INTRODUCTION
 Marketing can be defined as the process of promoting and selling commodities or services in the market which further consist of advertising and marketing research. Marketing is one of the essential elements of the organization. The aim of this essay is to get in-depth knowledge of hospitality brands (Nunan, Malhotra and Birks, 2020). The essay will be based on the comparison of the two popular brands: Holiday Inn and Six Senses. Holiday Inn is one of the popular American chains of hotels which is based in Georgia, Atlanta. The chain was founded by Kemmons Wilson in the year 1952 (Holiday Inn, 2023). Six Senses is a luxury hospitality brand that mainly has distant propositions with a strong heritage and also focuses on providing a remarkable experience to its guests. The brand mainly focuses on community wellness, travel and sustainable designs for attaining a competitive edge in the hospitality industry (Six Senses, 2023). To compare the brands, different strategic frameworks will be used such as SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Marketing mix and STP model.
BODY
 To conduct a Situational Internal/ External analysis of both brands, two frameworks will be used such as SWOT analysis and PESTLE analysis. The major strength of Six Senses is its excellent reputation and its exceptional services, luxurious accommodations and its presence at stunning locations. Whereas the major strength of the Holiday Inn is its strong global presence which mainly focuses on providing affordable accommodation to its guests. It has also established itself as a bike-friendly and kid-friendly hotel. The major weakness of Six Senses is its poor positioning as it mainly focuses on the family and people belonging to the high-income class. Whereas the major weakness of the Holiday Inn hotel is its limited presence in the industry and its lack of hygiene standards (Astawa et. al,2022). The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the hotel business a lot due to travel restrictions, lockdowns, and social distancing. These measures led to a sharp decline in hotel occupancy rates and revenue. The opportunities available to Six Senses hotels are diversified offerings along with shifting to other demographics. The major opportunity for Holiday Inn is infiltrating the new market which further assists them in increasing their global presence. The major threat for both hotels is increased competition in the hotel industry. 
 The PESTLE analysis will help in identifying the external factors. Regarding the political factor, it is important to note that the hospitality industry, in general, can be impacted by various government policies and regulations, including those related to tourism promotion, taxes, minimum wage laws, employment regulations, and environmental policies. For example, in some countries, there have been efforts to implement stricter environmental regulations that would impact hotel operations to reduce their carbon footprint. The economic factors which impacted the Holiday Inn hotel is the lockdown restrictions which limit hotel booking and provided huge losses to the hotel. Whereas for the Six Senses hotel, this factor is mainly concerned with fluctuations which take place in the country’s local currency where hotels are having their resorts and Spas (Dalirazar and Sabzi, 2023). The social factors which are affecting both the hotels are changing tastes and preferences of the guests which is why both hotels need to comply with the latest trends in the hospitality sector due to its competitive nature. The technological factors which are affecting the operations of the Six Senses are the third-party service providers because their hotel booking takes place through indirect booking channels which have impacted the overall hotel’s costs and have reduced their profitability. Whereas for Holiday Inn, it has affected the hotel in a positive way. Advanced technology has increased the booking of hotel rooms along with improving their customer service (Christodoulou and Cullinane, 2019). The legal factors can be known as the variations which take place in the legal environment of the country in which both hotels are operating. 
