Marketing Terms

Competitive intelligence – The practice of conducting primary research and analyzing secondary research to understand the characteristics of the competition.

Competitive set – An organization’s primary direct competitors. If your facilities is sold out, a direct competitor would be the facility that your customer would select next.

Competitor – A rival with whom one competes.

Compression – A situation that occurs whenever an activity or event forces demand to be pressed outward to the surrounding areas. Pressure placed on a market as a result of demand.

Constrained demand – Demand that is held back or confined by rules, restrictions and availability. An example of constrained demand would be trying to book a flight using your frequent-flier mileage.

Contract – Binding agreement that specifies rates, terms, anticipated volume, minimum usage and effective dates.

Contingency planning – Planning for unexpected events and changes either in the internal or external environment.

Conversion rate – The number of calls converted from inquiry to sale. This number is usually expressed as a ration by dividing the number as a ratio by dividing the number of reservations booked over the number of reservation calls received.

Core competencies – The central activities that an organization perform well and that differentiate it from other firms.

Cost-based method of pricing – Using this method, the organization calculates the overall cost of producing the product or service. Then they simply add a mark up or percentage increase to arrive at a selling price.

Cost of goods sold – Direct expenses in producing a good for sale. This includes variable costs but does not include indirect fixed costs such as rent, advertising or office equipment.

Cross-channel behavior – Behavior that occurs when a customer access more than one channel when making a purchase.

Customer-centric approach – Any marketing or operational effort focused on the needs, wants and desires of an organization’s customers.

Cut-off date – The date that all unconfirmed reservations will be released to general inventory for resale.

Data mining – The process of continually digging deeper into the data captured by a marketing intelligence system.

Demand – The amount of a good or service that a purchaser is willing and able to buy for any given price at any given time.

Demand drainer – An activity or event that causes demand to decrease.

Demand forecasting – The act of estimating, calculating and predicting consumers demand for products and services in the future.

Demand generator – An organization or event that drives customers into a marketplace. An activity or entity that produces demand.

Demography – The study of the characteristics of a population. Common characteristics considered include age, gender, marital status, education, occupation, income, race, religion, and nationality.

Marketing Terms

Denial – A response that occurs when a facility is not able to accommodate a guest due to unavailability of product or service at that price.

Discount price leadership – Applies to an organization setting the lowest rate in the market.

Discounting – The practice of offering special reductions in price.

Distribution cost – The cost of getting a product or service to market.

Dynamic packaging – A new customer-centric approach to packaging. Hospitality providers may vary the products and services bundled in a package to suit the needs of the individual consumer.

Early adopters – Consumers who strive to be the first to try any new product or service.

E-commerce – the coming together of buyers and seller on the internet.

Economies of scale – an economic concept that means the more of a product or service that is produced, the lower its per unit cost of production.

Electronic distribution – The selling of hospitality products and services via the computer. Think of these basically as electronic ware-one-stop shopping for variety of hospitality products and services.

Environmental scanning – constantly monitoring and assessing the external environment to spot changes and emerging trends.

Extended stay business – Business that generates seven or more nights stay.

Fair price – A positive price/value relationship; a just and honest price.

Finite – Not unlimited; once the last unit of the item is utilized, that item will cease to be available in the future.

FIT – Free independent traveler.

Fixed costs – Cost that do not change with a change in the activity of a business. Rent is a fixed cost.

Flash report – A daily report completed to recap the previous day’s business.

Folio – A record of in-house charges made by the guest since arrival.

Forecasting – The act of estimating, calculating or predicting conditions in the future.

Frequent traveler programs – Program designed to reward loyal patronage and include repeat business.

Global distribution system – System offering the inventory of multiple carries and various supplier of hospitality products and services primarily to organizational buyers, such as travel agents. The four major global distribution systems ( GDS ) today are SABRE, Amadeus, Gallileo and Worldspan.

Marketing Terms

Go dark – When a venue shut its doors, turns down the heat or air conditioning and turns off the light.

Goal – An end for which to strive. A desired outcome.

Gross margin – Revenue minus cost of goods sold ( COGS )

Group business – Business that involves more than two individuals coming together for a common reason.

Growth stage – this is the second stage in the life cycle of a product or service. Volume sold increases, which in turn generates economies of scale in production.

Incremental business – Guest the organization would not otherwise obtain.

Inferior goods – Goods that decrease in demand with increase in customer income. The more a consumer’s income rises, the less that person will purchase of the inferior good.

Introductory stage – The first phase in the life cycle of products and services. This is when the product or service is brand new and only the most adventurous consumers are poised to purchase.

Law of demand – An economic law that states that quantity of a good or service demanded by buyers tends to increase as the price of that good or service decreases and tends to decrease as the price increases, all things being equal.

Low of supply – An economic law that states that as price rises, the quantity supplied increases and as the price falls, the quantity supplied decreases.

Load factor – The percentage of seat sold ( common airline term )

Long term – Define here as more than one year.

Loyalty program – Program whose members are rewarded either by receiving reduced rates or by increases value, such as added amenities. Some programs provide both reduced rates and added amenities. In addition, most program contain a point reward system for each purchase. Guest are eligible for prizes or free travel components after accumulating a certain number of points.

Please also check : Marketing Terms 1 and Marketing Terms 3