Analysis of Business and Marketing Strategy of St Regis Doha - Case Study Example

? Strategic Analysis of St. Regis Doha Introduction Nowadays, companies operating in the market need to cope up with a paradoxical situation on a daily basis (Amit and Zott, 2001). The scenario is evident in almost every organization and renowned authors such as Thomas a` Kempis highlight the reason for change to be the constant change within the organization. This quote was almost presented by the author six hundred years ago, yet it sounds strikingly relevant in the current business environment (Alle, 2000). This universal truth of constant change has compelled organization to bring regular changes in their system of operation and strategy (Ballon, 2007). This in turn has augmented the significance of strategic management in organization to quite a great extent. A sound and viable strategy that results from a proper planning process is therefore dubbed as the pivotal instrument for striving and maintaining a high performance in the market place. However, due to the increasing rapid changes in the global business environment, strategies formulated by organizations have to be resilient or adaptive in nature. This will aid in the process of continually creating an endogenous innovation or coping up with the exogenous changes (Bloodgood, 2007). Therefore from an overall point of view, the resilient and adaptive tactics of the company help in maintaining an adequate strategic fit between the strategy adopted by a firm and its surrounding external and internal environment (Aarika-Stenroos and Sandberg, 2012). This report aims at analyzing the business as well as the overall marketing strategy of St. Regis Hotel based in Qatar. After the analysis of the strategies pursued by the company, the study will attempt to identify the problems associated with the strategy. On the basis of the findings, the study will then recommend the most appropriate and relevant solution to the company. Lastly, a conclusion to the study will be drawn by highlighting the key findings and an overall gist of the report. The report will begin by providing a brief overview of the chosen organization and will then slowly move towards the analysis and recommendation segments. St. Regis: A Brief Overview St Regis was first opened in New York in the year 1904 and since then they had expanded in different parts of the world (Starwoodhotels, 2013a). St. Regis Doha is one of the premier hotels in Doha and is one of the largest in Qatar. It is five star luxury hotel situated at the heart of the city. The hotel is located in Doha West Bay. The hotel was constructed in the year 2012 and has a chain affiliation with the Starwood Hotels. Presently, the hotel accommodates 336 guest rooms and fifty-eight of them are dubbed as seductive suites. The ancient architecture and the surrounding sand dunes are the inspiration of this landmark in Doha. The biggest competitive advantageous factor of the hotel is its prime location. All the rooms in the hotel offer a mesmerizing view of the Arabian Gulf with the tranquil blue sea. Furthermore, it also has discreet oceanfront cabanas and a private beach. The extensive range of leisure facilities along with the magnificent interiors makes it a favorite destination for both business and leisure travelers. Some of the facilities offered by the hotel are internet and laundry services, concierge services, business center, parking facilities, and several recreational services. These additional attributes along with the superior quality of services marks the hotel as one of the best in the country. The hospitality of St. Regis also demands special mention. The guests of the hotel are welcomed with unmatched geniality. St. Regis is continuously setting new standards of luxury service and excellence and service delivery within the hotel industry of Doha. The hotel since its commencement has been continuously setting new standards for the industry and has succeeded to add several feathers to its cap. Some of the evident ones are Best New Hotels 2013 by Travel+Leisure, achieving a position in the 2013 Hot List by Conde Nast Traveler and Best Business Hotel in Doha 2013 by Business Traveller ME (Stregisdoha, 2013). The above facts and figures clearly articulate the strong market position of the hotel in the country. The company puts strong emphasis on the development, formulation and implementation of the business and marketing strategies. The hotel authorities believe that it is important to change with the alterations in the external environment. As a result of that the company or the hotel mostly develops flexible business strategy which aids them to stay competitive in the market place and adaptive to the changing business scenarios. The next sections of the study will shed light on the business strategies pursued by the company and along with that it will attempt to uncover the flaws in the business strategies of the company. Analysis of the Business Strategies A business manager, irrespective of the size and nature depends on its staff members and executives to create business strategies. The business strategies include customer service strategies, marketing strategies, sales strategies, financial strategies, operational strategies and procurement strategies. For a hotel business, all the aforementioned strategies together make it the overall business strategy of the firm. As a result of that, the business strategy of a firm is often dubbed as the method and tactics which a company employs to manage its business functions and ensure an effortless flow of business. Renowned scholars and industry experts deemed that it is crucial to have the most relevant, effective and efficient business strategy. A well-devised business strategy always helps companies to ensure customer retention, expansion and accessibility to different kinds of resources. In the context of St. Regis, the hotel does not use a fixed strategy in terms of its operations and marketing, it rather follows a flexible strategy that is pursued to modify the strategies required at time intervals. The strategies of the hotel are as presented below: - Comprehensive Solution: - The needs and wants of the customers have changed over time drastically. Nowadays, customers want variety of solutions and they choose the most relevant one as per the requirement. Therefore, the hotel offers almost every required solution for the customers. It ranges from internet and laundry services, business center, parking facilities and other recreational services. Abiding by its standards, even the dining facility is world-beating. The hotel has employed some of the most renowned chefs in the country and has succeeded to satisfy the customer with their quality of food. Free internet service is also provided by the hotel. So it serves as a complete solution for the travellers. According to customer reviews, users have provided 4.2 out 5 ratings. Moreover, a large number of customers have recommended this hotel. (Source: Starwoodhotels, 2013b) The reviews and comments prove that the strategy to offer comprehensive solution has paid off as they are able to satisfy the customers. Targeting both leisure and business customers: - One of the apparent business strategies of St. Regis is to target both business and leisure customers. This has been possible due to the offerings of the company. For example, it offers normal guest rooms as well as business suites. There is also a video conferencing room for the business personnel to carry out meeting and other activities. This