Marketing challenges for the next decade

A 1998 think tank that examined marketing issues facing the hospitality industry for the next decade concluded that the information-technology function should be merged with marketing. The idea would be to create a knowledge-based marketing effort that assesses how and why customers purchase a service. While hospitality companies capture considerable data about their customers, those data are not always assembled into the necessary profiles that are useful for marketers. The knowledge-based marketing effort will also require more-educated employees, particularly since hospitality companies should be in constant contact with customers. Spiraling distribution costs are particularly nettlesome for hospitality firms, and the think-tank participants recommended better control over the distribution channels, while at the same time recognizing that customers might want direct access to inventory.