 Both brands are using different marketing tactics to increase their market presence and this can be identified with the help of the 7 Ps of marketing. The products consist of the services provided by them to their guests. Holiday Inn services consist of hotel rooms and other amenities such as room services, restaurants, comfortable lounges, fitness centres and a swimming pool and offer a comfortable atmosphere where guests can enjoy their stay. All the rooms have TV, air conditioning system etc (Rafahat, 2022). Whereas Six Senses hotels and resorts are located in unique and beautiful places for appreciating nature. They offer a variety of wellness and spa programs such as yoga, fitness and wellness activities. They also provide parking facilities, recreational facilities along with executive lounges. The second element is the price or the monetary value which has to be paid by the customers for enjoying the hospitality services provided. The Holiday Inn mainly focuses on the strategy of providing services at the right prices at the right time. The hotel chain has implemented a revenue management system where it can determine the lead time needed for booking the hotel room for each market segment which is based on their historical data. Such as leisure groups mainly book hotel rooms in advance (Chandran and Bhattacharya, 2019). They change prices as per the seasonal change, sometimes it's low sometimes it's high based on the booking rate. Whereas Six Senses mainly focus on a competitive pricing strategy. A single room in Six Senses Bhutan costs 1500 USD per night which is very high. Whereas a single room in Six Senses Crans Montana costs $1000 per night (SIX SENSES HOTELS RESORTS SPAS, 2023). The Six Senses hotels are present in different scenery locations such as in Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East and Africa. These resorts are set in incredible natural beauty locations with unique authentic, sustainable and personal experiences. On the other hand, Holiday Inn is having its hotels in more than 1100 different locations. The fourth element is promotional strategies. Six Senses focuses on experiential marketing and their strategies involve creating visually appealing and inspiring content on social media platforms like Instagram, using targeted influencer campaigns to promote their brand, and leveraging cutting-edge technology like augmented reality to create interactive experiences that resonate with their guests. On the other hand, Holiday Inn uses more traditional marketing methods such as mainstream advertising and loyalty programs to capture the attention of its target audience. Their promotional strategies involve offering discounts and special offers to their loyalty program members, utilizing traditional media and print advertisements, as well as creating online campaigns to promote their brand.
 People in the marketing mix consist of customers, employees, society and all the individuals involved in the functioning of the hotel. Both hotels emphasize a great focus on taking care of their employees and customers. Six Senses Hotels organize training sessions for their staff members to make them aware of mother nature and more about sustainable practices so that they can provide seamless experiences to their guests. On the other hand, Holiday Inn provides placement and apprentices for the young unemployed (Gede, 2022). The process element is associated with the booking process. The booking process in the Holiday Inn is easy and customers can easily book their rooms through online booking. On the other hand, Six Senses hotel has formed specified processes to make sure that it is delivering premium quality services to its customers. The physical element is the last marketing mix component. Holiday Inn hotels are best known for their green logo whereas Six Senses hotels are known for their high room amenities along with providing a good living environment in a beautiful place. The Six Senses appear to be implementing a strategy of both competitiveness and high-end offerings. This implies that only those with significant disposable income will likely be able to afford their premium prices (Kapoor and et.al, 2022). On the other hand, Holiday Inn is following a fluctuating pricing strategy which can be afforded by the middle-income group.
 The Six Senses mainly target its customers based on their demographic and geographic and psychographic segmentation. In the demographic segment, the hotel divides its customer based on their age, income and caste. And they make use of geographic segmentation for providing unique luxury hotels in major cities like Bangkok, Maldives and Thailand. Holiday Inn uses demographic segmentation, where their target audience mainly consists of those travellers who are cost-conscious and looking for an affordable stay. Their target market involves men aged 35 to 54 years of business travellers and adults ranging from 25 to 35 years of age (Target market, 2017). For targeting, the Six Senses mainly focus on catering to the needs of different market segments based on their tastes, preferences and income status. Whereas the target market of the Holiday Inn is price-sensitive travellers who belong to medium income level. 
  In the competitive research has been discovered the difference between Six Senses hotels and Holiday Inn hotels. On the channels overview, Six Senses has 1.133M, while Holiday Inn has got 1.373M as per Appendix A. On social traffic, Six Senses is in the lead with 3.45% social traffic and uses social media to promote itself, such as Facebook (36.08%), YouTube(19.6%), Instagram(19.72), Pinterest(18.56%) compared to Holiday Inn which doesn’t use so much social media like Youtube(5.60%), Instagram(3.11) or Pinterest(0%), but it has a strong presence on Facebook(91.29%) as per Appendix B.
CONCLUSION
 Based on the essay given above, it can be inferred that marketing plays a pivotal role in the expansion and triumph of a company. The essay draws comparisons between the two hotels: Six Senses and Holiday Inn and provides an analysis of their situational and external factors. Additionally, the marketing mix of both hotels is examined, and the thesis statements made for each are found to be accurate. The essay also delves into the STP model, which helps identify the segmentation, targeting, and positioning aspects for both hotels.