Rebak Island Resort Services Analysis - Essay Example

? Service Product Analysis Contents Contents 2 Executive Summary 4 Rebak Island Resort-A Taj Resort 5 Background of the Service 6 Location of Rebak Island Resort 6 Span and Size of Rebak Island Resort 6 Positioning of Rebak Island Resort in the Target Market 6 Analysis of the Rebak Island Resort Based on Seven Ps of Services Marketing 7 Product 7 Price 8 Place 9 Promotion 10 People 11 Process 13 Physical Evidence 14 Recommendations to Rebak Island Resort based on the above Evaluation 15 Product 16 Promotions 16 People 17 Physical Evidence 17 Conclusion 18 Referencing 19 Executive Summary Rebak Island Resort a hotel company related to the Taj Group is located in the picturesque Rebak Islands. The Resort Company can be reached from both the Langkawi Airport or from the nearby Langkasuka Port. It presents to the visitors a large number of facilities and amenities that are evaluated to be the best in standards against the other hotel companies spread around the region. Rebak Island Resort, a five star category hotel in Rebak Islands also presents to the visitors a natural viewing treat in terms of creating an underwater aquarium in addition to the room and dining facilities. The paper focuses to evaluate the services provided by the Resort through analysing based on the Seven Ps of Services Marketing. Finally after conducting the needed evaluation the paper concludes through rendering useful recommendations for the Rebak Island Resort to help gain a larger potential in the realm of their hospitalisation activities rendered to the visitors and tourists visiting the island from different corners of the world. Rebak Island Resort-A Taj Resort The Taj Group is the constituent or collective name for the large group of hotels, resorts, spas and other hospitality units of The Indian Hotels Company Limited. Further the Taj Group that holds to be one of the largest and most popular hotel companies in the Asian market in terms of service standards, aesthetics and other parameters stands out to be the glowing symbol of Indian hospitality. Taj Group internationalises through the opening of 16 hotels in several international locations like Maldives, Malaysia, in other developed countries like United Kingdom and United States and similarly along emerging economies like Africa, the regions of Middle East and Sri Lanka (Taj Group, 2012). In the context of the project the company chosen is Rebak Island Resort situated in Langkawi, Malaysia. This hotel company is the international wing of Taj Group in the Malaysian region. Rebak Island Resort got its name from the native Rebak Tree found in the Rebak Islands. The Rebak Islands is one of the 99 islands that constitute the Langkawi region. The region holds a pristine glory in terms of the natural exhibits found pertaining to forests, mountains and a large number of beaches. The Rebak Island Resort can be reached by the visitors by taking a five minute ride from Langkawi Airport to Langkasuka Port and subsequently taking a fifteen minutes ride on a boat to the Resort. A host of facilities and services await the visitors at Rebak Island Resort that promises to serve the best based on standards set by the Taj Group (Rebak Island Resort, n.d.). The report tends to conduct a total analysis of the Taj Group based on the Seven Ps of Services Marketing concept. Based on the analysis conducted it would focus on rendering needful recommendations related mainly along Four Ps including the Physical Environment of the Services Group. These set of recommendations would be furnished to contribute to the development of the services standard of the company. Background of the Service Location of Rebak Island Resort Rebak Island Resort is located in Rebak Island a member of the large number of Islands forming the Langkawi region in Malaysia. The Resort is located at a distance of 4 Kilometres from the Langkawi Island while it can be reached by taking a boat ride of around 15 minutes from the Langkasuka Port. Span and Size of Rebak Island Resort The Rebak Island Resort, a hotel owned by the prestigious Taj Group spans a total of 390 acres along the magnificent Rebak Island. The Resort offering the best services in terms of accommodation, dining and other facilities becomes known as the perfect tourist spot (Taj Hotels, n.d.). Positioning of Rebak Island Resort in the Target Market In terms of brand positioning the Rebak Island Resort located in Rebak Island is a Five Star hotel in the region. More specifically the hotel is found to be the only available Five Star Hotel in the picturesque region of Rebak in Langkawi thus commanding a leadership position in the targeted market (Rebak Island Resort, 2007). Analysis of the Rebak Island Resort Based on Seven Ps of Services Marketing The analysis of the Taj Group Hospitality Venture based on the Seven Ps of Services Marketing would be rendered as follows. Product The Product Concept of Services Marketing relating to the hospitality industry focuses on the different aspects of the quality of services rendered along with the understanding of the customer relationship patterns followed. In that it encompasses the checking-in and out practices of the hotel company along with the friendliness reflected by the staffs. Secondly focusing on the room