International Marketing and Branding for Hotels Literature review

International Marketing and Branding for Hotels - Literature review Example From this discussion it is clear that  the Handbook of Hospitality Marketing Management edited by Haemoon Oh and Abraham Pizam also talks of the increasing market share of branded hotels. The share of total room supply by branded hotels in the US increased from 61% in 1990 to over 70% in 2000. The handbook also points out that a majority of business and leisure travellers prefer to stay at branded hotels rather than ‘unflagged’ operations. Hotel guests perceive relatively lower risk in choosing a branded hotel as compared to choosing an independent hotel.As the paper highlights  Prof. Chekitan Dev of the Cornell University writes that the hotel industry has become a complex, fragmented, global and competitive brand business with over 300 international brands operating in the market. The brand structure in the hotel industry varies from owner operators, to managed properties and franchisees. Managed and franchised hotel properties often change brands. Prof. Dev writes that there is an urgent need to fill many gaps in our understanding of brand management in relation to the hotel industry.  The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) reports that in 2013, 41% of their customers travelled for business and 50% travelled for leisure. The profile of the typical business traveller is male (64%), age 35 – 54 (52%), employed in a professional or managerial position (61%), with an average household income of $ 127,000.