Hilton Worldwide - Services Marketing

MKT2008: Services Marketing

Assignment 2: “Critically assess the application of one or more elements of services marketing theory for a service of your choice”

Student Name: Nicole Balbona

Student Number: 120344468

Personal Tutor: Lucy Lu

Submission Date: 7th May 2014

Word Count: 1,638

Hilton Worldwide is a leading global hospitality corporation, spanning the hotel and lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. It owns and manages more than 4,000 hotels and timeshare properties, with over 650,000 rooms in 90 countries and regions. Hilton Worldwide’s brands include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts , Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Homewood Suites, Home2 Suites, and Hilton Grand Vacations.

Hilton is now one of the most internationally recognised names in the hospitality and lodging industry. The company began its operations in 1919 with the purchase of the Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas under the leadership of Conrad Hilton (Hilton Worldwide, 2012). In 1946, the organisation went public under the name Hilton Hotels Corporation. In early 2008, Hilton Worldwide experienced the start of exceptional global growth with the opening of 1,000 hotels in North America in five years and 1,000 hotels in regions all around the world in ten years. Factors that contribute to Hilton Worldwide’s success include its utilisation of technology and the Customers Really Matter initiative. These components, together, have led to a successful and efficient organisation.

The role of information technology has always been of high value to the Hilton brand. Tim Harvey, the chief information officer of the company, expressed the importance of technology by stating, “At Hilton, we have a belief that information technology is so intertwined with our brands and their culture that you need a consistent infrastructure...