...Introduction The goal of this research paper is to recognize and apply the principles of the marketing planning process, develop contemporary marketing management issues by analysing if the marketing mix of the organisation in this case Marriott Corporation with their Birmingham represented hotel Forest of Arden, A Marriott hotel and Country Club, satisfies their target market’s needs. Threats and opportunities will be detailed from caring a PEST analysis and by recommending marketing mix changes in line with the target markets needs and wants. Target market and marketing mix Marriott’s target marketing strategies have been enhanced in its several categories of segmentation through the various brands. The different flagships of Marriott’s brands support the overall target segmentation by the hotel. The various facilities like Marriott’s Hotels and Resorts, Courtyard by Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Fairfield Inn and several others form the core brands that serve customer needs in the various target market segments according to Marriott.com. Being part of the brand Marriott’s Hotels and Resorts the Forest of Arden focuses on business, leisure or group events. Location can be a way to target a certain market; this hotel is located just 4 miles from Birmingham Airport and International train station within easy access of the M6/M42 and M40 so a great part of their target market is represented by business customers Considering the close proximity to the NEC, UK's largest...
Words: 2596 - Pages: 11
...Case Questions Case #5 – Marriott Corporation: The Cost of Capital 1. Are the four components of Marriott’s financial strategy consistent with its growth objective? 2. How does Marriott use its estimate of its cost of capital? Does this make sense? 3. What is the weighted average cost of capital for Marriott Corporation? a. What risk free rate and risk premium did you use to calculate the cost of equity? b. How did you measure Marriott’s cost of debt? 4. If Marriott used a single corporate hurdle rate for evaluating investment opportunities in each of its lines of business, what would happen to the company over time? 5. What is the cost of capital for the lodging and restaurant divisions of Marriott? a. What risk free rate and risk premium did you use in calculating the cost of equity for each division? Why did you choose these numbers? b. How did you measure the cost of debt for each division? Should the debt cost differ across divisions? Why? c. How did you measure the beta of each division? Case Hints and Suggestions The primary objective of this case is to show students how the CAPM is used to compute the cost of capital. Students learn to calculate beta based on comparable companies and to lever betas to adjust for capital structure. Students are asked to determine the appropriate risk-less rate and market risk premium. This case also encourages students to focus on the choice of time period to estimate expected returns and the difference between...
Words: 3319 - Pages: 14
...answer the questions revolving around the Project Chariot, the Spin-off that allowed Marriott to separate its business activities in its world famous hotel management business and a separate real estate business in 1994. This project involves the splitting up the company into two separate entities, Marriott International Incorporated (MI) and Host Marriott Corporation (HM) in order to minimize the debt burden and improve the financial health of the company after severe effects from real estate market crash and the slowdown in the business in early nineties. The description of Marriott Corporation, key issues faced by the corporation, details about the proposed Project Chariot and the alternatives and consequences of implementing Project Chariot is reported in the following sections. 1) The first analysis is the impact assessment for the parties and stakeholders of Marriott: According to the reorganization plan MI would operate hotels and include Marriott’s service businesses. It would also own Marriott’s trademarks, trade names, reservation and franchise systems. HM would own Marriott’s hotel properties and undeveloped real estate. It would also operate food, beverage, and merchandise concession in airports and toll-road rest areas. Impact Assessment for: a) Shareholders: the project would give each shareholder one share of the new Marriott International Inc. (MI) for each share of Marriott, so since no cash would be exchanged/transferred. It would have the beneficial effect...
Words: 1098 - Pages: 5
...Marriott International implemented its Group Pricing Optimizer (GPO), a group pricing sys- tem that helps its sales force price hotel rooms for group customers. The system uses price-elasticity models for each statistically derived market segment to recommend an optimal rate and negotiating range. To assist the sales manager during the negotiations, GPO also displays additional data, including avail- ability of sleeping-room inventory, potential displace- ment of more valuable business, probability of the customer accepting the rate, and evaluation of alter- nate dates. In its first two years of operation, GPO has met its objectives to drive profitable revenue and improve the sales process for both the customer and the sales manager. Marriott International Marriott International, Inc., a leading hospitality com- pany with more than 3,300 hotels in nearly 70 coun- tries and territories, operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, and Bulgari brand names. It also develops and operates vacation ownership resorts, operates Marriott Executive Apart- ments, provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division, and operates confer- ence centers. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the company has more than 140,000 employees worldwide. Marriott’s heritage can be traced to a root beer stand that J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott opened...
