Hotel industry is one of the major sectors in the leisure industry across the globe that accounts for a significant percentage of the global Gross Domestic Product and a huge portion of jobs across the globe. The global hotel industry has experienced tremendous growth and development in the recent past despite various economic challenges across the world. As this industry becomes more geographically diverse, its projected revenue by 2012 was $567.5 billion (Szulanski, Zee & Raver, 2009). One of the unique segments in the global hotel industry is the luxury hotel segment that is characterized by premium room rates, comprehensive luxury amenities, luxurious design aesthetics, and a high-end clientele. The luxury hotel segment comprises several players that are defined by brand position, business models, and number of rooms. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Marriot Hotels & Resorts are two examples of the key players in the luxury hotel segment. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group v. Marriott Hotels and Resorts

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Marriot Hotels & Resorts are two leaders in the global luxury hotel segment that have achieved considerable competitive advantage over their rivals through brand position, suitable business models, and number of rooms (Szulanski, Zee & Raver, 2009). In addition to having brand portfolios that cover several customer segments, these key industry players have experienced tremendous growth since their inception despite being founded in different regions i.e. Asia and the United States. Actually, The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Marriott Hotels and Resorts have established individual sets of luxury hotels in several countries across the world based on their respective flagship brands.

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is a global hotel chain that opened its flagship brand in Hong Kong in 1963 under the name, The Mandarin (Susie, 2012). However, the company was established as a hotel management firm in 1974 following...

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group was birthed in 1985 in order to incorporate the two names into a common flagship property and brand. Since its inception, this brand of hotel chains has more than 15 fully-owned hotels and 13 managed properties in several countries worldwide.
In contrast, Marriott Hotels & Resorts is a flagship brand of Marriott International, which is an American diversified hospitality firm that manages and franchises a wide range of hotels and related lodging facilities. The company, which was founded by J. Willard Marriott in the 1950s, is headquartered in Washington D.C. and has experienced tremendous growth since inception. Upon inception, this hotel chain started with two motels and has developed to an extent that it operates more than 505 hotels and resort across the world (Marriot International, n.d.). Actually, the company currently has over 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories worldwide (Marriot International, n.d.).

Despite being some of the major industry players in the global hotel sector, these hotels have some major differences in relations to their operations. These differences have contributed to different brand position and different successes in various regions across the globe. There are two major areas in which these two companies differ as explained below.

Leadership and Management

The growth and development of these key players in the global hotel industry is attributed to excellent leadership and management by their top executives. In essence, The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Marriot Hotels & Resort have throughout their years had effective leadership and management. The effective leadership and management of these companies is reflected in their growth and profitability through the years.

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group's management has mainly focused on developing the brand in a manner that is consistent with…