116 years
of impeccable service and genuine warmth. Embodying the spirit of “Tajness”,
authentic palaces, landmark hotels, idyllic resorts and natural safari lodges
interpret the tradition of hospitality in a refreshingly modern way to create unique
experiences and lifelong memories. It’s rating as the nation’s strongest brand by
the one of the world’s leading brand valuation consultancies bears testimony to
its relentless pursuit of Aspiration 2022 to become South Asia’s most iconic and
most profitable hospitality company. Taj has made significant progress towards
achieving its strategic objectives in a short span.
While positioning they say
~Like always, Like never before ~
To create an ecosystem that goes beyond hospitality
KPI
1. A well-diversified suite of hospitality offerings
2. Leadership position
3. Robust, scalable business model
4. Experienced management team, strong parentage

HOW TAJ FULFILLS SERVICE GAPS

I. The customer gap - Is the difference between customer expectations and customer
perceptions.
 To fulfill customer gap and be the vanguard of change in the hospitality industry Taj
undergoes about re-engineering its systems and processes and embracing best-in-class
technology. This includes leveraging data analytics to capture customer preferences
and deliver greater personalization to valued patrons. Such re-engineering will
reinforce your Company’s people processes to build a more robust performance-
oriented culture.

II. The Knowledge gap – Is the difference between service specific design and managerial
perception of consumer expectation. This gap means even though management might be
aware of consumer expectations, they do not design and provide the desired service due
to various constraints.
 To fulfill Knowledge gap Taj focuses on customer-centricity i.e. everything Taj can
to improve customer experiences and delight their customers. These moves are aimed
not just at customer acquisition, but also to achieve higher customer loyalty.
 Making rooms more tech-savvy enhanced use of technologies like Internet of Things,
voice-activation and Wi-Fi, among others are acting as the key differentiators for
hotels. Taj provide apps that will allow guests to adjust their room lighting,
temperature and other features from their smartphones. Taj make their rooms tech-
savvy to drive customer convenience and experiences.

III. The Communication Gap - Is the difference between service delivery and external
communications i.e . promises made by companies through advertising media and
communication raise customer expectations.
 To fulfill communication gap Taj depends on Online platforms for travel booking and
hotel selection websites, apps that help travelers plan their entire tour, and similar
platforms are gaining prominence among customers