Words: 593 - Pages: 3
...CHICAGO Marriott Corp. Spinoff (A) by Professors Robert Gertner and Steven Kaplan On October 5, 1992, the Marriott Corporation announced plans to spin off its profitable hotel management business leaving its real estate assets as part of the successor corporation. At first glance the deal did not seem very different from many other corporate restructurings. However, because much of Marriott's existing debt was to become an obligation of the real estate assets only, the default risk on that debt would increase significantly as a result of the spinoff. The spinoff announcement was greeted with an unusually large amount of resistance and controversy that had wide-ranging implications for the business, fiduciary, and ethical obligations of management, directors, shareholders, debtholders, and financial advisers. The Marriott Corporation The Marriott Corporation was founded in 1927 by J. Willard Marriott as an A&W root beer franchise. The company soon expanded into the restaurant, airline catering, food service, and hotel businesses. J.W. "Bill" Marriott Jr., who became president of the company in 1964 at the age of32, was the chairman and CEO in 1992. Despite having gone public in 1953, Marriott and his family still owned 25.8% of the company's equity. Marriott's use of innovative financing techniques permitted its rapid growth in the 1970s. Marriott's strategy was to build hotels, and then sell them offto investors, maintaining control through long-term management contracts...
Words: 2177 - Pages: 9
...CL IENT STORY • M ARRIO T T Company: Marriott Panel name: My Marriott Voice Panel since: 2008 No. of Panelists: 17,000+ “ We want to have a pulse on what our mobile customers are looking for and the tools Vision Critical provided allowed us to have a quick implementation. With the survey we were able to speak to 700 mobile users in roughly 30 days and it allowed us to very quickly get insight into today’s mobile customers.” - Gina Villavicencio, Senior Manager, User Research, Marriott International – eCommerce Vision Critical Community Panels To find out why Vision Critical Community Panels is the most widely adopted platform of it’s kind, used by over 500 of the worlds top brands, visit us at www.visioncritical.com In 2005, Marriott International launched their first mobile site. The next step was to gain insights into how their mobile customers liked the site and what features they wanted to see next. With the help of Vision Critical, they launched a custom mobile research application that surveyed customers right on their phones. In only a month, they had the data to guide the strategic launch of their next wave of site features and content. Challenge: Engage mobile customers and find out how to serve them better in this new space. With eighty percent of the US population using mobile phones, mobile sites and content are becoming more and more important to businesses. Marriott International launched their mobile site in 2005 and needed...
Words: 619 - Pages: 3
...Marriott Case i. What is the cost of capital for Marriott Corporation as a whole? | βE | D/D+E | E/D+E | βA | Marriot Whole | 0.97 | 41% | 59% | 0.57 | Target | 1.43 | 60% | 40% | 0.57 | rA=8.95+0.57*7.43=13.20% ii. What types of investments would you value using Marriott’s WACC? Since most projects have their own idiosyncratic risks and various leverage levels, their discount rates are mostly different than the WACC of the company as a whole. Only for projects that have the same risk and the same leverage as the firm overall can we apply the Marriott’s WACC. iii. If Marriott used a single corporation hurdle rate for evaluating investment opportunities in each of its lines of businesses, what would happen to the company over time? By using the same hurdle rate, the company may implement investments that they should not, or they may not implement ones that they should because of using the improper rate to calculate NPVs of the project. When the single corporation hurdle rate (13.2%) is applied to each of its lines of businesses, some projects that are supposed to have negative NPV will be invested while other projects that are supposed to have positive NPV will be neglected. For example, the lodging sector has a discount rate of 11.97%, and by applying the corporation hurdle rate of 13.2%, the company will mistakenly pass some lodging projects that can generate positive NPV. iv. What is the cost of capital for Marriott’s three divisions? ■Lodging ...
Words: 478 - Pages: 2
...Executive J. W. Marriott, Sr. | About MarriottA reflection on the life, legacy and contributions to the hospitality industry of J.W. Marriott, Sr. Group A Partners Robert Manuel and Kody Wood | Hospitality Industry Executive J. W. Marriott, Sr. | About MarriottA reflection on the life, legacy and contributions to the hospitality industry of J.W. Marriott, Sr. Group A Partners Robert Manuel and Kody Wood | John Willard Marriott September 17, 1900 – August 13, 1985 Born on September 17, 1900 in Marriott Settlement, Utah, as the eldest son of a poor farmer, J.W. Marriott was said to have learned to ride a horse before he could walk. Early in his upbringing, Marriott was held to a very strict and high standard of conduct from his father. His father also gave him responsibility at an early age making him a sheepherder on the farm to help his family. At the age of 19, he preached the gospel as a Mormon missionary around the New England area. Once Marriott completed his mission, he traveled through Washington D.C. on his way back to Utah and thought how great of an opportunity it would be to sell A&W root beer there during the hot summer days. Unfortunately, at this time he had to put this idea on hold, as the country was under the Great Depression and all the money the family had was needed to pay off loans to the banks. Marriott experienced poverty throughout his childhood and vowed to go back to school and create a better living. Although, Marriott did not complete...
