Marketing Plan of Fairmont Empress Hotel - Assignment Example

Marketing Plan of Fairmont Empress Hotel Executive summary The management of Fairmont Express Hotels and Resorts is committed to addressing the need to increase its brand ratings. The marketing plan reveals the commitment of the company to increase its market share in the face of stiff competition. This includes the use of technology and qualified personnel during service delivery to appeal customer loyalty. Fairmont Express Hotels and Resorts have plans that ensure that the consumers get the experiences and not just services. The strategic team has proposed competitive prices and renovations to ensure modern systems are used in the delivery of services. The marketing team has analyzed the market segmentation and is committed to improving the consumer perception of the brand. The company hopes to increase the market share by a minimum of 20 percent in two years. The management has invested in talent reward management and competitive remunerations to reduce staff turnover rates. The strategic and management team of Fairmont Express Hotels and Resorts is also committed to the overall wellbeing of the local communities through CSR. Table of contents Executive summary 1 Table of contents 2 2 Introduction 3 Market situation 3 Threats and opportunities 4 Opportunities 4 Threats 5 Objectives and issues 5 Marketing strategies 6 Action program 8 Annual Budget 9 Controls 9 Appendices 9 References 10 Introduction The Fairmont Express Hotels and Resorts are located in multiple cities across North America and many parts of the world. They include New York in the US and British Columbia in Canada. The facility offers breathtaking views of natural beauty and rich heritage owing to the fact that it is roughly a century old. This has early the hotel respect and customer perception of high standards. The hotel offers convention rooms, culinary experiences, a variety of foods and family vacation facilities among others. The management has had to keep evolving to meet the changing demands of the growing market. The hotel has over hundreds of refurbished rooms which are fitted with modern technological features. The brand is established to give a high end luxury impression to the market. Market situation The role of hospitality the world economy has been on the rise. The industry has been one of the most profitable with unprecedented growth rate. However, the market situation indicates that the market can perform better. Economic decline has had a negative effect on the market performance with the hotel and tourisms industry being coerced to scale down. The hotel industry is faced by acute staff shortage during the peak seasons (Wood & Brotherton, 2008). Therefore, the industry is using incentives and reduces staff turnover rates and to ensure that they remain competitive. Hotel industries should segment markets into consumer groups that are homogeneous. Hotels like Fairmont Express target their market segments carefully through identifying the differentiating advantages that attract each segment (Wood & Brotherton, 2008). This includes offering competitive prices and choosing qualified personnel. Implementing marketing segmentation demands proper strategies. Model hotels have to implement market segmentation in complex organizational environments minimal resources and customer legacy (Shoemaker et al, 2007). Market segmentation addresses the market situation directly since its one of the most basic marketing concepts. The hospitality industry is divided into leisure and travel. Research shows that growth is forecasted to drive the hotel industry to reach $640 billion in the coming years. The economic stability in North America has been attributed to the success of the hotel industry in American and Canadian hotels. The market situation has been boosted by the significant growth as a result of a slight decline in the cost of travel (David, 2005). Changing lifestyle and availability of leisure time as an integral part of life has increased the market share. The ageing population in developed countries has boosted the growth of the hotel industry (Wood & Brotherton, 2008). However, there are needs to reinvent strategies to address the needs of the dynamic hotel industry. This target group is also known to spend heavily. International business is pushing the growth of the industry. Cutbacks on business travels have led to increased sales and revenues (Costa, 2010). However, the market situation has been affected by the global stability and security. Terrorism has had a negative impact of selected tourisms destinations (David, 2005). The organization has invested in highly trained personnel and offers promotions to attract potential customers. The marketing team aims at giving the customers experiences rather than mere services. However, competition from established hotels and new market entrants has been a major course of concern. Threats and opportunities . Opportunities Threats The hotel has the potential to create additional recreational facilities without having to incur unnecessary expenses on space The recovery of the economy offers of big opportunity to the future of the industry The company has a rich heritage because of the duration of existence The strong brand makes it hard for the market entrants to compete The hotel is strategically located in a beautiful scenery like British Columbia in Canada and Hawaii in USA Competition from other hotel companies offering the same products Unstable economy especially during the economic crunch had a negative impact in the productivity of the hotel industry The threat of new entrants has lessens the cost of alternative products. Evolving market needs arising from globalization leading to dynamism and radical review of traditional marketing styles. Fig. 1 Opportunities The organization has built a strong reputation. This is consistent with the period of establishment. The facility was founded in 1908. The hotel is situated in an attractive site covered by water. The gives the guests the experience the needs and adds to the product differentiation. The hotel has the capacity to expand with relative ease. The economic recovery in the United States has introduced an important chance