Luxury Hotel Brand - Term Paper Example

Running Head: Consumer in Hospitality Consumer in Hospitality of the of the Consumer in Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism The Four Seasons Hotel is the Canadian-based global brand aimed at the top of the hotel market, as well as the wealthy, has always been amongst the top hotels throughout the world including UK. "In 2005, 17 Four Seasons properties ranked in the Top 100 List, including five in the top 20. By far, more than any other hotel company." In my report I will be covering why Four Seasons has been given these ranking. It will include the psychological factors such as ego involvement, reinforcing, motivation, the effects of emotions and positive experiences. Sociological factors such as family and friends influences. The physical environment such as it's location, setting and different activities offered. The marketing strategies will include the brand image, loyalty, visuals, advertisement (http://www.fourseasons.com/about_us/awards_and_accolades.html) Four Seasons was founded by Isadore "Issy" Sharp. After graduating from Toronto's Ryerson's Polytechnical institute with high grades in architecture, he joined his father in selling refurbished houses at a profit. However, it was his dream to build a hotel of his own. For 5years, he tried to find banks and investors to finance in his project. In the spring of 1961, Sharp's 126-room Inn was opened. Despite the hotel's poor location in Toronto's red light district, the hotel managed to attract many wealthy customers. His second venture, Toronto's Inn opened in 1963. The real fame came along with the Four Seasons Hotel at Hyde Park in London. Despite having average-than-higher room rates, it held 95% occupancy. Four Seasons now has 70 hotels in 31 countries, and more than 25 properties under development. Sales for the Toronto-based luxury hotel chain were $57.6 million this year. According to the data collected consumers have said the following about Four Seasons: "My experience with this hotel took place in February, 2006. I travelled to this hotel with business colleagues. I recommend this hotel for: business travellers, couples and romantics, honeymooners, families with teenagers, large groups, seniors, tourists." "My experience with this hotel took place in March, 2006. My husband and I recently spent a weekend at the Four Seasons in Philadelphia. Having previously stayed at The Rittenhouse (couldn't get a reservation there) we expected a similar level of quality and sevice. It was not the case. We were kindly upgraded to a suite which was nice but not spectacular. We had dinner in The Fountain Restaurant which was very good but extremely expensive. The room service menu is limited and also extremely expensive (I stay in alot of first class hotels and the prices here are high). Took advantage of their spa twice and it was fine although nothing too special. Overall, it is a nice hotel but not the quality you would expect for a 4-Seasons.I wouldn't stay there again, there are a lot of excellent options in Philadelphia." "My experience with this hotel took place in March 2006. The one thing that stuck out in my whole experience there was the friendliness and attentiveness of ALL staff. From the front desk person coming out from behind the desk to show us where the elevator and restaurants were to the housekeeping staff giving us a big smile and "good morning" to the staff on the phone asking if there was anything else they could do for you when we had a question, it was top notch!! Good Job Four Seasons." Since the 1960s Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts have not only challenged the traditional luxury image and established itself amongst the top but has also proven to extend its own boundaries, "culminating in the re-opening of the flagship George V hotel in Paris in 1999, which offers guests a combination of old world luxury and modern amenities". Despite being very different from the first hotel opened in Toronto in 1961, its position as a luxury hotel as been the same in locations such as Shanghai, Sharm El Sheikh, Amman, Riyadh, Budapest, and Tokyo. The secret being that each resort or hotel is unique to its settings, providing the consumers with their demands. (http://www.amchamthailand.org/acct/asp/viewdoc2.aspDocCID=1056) According to the new luxury hotel survey from the New York, NY-based Luxury Institute in 2005, Four Seasons Hotel earned the second highest honours as the most prestigious brand. "The Institute only surveys wealthy consumers with household incomes above $200K and average net worth of at least $2 million". Social status discussions, despite being a taboo among the wealthy, are secretly craved. And, when it came to the brands "that are used by people who are admired and respected"; a measure of the social status that a true luxury brand possesses, Four Seasons was a close second. The overall experience is the best measure of how much the brand has succeeded in developing its image as a luxury brand, again Four Seasons held a solid second position in "making it's consumers feel special". (http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2005_1st/Mar05_LuxuryBrands.html) Consumers, these days, are highly involved in their travel decisions. Never before, were consumers so well equipped with information which led to the fact, a consumer's egos becomes involved, once they know, they are in control of their decisions. Since the consumer's ego and beliefs are involved they want their providers to know what their demands and expectations are. They are not willing to expect anything less than the best. If they their needs are not met, they will not hesitate, next time on their