Strategic Plan for Atlantis Palm Hotel and Resort - Case Study Example

ATLANTIC RESORT-DUBAI Name: Course: Tutor: University: City and State: Date: Atlantic Resort-Dubai History and Development Atlantis, The Palm is a hotel resort in Dubai located at the crescent of Palm Island Jumeirah. It is the first resort to be built on the island. It was opened in 2008 as a joint venture between Istithmar and Kerzner International holding Limited. The hotel has 1500 rooms with two accommodation wings consisting of the West and East tower which are both connected by the Royal Bridge Suite. Aquaventure Water Park and the popular Nasimi beach complement the resort and play a role in hosting concerts and events. The resort was opened on September 24th 2008 and is managed by Kerzber International resort. The hotel required a lot of effort to construct including the establishment of a man-made island in Dubai. Strategic plan Atlantis palm hotel and resort is focused on developing a corporate brand identity that will position it for growth opportunities. With its extensive skills in resort management and sales and marketing in the luxury hospitality industry, the resort company intends to improve its revenue management, strategic planning, resort operation, business management and central reservations in order to achieve its objectives(Bodeker, & Cohen, M. 2008, 16). For increased customer satisfaction and profit making, Kerzner International wishes to expand its infrastructure in the resort. It is set to have its second Atlantis that will cost a $1.4 billion. The resort developer plans to establish nearly 250 luxury residences and 800 guestrooms and suites with expertise architecture from Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF)and expects the Royal Atlantis Resort and palm residences to redefine luxury in Dubai. It is also set to construct a new sky pool which will soar 90 meters above the palm and will offer excellent pool experience with the city views of Dubai. The new project is also accounting for an establishment of a never seen marine experience. The new Royal Atlantis Resort and Residence project will provide a new resort living experience for tourism and local citizens while adding an exclusively dynamic with its definitive habitations. The hotel management continues to focus on a global strategy and is focused to make a significant impact in Dubai.The Investment Corporation of Dubai is working in collaboration with Kerzner International to ensure that the project is completed(Bodeker, & Cohen, M. 2008, 18). ICD is the investment arm of Dubai government and has a portfolio that currently represents a cross-section of Dubai`s companies in sectors deemed by the government for a continued innovation and growth of the Emirate. The ICD has confirmed that the initial phase of $1.4 billion Dubai waterfront mixed-use project is on track for its accomplishment by the end 2016. Marketing (local and international) The economy of Dubai is dynamic and attracts the attention of hotel operators all across the world. Atlantis has a great repute to attract customers from all over the word. Atlantis provides a unique brand that helps in promoting the positioning and purpose of the company and this helps them in maintaining their employees thus offering a competitive advantage over other resorts located in Dubai. The resort has a multichannel marketing strategy with third party intermediaries such as Expedia, Booking.com, Orbit and many others. These channels help in driving brand awareness and bookings in emerging markets(Wisnom, & Capozio, L. 2012, 62). The strategic partnership in international markets with third party intermediaries enables them to achieve better results and check on the value and commission that the channels bring. Atlantis continues to collaborate with suppliers on strategic marketing activities to pull customers and visitors from key emerging hotels and spa businesses.Internationally, Atlantis is working with Russian leisure markets to help increase revenue through high business volumes. It has wholesalers, travel agencies, wholesalers and professional associations within international, regional and local marketsWisnom, & Capozio, L. 2012, 64). Seasonality The hotel has attractive sites such as the water park, the lost chambers , a dolphin bay, a huge aquarium and dining restaurants,. There are also rooms and suites which have aquarium walls. The hotel is regularly frequented by tourists regardless of the natural variations like rainfall and temperatures. The seasonality of the resort is measured in visitors` number, arrival and departure numbers, overnight stays and the length of stay and visitor expenditures which are done on a daily basis(Smith, & Puczkó, L. 2009, 52). Local community positioning Atlantis Palm Island is located at the Apex of Jumeriah and near the popular Nasimi beach in Dubai. The resort covers over 112 acres, with over 1500 rooms. The major onsite attraction site includes over 42- acre water themed amusement park, a sizable lagoon and undersea water. Atlantis the Palm is situated roughly 35 kilometers and 50 minutes from the Dubai International Airport. The local tourists’ attraction sites near Atlantis are Jumeirah beach, Dubai Marina, Bur Dubai, Dubai International Convention Centre, Creek Golf and Yatch Club, and Dubai Museum. HR functions & Customer service The Human Resource management of Atlantis is focused on strengthening the employee to employee relationships and ensuring that they look for more information in finding out what customers need and their experiences(Cooper, P. 2008, 67). The Human Resource functions in Atlantis Palm Resort are; - the responsibility for manpowerdevelopment and planning, staff housing at the Resort and