evaluation is carried out in terms of the amenities and infrastructures incorporated and the maintenance standards. Similarly in the third case the quality of the receptive and dining environments along with the quality of food supplied holds to be an important parameter in this regard. Fourthly for meeting requirements of business consumers the hotel companies are required to also incorporate conference and meeting facilities that thereby add value to the services generated. Finally the dimensions of staff responsiveness and attention to needs and queries of the consumers also holds to be a significant element related to marketing of hotels (Sohail et al, 2007, p.69-71). Focusing on only the hotel unit of Taj Group it is observed that loyalty packages are rendered mainly along three levels like Blue, Silver and Gold. Along the Silver category the hotel group renders loyalty points other than rendering checking-in and out services with also providing discounts and rebates on certain specific services categories. Again pertaining to the Gold category the hotel company in addition to rendering the host of benefits provided in the Silver category also provides non-alcoholic drinks and beverages along with provision of daily newspapers (Sahoo, 2011, p.64). The Rebak Island Resort, a member of the Taj Hotel Group renders specialised type of different accommodations along a host of other dining, touring and recreational facilities (Taj Hotels, n.d.). Different discounts and offers are rendered to the visitors in terms of their duration of stay in the hotel (Rebak Island Resort, n.d.). Price The Pricing segments of the hotel companies are carried out depending on different standards. Firstly the pricing standards are formulated in relation to certain occasions and events when rebates and discounts are rendered pertaining to the room prices. Similarly in the second case on account of emergence of destructive situations like large scale environmental or natural threats or other threats emanating from terrorist activities those prices of the rooms and hotel services are found to alter. This alteration is rendered to help the hotel companies draw customers at the time of recession occurring due to natural or manmade factors. Again in the third case segmentation is rendered in relation to the hotel rooms and services keeping in mind the nature or the segments of different consumer types available in the market. Thus different parameters both at the micro and the macro level operate to govern the pricing parameters and designing of various segments related to the hotel corporations (Mattimoe, 2007, p.136). Further the Pricing Standards in the Hotel sector are also decided based on different market segments to help attract visitors and consumers of different economic and income potentials. Generally the pricing segments decided for the hotel sector also largely relate to the quality aspects of the services provided. Likewise the hotels are divided into groups or segments like Luxury, Premium, and Middle Level (with and without the existence of Food and Beverage services) and finally the Economy Group. These hotel segments tend to differ on the level of amenities, compliments, existence of different facilities and also in terms of the rates related to the rooms and services offered (Enz, Canina and Lomanno, 2009, p.11). The Rebak Island Resort offers to the visitors a large array of different types of rooms along with various other facilities priced accordingly to suit the touring sentiments of the people visiting the island destination (Rebak Island Resort, n.d.). Place The parameter of Place or Location tends to play a significant role in enhancing the brand awareness for hotels and resorts. In fact, the advantages and benefits related to the parameter of location tend to belong to the level of Critical Success Factors behind the enhancing of the brand value of the hotel corporation. Large hotel groups tend to open their branches in specific locations as would enable the visitor or the customer to gain the ideal view of the region and also gain ready infrastructures and facilities that would help in conducting touring and other functions. Enhancement of the brand awareness for the hotels is further made possible through the creation of ideal web pages generating information to the visitors about the different location areas and also through the development of applications that would help in conducting reservations pertaining to room and other allied benefits online (Olsen et al, 2004, pp.148-149). Current distribution and place related strategies in context of marketing of hotels constitute of working in an enhanced fashion through the placing of attractive contents and designing pages in the manner of linking them to social media platforms. Thus the current distribution and marketing strategies for hotels are being conducted through the designing of specific marketing teams in the domain of electronic marketing. These marketing teams would evidently focus in the creation of attractive social media pages as well as the creation of blogs where the tourists or visitors can post comments regarding their tour experiences and also can submit videos and photographs taken. These activities would help in enhancing the level of brand awareness for the hotel company in the targeted