Added Strategies in Marketing - Assignment Example

INTRODUCTION: The hotel industry is fast growing service oriented industry. Hotels(Bechtel L., 2002) are made and broken by the kind of service they give their guests. For the discriminating clients, the company must use its value chain(Nyberg A, 2002) to its maximum to pamper its choosy clients. It is common knowledge that a happy client(Harvard Business School, 1998) is a come back client. A satisfied customer will be a living advertisement for others to use the facilities of a hotel. The many aspects of the values chain (Harvard Business School, 2000) of the hotel industry in serving the various needs of its customers(Thompson & Strickland, 1999) is discussed below. Each daily interaction with the customers(Collins & Devanna, 1992) are seriously considered as a critical encounter. Management of Hilton Hotel(McGinnis C., 2005) has been known to take each customer encounter critically. Critical in the sense that all its services and facilities are geared towards satisfying the immediate business, comfort and leisure needs of the important customer. The entire Hotel Hilton company(Harvard Business School, 1999) puts all its range of management tools to satisfy the delicate customers' expectations. Hilton Hotel uses the value added activities (Harrison & Enz, 2005) that pertain to physical assets and processes including maximizing the people resources to win the hearts of its clients. Superior physical facilities are obvious sources of competitive advantage. Hilton Hotel is very famous for its very good use of the company's physical resources in order to maximize customer(Harvard Business School, 1999) satisfaction value. Hilton hotel is known worldwide for its high quality services in terms of satisfying the minimum requirements of the hotel guests of a good night's rest, comfort in the different venues of the hotel like the coffee bar, the entertainment section, the swimming pool, the sauna bath, and even where casinos are permitted inside the hotel premises. The Value chain, (Cooke, P., 1990) in Hotel Hilton's setting, divides the organizational processes into distinct activities that create value for the customer. Hotel Hilton's Value added activities are sources of strength or a competitive advantage when they give unique quality services to its many guests. This is what we call as quality in processes. Value added activities start from the Hotel Hilton's front desk, where check in is fast, enthusiastic and courteous. Employees, here, greet the customers with a happy face saying "aloha" or hello how can I help you, madame The clients, when checking out, will have fast and accurate billings for credit expenses from the client's stay at the coffee bar, the nightly entertainment section, the food service and the room services as well. Advertising is another major value adding activity for the Hilton Hotel. Magazines and newspapers as well other media outlets like the powerful television stations are being used as advertising outlets for Hilton Hotel. Its many services are even offered in the internet. One internet click at the word Hotel Hilton and the customer can register in any of its hotels. The customer can make a reservation check in a few days before flying to the hotel destination. The room service will be just one dial tone away. Another value added activity includes the support departments. These include the Hilton Hotel management, Hilton Hotel housekeeping department, the accounting and the purchasing departments. Another part of the value chain in a hotel setting is the information system and legal department. The different departments of the hotel must have accurate and up to date information for immediate decision making by the hotel staff assigned. The company often compares how it conducts its value added activities with the value added activities of its many competitors including other five star hotels in Europe. This comparison is needed so that the hotel can study the difference, in terms of services and facilities, and make the necessary changes to improve on areas where it is well behind other European hotels. The magazine, M2M gave the Value Chain Award to Hilton Hotels based on one of its introduction of another state of the art customer service. Hilton Hilton Hotels Corporation received a 2005 Value Chain Award for implementing remote monitoring to reduce energy costs and consumption within more than 50 properties in the Hilton Family of Hotels. The supplier, ei3, was also acknowledged for its role in the value chain as the provider of the Hilton "EnergyWatch" remote sensing device. With "Energy Watch," select Hilton hotels are able to remotely monitor energy and other utility consumption levels using a set of web dashboards that provide real time data that allow Hilton to take immediate action and monitor what they are consuming. This information is used to drive energy efficiency, thereby offering both environmental and economic benefits. According to Andrew Popp, the manager of its Hilton energy saving initiative division, "We are very pleased to receive this award as it underlines Hilton Hotels commitment to being a leader in energy efficiency. If the hotel does not