Case of Marriot (Dissertation Sample)

AN EXAMINATION ON THE IMPACT OF BRAND CANNIBALISATION ON THE LUXURY HOTEL SECTOR –
A CASE ON MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL AND ITS SUB-BRANDS
[Name of Writer]
[Name of Institution]

Acknowledgments
During my part time MBA program and the writing process of this research paper I had to face a lot of challenges and overcome many boundaries. Herewith I would like to thank some special and unique people who have always supported me to achieve, where I am now.
For the supporting ones
I would like to give my special thanks to my supervisor _______ who has been my advisor for this research study, as he always directed, motivated and guided me throughout the writing process.
I also would like to express utmost gratitude to all interview participants who have taken time out of their busy schedules to meet and discuss the topic with me. ______ thank you for the in-depth insight and information provided.
For the special ones
First and foremost I would like to thank my parents for their endless support and motivation, endorsing my abilities and boosting my self-confidence.
Lastly I also would like to thank my friends for all their support over the last 18 months.you have been a great help in this achievement – Thank you.

Abstract
This study examines the luxury brands part of the hotel chain Marriott International specifically focusing on sub-brands JW Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Renaissance Hotels, the Edition, the Bulgari and the Autograph Collection. The brand is analysed to see if it cannibalises itself due to guests not being aware of the brand values and culture or if this is a strategic brand move to expand market share and cover a higher number of customer segments.
Sales and marketing, brand managers as well as General Managers positioned on property as well as on a regional and national level of these sub-brands have been interviewed to receive insight on the brand strategy and the successful creation of new brands with not taking away own market share. Furthermore, the author has discussed the luxury and lifestyle market with the participants as well as the consumer knowledge on the brands discussed. Additionally, surveys have been utilised to identify guest’s product knowledge and their decision making process when booking hotel brands.
After successful completion of the study, the researcher identified a clear lack of brand knowledge by the consumers on the newly developed brands, which leads to consumers randomly booking hotels with focus on location and price rather than the brand values. Furthermore it has been identified that loyalty programs play a major role for core customers leading to positive brand cannibalisation. Additionally, negative brand cannibalisation has been observed in the research leading to the recommendations including focus on marketing and brand strategies to clarify the differences between the luxury and lifestyle brands to education of the customer base. Furthermore, loyalty programs need to be used as tools to promote newly added brands and develop a higher brand awareness of the individual brands.
Keywords: Hotels; Hospitality; Hotel branding; Luxury hospitality; Lifestyle hotels; Brand architecture; Brand cannibalisation; Brand strategy; Brand portfolio; Brand perception; Brand awareness; Brand categories; Marriott International; Renaissance Hotels; The Ritz Carlton; J. W. Marriott; Autograph Hotels; The Edition; The Bulgari.

