The term marketing mix has been used by marketing managers for a long time. The concept of the marketing mix has gained universal acceptance. It is im- portant for hospitality marketing students to understand this concept, both conceptually and strategically. This section outlines the major components of the traditional marketing mix, and the next section covers the hospitality mar- keting mix that was offered as an alternative for the industry. We will ex- plain the similarities and differences between the two approaches.
A successful hospitality organization is one that focuses on the needs and wants of the consumers and markets the product-service mix of the opera- tion. Management of this type of operation involves integrating the compo- nents of the marketing mix into a marketing program that will appeal to potential consumers and meet the goals and objectives of the firm. The fol- lowing sections will introduce the components of the marketing mix, which will be discussed in more detail in Chapters 7–14.