for the organization to grow. Threats The hotel must use modern marketing styles and drop the traditional or conventional marketing. The company faces stiff competition from new market entrants who are technologically savvy. The force of globalization has led to uncertainty in future. The global economic crunch reduced the purchasing power of the potential and loyal customers. Economic performance remains a threat. Objectives and issues The marketing main objective of The Fairmont Express Hotel is to increase revenues. For this to happen, the hotel management has been forced to address a variety of other objectives. The company targets to increase its market share by 20 percent in the next two years. This strategic team has shall achieve this through investing in training personnel. This shall ensure that excellent and world class services are delivered leading to experiences rather than mere services. The company shall introduce a robust talent and reward management program to ensure that merit is rewarded. This shall increase the morale and develop the careers of the employees (David, 2005). The plan shall entail teamwork and a positive organizational culture and climate. The management is expected to reduce bureaucracy and encourage employee participation in decision making. Increasing the market share can be affected by a high staff turnover rate (Saloner et al, 2001). However, attractive remuneration and reward management schemes are expected to reduce the turnover rates. The management is investing heavily in technology to ensure a strong appeal to the global market place (Shoemaker et al, 2007). The IT department of the hotels has an interactive website with a massive database. This ensures most of the consumer queries can be addressed despite the geographical distance. The management is investing in mobile applications to market its products and services (David, 2005). Through technology the company addresses the consumer concerns with precision (David, 2005). This includes making special announcements and offers. The leadership of the hotel is committed to the local communities (Shoemaker et al, 2007). The company has a vibrant corporate social responsibility program. However, the management is committed to expand the program to include increased environmental preservation initiatives. This shall boost the image of the organization and attract potential customers. The move is expected to increase consumer loyalty and expand the market share to beyond 20 percent. Marketing strategies The market leaders of the organization are using marketing strategies to increase the revenues. The hotel is using word of mouth promotions and informative advisements to appeal to potential customers (Saloner et al, 2001). The marketing team does not aim at lowering prices. This is expected to lead to increased profit and sales. In order to ensure excellence in service delivery, the top management is considering training the personnel in advanced institutions. This will help the industry to evolve to meet the emerging demands in the industry (Wood & Brotherton, 2008). The hotel is committed to achieving its objectives through strategic partnerships and consumer relations. The management is involved in cementing the relationship between the consumers and the industry (David, 2005). This aims at make consumers feel more involved since they are stakeholders. The customer care department has to ensure regular contacts are maintained with consumers (Shoemaker et al, 2007). Consumers must be assured and satisfied. This demands innovative ideas and participation of all the stakeholders (Costa, 2010). The marketing strategy explores the alternative ways of ensuring that revenues are raised. The hotel management is using innovative ideas in the marketing strategies. The marketing strategy is related to market segmentation. This assists in identifying the segmentations through defined marketing strategies (Saloner et al, 2001). The hospitality industry is increasingly leadership to change the organizational challenges and culture. The hotel industry must be responsive to the expectations of the consumers. Hotel industry must invest in sales advertising and public relation strategies. The strategies must be formalized into practical strategies. Departmental heads must be trained on the need to have an inclusive decision making process. The hospitality industry is expected to act on the goodwill to its guests (Shoemaker et al, 2007). The provision of the hotel industry has changed in the face of globalization. The economic pressure and too many regulations have introduced performative behavior to introduce respect and goodwill. The hotel is trying to use authenticity to appeal to new market segments. Modern standards of hospitality are viewed through the number of visitors willing to come from repeat experiences (David, 2005). The hotel targets the all cadres. Modern provision of the services is subject to social status and judgment. The marketing team is aware that the modern industry has been extremely commercialized. The top management is moving from a strategy of individual attention to massive service delivery (Costa, 2010). However, the strategy is said to affect authenticity and regards for individual tastes. The strategic team is including a variety of attractions (Shoemaker et al, 2007). This includes enclosed setups and activities put in one setting. This is making the Canadian market and indeed the international guests to feel overloaded (Saloner et al, 2001). In order to remove the monotony of some of the products, the company is considering strategic partnerships to increase variety and quality services. Model hotels include shopping malls, casinos and entertainment. The strategic team appreciates that different customers carry different expectations. Differentiation plays a critical role in marketing. The anticipated uniqueness is known to be a strong inspiration for the customers or visitors (Shoemaker et al, 2007). Quality and sustainable service or product diffenciation leads to increased sales and revenues (Costa, 2010). The strategic team of the Fairmont Hotel embarks on prediction of guest’s expectations in an attempt to satisfy the needs and expectations of the