The Hotel and Resort Management - Report Example

The Business of Hotel and Resort Management Professor (Tutor) The Name of the School (University) The City and State Date The Business of Hotel and Resort Management The following paper aims at developing a proposition for a property development in Inverness City, UK for the Sofitel Hotel chain. Sofitel Hotels are luxury French hotels managed by Accor with about one hundred hotels scattered in forty countries. The chain of hotels has developed a new plan to compete in the international luxury hotel market. Based on the growing hotel industry in the UK, Sofitel Hotels can effectively take the opportunity to strengthen its presence in the UK by developing a hotel in Inverness. The following proposal will include a profile of the proposed property, a research-based proposal, and newsletter contribution. Part 1 According to Sofitel Hotels, the main focus on their success in design and innovation. The proposed hotel property will be developed in the similar design inspiration of French Magnifique décor and architecture. For this key step, the proposed property will require a well-renowned French Architect such as Didier Gomez. The hotel will be developed on a building along Inverness High Street, which is renowned for its entertainment reputation. The building will be renovated to resemble French architecture. It will feature a four-story hotel including with 50 spaces dedicated to the hotel on the ground and first floor as well as 60 spaces dedicated spaces for the hotel in the second floor and third floor. The upper floor will be designed for secure and ample parking spaces. In the proposed hotel, the lobby and entrance will be located in the street level to offer easy access to the hotel. The proposed new Sofitel Luxury Hotel will feature 115 rooms including luxury suites, presidential suites, as well as conference rooms. These are the basics of the proposed new hotel. In specific, the proposed new hotel property development is for the Sofitel chain of hotels. According to Accor, the hotel chain plans to increase its international presence from one hundred hotels outlets to one hundred and fifty in the year 2015. Based on this projected goal, it is justifiable for the chain of hotels to set up a new hotel in the UK. Although the UK is smaller than other countries, it growth in numerous sectors make it an ideal location for expanding the chain of hotels. Currently, Sofitel Hotels is only present in London, UK. The proposed location of the new Sofitel Hotel is in the northern highland city of Inverness. Inverness city is a renowned tourism town with about one million visitors annually. Inverness is also a great opportunity the hotel business with an occupancy rate of 57% in the low season and highs of 97% in the peak season such as summer (Seric & Gil-Saura 2011, p 99). Being the only city in the highlands, Inverness is an ideal location based on its effective culture, infrastructure, industries, and communications. Overall, Inverness is an ideal city for setting up a new hotel property. In terms of category, the proposed new hotel will focus on the luxury and French segment. The international luxury hotel has witnessed increased growth over the years. Based on the focus of Sofitel Hotels, the proposed new hotel will also focus on the luxury category. In the UK, luxury tourism and hospitality has been on the rise. As business people, politicians, and prominent people seek to go on vacation, the luxury hotel will offer a unique destination based on its location and luxury segmentation. The proposed new hotels will also feature numerous facilities. One of the main facilities will feature a luxury spa that will offer wellbeing, beauty, cocooning, fitness, beauty, and a special section to cater for new mums and their infants. Additionally, the proposed hotel will feature state of the art conference rooms that will include video commencing, internet connectivity as well as high definition displays and presentation tools for all business needs. Apart from the conference center, the proposed hotel will also offer a dedicated business center with business information, infrastructure, as well as experts. The proposed hotel will also offer on-site restaurant rooms for the upscale luxury categories. Again, the proposed hotel will also offer a Sofitel Club Lounge, cake shop, coffee shop, as well as nightclub,. Guests will also be enjoy foreign exchange change desks, full service travels and flight transfer desk, babysitting services, high-speed WIFI internet, and express check in and check out, free-parking, and doctor-on call (Sahut & Hikkerova 2009, p. 44). Overall, the proposed new hotel will offer luxury facilities in its main segment including dining, health, fitness, and accommodation. Part 2 The proposed new hotel development is aimed to address numerous issues in the hotel and resort industry including consumer trends and opportunities in sustainability. Based on the current consumer trends, the international luxury hotel has witnessed increased growth in a new consumer category. The new category is the HENRY meaning high earner, not rich yet category of consumers (Kiessling, Balekjian & Oehmichen 2009, p 56). The new consumers make up a larger market section from the mainstream ultra-affluent people. Henrys also account for forty percent of spending in the international luxury hotel industry. For instant, most Chinese tourists are high earners looking to spend money and time in luxury hotels. The new proposed hotel will focus on ensuring that their interests are well integrated in the facilities and services. Most high earners use location, service, and brand awareness to