Behavior, Needs, and Motivations in a Hotel Environment - Essay Example

? Behavior, Needs, and Motivations in a Hotel Environment Behavior, Needs, and Motivations in a Hotel Environment Introduction In researching the trends in a hotel, it is important to understand the way in which to approach marketing research in order to appropriately address any deficits in the services that are being offered and any markets that could be reached with reasonable adjustments. Researching current trends through industry resources provides a framework in which to better understand modern expectations of travelers. Once trends have been identified, an appropriate research project can be created to address the ways in which a hotel is meeting the needs as outlined by the demographics who are interested in that service. One of the recent trends in travel is in offering ‘green’ accommodations in which the lowest impact possible on the environment is applied to the experience. The following report has identified this potential trend and explores the ways in which the Radisson Edwardian Hotel in Manchester has met the needs of those interested in the topic of ’green’ travel and what ways in which it can further exploit this trend. 2. Process of Market Research in the Hospitality Industry Marketing research in the hospitality industry can be conducted through a five step process: define the problem and research objectives; develop the research plan; collect the information; analyze the information; and present the findings (Sudhir 2009, p. 41). Because the topic of this report is on sustainable and ‘green’ industry trends, the concept of responsible marketing will be taken into consideration as it is addressed by Sloan, Chen and Legrand (2006, p. 92) who state that there has been a shift away from the traditional methods of research towards a belief in the way in which marketing is produced should take a stakeholder point of view. The nature of the research should be to follow a concept from inception to application in order to assure it has produced an ethically viable result. Andrews (2009, p. 41) states that there are three criteria that should be examined in order to justify creating a marketing research program. The research should be focused on one or a combination of concepts that either define an exploratory topic that sheds light on an issue, a descriptive result which will shed light on a phenomenon, or a casual inquiry that explores a ’hunch’ that might be a benefit in the industry. The research that is used for researching the impact of ’green’ practices on the satisfaction of a guest at a hotel is through a descriptive model in order to describe the phenomenon of the trend and its impact on travel stays at a hotel. 3. Secondary Research Jenner and Smith (2008, p. 5) define green travel, in what is termed as a simple form, through stating that it involves traveling in such a manner as to do the least amount of harm to the environment. Travel, by its nature of using energy to get from one place to another, most often has a high impact on the environment. The idea is to minimize that impact as much as possible. According to Ching (2010), one of the best ways to create a green travel plan is to participate in a eco-friendly experience, engaging the out of doors with environmentally sustaining practices. However, it is not always possible to plan a vacation or business trip with camping as the mode of accommodations. The hotel industry has engaged the concept of green practices in order to present themselves as being environmentally friendly. As exampled in Table 1, which is table 6.4 from Yudelson (2008, p. 117), there are a series of ways in which green practices will benefit a hotel from a business point of view. As an example, in the United States, the Hilton Hotel in Vancouver, Washington received certification at the silver level for a modest investment in each room which provided ten times that in publicity returns (Yudelson 2008, p. 117). Seemingly small activities can provide a large benefit towards both green accreditation and towards meaningful environmental savings. An example can be in reusing plastic nametags, collecting them after each event and reusing them for subsequent events. This passes on the savings to the customer as well as providing an example for others in ways to lower waste (Seneviratne 2007, p. 237). Hotels are extremely wasteful enterprises as far as environmental impact is concerned. They do loads of laundry that are unnecessary, lights are left on by guests as they have no need to worry about the bill, and the television is left running when they leave the room. The venues are open round the clock so that little to no relief is felt because the lobby is always in operation (Dwell 2007, p. 172). Therefore, providing savings from the in the smallest of ways can help towards diminishing the impact of energy, water, and waste as it is generate in day to day operations. Environmental management is a position in which the responsibility calls for the associate to analyze the impact that an operation is having on both the environment and on operational costs, and to initiate ways in which to decrease impact and increase savings (Olsen and Zhao 2008, p. 213). According to Olsen and Zhao (2008, p. 213), “A sustainable organization may be defined as one that can satisfy its own needs, without diminishing the opportunities available for future generations in respect of the economic, ecological, and social aspects of that organization and its environment”. One of the leading hotels in the growth of green practices is a Swedish based chain called Scandic Hotels in which rooms of their hotels were designed to reduce the use of plastics, conserve on water through fixtures designed for that purpose, as well as fixtures that reduce energy usage (Beatley 2000, p. 393). Through concerted efforts to pay attention to the use of natural resources, the hotel corporation lead the growth of green practices in a meaningful way. Websites have appeared to facilitate finding hotels that are environmentally friendly. Sites such as greenhotels.com and environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com can help a traveler find green hotels as well as offer yet another opportunity for good publicity for the hotel (Beres and Beres 2010, p. 222). Radisson Edwardian Hotels, Manchester (2011) specifically lists on their home page that they have been certified green by Green Tourism Business Scheme and attained a silver level within that organization. Organizations like Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), Green Leaf Program, and Green Global Program all offer opportunities for promotion as for venues that have actively pursued environmental management as a focus within operational activities (Oh and Pizam 2008, p. 44). 