Words: 1512 - Pages: 7
...------------------------------------------------- Abstract: The case examines Marriott International's (Marriott) various innovative HR practices, which earned it the reputation of being 'the best place to work' in the hospitality industry. It describes Marriott's 'Spirit to Serve' culture and the company's HR philosophy which guided its various HR initiatives. The case gives an overview of the best practices employed by the company in the recruitment, selection, training and development of employees. It also details the employee retention strategies and grievance redressal system at Marriott. Finally, the case reviews the benefits reaped by the company because of its employee friendly HR practices. | | ------------------------------------------------- Issues: » Understand the role of an organizational philosophy and culture in the development of human resource policies in a multinational organization » Get insights into the HR best practices of a large global service organization » Understand the role of employee development programs for retaining employees and improving organizational productivity » Appreciate the benefits that accrue to an organization through the use of employee-friendly policies ------------------------------------------------- The Spirit to Serve Once, when a customer checked in at an Anaheim Marriott hotel, she was in a very disturbed state of mind. It was on her way to the hotel that she learnt of her sister's death. The worst part...
Words: 913 - Pages: 4
...Marriott Corporation, an American firm, has 3 major lines of business: lodging, contract service and restaurants. Its growth objective is to remain a premier growth company. The four components of its financial strategy are consistent with this growth objective for the reasons: Manage rather than own hotel assets: Marriott sold its hotel assets to limited partners to reduce assets and thus, it can increase ROA and thereby increase potential profitability. Invest in projects that increase shareholders’ value: the discounted cash flow techniques to evaluate potential investments allow the company to invest only in profitable projects. Therefore, it can maximize the use of its cash flow to gain profits. Optimize the use of debt in the capital structure: because firms with lower percentage of debt have higher value, Marriott uses this strategy to increase its value and thereby increase it profitability. Repurchase undervalued shares: By buying back its undervalued shares, Marriott can increase PE ration when needed and can make its investors’ holdings more valuable because share prices will increase (increase in ROE). It also can appease investors and avoid pressure to increase dividend, thereby it can use its retained earnings to invest more in profitable projects. This strategy means that Marriott are confident in its future performance. Marriott use the Weighted-Average-Cost-of Capital (WACC) method to measure the opportunity cost for investments. WACC = (1-t)rD(D/V)...
Words: 802 - Pages: 4
...lodging and restaurant divisions of Marriott? Answer: The cost of capital for lodging is 9.2% and the cost of capital for restaurants is 13.1% Calculation: WACC = (1-t) * rd * (D/V) + re* (E/V) Where: D= market value of DEBT E = market value of EQUITY rd = pretax cost of debt re = aftertax cost of equity V = D+E t = tax rate To calculate the formula above, we need to determine each component Tax rate (t) 56% --> calculated before LODGING Step 1: Calculate unlevered beta using similar companies Weigh Unlever . Avg. ed Beta (βu) Sales Sales 0.70 0.77 23% 0.43 1.66 50% 0.40 0.17 5% 0.67 0.75 22% 3.35 Beta (β) Debt (D/V) E/V Hotel D/E Tax HILTON HOTELS CORPORATION 0.76 14% 86% 0.16 44% HOLIDAY CORPORATION 1.35 79% 21% 3.76 44% LA QUINTA MOTOR INNS 0.89 69% 31% 2.23 44% RAMADA INNS, INC. 1.36 65% 35% 1.86 44% Total Sales Calculate unlevered beta for the Marriott Lodging using Weighed Average of Sales βu = 23%*0.70+ 50%*0.43+5%*0.40+22%*0.67 βu lodging = 0.54 Note: βu = βe / (1+ (1-t) * D/E) Step 2: Re-lever the beta ( βl ) for lodging βl = βu * (1+ (1-t) * D/E) Use 74% debt target ratio --> Calculation βl = βu * (1+ (1-t) * D/E) βl = 0.54 * (1 + (1-0.44)*(.74/.26)) βl = 1.41 Calculation re = rf + β * (rm - rf) re = 8.95% + 1.41*7.43% re =19.4% Step 3: Calculate cost of equity (re) re = rf + β * (rm - rf) Where rf = risk free β = beta levered risk premium = rm - rf rm = market risk --> rf used is 8.95% since Marriotts uses the long-term debt for its lodging...
