Consumer Behavior in the Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry is very sensitive due to the nature of what it offers to its clients. The industry offers services to its clients which are intangible. The intangibility of services makes it very difficult to gauge the customer’s satisfaction (Kim, Cha, Knutson, Beck, 2011). Customer satisfaction is the main role of any organisation that aims to remain in business.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Consumer Behavior in the Hospitality Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There exist two types of markets; business and consumer markets (Bowie Buttle, 2004). Business markets refer to those that consist of corporations and organisations that purchase products and services and resell them to make profits. Others buy products and services to produce other products and services for sale. Consumer markets on the other hand are composed of customers who purchase products and services for personal cons umption. The two types of markets differ in a variety of ways. Business markets are involved in complex processes before they are able to make a purchase decision. This results from the fact that the purchases involve large volumes of products and services as well as many people being involved in the decision making. In most cases, business purchases involve experts in the purchasing process. The involvement of experts means that the purchasing organisation will incur extra expenses. In business markets, there exist formal procedures in the decision making process. Evaluations of different perspectives of the process and feedback concerning the viability of the purchase are required to warrant the real purchase. The organisation size also makes a significant impact in the buying decision making. In large organisations, the decision making process passes through complex stages before approval. The complexity of the organisational structure also has a bearing in the way purchase buyin g behaviour. An organisation with many departments may take a longer time before arriving to a buying decision. Consumer markets on the other hand are simple and involve few people. Once the consumer has identified a need to be fulfilled and information regarding the various products available to meet the desired need, a less vigorous process of choosing the product ensues (McCabe, 2008). Compared to business markets, the consumer markets are to a lesser extent driven by price. On the contrary, brand of products is a bigger driving force in consumer markets. Stability of demand in consumer markets is high as compared to business markets that have volatile demand. This knowledge of how the two markets function is vital in designing marketing programs targeting the two markets. This is because the programs need to be tailor-made in order to accurately meet the specific needs of the two markets.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More James’ hotel mainly caters for organisations that hold conferences, exhibitions, meetings and incentives. This depicts clearly that the hotel targets the business markets. Therefore, it’s very crucial for the hotel to build a good relationship with its customers in this market in order to reap full benefits of their business contacts (Pizam, 2005). Economic downturn can affect the clients of the hotel in many ways. Since the customers of the hotel are organisations that operate to earn profits, increase in products and services’ cost may act to deter them from making purchases. James’ business market is seeking hotels that offer up-to-date facilities in terms of conference holding. Due to the high competition among international hotels for M.I.C.E clients, together with the ever-changing technology, hotels in this industry are faced with the challenge of upgrading their facilities to match the technologic al advancement. This business market is also characterized by business meetings that seek comfort and convenience. Business travellers are seeking relaxing atmosphere that can sooth their nerves after meetings and conferences (Reid, Bojanic, 2009). Such comfort reduces stress and increases performance in business travellers. Clients in Chung’s industry are seeking memorable experiences. This is especially the case if the organisation purchasing the products and services is doing so for its employees for having performed exceptionally well in their work. As an incentive to the workers of an organisation, a memorable experience in the hotel will act as a motivator for the workers to work even harder to earn another incentive tour. In the international hospitality industry, business markets are different from consumer markets. The first difference is that for business markets, the client to the hotel is usually an organisation seeking to host an event such as a conference or an exhibition. Such organisations require more than just food and accommodation. They require facilities such as conference rooms, boardrooms and internet services that are needed in the course of their meetings. Contrary to this, a consumer market involves individual clients seeking food and accommodation in a hotel. The arrangements for booking a hotel room or a dinning table may be done by the client by directly contacting the hotel or through the help of a tour operator or agent (Yoo, Lee Bai, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Consumer Behavior in the Hospitality Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Consumer buying behaviour is different from business buying behavior