market (Lanz, 2010, p.2). Relating to the above discussion Rebak Island Resort in Malaysia operating as an unit of the Taj Group operates based on the creation of a website that assists the visitors to gain enhanced views of the different type of hotel rooms and services available and as well as helping them to make online reservations. The site presents to the visitor a pervasive experience of the different types of offers, packages and different facilities rendered thereby enhancing the relationship base with the prospective consumers. The site also tends to brief the visitors about the manner they would reach the resort from the nearest airport, Langkawi thereby helping them in making an easy tour (Rebak Island Resort, n.d.). Promotion Like the distribution and location strategies formulated through the use of the online sphere the hotel companies in the current context take resort of developing online promotional tools and activities aimed at the larger target market. Pertaining to online marketing the related marketing teams of the hotel companies are required to effectively evaluate the rate and the attributes of viewership to the different types of social media sites and thereby design and present contents accordingly. Effective choosing of the social media site contributes in gaining the right category of user and visitor base by the hotel company to promote its offerings in an enhanced fashion. More specifically the promotional activities conducted by the hotel companies can be segmented based on demographic profiles such that different contents can be developed and linked to different social media and blog sites depending on demographic variables like age, gender and income profiles. Similarly the online promotional activities of the hotel company can be broadly enhanced in that the marketing department of the hotel company links its activities with other online travel agencies. Linking the promotional ventures with other online touring sites helps in evaluating on the effectiveness of the same in relation to the responses received from the target consumer groups (Noone, McGuire and Rohlfs, 2011, p.298-302). International hotel corporations tend to work based on organising of online promotional events where visitors are invited and encouraged to post videos, comments and other types of creative contents like pictures in the promotional sites. Contests are held relating to such postings and rewards are generated in the form of discounts, offers and rebates related to vacation packages by the hotel companies. This type of online promotional activities excites the target customers to gain increased visits to such hotels pertaining to their tour activities and thus enhances brand loyalty (Ruzic, Andrlic and Ruzic, 2011, p.314-316). Promotional Offers are the Rebak Island Resort of Taj Group are rendered in the forms of additional privileges and also discounts and rebates depending on the number of days stay of the visitors. Similarly other promotional events are also planned relating to the number of days in advance when bookings and reservations are made by the visitor groups. Information regarding the various promotions is electronically mailed to the loyal consumer groups that in turn enhance loyalty for the brand. Similarly the promotional ventures are carried out in relation to several online travel agencies (Rebak Island Resort, n.d.). People Employees and managers in hotels both at the front line and middle level positions tend to significantly impact the level of customer confidence and loyalty to the specific hotel company. The pattern of interaction that the employees tend to share with the visitors to the hotel companies in terms of rendering hospitality services and in addressing their queries stands out to create a difference in the minds of the latter thereby encouraging them to conduct further visits to such hotels in terms of conducting tours in such places. Thus the internal people of the hotel concerns contribute in enhancing the potential of relationship marketing activities of the hotel companies. The management body of the hotel corporations on the other hand should focus on motivating the employees to generate more productive hospitality services to the visitors in terms of rendering financial benefits and rewards and other job recognition activities. Effective training must also be imparted to them relating to the organisational objectives (Kimpakorn and Tocquer, 2009, p.539-540). To make optimal utilisation of the manpower resources existing in a hotel concern the hotel managers are required to continually empower the individuals to take tasks and decisions on their own that would in turn contribute to the development of customer servicing standards for the concern. Management body of high class hotels thus focus on taking highly qualified and skilled staffs that would understand the efficacy of being empowered and thus effectively contribute to organisational development (Amenumey and Lockwood, 2008, p.277-278). In terms service rendered by Rebak Island Resort located in Langkawi, Malaysia it is observed that the resort gains popularity on account of the highly personalised and classy nature of hospitality services generated. The quality of services and hospitality generated speak in favour of the people or the staffs