trip, to book their rooms in another hotel. Known for its reputation for treating their consumers as royalty and especially paying attention to their particular needs, it is no surprise, when consumers bring their families or spouses or when they travel alone for business, they return to Four Seasons. Emotions created by hotels also have a role to play in the consumer's selection of hotel. Emotions may include comfortable, welcome, security, and hip/cool. Consumers are less price sensitive when they have positive emotions associated with the hotel experience. The more positive the experience, the more likely they will return to the hotel and also recommend it to others. Consumers are not loyal to just one hotel but the brand itself. Four Seasons was the first hotel to introduce the amenities that have made into today's hotel standards throughout the world. From shampoo and bathrobes to 24 hour con-cierge service and complimentary shoe shines, this hotel made sure from the moment their consumers showed up, they feel at home. Four Seasons continues to offer innovative loyalty programs such as "The Buddy Program". A buddy can be anyone appointed from the team of hotel employees - from food and beverage to reception. They secretly work to ensure that the consumer's need is taken care of - without the consumer even being aware of them. "In fact no guest would be told about their secret buddy, but they're there focusing on your comfort." This was introduced to reduce the language barrier between different nationalities. So buddies are selected on the basis of nationality. Otherwise they are matched by areas of interest. This way Four Seasons ensures consumers are properly taken care of in every possible way. (http://www.ameinfo.com/56988.html) Travel is all about making dreams come true. Whether those dreams are about relaxation, prestige or adventure. During their stay at hotels, people are expecting the staff to treat them differently. Emotions created by hotels also have a role to play in the consumer's selection of hotel. These emotions may include comfortable, welcome, security, and hip/cool. Consumers are less price sensitive when they have positive emotions associated with the hotel experience. As expected, the positive emotions are highly co-related with luxury hotel. The more positive the experience, the more likely they will return to the hotel and also recommend it to others. The staff at Four Seasons, from the time they join as employees, are instilled with the hotel's value system. The employees are provided with the respect and leadership, by the management, which enables them to confidently, take care of the consumer. The advice from family or friends largely influences how consumers base their decision about choosing the hotels. These are the trusted people whose advices matter for the consumer. Furthermore, they may be more experienced with travelling or may travel just as much as the consumer so it's possible they provide good information. Every single consumer is given the best treatment possible, in the Four Seasons hotel, so it is impossible for any complaint or bad perception of the hotel to be forwarded to family or friends who may be potential consumers. Four Seasons Hotel has thoroughly applied economics' bandwagon effect to their strategies. By observing their close ones, many tend to come under their influence and repeat the same thing, in this case choosing, Four Seasons hotel for their stay. Four Seasons has always chosen the best location for their Hotels. Anything from the clear blue waters and beautiful mountains, to urban city life, to a place in the exotic bamboo jungles, their physical surroundings have been exquisite and unique offering a rich culture of the region. They are further blended in with rewarding leisure activities such as spa escapes, championship golf, active pursuits from skiing to scuba diving, cooking schools to fly fishing. Four Seasons has also developed brand loyalty with the travel professionals. The Four Seasons sales team works closely with travel agents, meeting planners and other third party travelling services. Travel agents are consulted how Four Seasons should market its products. The agencies that give Four Seasons a major part of their luxury business are benefited in numerous ways such as receiving joint marketing, etc. Technology is an important tool in today's market to remain closely connected with the consumers. The technological environment within the Four Seasons is greatly influenced by the internet and the internal computer system. The consumers use the internet to research, book and pay for hospitality services which have largely influenced hoteliers marketing strategies. Because of which hoteliers make their product look more attractive, Four Seasons being amongst them. "According to a survey in 2005, of 2,931 online U.S. adults ages 18 and over, nearly three in four who stay in hotels when they travel says, they start their stay by researching hotel accommodations online. When asked to consider what factors other than price and location are important in selecting one hotel over another; the online hotel's written description and visuals were rated as the top two most important factors, according to the survey commissioned by VFM Interactive and conducted by Harris Interactive". The visuals were rated as the most important factor of all, more than one in four people had voted in its favour. Four Seasons, made sure every website includes all kinds of details and different photo galleries of their located hotels through which the consumer can conveniently browse through. Secondly, Four Seasons Hotels makes it a point to constantly update its machines, soft wares and computers