know how much and when energy is being used there's no way it can be effectively managed. Hilton is committed to conservation efforts and energy management is a cornerstone in our program." Spencer Cramer, President of ei3 added, "We have made substantial investments in developing and continually refining our EnergyWatch products that not only help our customers reduce costs but more importantly have significant value to the environment. We are honored to receive this award along with a company like Hilton which shares our vision of employing best practices." Electricity is one of the major expenses found in the income statement. It is used in the entertainment clubs as well as in the hotel rooms when occupied by guests. Even if it is used to cool the hotel rooms, if there is a possibility to decrease the electricity cost, then the savings from the electricity will be used to pay for other necessary and fixed expenses of the Hotel Hilton. In the same light, If there is a way to reduce the cost of food ingredients used by the restaurant within the Hotel Hilton, then this will translate to lower Customer hotel billing expenses. There are clients who compare the billing rates of hotels that offer the same quality services. There are clients who choose economy hotel rates when staying in five star hotels. "The Value Chain Awards honor the most successful corporate adapters of M2M technology and the team of solution providers that made their success possible. The awards highlight the process of effectively combining multiple technologies such as device-connectivity hardware, radio modules, network service and provision, as well as application software and infrastructure, and show how all of the elements of the M2M value chain created a winning solution for the end customer"(Hotelnewsresource.com). How is the organisation attempting to build a relationship with the customer The organization is attempting to build a relationship with its customers by giving high quality services that are at par, if not more than par, with other five star hotels near its environment. One good example is this electrical energy sensing device. Such a device monitors the actual electrical consumption of every corner of all fifty Hilton Hotel departments. This will send messages to the human control center that the electrical consumption can be reduced thru electrical energy conservation. This electrical energy conservation procedure will translate to lower hotel bills that the client will pay. The fast and efficient high quality services that the customers are given is a strong overture to the customer(Harvard Business School, 2000) that Hotel Hilton in very serious in trying to build a long lasting business relationship with its repeat and new hotel guests. It facilities are at a standard well above most other hotels. This is the reason Hilton Hotel has expanded with presently over fifty hotels worldwide. - How do you think it could improve its added value and hence improve its chances of retaining its customers It could improve its present world first class standard of value added services and Hotel Hilton facilities and thereby retain most of its clients by continually studying new and better ways of serving its multi faceted services and facilities. One way to help improve its already world class facilities and services is let the Hilton Hotel guests fill up a customer survey before they check out of the Hilton Hotel. This questionnaire process helps the customer to be more participative in Hotel Hilton's facilities and production process. The customer's comments regarding the quality of food will be taken seriously in the improvement of its next servicing and production process. The value chain of Hotel Hilton described above involves the different departments of the Hotel Hilton company that complement each other to satisfy the comfort, leisure and business needs of the moneyed customers. The housekeeping department of Hotel Hilton sees to it that entire hotel is clean and bright. The front desk makes sure that from the check in to the check out period, the customer's immediate needs are attended with quality precision. The restaurant and kitchen staff will give its best in quality foods. The management will give more than necessary amenities and offer competitive rates to satisfy its customers while inside the hotel. The purchasing department will buy quality food ingredients, dry goods and wines and hotel facilities that will make the customer feel special. Hotel Hilton does not lower its well known quality service and its quality facilities because this would be reverse marketing. The customer survey will ask the customers to give their comments on quality and quantity of services that the Hilton Hotel staff has showered them during their brief stay in the hotel. Included in the survey will be questions concentrating on the quality and quantity of the facilities that the hotel has provided the guests. Hotel facilities will include the restaurant, the swimming pool, the entertainment area, the hotel rooms themselves, the aerobics or men's gym as well as the children's playing area and others. The questionnaire will also include what the customer wants to be included as