employed thus reflecting a set of highly committed and energised group of people working to hail the brand name of the Taj Group in Malaysia (Taj, n.d.). Process To enhance the service dimension the hotel corporations needs to effectively design and formulate business processes that would help in conducting effective surveys relating to the visitors and consumers so as to define services relating to the needs and aspirations of the latter. The management body of the hotel corporations needs to optimally use the level of existing resources to largely contribute in the development of effective relationship with the consumers in terms of meeting their needs in an enhanced fashion. Again the hotel companies are also required to conduct spontaneous survey of the level of satisfaction obtained by the visitors in terms of the services rendered. Gaining effective feedback from the survey would help the hoteliers in designing the right vacation package for the tourist groups and thereby help in enhancing the level of confidence among the consumer groups (Lin and Wu, 2008, p.1088-1089). The hotel corporations to focus on generating effective customer services needs to modernise its business processes based on the incorporation of information technology components. Use of information technology aspects must be used in an enhanced fashion to capture and store data relating to the personal information of the visitors along with their consumption and touring habits and the like. Again the information stored must also focus on incorporating the different interactions pursued with the customers via mails and other such processes and also on the different complaints and suggestions rendered by the consumer in the guest book of the hotel. The hotel companies must also focus on rendering due value-additions pertaining to the existing category of hospitality services that in turn would contribute in enhancing the level of customer satisfaction (Zhang, 2008, p.61-62). Rebak Island Resort to effectively satisfy different categories of consumers both business type and otherwise focuses on generating effective customer servicing functions. It renders a host of services related to providing car rental support and airport transfer services. Moreover the hotel to give the customer a ‘home away from home’ feeling effectively incorporates medical support, internet parlours, postal assistances, laundry functions and other services helping the visitor exchange currency and conduct daily shopping. For business interests the hotel company works in provision of a large conference room having the potential to accommodate around 150 people (Rebak Island Resort, n.d.). Physical Evidence The factor of Physical Evidence related to the hotel industry circumscribes or encompasses different set of service elements through the fulfilment of which the hotel company can effectively satisfy the expectations of the consumers or visitors. Firstly the reception hall of the hotel must be well dressed to render a welcoming note to the visitors. Secondly the management body of the hotel is required to present to the visitor different sets of culinary items to help the visitor effectively choose from such in appetising one’s taste. Thirdly the parameter of comfort needs to be intrinsically related and enhanced pertaining to the visitor’s stay in the guestroom and the specific room allotted during the stay. Fourthly the parameter of physical evidence pertaining to the hotels is understood from the level of flexibility and attendance demonstrated by the ground level staffs in terms of servicing the needs of the visitors to the hotel. Fifthly the consumers or visitors become quite sensitive pertaining to the parameter of cleanliness related to the environment of the hotel. Pursuing cleanliness in the hotel is the best manner to render a hygienic environment for the visitors to enjoy their stay. Finally the management body of the hotel needs to rightly adapt to the changing macro-environment parameters so as to effectively satiate the changing interests of the visitors (Naseem, Ejaj, and Malik, 2011, p.56). Another aspect that gains increased significance relating to the hotel industries of the current era is related to the dimension of ecological tourism. The dimension of nature tourism has gained far flung importance owing to the increase in the number of nature tourists in regions like Malaysia. The government of Malaysia is thus found to have become largely conscious about promoting the growth of such type of tourism activities and ventures related to the emergence of hotels both in the private and public sector types. More specifically the incorporation of ISO standards with the same happens to create new standards in the development and sustainability of eco-tourism functions in the region (Kasim, 2007, p.696-697). Keeping tune with the above discussion it is found that the management body of Rebak Island Resort generates different types of facilities for the visitors to enjoy upon. The hotel corporation renders different categories of rooms with add-on facilities like facing sea or lustrous gardens. In addition the hotel renders spaces and amenities for people to shop, gym, do internet and also to enjoy light bar and snack delights. Similarly keeping pace with the development in the dimension of