in the international hospitality industry. Consumers are in most cases buyers and users of products and services they purchase except in the cases where they engage a tour operator or a tour agent in their buying process. On the other h and, in business markets, the purchasers of the hotel products and services are organisations, but the users are employees or representatives of those organisations who attend the events for which the services and products were purchased. Organisations involve experts in the purchase process, who evaluate the viability of the purchase to the organisation to ensure its profitability. Quality of services and products is compared to the cost and with other hotels so that the high quality and affordability are achieved. Consumers on the other hand seek information on their own in some cases get help from tour operators. They are mainly concerned with quality and comfort. They measure value for their money through comparing their expected service quality with what the hotel offers them. If they perceive their money to be more than the service received from the hotel, they feel dissatisfied, and may not seek the services of the hotel again. Consumers in the hospitality industry are highly influenced by brand (Williams, 2002). Customers identify themselves with a hotel that offers a brand with qualities that satisfy their needs. Customers, therefore, become loyal to the hotel thereby offering repeat business. Such customers are less likely to be turned away from the hotel by products and services’ cost increase. Business buying behaviour is, however, influenced to a greater extent by the price of products and services of the hospitality industry. The great influence by price of products and services stem from the fact that organisation purchase products and services to either resell them or make other products or services with the intent of making profit. An understanding of the differences between consumer markets and business markets as well as consumer buying behavior and business buying behavior will help James in a variety of ways. The differences between the two types of markets require different marketing strategies as well as means to satisfy their var ied needs. Moreover, the characteristics of the business market shows the needs and expectations of the clients in these markets. By clearly identifying the expectations, needs and factors influencing the buying decision process, James can develop a culture in his hotel that will give direction to all employees. The culture should put customer satisfaction to be the centre of interest for the whole hotel. All the decisions made should be tailored towards improving the customer’s experience (Widing, Sheth, Pulendran, Mittal Newman, 2003).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Building a good relationship is one necessity James has identified. A good relationship can only be established when customers feel satisfied with the service provider. The advent of a good relationship with the customers is establishing one between the management of the hotel and the employees. Workers who are treated well by the management will serve customers well. James will benefit from such information by ensuring that employees are empowered to make decisions regarding how well to satisfy the clients. Moreover, all employees from the different departments should be involved in decisions regarding services to customers. This is very useful since they get direct feedback from the customers during service delivery. All these efforts are aimed at ensuring that James’ hotel will retain its customers even during an economic downturn. Marketing programs are usually designed to entice consumers to purchase an organisation’s products and services (Siguaw Bojanic, 2003). Knowing the characteristics of the business markets and expectations of customers in them will help James to customize the marketing programs. When marketing programs contain the information the clients are seeking in order to make their purchase decision making, then it will be effective as customers will probably buy the products and services being promoted. References Bowie, D. Buttle, F. 2004. Hospitality marketing: an introduction. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Kim, S., Cha, J., Knutson, B.J. Beck J.A. 2011. Development and testing of the Consumer Experience Index (CEI). Managing Service Quality. 21 (2), pp.112 – 132. McCabe, S. 2008. Marketing communications in tourism and hospitality: concepts, strategies and cases. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Pizam, A. 2005. International encyclopedia of hospitality management. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Reid, R.D. Bojanic, D.C. 2009. Hospitality Marketing Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Siguaw, J.A Bojanic, D. C. 2003.Hospitality sales: selling smarter.Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Widing, R., Sheth, J.N., Pulendran, S., Mittal, B. and Newman, B.I., 2003. Customer Behaviour: Consumer Behaviour and Beyond. Melbourne: Thomson. Williams, A. 2002. Understanding the hospitality consumer. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Yoo, M., Lee, S. Bai, B. 2011. Hospitality marketing research from 2000 to 2009: Topics, methods, and trends. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 23 (4), pp.517 – 532. This essay on Consumer Behavior in the Hospitality Industry was written and submitted by user Giant Man to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Feminization Of Poverty Essays - Economy, Feminist Economics