improvements to the services of the hotel staff and the Hilton Hotel facilities. Comments are also being asked from the guests, leaving the Hilton Hotel, about the food that has been served in his hotel room or at the Hilton Hotel restaurant. Of course, suggestions as to what the customer wants to be included or excluded in the menu will be sincerely noted. Another value adding activity of Hotel Hilton of United Kingdom is when it offers many services to spoil its moneyed clients from most parts of the world. One promotion that it offers is its "experience Europe to the full" tour for only 68 pounds. Hotel Hilton offers group tours for hotel guests to personally experience the local culture and sample the mouth watering delicacies of the many European cities as well as major Asian tourist attractions. Group tours are offered at low rates to Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Brussels, Luxembourg, Munich, Budapest, Prague or even the historical town of the water level city of Vienna. Some amenities for these adventurous travelers offered as an added value by Hotel Hilton of Europe are breakfast in bed for only 68 pounds, tasting the city's local treats for a low rate of 76 pounds and the Discovery of the German culture for only 78 pounds. Other tourist destinations offered by Hotel Hilton are the Asian escapade to Malaysia for only 14 pounds, visiting the lovely United Arab Emirates and daring to explore the mystical land of India for only 63 pounds. Guests can book for online reservation thru this internet(Hilton.co.uk). Group tours encourage can encourage one present customer to invite some friends to go in a group tour. The group tour rates are lower priced than tours paid for in an individual capacity. The market for hotel guests are grouped(segmented) into individual clients who just want to stay in the hotel to rest or on business trips and cater to another market segment. One market segment consists of the hotel guests go on group tours to feel and taste the different European cities. Another market segment is the group of hotel guests that just want to stay the night to get a good night's rest. - How effective is the organisation's resources in delivering its service offering and how do you think they could be better employed or improved Hotel Hilton's many resources are presently really very effective in delivering its world class services and facilities. Its human resources are meticulously screened and well trained before they are placed in the front office or in its many outlets like the bar and the entertainment area. They will be the Hilton Hotel representatives that the guest will be directly conversing with. The design and function of each Hilton Hotel facility is well planned for maximum customer comfort. Its putting up of fifty hotel branches in many countries is proof enough that it has been effective in delivering the value added services that Hotel Hilton has been known to give in order to pamper its many worldwide clients. The Hotel Hilton facilities could be better employed if they clients are encouraged to use the many facilities and amenities of the Hilton Hotel. Since most of its clients belong to the top management of the corporate world, the time the guests of Hilton Hotel will spend is usually very short and hectic. But in this short period of time, the excellent services it has been known for in the many years of its existence has been repeatedly displayed to its choosy clients to use for their maximum comfort. The Hotel Hilton facilities are always maintained in its telltale tip top shape. The effect of the relationship of management's(Harvard Business School, 1998) implementation of high quality services at affordable prices and the providing of top quality hotel facilities like state of the art restaurants, nightly entertainment shows, mouth watering food delicacies, personalized and up front quick customer services will continue its tradition of maintaining a very high customer satisfaction rating. The organization of Hilton Hotel is managed to make all its services and facilities work towards full satisfaction of the customers' needs and wants. The customer will be made to feel safe and to have a "back at home" feeling. CONCLUSION: The value chain of the Hotel Hilton includes all departments within the hotel. They complement each other in bringing out its high quality services and facilities. Mouth watering dishes that spoil the hotel's choosy clients and fast and accurate billing services by the accounting department add value to Hotel Hilton. Hotel Hilton fills well the market segment composed of hotel clients who are thrilled by tours to major cities in Europe and Asia. Hotel Hilton uses the questionnaire results filled by its checking out clients to improve some of its services. Hotel Hilton must maintain its high quality services because of stiff competition from its competitors. Hotel Hilton won the value chain award because it was able to lessen the hotel expense of the guests. The lower customer billing was affected by reduction in electricity costs(Samuelson,1973). BIBLIOGRAPHY Harrison & Enz, Hospitality Strategic Management, P 74 -77, J. 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