strategy has helped to increase the overall revenue of the company. Moreover, catering to business customers allows the company to enjoy repeat visits and provides them with a possibility to enter into a treaty with the business clients (Eisenhardt and Martin, 2000). Prime Location and online booking: - The location of operation is a ‘big thing’ for a business. St. Regis in this context has chosen a place at the heart of the city which gives better access to the customers. In addition, another strategy of the company is online booking facility. The company has developed a platform through which customers can book their favorite room. This service is unique because a user gets a preview of the rooms before booking one. The rates can also be compared. Furthermore, there are several other options of filtration through which the customers can customize their search. This strategy has made St. Regis more accessible for the customers. However, it has failed to draw in customers because of the lack of awareness. (Source: Starwoodhotels, 2013c) Marketing strategy: - Another set of strategy of the company is the marketing strategies of the firm. St. Regis principally carries out the marketing activities in traditional forms. However, that does not mean that they singularly use traditional marketing method, but the stress is much more on the traditional advertisement and promotional techniques. St. Regis has its fan page or official page on almost all the popular social media websites, yet the online visibility is low due to inactivity. Newspaper advertisement and magazine advertisements are the two most preferred advertisement mediums of the company. Word of mouth promotion is another tool on which a company relies greatly. For this purpose, the company takes individual feedback and urges them for further recommendations if they are satisfied with the services and additional facilities. (Source: Blakesleeadv, 2013) Value for Money: - Despite being a five star deluxe hotel and one of the largest of its kinds in the country, the hotel has never focused on niche markets. Rather, it aims to target customers from a certain field of the society. This is achieved by offering value for the money. Moreover, the company also offers a wide range of choices. The fare ranges from QAR 1,140 to QAR 7,700 per night. Hence, with this wide price range the hotel has been able to target a diverse set of customers. Identified Problems The above section has tried to discuss about the strategies pursued by the company in order to run its operation. The analysis of the business strategy revealed that the hotel has well framed strategies in every aspect of the business, but the major flaw had been identified in the marketing efforts. The marketing activities of a firm play a predominant role in its success. Hence, a company involved in any kind of business should devote more time in formulating the marketing strategies (Deeg, 2007). Although, St. Regis is decently active in its marketing activities, some of the gaps still need to be fulfilled. With the fulfillment of these gaps, some of the areas will definitely improve and the marketing activities of the firm will gain further appeal to the customers. As a result of the improper marketing activities, the hotel has low awareness. Despite being one of the largest five star hotels, the visibility rate is low. It is only popular among a certain group who travels frequently to the Middle East. On the contrary, the awareness level about this hotel among other consumer group is low. Thus, it has a direct impact on the profitability of the firm. Another major weakness is their fragile online presence. Due to its inertia in the web world, a user often misses St. Regis and chooses other hotels. Hence, the marketing activity of the firm has a direct impact on the overall profitability of the firm. In the present days, organizations across the world are highly active in internet marketing activities. Moreover, internet marketing is also one of the cheapest forms of marketing (Cortimiglia, Ghezzi and Renga, 2011). Apart from the area of marketing, certain flaws were also detected in the other business aspects. One of the most prominent ones is the pricing and the service delivery strategy. It has been found that the company offer parking facilities to the customers in return of a certain fee. This acts as a disappointment for the customers. The competitors however, offer free parking facilities. Although, free parking is not a major issue and small loopholes as such are the reasons behind the company’s poor performance. Recommendations The study has identified problems in almost every business area, but the intensity of the issues differs. In this section, the recommendations will be made only in the area of marketing. The following are the recommendations on the basis of the findings and analysis of the strategy pursued by the company. Website and SEO: - In this age of technology, the first thing the hotel should focus on is the development of its online infrastructure. St. Regis has a strong presence in the virtual world through its own website and social media. However, due to its inactiveness, the level of awareness is low. Hence, the establishment is strongly recommended to remain more active. This will provide them with the opportunity to target more customers. The visibility also increases thereby offering more opportunities. The employment of techniques such as search engine optimization and page ranking will definitely help them to get rid of this issue. Appointment of Relationship Manager: - The concept of relationship manager is more applicable for a product selling company. However, relationship manager for a company belonging to the hospitality industry is a new idea. The company is strongly recommended to appoint a relationship manager who will be responsible for managing cordial relationship with the client. It is believed that the relationship manager will be able to generate new leads from the existing customers and can even turn them into word of mouth promotion. Tie up with Different Vendors: - St. Regis should enter into treaties with other vendors. For example, online hotel booking websites, trip planning companies and other tour conducting companies. A tie up with the transportation department can also be beneficial for the company (Chesbrough, 2010). Modification in Advertisement Forms: -It has been observed that the hotel offers several discounts and offers for the customers, but the promotion of the offers is necessary to spread awareness among the customers. In this context, rigorous advertisement in newspapers and business magazines can be beneficial. Hence, the form of advertisement needs to be changed in order to get the desired result (Casadesus-Masanell and Ricart, 2010). Conclusion The study was meant to analyze the business strategy as well as the marketing strategy of St. Regis and also to identify the problems with the strategy of the hotel company. It has been found that the St. Regis has certain flaws in its operational strategies and marketing strategies. However, this study has dealt only with the marketing aspect. The major problem identified in the marketing activity of the company is their inactiveness in certain fields such as social media. In addition, relationship management and advertisements are some of the areas where loopholes have been detected and needs to be covered up. In order to fill those gaps, the company has been provided with the aforementioned recommendations. 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