select their choice of hotel. Based on this information, the proposed new hotel will undergo increased promotion to increase brand awareness. Marketing and promotion will be done through the internet, magazines, and word of mouth based on where most consumers acquire information (Roberts 2013 p. 88). Moreover, the new proposed hotel will hire staff fluent in different languages to ensure increased diversity. Based on the changing consumer trends, it has become easy to share service and cuisine experiences in numerous online review hotels (Venter & Cloete 2007, p 228). To meet the rising standards of service delivery demanded by customers, the proposed new hotel will focus on people excellence through personnel training and development (Litos, et al. 2011, p 77). Consumers are also increasingly becoming international meaning they merge play and work. Such consumer will work anytime anywhere meaning that the proposed facilities including high speed internet as well as business center will meet such needs. Furthermore, the proposed new hotel will also feature personalized experiences through different amenities and facilities such as the Spa to meet health, beauty, and fitness requirements. The second main issue the proposed hotel aims at addressing is trends and opportunities in sustainability. The design of the new hotel will be developed through a new design to meet its own air condition requirements (Jones, Hillier & Comfort, 2014, p 34). This will feature recycled water in the building for cooling, reducing the need to use energy on air conditioning, as well as reduced energy in terms lighting. The development of the new hotel will also feature eco-friendly furniture, facilities, as well as amenities. Sofitel Hotels are luxury French hotels managed by Accor with about one hundred hotels scattered in forty countries. The chain of hotels has developed a new plan to compete in the international luxury hotel market. Based on the growing hotel industry in the UK, Sofitel Hotels can effectively take the opportunity to strengthen its presence in the UK by developing a hotel in Inverness (Hanioglu & Arditi 2013, p. 77). The following proposal will include a profile of the proposed property, a research-based proposal, and newsletter contribution. Part 3 According to Sofitel Hotels the main focus on their success in design and innovation. The proposed hotel property will be developed in the similar design inspiration of French Magnifique architecture and décor. For this key step, the proposed property will require a well-renowned French Architect such as Didier Gomez (Wright 2013, p. 67). The hotel will be developed on a building along Inverness High Street, which is renowned for its entertainment reputation. The building will be renovated to resemble French architecture. It will feature a four-story hotel including with 50 spaces dedicated to the hotel on the ground and first floor as well as 60 spaces dedicated spaces for the hotel in the second floor and third floor. The upper floor will be designed for secure and ample parking spaces. In the proposed hotel, the lobby and entrance will be located in the street level to offer easy access to the hotel. The proposed new Sofitel Luxury Hotel will feature 115 rooms including luxury suites, presidential suites, as well as conference rooms. These are the basics of the proposed new hotel. References Jones, P., Hillier, D., & Comfort, D, 2014, Sustainability in the global hotel industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 26(1), 5-17. Kiessling, G, Balekjian, C, & Oehmichen, A 2009, 'What credit crunch? More luxury for new money: European rising stars & established markets', Journal of Retail & Leisure Property, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 3-23. Litos, CI, Politis, YN, Grigoroudis, ET, & Moustakis, VS 2011, 'A Sector-Oriented Methodology for the Development of Business Excellence Model-An Application in the Greek Hotel Industry', Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 83-103. Oates, G. 2014, Interview: How Starwood Hotels Sells Luxury to a Diverse Consumer Base. [online] Skift. Available at: http://skift.com/2014/04/17/interview-how-starwood-hotels-sells-luxury-to-a-diverse-consumer-base/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2015]. Seric, M, & Gil-Saura, I 2011, 'Integrated marketing communications and information and communication technology in the hotel sector: an analysis of their use and development in Dalmatian first-class and luxury hotels', Journal of Retail & Leisure Property, no. 5, p. 401. Sofitel Hotels 2014, Sofitel is a symbol of French elegance in luxury hospitality around the world, [online]. Available at: Terrero, R, & Sheivachman, A 2011, 'Sensible luxury development alive and thriving', Hotel & Motel Management, no. 1. Venter, I, & Cloete, CE 2007, 'A framework for successful hotel developments', SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 223-237. Hanioglu, MN, & Arditi, D 2013, 'Teaming/timing sequences in hotel development projects', Construction Management & Economics, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 369-385. 'Sustainability Is the Greatest Luxury of all for The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin', 2013, Internet Wire. Roberts, R 2013, 'Upper-Upscale development remains modest', Hotel Business, vol. 22, no. 9, p. 12. Sahut, J, & Hikkerova, L 2009, 'The Impact of Internet on Pricing Strategies in the Tourism Industry', Journal of Internet Banking & Commerce, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 1-8. Wright, E 2013, 'The Multibranded Hotel: New Efficiencies Through Innovation', HVS Global Hospitality Report, pp. 1-3. Read More