4. Primary Research The primary research for this report was conducted at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel in Manchester. The hotel is located in the historic Free Trade Hall on Peter Street and has the Sienna Spa and Opus One bar and Restaurant as some of its amenities within the venue (Radisson Edwardian Hotel 2011). The research was conducted looking for 30 viable participants who fit into a certain criteria. The research searched for respondents who were staying in the hotel and had already spent one night in the hotel. A third question was asked about the satisfaction with their stay so far in the hotel. Anyone who responded with an answer of unsatisfactory or somewhat unsatisfactory was not further surveyed because it was decided that a previously negative feeling about the hotel would be counterproductive to the results of the rest of the survey. Six questions were asked to focus on the importance of ‘green’ trends in their travel plans where hotels are concerned. A final question asked for three of twelve important properties of travel to be circled as important in a satisfactory experience in a hotel experience. As it was undesirable to have the hotel influence the answers, nor was the researcher a direct representative of the hotel, the survey was conducted outside of the doors of the hotel and the researcher carried a clipboard and wore a badge that identified them as a student from the university. 5. Findings and Analysis During the administrative of the survey, 94 people were approached in order to obtain 30 who fit into the appropriate criteria for the research. Awareness of the Green Business Scheme participation was at a medium rate of 2.73, meaning that awareness of this status was penetrating travelers at about half. Importance of the green practices of the Radisson hit at a median of 3.16 with the added knowledge of green practices creating an impact of 2.8, meaning that through the survey, green practices were holding at having a fairly neutral impact on travelers. As shown on Chart 1, the average traveler does not consciously look for green practices from a hotel when they book into the accommodations. While the median score of 2.8 represents a neutral value to the impact of green practices, the chart shows a much more unconcerned nature on the part of the traveler. However, Chart 2 shows that the impression of he hotel is affected by green practices by about 1/3. Personal green practices did seem to be a part of the way in which the travelers perceived themselves and they suggested that they would take that into consideration when planning their next vacation. However, this might be due to the influence of the topic as the survey did not show a significant affect on past reservation practices. 6. Recommendations Despite the ambivalence with which the green practices of the hotel seemed to impact the travelers who had spent at least one night in the hotel, this does not imply that green efforts are not valuable. In order to get a more accurate research, a more longitudinal study should be done to get more complete results. Additionally, the secondary research shows valuable public relations and marketing potentials that cannot be ignored. As well, the savings on energy costs is worth the modest amount of cost and effort that is put into the attempt to have a more ‘green’ reputation. Because the research shows a higher level of cost savings by going green than by continuing operations in such a way that leaves a significant impact, improvements should continue to be made towards lowering the environmental costs. Additionally, the ethical consideration in being an environmentally conscious industry and in working towards sustainability increases the hotel’s public profile and represents a value to the nature of the hotel within the industry. Bibliography Andrews, Sudhir. 2009. Sales and marketing: a textbook for the hospitality industry. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education. Beatley, Timothy. 2000. Green urbanism: learning from European cities. Washington, DC: Island Press. Beres, Lisa, and Ron Beres. 2010. Just green it! Philadelphia, PA: Running Press. Ching, Jacqueline. 2010. Jobs in green travel and tourism. New York, NY: Rosen Pub. Dwell, November 2007. Green Hotels. Accessed 29 June 2011 from Jenner, Paul, and Christine Smith. 2008. The green travel guide. Great Ambrook: White Ladder. Oh, Haemoon, and Abraham Pizam. 2008. Handbook of hospitality marketing management. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Olsen, Michael D., and Jinlin Zhao. 2008. Handbook of hospitality strategic management. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann. Radisson Edwardian Hotels, 2011. Accessed 28 June 2011 at Seneviratne, Mohan. 2007. A practical approach to water conservation for commercial and industrial facilities. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Sloan, Philip, Joseph S. Chen, and Willy Legrand, 2006. A new horizon in food and beverage management: principles of sustainable operations. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Yudelson, Jerry. 2008. Marketing green building services: strategies for success. Oxford: Elsevier/Architectural Press. Appendix 1 Questionnaire Participant Criteria 1. Are you currently staying in this hotel? 2. Have you spent at least one night in the hotel? 3. How would you rate your stay? unsatisfactory somewhat unsatisfactory neutral somewhat satisfactory very satisfactory Survey Questions 1. How aware were you that the hotel was a part of the Green Business Scheme and was making efforts towards ‘green’ standards of practices? not at all somewhat aware highly aware fully informed 2. When you made your reservations or walked in to this hotel, how important did you find the level of ‘green’ efforts made by the hotel towards environmental responsibility? not aware not important neutral important very important 3. Has the efforts that the hotel made towards ‘green practices impact your opinion of your stay, and if you were not aware before this survey, has that knowledge made an impact on your opinion? Not impact somewhat not impact neutral some impact high impact 4. If so, what degree of importance does ‘green’ effort make on your opinion of the hotel? Not important somewhat not important neutral important very important 5. How important is ‘green’ living to your personal lifestyle? Not important somewhat not important neutral important very important 6. Will your future travel plans include inquiry about the level of ‘green’ efforts made by the hotel in which you make your reservations? Not important somewhat not important neutral important very important 7. Of the following concepts, which three have the most importance in determining the level of satisfaction you have in your hotel stay? Cleanliness (28) Green Practices (6) Room Service (2) Service (1) Bed Comfort (14) Luxury Services (4) Spa Services (9) Concierge (3) Meeting Rooms (0) Location (7) Rate (15) Food Venues (1) Appendix 2 Tables and Charts Table 1 (Yudelson 2008, p. 117) Chart 1 Question 3 Chart 2: Question 4 Appendix 3 Questionnaire Findings Read More