Banton Manor Hotel Proposal - Case Study Example

The owner of the Banton Manor restaurant James Bance is concerned that his hotel may not be operating at its best. He recruits a temporary employee about to leave to carry out an analysis of the business. He rightly believes that his staffs are too timid or disinclined to give feedback especially when it is negative and having discussions with his family almost always results in aimless inconclusive discussions. To try to resolve this, he arranged for the employee to interview his staff members and family as well as have access to financial records to determine what observations and projections could be made. This report is designed in response to his request after the collection of qualitative and quantitative data from within and without the Organisation. It will also examine various theoretical evidences pertaining to the problems the hotel is found to be facing and suggest how conditions can be improved to promote the hotels growth making it more sustainable and competitive in the industry. It will try to show the organisational problems that underlie the restaurant by examining the internal and external factors and trying to come up with the right marketing mix to resolve those (Constantinides, 2006). After taking, all these factors to account the report will then propose a system where it can be successfully implemented to meet the objectives of the owners and overall provide more effective and competitive service. Internal Analysis Marketing Issues In many ways, the Banton Manor hotel run in a traditional and highly conservative way, its marketing like many such hotels is primarily passive with the main marketing tool being word of mouth and recommendation from customers. Largely the marketing manager Jill Bance who is the marketing managers focuses on printing brochures and manages the website where most of the firms marketing is done., she also uses Twitter and other social media but this is only when she is not too busy. However, she does not seem to have a tangible idea which of the tools used is the most effective. In an effective business, the promotional aspect of the marketing mix tends to factor in advertising, personal selling publicity and sales promotion (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). This should however be carefully tracked to ensure that they are directed to the target customers in the most effective way possible (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). The key marketing challenge here is however the fact that there is no comprehensive marketing strategy since Bill is unwilling to prepare records and projections so basically marketing in the hotel is done in an ad hoc manner based on what she feels like doing without factoring the organisational needs. Human Resource Ideally, an effective human resource management system should be designed to maximize the performance of employees in the service of the organisations strategic objectives. In the Banson Manor, there seems to be no specific HR management strategy with different family members making person decisions sometimes without consulting each other. Consequently, the staffs are often confused without being sure who is in charge and how to handle contradictory instructions. Instead of creating an environment that focusses on employee growth and creativity, HR function in the hotel tends to intimidate and confuse staff. ‘ Operations The management of operations at the hotel is disorganized and there is little coordination between the various family members and senior staffers. Fred cannot get his sister to do anything she does not want and his suggestions to his parents are often ignored. The roles of an operations manager include coordinating people and resources in an organization, in the Banson Manor, there is none holding that particular role which makes it difficult for effective co-ordination to take place. Jane tend’s to do the co-ordination work but this is however not s strictly her role and the fact that she ends up doing more than she wants is evidence that the operation of the hotel is poorly managed. Financial Issues Fred normally does the financial management in the hotel, despite the fact that he tries to gather as much data as possible; his staff is normally not co-operative with his sister refusing to make projections and the chef being hostile to the idea of being audited. Financial management is imperative for capital expenditure, budgeting for operating cash and lowering costs, however when one does not have sufficient data. This is be difficult when there is insufficient data and those responsible for collecting and providing financial information appear more focused on preserving an organisational culture that no-one is sure is positive or not. Proposed Strategy From the above analysis, it is clear that the organization is not functioning at its maximum and lot needs to be done to strategize on streamlining the management and organisations of the hotel. This requires that various factors of a relevant marketing mix should be applied factoring in the people, place products price and promotion (Ellis-Chadwick & Johnston, 2009). The promotional part of the marketing mix in particular needs considered to increase the number of guest that visit or make reservations during weekdays (Bojanic, 2007). This calls for a study of the various alternatives advertising tactics that can be used and which are the most effective. Jill despite employing several is not aware which one is most successful and assumes it must be the website given it is so expensive. However, effective promotion requires deliberate and critically though out strategies and cannot simply be done on hunches or based on assumptions. The management challenge can be approached by having a well-established hierarchy in the business so that each person can have a specific role to avoid overlapping of tasks and duties. One of the reasons for the perennial confusion in the hotel more so on weekends in because many of the workers do not know who to report to or what to do in case of contradictory information. Although this is a family business, it should have an organisations structure, which will in turn be responsible for decision-making, communication and strategic communication and general organisations (Powell, 2003). Although individuals appear to have specific duties, the fact that instructions are routinely ignored proves that the hotel needs a firmer and independent management strategy. The notion of a family business in not immune to regular management practices and therefore, members should not be allowed to do whatever they want simply because they are family. In the same vein, the head chef who is apparently one of the most valued employees should also submit to authority although this will require there to be a structure from which he can infer his role. The Hotel also needs to increase its Target market and focus on tourists who according to Chloe have been visiting other hotels in the area. This requires more emphasis on advertisement and marketing that involves a more robust and aggressive on and offline campaign (Baloglu & Pekcan, 2006). While Jill is “alright” in her job as the head Chef says, she needs to be either