consumers. Studies indicate that successful prediction of the consumer expectation in the hotel industry leads to success in the industry (Wood & Brotherton, 2008). Most of the modern hotels are offering multiple services under one roof in order to capture the aspirations of the customers. This strategy has been faulted for killing the magical experience that the customers expect because of confusion. The success and effectiveness of marketing strategies in the industry is rated on how fast the services or products are delivered. Consumers want both experiences and luxury. The hotel has developed a strategy to ensure that visitors to have an experience even when they are in a hurry (Costa, 2010). This has ensured that the organization remains differentiated and competitive. The company offers competitive prices. This has helped the organization to retain and increase the market share (Costa, 2010). The hotel hopes to use its strategic location in British Columbia to attract global consumers. The management ensures that the hotel undergoes regular facelifts to make it remain modern and an excellent destination. The strategic team believes that service and style must contribute to the anticipated consumer experience (Saloner et al, 2001). The management has developed excellent convention centers and unrivalled location of the water. This makes the organization unique and attractive to visitors leading to increased revenues. Action program The hotel is introducing management information systems and decision support systems to increase efficiency. The IT department shall use the program to assimilate the expectations of potential customers. The system shall be able to capture the opinions and feedback of the clients and all the stakeholders. This aims at ensuring that the guests get individual attention and that increased precision in service delivery. The organization hopes to construct enhanced lounges and restaurants in its action plan in the next 5 years. There are expected to boost the existing facilities and meet the strategic needs to the hotel. The management hopes to increase the number of guest services from twelve to twenty in the next five years. Some of the activities should include the family services. In this case, the hotel should create special facilities that accommodate the travelling families. This plan can be accomplished in three years. The strategic team can offer competitive prices from families that travel are a unit. The management of the organization intends to remain competitive through avoiding the globalization of food consumption. The replication of these services has introduced uniformity and homogenization of services. The hotel has a plan to have differentiated food services. The management is committed to enhance the room amenities in the next three years to increase the sense of appeal. This is consistent with the regular renovations that maintain the status of the century old hotel. Some of the modern services include wireless internet services and hair dryers. The action plan includes robust training programs for the personnel involved in frontline services and customer follow-ups. The training is an annual program that is done through partnership with world-class hospitality learning institutions. The strategic team has a plan to increase the number of amenities on target from seven products to over ten products and services. This may take two years to implement. The program shall entail establishing a vibrant and interactive website that shall ensure that customer feedbacks are received and acted upon in time. Some o f the amenities on offer include rollaway beds and TTY phones for those with hearing difficulties. The management of the organization has a plan to ensure that technology plans a central role in the running of the hotel. The management is keen to increase investments in technology by the 2014. This includes modernizing the wedding rooms and the express video facilities. The leadership of the organization is revamping its corporate social responsibility program in create more appeal to the local communities which might lead to increased revenues. The management hopes to improve the existing environmental stewardship to a higher level by 2014. Annual Budget Activity(product) Cost in $ Expected /Revenue forecast($) Renovating influstructure 30,000 Purchasing more computers and It facilities 10,000 15,000 Investing in latest software i.e. databases and DSS 10,000 Introducing new facilities to attract new market segments 20,000 60,000 Standardizing remunerations 30,000 Personnel planning and training 15,000 20,000 Marketing operations (this includes adverting, commercials, ads, internet ads, online and social media appeals 20000 50,000 260,000 135,000 145,000 Expected profit 10,000 Fig. 2 Controls There shall be systematic evaluation to ensure that the targets are met. Monthly evaluations shall be used to reveal the degree of success or failure in the implantation of the marketing plan. This shall entail detailed data collection tools and checklists. This monitoring and evaluation shall be conducted by professional teams who shall co-work with the employees. The results shall be indicated in a histogram to ensure easy communication through charts and graphs. The experiences shall be shared and the lessons shall be documented. This shall ensure that mistakes are not repeated and internal scorecards shall access the individual performance of teams involved. Appendices Fig 1- a table of threats and weaknesses Fig 2- a table of budget estimations References Costa, J. (2010). How Can Tourist Destinations Become More Competitive - What Key Tools Can Be Used to Achieve This Aim?. Bradford: Emerald Group Pub. David, F. R. (2005). Strategic management: Concepts and cases. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall. Saloner, G., Shepard, A., & Podolny, J. M. (2001). Strategic management. New York: John Wiley. Shoemaker, S., Lewis, R. C., & Yesawich, P. C. (2007). Marketing leadership in hospitality and tourism: Strategies and tactics for competitive advantage. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson. Wood, R. C., & Brotherton, B. (2008). The Sage handbook of hospitality management. Los Angeles: Sage. Read More