entertainment and facilities Rebak Island Resorts presents to its visitors a large ecological park for the latter to gain views of the beauty of the underwater world. These additions put in place spontaneously help in attracting the visitors to the hotel (Hotel Club, 2012). Recommendations to Rebak Island Resort based on the above Evaluation Effective recommendations can be placed related to the Rebak Island Resort in terms of essential Four Ps out of the Seven Ps of services marketing including the Physical Evidence Parameter. Product Firstly in terms of Product, the Rebak Island Resort can effectively present to the visitors different complimentary facilities and value additions in terms of setting a Loyalty Card System. This Loyalty Card or Membership system can help the visitors redeem points on subsequent visits and also can help the hotel company enhance its relationship aspects with the loyal visitor groups by rendering them occasional surprises on their personal anniversaries. Further the loyalty card or membership system can be broken down into different categories to focus rightly on different consumer segments based on gender, income and age profiles. Such focused deals would thereby help the hotel corporation to gain adequate visitor entry pertaining to the different categories that would in turn contribute to revenue enhancement. Promotions Secondly in terms of Promotions, the Rebak Island Resort in addition to working on through the system of online promotional activities based on rendering electronic mails and other social networking activities also can work on the physical plane to gain enhanced awareness. Promotional campaigns can be rendered by the hotel company in the form of rendering galas and events in popular places by inviting people through direct mailers or through electronic mails. These promotional campaigns conducted in special occasions would help in creating much needed visitor hype for the hotel company. Promotional tools can be created both through physical and online advertising campaigns that would contribute in enhancing the rate of awareness for the hotel brand. People Thirdly in terms of the People factor the management body of the Rebak Island Resort can effectively focus on the inclusion of local people in different levels of their operations. Rendering entry of localities in the operational and customer servicing processes would help the hotel corporation gain a larger popularity among the wealthy local groups located in the Rebak Island and other Malaysian regions. This fact would also contribute in augmenting the localised image of the hotel brand as such contributing in the resolving of any future conflicts with the local islanders. Physical Evidence Finally in the Fourth case related to the parameter of Physical Evidence the Rebak Island Resort management can effectively design and enhance the visits of the people by organising special visits to forests and also conducting mountain trekking activities. Similarly the company management can also work in conducting of tours related to historical places or places of pre-historic interest in the Rebak Islands. This range of additional Physical Evidence parameters in addition to decoration of guest and staying rooms through flowers and local decorations would contribute in entertaining the guests in a much enhanced fashion. The above recommendations put in place and practiced by the management body of Rebak Island Resorts would help the company increase the interests of the tourists and visitors visiting the remote Malaysian Island from different parts of the globe. Conclusion Rebak Island Resort in Langkawi stands out to be one of the premium category or Five Star category hotel that aims to deliver high class quality of service, amenities and facilities to its visitors and tourists. Located on the pristine island the resort ranging about 390 acres happens to entertain the visitors through the creation of a natural aquarium along with a host of other value additions rendered in terms of room furnishings, dining and other communication facilities. The paper in terms of evaluation of the services rendered by the hotel through the use of Seven Ps cites useful recommendations regarding the service product in terms of introduction of loyalty card schemes. In promotional aspects the resort is recommended to gain hold of physical promotional activities in addition to other online promotional events. Recommendations are also rendered in terms of recruitment parameters where the resort can focus on taking local people both in the ground and middle management level to help in the enhancement of its localised brand image. Finally tours can also be organised by Rebak Island Resort by foraying into forests and other site tours to places of primitive interest. All such above events would contribute in service enhancement for the Island Resort in an emphatic mode. Referencing Amenumey, Edem K., and Lockwood, A., 2008. Psychological climate and psychological empowerment: An exploration in a luxury UK hotel group. Tourism and Hospitality Research [e Journal] 8(4) Available through: EBSCO Business Source Premier [Accessed 11 September 2012]. Enz, C., Canina, L., and Lomanno, M., 2009. Competitive Hotel Pricing in Uncertain Times. 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