replaced or assisted by a professional PR representative. This can be done by carrying out research on who are the most likely customers based on the past records and their spending habits. At present, the target customers are either local or out of town guest mostly couples who spend a few nights. These need to be expanded and by expanding the scope of service and the size of the premises to carter for tourists and non-traditional guests. This way, instead of only hiring part time staff during peak periods there can be an increased full time staff all week round. Furthermore, there needs to be emphasis on vertical and horizontal communication among the employee’s owners and managers (Bartels et al. 2010). In any organization especially one dealing with hospitality and multiple staff, vertical communication is a key driver of effectiveness as it encourages the flow of ideas and feedback both positive and negative (Cupek & Sande, 2009). Through vertical communication, the communication channels in the organization gets strengthened; the superior entrusts their subordinates with tasks and he acts as their guide and mentor while these are in progress(Cardoso and Nascimento, 2004). On the other hand, the subordinates can approach them for guidance when there are issues that need resolving or complain. This very both sides will work in harmony and function as a team. This has not been the case in the hotel since staff members testify to not wanting to get involved in the running of the business since the family prefers to make the big decisions themselves. Some members of the hotel staff have a lot to offer to the management but they may end up not saying it. These results in poor communication in the same way they do not air their views on matters, staff members may also refrain from voicing personal complains. As a result, the rate of attrition may go up since they do not feel as if the organization values or respects their contribution (Chung, 2008). The target customers are not just the regular holidaymakers but also tourists and town’s people who may wish to spend their vacations without having to travel great distances. The Hotel unlike the other hotels in the neighbourhood provides value for money focusing on providing a few guests with first class treatment as opposed to having many guest who end up receiving poor treatment without a personalized touch. Key changes to be implemented To create an organisational structure where everyone has designated role to play as well as tangible and differentiated authority they first step should be an easement of the various responsibilities each of the permanent staff has. In addition, they should also be assessed based on their potential and contribution to the hotel. In the organisational structure, at the top should be James Bance who is the managing and finance director. His role should be primarily to oversee the running of the business rather than to oversee its day-to-day activities and micromanage staff. Fred Bance the operations manager should be second to his father and act as the CEO, he should be the primary decisions maker and all issues should be differed to him before they reach his father or mother. In addition, he alone should have the power to fire and hire employees so he can record the numbers and coordinate them such that they do not provide poor service, which is the main source of discontent among customers. Given her rapport with the staff and her desire to gradually retire, Jane should get a role the senior supervisor so that all the supervisors come to her when there are issues that need to be resolved. Given her calm and open-minded nature, she makes the best conduit through which feedback to the upper management can be channelled. The Chef despite being a valuable member needs to be answerable to Fred and although he is of course at liberty to make decisions about the kitchen but he should provide any information and obey instructions from Fred and Jill in as far as their departments are concerned. Jill should report to Fred under the understanding that he is her senior and she has a responsibility to follow and comply with his instructions. Finally, given the level of knowledge and insight Chloe appears to have, she should be considered for a position as the operating manager albeit on a trial basis, this should involve among other roles consulting with both Fred and Jill on matters of marketing and general duties. The organization also needs to change its pricing policy to facilitate a steady income of guest throughout the week; this should involve a slight but notable decrease in the amounts charged on weekends to day and night or night guests (Becerra, Santaló & Silva, 2013). On the other hand, weekend rates may be reduced or remain the same based on how much extra room can be found for purposes of expansion. Based on the projected increase of guests, they decide how many of their temporary workers they can absorb in the permanent roll so they can cater for guests in an efficient and consistent way. Finally, the advertising budget will need to be expanded past a website and brochures, each of the adverting media should be scrutinized in view of effect on performance and what is found not to be effective replaced. References Baloglu, S., & Pekcan, Y. A., 2006. The website design and Internet site marketing practices of upscale and luxury hotels in Turkey. Tourism Management, 27(1), 171-176. Bartels, J., Peters, O., de Jong, M., Pruyn, A., & van der Molen, M. 2010 . Horizontal and vertical communication as determinants of professional and organisational identification. Personnel Review, 39(2), 210-226. Becerra, M., Santaló, J., & Silva, R., 2013 . Being better vs. being different: Differentiation, competition, and pricing strategies in the Spanish hotel industry.Tourism Management, 34, 71-79. Bojanic, D., 2007 . Hospitality marketing mix and service marketing principles. Handbook of Hospitality Marketing Management, 59-84. Cardoso, G., Cunha, C., & Nascimento, S. 2004 . Ministers of parliament and information and communication technologies as a means of horizontal and vertical communication in Western Europe. Information Polity, 9(1), 29-40. Chung, L. H., & Parker, L. D. 2008 . Integrating hotel environmental strategies with management control: a structuration approach. Business Strategy and the Environment, 17(4), 272-286. Constantinides, E., 2006 . The marketing mix revisited: towards the 21st century marketing. Journal of marketing management, 22 3-4, 407-438. Cupek, R., Fojcik, M., & Sande, O., 2009. Object oriented vertical communication in distributed industrial systems. In Computer Networks pp. 72-78 . Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Ellis-Chadwick, F., Mayer, R., & Johnston, K. 2009 . Internet marketing: strategy, implementation and practice. D. Chaffey Ed. . Pearson Education. Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G., 2013 . Principles of Marketing 15th Global Edition. New Jersey: Pearson. Mangold, W. G., & Faulds, D. J., 2009. Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business horizons, 52 4, 357-365. Powell, W., 2003 . Neither market nor hierarchy. The sociology of organizations: classic, contemporary, and critical readings, 315, 104-117. Read More