Marriott International Inc.'s 'Sales Force One': New Sales Force Strategy for Competitive Advantage
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Case Details:
Case Code : MKTG210
Case Length : 14 Pages
Period : 2007-2009
Pub Date : 2009
Teaching Note :Not Available
Organization : Marriott International, Inc.
Industry : Hospitality
Countries : US; Global
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This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.
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Excerpts
Background Note
Marriott was a leading lodging company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, US. It operated worldwide and had about 3,000 operated or franchised properties in over 65 countries. In the Spring of 1927, John Willard Marriott and his newly wed wife Alice S. Marriott started a small kiosk selling A&W Root Beer in Washington D.C...
The Challenge
Acknowledging the fact that the hospitality industry was undergoing a steady transformation with respect to sales channels and customer expectations, Marriott reportedly carried out a survey in the mid-2000s with the purpose of getting suggestions for improvements in its sales efforts. The company involved all levels of personnel within the company in the survey and went on to collect opinions from its customers - business travelers, leisure travelers, meeting planners, corporate houses, etc. According to David Townshend (Townshend), Senior Vice President, Corporate Segments and International Sales, Marriott...
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Implementing Sales Force One
In December 2007, Marriott stated that it was restructuring its sales organization which included setting up of a sales team to be known as Sales Force One. This reorganization, the company claimed, was being done to make Marriott more customer-centric than it had been. David (son of J. W Marriott Jr.) then the Senior Vice President of Global Sales of the company, was responsible for putting the structure into operation...
Criticisms and Initial Results
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The SFO initiative attracted the attention of industry observers. Nina Vetter (Vetter) of HVS felt that this initiative could provide Marriott with a competitive advantage.
"The structure of Sales Force One allows the customer to work with one primary point of contact, who represents all brands and properties, enabling Marriott, theoretically, to accommodate all of the customers'needs in a one-stop fashion," she noted.
Though many customers, hotel owners, and franchisees welcomed the SFO concept, there were initially significant reservations in some quarters about its consequences. |
Outlook
In the hospitality industry, a major chunk of the market was controlled by about 50 large hotel chains of which Marriott was one of the leaders. However, during 2009, Marriott expected its North American comparable company-operated RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room) to go down by approximately 8 to 13 percent and its international (excluding North America) comparable company-operated RevPAR to climb down by 12 to 17 percent...
Exhibits
Exhibit I: Marriott's Product Profile
Exhibit II: Marriott's Global Account Portfolio
Exhibit III: Marriott's Global Sales Offices
Exhibit IV: Marriott Culture
Exhibit V: Marriott's Sales Innovations
Exhibit VI: Marriott's Key Competitors
Exhibit VII: Key Statistics Representing Marriott's Comparable Company-Operated International Properties Sales Performance
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