by introducing new reservation systems, security and safety systems and other systems that enhances consumers appeal and eases the operation. This makes organization easier which leads to new assumptions on which the hotel can make its decision. They have implemented one database for all the reservations in any of the Four Seasons hotels, which provides the information in the local language. The booking system further fully integrated with the international airline booking system, making it easier to reach the consumer by the way of electronic reservation through the global distribution. Four Seasons' exclusive focus on the high-end travel market has always paid off. It has reinforced its image as a leadership brand nationally and internationally further by targeting itself in travel magazines, network and cable television, news wire services, columnists, newspapers in major markets, etc. The hotel has established a Four Seasons News Bureau service that provides up-to-date information on the hotel to all its consumers. According to psychology the image we are constantly exposed to increases familiarity and evidence suggests familiarity itself leads to liking. By exposing people constantly to the Four Seasons hotel advertisements is conditioning them unconsciously to develop an exclusive image of the hotel thus giving them an advantage over their competitors. Since people will be more familiar with this brand name, there are higher chances of them choosing Four Seasons over others. People may travel for a variety of reasons: relaxation, adventure, work, education, exposure, etc. The psychological motivations that are most identified with travelling are: Power and Ego: A lot of people travel to exotic places to feed their egos by wishing to appear as wealthy and solidifying their social status. Romance: many destinations have a reputation for being romantic. Depending on the traveller, this is a motivation. Cultural experience: Many people want to explore different territories and experience different cultures. This can be a learning base. As mentioned earlier, Four Seasons is a hotel with a reputation for luxurious escapes. No matter where it's located, Four Seasons is luxury at its best. It doesn't stop there; Four Seasons Resort in Sayan/Ubud was listed as "Best for Romance" by GOURMET magazine. Every location on its own, gives romance a whole new meaning. Four Seasons combines the unique cultural beauty of each region in their surroundings. It also plans trips to the local attractions to the point of helping them to shop at the local markets. Four Seasons has spent more than 40years in the industry, developing their image most closely associated with the word "luxury". It is of little surprise that this year, 19 Four Seasons hotels and resorts won the AAA Five Diamond Awards, the most prestigious awards for hotels to receive. It had received Gallivanter's Awards for Excellence in 2005 for a number of their hotels. The list of the accreditations seems to be never ending. Four Seasons currently has 70 hotels in 31 countries, and more than 20 properties under development. "From elegant surroundings of the finest quality, to caring, highly personalised 24-hour service, Four Seasons embodies a true home away from home for those who know and appreciate the best. Beyond the comfort of the bed, the beauty of the flowers, or the serenity of the spa, it's the people of Four Seasons who make each experience so exceptional. The deeply instilled Four Seasons culture is personified in its employees-people who share a single focus and are dedicated, highly skilled and inspired to offer great service". (http://www.fourseasons.com/about_us/index.html) References Building Brand Loyalty Among Luxury Hotel Consumers http://www.amchamthailand.org/acct/asp/viewdoc2.aspDocCID=1056 Accessed May 17, 2006 The power of hotel branding - EHMA - European Hotel Managers Association http://www.ehma.com/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=55 Accessed May 17, 2006 Most Prestigious Luxury Hotel Brand Ritz-Carlton Rated a Strong First, Four Seasons a Strong Second Among 15 Luxury Brands Rated / March 2005 http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2005_1st/Mar05_LuxuryBrands.html Accessed May 17, 2006 The Psychology of Travel - Consumer Behavior http://www.ntaonline.com/staticfiles/psychtravel_consumer.pdf Accessed May 17, 2006 Not Available http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/chr/pdf/showpdf/chr/research/casestudies/Four_Seasons_Final.pdfmy_path_info=chr/research/casestudies/Four_Seasons_Final.pdf Accessed May 17, 2006 Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts http://www.fourseasons.com/about_us/awards_and_accolades.html Accessed May 17, 2006 Harris Study Press Release www.vfmii.com Accessed May 17, 2006 Your secret brand buddy | Marketing Digest http://www.ameinfo.com/56988.html Accessed May 18, 2006 Guests' emotions can create opportunities to increase revenue - Hotel Motel http://www.hotelmotel.com/hotelmotel/article/articleDetail.jspid=11436 Accessed May 18, 2006 Ruder Finn - Public Relations - Travel http://www.ruderfinn.com/client.aspdept_id=7&menuitem_id=295&client_id=1296&bhcp=1 Accessed May 18, 2006 Psychtravel_economic.pdf http://www.ntaonline.com/staticfiles/psychtravel_economic.pdf Accessed May 17, 2006 Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts http://www.fourseasons.com/about_us/index.html Accessed May 19, 2006 Seeking Alpha Four Seasons: Can't Buy Me Love (FS) http://seekingalpha.com/article/10411 Accessed May 19, 2006 Four Seasons boosts income, sales: Hotel News Resource http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article22196.html Accessed May 19, 2006 Read More