Human Resource Administration. They also have the responsibility to obtain customers feedback. The responses cover what they need to be improved and their experience of the current services offered in Atlantis. Such feedback generates an overview of the Human Resource function and provides fresh insights thus helping the HR department to focus its efforts in areas that are of great value to the resort. HR functions also have the duty to help the workforce and balance business and employee’s needs(Cooper, P. 2008, 69). Effective Human Resource purposes for employees are seen as supporting the responsibilities of the line of people in the management sector. They are responsible for coaching managers especially in cases where performance is valued. Customers value an HR who is proactive and can spot issues ahead of time and work closely with the company mangers to address those issues. A proactive Human Resources is able to bring new innovative ideas from outside the business, is more emphatic if managers are contravening codes or behavior policies and works across the business to attain more reliability of individuals management to deploy and develop better people for the benefit of the resort at large(Cooper, P. 2008, 71). Another role of HR is to serve employees. Since Atlantis is a service department, the main focus of the HR responsibility is to meet the needs of managers and employees. They also have the responsibility to recruit employees whose abilities and skills are aligned to the job. They should therefore provide training and orientation to ensure increased productivity and mange turnover through counseling and coaching(Christensen, S. 2010, 29). . Guest activity programming The resort has an entertainment information portal to all the activities that day visitors and tourists can experience in the resort. Atlantis also has a website that gives rich information and imagery to assist visitors in planning their trips in advance depending on whether they need to plan a meal or make room reservations(Mill, R. 2001, 8). There’s more prospect to watch the aquatic life in "The Lost Chambers", a maze of subsurface halls and tunnels under one of the inlets. There are more than two hundred and fifty species that can be watched in the open-air marine habitation including eels, sharks, rays, numerous species of exotic fish and piranhas. Suites feature bathrooms and bedrooms with a better view of the underwater world. Guest activities like a swim with the dolphins at the dolphins’ bay offers a wide range of dolphin interaction suitable for all ages and swimming abilities. The dolphin bay package includes;- 30 minutes in the water, 15 minutes orientation with the dolphin specialist, 30 minute check-in, swimming suits and vests, same day access to private beach and Aquaventure waterpark, Showers and changing rooms, lockers and towels for use whilst at Dolphins bay and soft drinks/bottled water after the interaction(Mill, R. 2001, 12). Guests can also indulge themselves in one of the 27 treatment rooms at the spa whereby they can receive an array of rituals and treatments including facials, massage, exfoliations and body wraps using oils and precious essences. It also offers other adventure activities such as deep sea fishing, moonlight dhow cruises and sand-boarding. Dining activities entails a selection of international or regional dishes served inside and prepared by professional world-class chefs. Other than dining services, the resort offers Arabian coffee, in-house night club and separate facilities for kids. There are also other ordinary activities on the guest program that adds to the uniqueness and fun oftheir holiday splurge –the guests can take a mixology class to advancetheir bartending skills, learn self-hypnosis or mediation and a drum session with expertinstrumentalists. Atlantis offers a spot of retail therapy to all its customers and ensures that they get the satisfaction that no other resort can offer them. There is a variety of indulgence boutiques,which offer everything from designer products to high-class local products(Christensen, S. 2010, 36). Future directions management recommendations for improvement Atlantis focuses on expanding its services all over the world to increase productivity and ensure that tourists receive first world class services. The ICD reaffirms to support any future expansions of the company to ensure that there is a long-term growth of the local hospitality market since it is a key growth and pillar sector for the economy of Dubai. For improvement recommendation, Atlantis should consider leaving comment cards in the rooms with plenty of space for the guests to write about their feelings about the services offered by the hotel. If a guest was not satisfied with her stay, they should contact them to enquire about the reasons why she was dissatisfied. They should also visit an online review website for businesses and go through each review of the hotel and list all the problems reviewed out then adjust the practices and policies of the hotel to reflect the listed problems(Christensen, S. 2010, 44). . References Bodeker, G., & Cohen, M. ,2008. Understanding the global spa industry: spa management. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Christensen, S., 2010. Frommer’s Dubai. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Cooper, P., 2008. Opportunity in Dubai: making a fortune in the Middle East. Petersfield: Harriman House. Mill, R. C., 2001. Resorts management and operation. New York: Wiley & Sons. Smith, M. K., & Puczkó, L. 2009. Health and wellness tourism. Amsterdam:Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Wisnom, M. S., & Capozio, L., 2012. Spa management: an introduction. Boston: Prentice Hall. Read More