The Feminization Of Poverty Essays - Economy, Feminist Economics The Feminization Of Poverty The Origins of the Feminization of Poverty The United Nations Development Fund for Women reports that women are still the poorest of the worlds poor, representing 70% of the 1.3 billion people who live in absolute poverty. They also estimate that nearly 900 million women in the world have incomes of less than $1 a day. In the United States alone, women are about 50 percent more likely to be poor than men. The feminization of poverty in America has steadily increased since the 1950s. Researchers have investigated the reasons for this increase, citing everything from teenage pregnancy to the rise in deadbeat dads. Over the last thirty-five years there have been several trends in our society that have contributed to the feminization of poverty. In 1978, Diana Pearce published a paper citing that poverty in America was becoming more and more feminized. She cited that almost two-thirds of the poor over the age of 16 were women. Pearce also claimed that even though there were more women entering the labor force between 1950 and the mid-1970s, womens economic status had declined. She argued that the blame for this feminization of poverty belonged to the government because of their lack of support for divorced and single women. She argued, for many the price of that independence has been their pauperization and dependence on welfare (McLanahan 1). Further examination of the issue has shown that various changes in the family have contributed to the feminization of poverty. The last thirty years has seen a steady increase in the amount of children born outside of wedlock. In 1960, about six percent of all births were to unmarried couples whereas by 1996 over a third fell into this category (McLanahan 5). This influx of births to single mothers has weighed greatly on women in poverty. The statistics of children born to unmarried black couples is even more dramatic increasing from 22% in 1960 to 70% in 1996 (McLanahan 5). Most women in the lowest quintile of the population have come from generations of poverty before them and their only hope of survival is to get on their own and try to get education or job training. With the birth of children, these impoverished women now have two or three dependents to support and the cycle of poverty continues. Most of these women do not have families to support them and they are left with only one option government support. This has contributed a great deal to the rise of single mother households. Another contribution to the rise in female-headed households has been the increase in divorces. Sarah McLanahan, a researcher at Princeton University, noted that in 1950, most people remained married until they or their spouses died, but today over half of all couples end their marriages voluntarily. The divorce rate the number of divorces each year per 1,000 married women rose steadily during the first half of the twentieth century and increased dramatically after 1960. Over half of all marriages contracted in the mid-1980s were projected to end in divorce. After the marriages are ended the custody of the children almost always goes to the mother. Now the mother becomes the single provider in her family, facing a job that pays far less than the job her male counterparts have, and on top of that her needs are greater because she has custody of their children. Karen Holden and Pamela Smock noted the problems women face after their marriages have ended: Women's post-dissolution economic hardship is due to multiple interrelated factors, often only superficially coupled with the marital dissolution event. In particular, the division of labor during marriage, lower wages paid to women both during and after marriage, and the lack of adequate post-dissolution transfers to women imply that unless changes in women's work roles are mirrored by social policy initiatives and men's assumption of equal responsibility for children (both within and out of marriage), economic prospects for previously married women will remain poor (Holden 52). As single mothers, these women are thrown into unfamiliar territory, and the outcome has been a greater amount of women below the poverty threshold. With this rise in female-headed households below the poverty line has come an increase

Primary Source Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Primary Source Analysis - Assignment Example The author seems to be the type of a person who has the feeling that the society from which he comes as it is more superior to the other communities. The author expresses biasness in the story by telling us that when the middle kingdom loses its rites; we have to look at them within the four barbarians. The statement expresses his biasness (Kim 7). There are several lessons that the story PuyÃ…  tells, these include strict cultural practices, beliefs and customs that we learn from his story, the writer puts forward the main economic activity of the barbarians by telling us how they have a suitable land for cultivation. The writer also highlights on various punishments given by the society when they have marriage issues, the issue of wife inheritance is also prevalent in some communities, and the writer puts it very clear. The story also talks about religious practices done by some communities in various times like before going to war. The story also talks about the society that keeps animals and how good some of these communities are at the practice (Kim