Marketing Problems Of Hotel And Catering Establishment

INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Hotel and Catering establishment in cordial hotel Enugu is faced with a number marketing problems. These problems have not been seen or if seen have not been buckled from the right direction by most entrepreneurs in the establishment. With the latest population can due as a yardstick one can assert without projective that Enugu state in among the largest populated in the country. This population is made up of a good percentage of educated people and well to do individual. The population dentists of this state is synonymous with its great market potential especially in the area of food and food items.
Many people have myopic ideas about marketing discounting it as a concept which applies only to the manufacturing and destructive trade. Some other take it as a skill which is the excusive preserve of the departmental staff. However broadened concept reorganized the competence of marketing to service oriented establishment like the hotel insurance forms banks hospitals and other such services rendering establishment. In this write up the term marketing is used to describe a firms approach to business it is business philosophy attitude which describes marketing as a concept. It pertinent to stress that marketing is not selling as it is very often mis-constructed to be marketing is not only mush broader in scope than selling but encompassed the entire business and its drive to achieve its mission on goal.
A clear picture of marketing is all about can be seen from the definition offered by the London institution of marketing. It says “marketing is a management process responsible for identifying articulating and satisfying customers requirement at a profit to the organization” it can be seen now that marketing is a distributive process which goes far beyond pushing the sales of a product or services marketing focuses on satisfying the needs and wants of the buyer at profit to the organization marketing has the ideal purpose of satisfying the customer by means of the product on service and other attributes associated with creation distribution and finally consumption. It will be taking much for granted of one is yet that of a developing economy with such attendant problems as tied distributive system limited competition scarcity of food items low rate of product change and host of other fact opposed to the condition fund in true competitive markets.
Most of the business hotel cordial Enugu and catering inclusive operate in a seller market which means that seller or companies make no effort or attempt to March available product or services with customer needs.
Despite this unfair system they still sell their products and services as a result of reasons ranging from lack of suitable substitute increasing purchasing power of the people and of course the value system that pervaded this society. As a result the entrepreneurs were deceived or made to think that marketing problems were man existent with increased consumer awareness buyer rationalization and decreasing purchasing power of the Naira due to inflation. People spend their hard caring about how they entrepreneurs who enjoyed the boom most recognize the changing trend if they must survive into the future.
Certainly hotel and catering established in the hotel rarely survive their peculiar marketing problems. Many of the hotels rarely survive their introductory stage of development while some other that once made it to the top are already loosing their market share and moving to wards folding up.
A critical review of this situation reveals that the basic problems or cause of the alarming rate of failure is that most hotel entrepreneurs fail to take cognizance of the marketing problems inherent in the establishment before and after they have gone into the business. A greater percentage of these entrepreneurs are to tally ignorant of the marketing functions or deliberately neglect the necessity for programme me and well co-ordinate marketing efforts.
These “director” often appear very optimistic about the existence of adequate markets and blame all problems on inadequate sales efforts they seen to be blind stimulants to be able to succeed in the market. Normally when marketing is one of the these dynamic concepts that continue changing to match the environment.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
Hotel and catering services like every other services faced with a lot of problems there have been a series of complaint by customer or the public that they are on longer satisfied with the services that is being offered by hotel and catering establishment.
For instance most of these establishment engage in all forms of advertising and promotional campaign but still all to be avail. But the marketing managers and the public relations officer of these training for their staff so as to increase productivity but the reverse was the case.
But inspite of all these effort being made to correct these bad impression that public are having hotel and catering establishment are still experiencing low or decrease in productivity in terms of customers patronage more especially in hotel and catering establishment today there is relatively decrease in customer patronage as most of the staff are not putting in their best. Some of those hotel are operating at mush below full capacity customer are not satisfied with the services they render the facilities of these hotel are in deplorable conditions and also they lack proper managerial competence. These problems remains a puzzle to may hotel and catering establishment more especially in Enugu metropolis. The research and up in asking the question of what is the cause of these marketing problems why is the public pays less attention in patronizing them and how best could these problems be tackled?
Most of the hotel are not well sited where by some are sited in a remote area. Also enough awareness is not created to inform the publics about the existence of these establishment.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objective of this study is therefore to provide an overview of marketing problem facing the hotel and catering establishment
1. To find out the marketing problems associated with hotel and catering establishment in Enugu.
2. To evaluate the extent to which poor marketing affects the progress of the establishment
3. To identify more effective method of marketing the hotel and catering services in Enugu.
4. To identify the extent of customer satisfactions derived from hotel and catering establishment
5. To find out the level of customer establishment
6. To determine if the staff of these establishment are adequately motivated.
7. To recommend a suitable solution to the problems of these establishment

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
As it evident that the hotels and catering establishment in hotel cordial Enugu are hampered by marketing problems most people especially the owners of these enterprises will not doubt be searching for solution to these problems.
This study identify the problems and recommends practical solution to them. The findings will be of immense help the management of these hotel especially for those who may not be able to financially to engage in a study of this nature. This will be in the way of catering them know what marketing is how it developed implemented and controlled and the likely benefits which they stand to recoups on the other hand the results of a lack of it.
The study also help investor who are considering investing in the establishment assess the viability of such a venture and the existing marketing potentials.
Finally, it will be of great interest to other people both in business and academic who may like the research be interested in the marketing problems of these hotel.
FORMULATION OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Hypothesis I
Ho: Customer are not satisfied with the quality of services that is
render in hotel cordial
Hi: Customer are satisfied with the quality of services that is rendered by
hotel cordial
Hypothesis II
Ho: The management of hotel cordial does not make any afford to identify
the need of their customers
Hi: The management of hotel cordial make afford to identify the need of
their customer
Hypothesis III
Ho: customer lack sufficient information about the services offering of the
hotel
Hi: Customer receive sufficient information about the service offering of the
Hotel
Hypothesis IV
Ho: Customer patronage of the hotel low
Hi: Customer patronage of the hotel is high

SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research is intended to find out the marketing problems of hotel and catering establishment using hotel cordial in Enugu as a case study. The population sample of the research is the management staff of hotel cordial Nigeria Ltd and their customers in Enugu metropolis

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Marketing according to committee of the American marketing association defined marketing as the performance business activities that direct the flow of good and services from producers to consumer to user.
According to Adirika, Ebue and Nnolum it is a set of human activities directed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange process.
According to Grahan Robinson it is a process of exchange in which buyer and seller are brought together though and seller are brought together transactions in the market place.
Hotel cordial: This is a four star hotel established in 1983 at new heaven Enugu it is a limited liability company.
Marketing problems: Is those factors which habits against the proper application of marketing (especially the marketing mix variable) with an organization. These problems could be product serve problems pricing problems place/distribution problems or promotion problems.
Market concept: It can also be defined as a market focused customer orientation backs by inaugurated/co-ordinate marketing aimed at generating customer satisfaction as the key to satisfying the organizational goals.
Integrated marketing means proper co-ordination integration and control of all management activities in such as way as to achieve the set objectives of customer and company metal benefits.
Services Marketing: It can be defined as the application of the marketing principles concepts and techniques in the selling of article of value by either an individual or a firm. Ti is also defined as transaction where the objectives of the transaction is other than the transfer of ownership of a tangible commodity.
Target marketing: This is where the seller distinguishes the major market segments or groups select one two or more of these as intended customer and develops offering and marketing progarmmes packaged to suit each selected groups or segment.
Marketing mix: It has been defined as particular blend of controllable marketing variables that the firm uses to achieve its objectives as the target market. It can be seen a combination of these controllable internal/marketing variables comprising the 4ps (product price and promotion) which firms use to operate successfully within the marketing environment.