Words: 1056 - Pages: 5
...J.Willard Marriott, who had moved away with his business partner Hugh Colton and his wife Alice from Utah to Washington, D.C., started the brand new startup company in 1927, when he operated a curbside food stands selling A&W Root Beer in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington at 14th Street and Park Road NW. He would later rename the food stand The Hot Shoppe, adding Mexican food items to the menu.[2][3] Marriott's business expanded to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1934, shortly after which the company started its food services division. During Second World War, the business expanded to include the management of food services in defense plants and government buildings, such as the U.S. Treasury. Then in the 1950s, Hot Shoppes, Inc. started providing food services to public schools and to Children's Hospital in 1955, a contract which they held for 35 years. Marriott's restaurant chain grew, and the company went public in 1953. In 1957, he expanded his business to hotels, opening the first Marriott hotel—actually a motel, the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel—in Arlington County, Virginia. The company became Marriott, Inc., in 1967. Two large chains were added to the group, the Big Boy family restaurants in 1967 and Roy Rogers Family Restaurants in 1968. Over the years, Marriott's company interests expanded. Continuing with food services, Marriott eventually invented airline in-flight food service. This segment of their enterprise continues to be a large part of their business, providing...
Words: 500 - Pages: 2
...Introduction Marriott International, Inc. is a global leading hospitality company with more than 4,000 properties, and more than 690,000 rooms in 77 countries. Marriott operates franchises, and licenses hotels and timeshare properties worldwide. It also licenses the operation, development, marketing, sale, and management of vacation ownership and related products. Marriott was founded in 1927 by J. Willard Marriot and Alice Marriott in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International’s luxury brand that consists of 60 exceptional properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts are expanding into gateway cities and established resort destinations as well as emerging luxury markets throughout the world. JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts compete with other fine luxury hotel brands such as Fairmont, Park Hyatt, Shangri-La and Conrad and high-end independent properties. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $13 billion in fiscal year 2013. It has been committed to guest satisfaction, and operates and franchises hotels under 18 brands for more than 80 years. There are three roles within the Marriott “family” culture which are associates (employees), customers and its communities. “Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of the guests” was the philosophy of Marriott’s founder. “Spirit to serve the customers” is the core value of...
Words: 2997 - Pages: 12
...1 Marriott International, Incorporated is a leader in the global hospitality industry with more than 3,500 properties and the broadest portfolio of brands in the industry. Since the beginning of its existence, “Marriott has firmly established a culture and a tradition of innovation, service and leading performance” (Marriott Website). I chose to conduct a business analysis of this company because one of my interests is managing a prestigious international hotel and resort. After conducting a research about Marriott, I learned the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis about the company. Their strengths are on technical innovations, higher brand recognition and recall, and global presence, and strong brand portfolio. The company adopted the so-called Marriott’s Automated Reservation System for Hotel Accommodations (MARSH), “a technical innovation to ease the business process and increase hassle-free experience for the customers” (Marriott International, Inc. Datamonitor). MARSH is a well-known reservation system to assist the customers wherever they go around the world. This technology gives the Marriott an advantage over its competitors. Another technical innovation that the company is using is the Property Guest Object Oriented System (PGOOS). This is “an auditing tool which automatically audit every night its central reservations system, i.e. MARSH” (Marriott International, Inc. Data...
Words: 2319 - Pages: 10
...How Marriott Never Forgets a Guest When retiree Ben B. Ussery Jr. goes on vacation, he typically spends hours beforehand nailing down golf dates, scouting shops for his wife, and making restaurant reservations. But last year, when the Usserys and another Richmond (Va.) couple chose to spend a week at Marriott's Desert Springs resort in Palm Desert, Calif., he let the hotel do the legwork. Weeks in advance, Marriott planning coordinator Jennifer Rodas called Ussery to ask what he wanted to do. When all was set, she faxed him an itinerary. She had even ordered flowers for his wife. ''Marriott made it a real smooth experience,'' says Ussery. ''I'm ready to go back.'' What makes such velvet-glove treatment possible is Marriott International Inc.'s (MAR) use of customer management software from Siebel Systems Inc. (SEBL) The hotel chain, based in Bethesda, Md., is counting on such technology to gain an edge with guests, event planners, and hotel owners. The software lets Marriott pull together information about its customers from different departments, so that its reps can anticipate and respond more quickly to their needs. It starts with reservations. Says Chairman J.W. Marriott Jr.: ''It's a big competitive advantage to be able to greet a customer with: 'Mr. Jones, welcome back to Marriott. We know you like a king-size bed. We know you need a rental car.''' Marriott, America's No. 1 hotel chain, is the industry leader in using technology to pamper customers. The company...
Words: 556 - Pages: 3