Table of Contents
 TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135304" 1. Chapter I – Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc395135304 \h
1
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135305" 1.1. Background  PAGEREF _Toc395135305 \h
1
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135306" 1.2. Industry background  PAGEREF _Toc395135306 \h
1
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135307" 1.2.1. Hospitality Worldwide  PAGEREF _Toc395135307 \h
1
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135308" 1.2.2. Marriott International and its sub brands  PAGEREF _Toc395135308 \h
2
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135309" 1.2.2.1. History of Marriott International  PAGEREF _Toc395135309 \h
2
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135310" 1.2.2.2. Creating a multi-brand portfolio  PAGEREF _Toc395135310 \h
2
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135311" 1.2.2.3. Luxury and lifestyle sub-brands  PAGEREF _Toc395135311 \h
4
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135312" 1.3. Aims and Objectives  PAGEREF _Toc395135312 \h
6
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135313" 1.4. Justification of the study  PAGEREF _Toc395135313 \h
7
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135314" 1.5. Structure of the study  PAGEREF _Toc395135314 \h
7
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135315" 1.5.1. Chapter I – Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc395135315 \h
7
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135316" 1.5.2. Chapter II – Literature Review  PAGEREF _Toc395135316 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135317" 1.5.3. Chapter III – Methodology  PAGEREF _Toc395135317 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135318" 1.5.4. Chapter IV – Research Findings  PAGEREF _Toc395135318 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135319" 1.5.5. Chapter V – Conclusion and Recommendations  PAGEREF _Toc395135319 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135320" 2. Chapter II – Literature Review  PAGEREF _Toc395135320 \h
9
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135321" 2.1. Branding  PAGEREF _Toc395135321 \h
9
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135322" 2.2. Luxury Industry  PAGEREF _Toc395135322 \h
9
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135323" 2.3. Branding in the luxury industry & hospitality  PAGEREF _Toc395135323 \h
10
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135324" 2.4. Impact of brand extension, brand equity and brand awareness  PAGEREF _Toc395135324 \h
11
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135325" 2.5. Brand cannibalisation  PAGEREF _Toc395135325 \h
13
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135326" 2.5.1. Definition and sources of brand cannibalisation  PAGEREF _Toc395135326 \h
13
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135327" 2.5.2. Forms of brand cannibalisation  PAGEREF _Toc395135327 \h
14
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135328" 2.5.3. Different scenarios of brand cannibalisation  PAGEREF _Toc395135328 \h
15
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135329" 2.5.4. Measurements of brand cannibalisation  PAGEREF _Toc395135329 \h
16
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135330" 2.5.5. Controlling brand cannibalism  PAGEREF _Toc395135330 \h
17
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135331" 2.5.6. Effects of brand cannibalisation  PAGEREF _Toc395135331 \h
18
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135332" 2.6. Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc395135332 \h
18
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135333" 3. Chapter III – Research Methodology  PAGEREF _Toc395135333 \h
20
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135334" 3.1. Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc395135334 \h
20
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135335" 3.2. Research Philosophy  PAGEREF _Toc395135335 \h
20
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135336" 3.3. Research approach  PAGEREF _Toc395135336 \h
22
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135337" 3.4. Research strategy  PAGEREF _Toc395135337 \h
23
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135338" 3.5. Data collection design  PAGEREF _Toc395135338 \h
24
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135339" 3.5.1. Semi-structured interviews  PAGEREF _Toc395135339 \h
24
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135340" 3.5.2. Questionnaire  PAGEREF _Toc395135340 \h
25
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135341" 3.6. Sampling and target population  PAGEREF _Toc395135341 \h
26
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135342" 3.6.1. Interviews  PAGEREF _Toc395135342 \h
26
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135343" 3.6.2. Questionnaire  PAGEREF _Toc395135343 \h
26
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135344" 3.7. Primary data collection  PAGEREF _Toc395135344 \h
26
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135345" 3.8. Reliability, validity and forms of bias  PAGEREF _Toc395135345 \h
27
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135346" 3.9. Data analysis  PAGEREF _Toc395135346 \h
28
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135347" 3.10. Research ethics and confidentiality  PAGEREF _Toc395135347 \h
29
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135348" 4. Chapter IV – Research findings  PAGEREF _Toc395135348 \h
30
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135349" 4.1. Interviews  PAGEREF _Toc395135349 \h
30
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135350" 4.1.1. Participants portfolio  PAGEREF _Toc395135350 \h
30
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135351" 4.1.2. Analysis of questions  PAGEREF _Toc395135351 \h
31
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135352" 4.1.3. Analysis of the respondents’ answers  PAGEREF _Toc395135352 \h
32
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135353" 4.2. Survey  PAGEREF _Toc395135353 \h
38
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135354" 4.2.1. Survey distribution  PAGEREF _Toc395135354 \h
38
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135355" 4.2.2. Analysis of the questions  PAGEREF _Toc395135355 \h
39
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135356" 4.2.3. Participants background  PAGEREF _Toc395135356 \h
39
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135357" 4.2.4. Analysis of the consumer buying behaviour  PAGEREF _Toc395135357 \h
40
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135358" 4.2.5. Analysis of consumer knowledge about Marriott International  PAGEREF _Toc395135358 \h
42
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135359" 4.2.6. Analysis of brand reputation  PAGEREF _Toc395135359 \h
43
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135360" 4.3. Summary  PAGEREF _Toc395135360 \h
44
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135361" 5. Chapter V – Discussion of Findings  PAGEREF _Toc395135361 \h
45
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135362" 5.1. Findings – Objective 1: Brand architecture  PAGEREF _Toc395135362 \h
45
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135363" 5.1.1. Positive aspects of the brand architecture  PAGEREF _Toc395135363 \h
45
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135364" 5.1.2. Potential risks within the brand architecture  PAGEREF _Toc395135364 \h
46
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc395135365" 5.2. Findings – Objective 2: Brand cannibalisation  PAGEREF _Toc395...