Identification and Evaluation of Marketing Opportunities for Hidden Valley Cabins - Case Study Example

Identification and evaluation of marketing opportunities for Hidden Valley Cabins Executive summary Hidden Valley Cabins is a family owned ecotourism resort business located on the Paluma Range North West of Townsville, Queensland Australia. The firm has several competitors. The firm relies entirely on solar energy to run its operations due to inaccessibility of national electricity grid to the location of the firm. This report aims at identifying and evaluating marketing opportunities for Hidden Valley Cabins. Table of Contents Introduction 3 Purpose of the report 3 Situational analysis 4 Market background 4 Environmental factors 5 Market segments 6 Market growth 6 Marketing opportunities 7 Financial viability of the opportunities 7 Ranking of the opportunities and their likely contribution to the business 8 Changes that ought to be made on current operations 8 Assurance of continued quality service to the existing customers 8 Estimated resource requirements for changed operations 9 Determination and communication of viability of making changes to current operations to stakeholders as required 9 Findings 9 Conclusion 9 Reference 10 Introduction Hidden Valley Cabins is a family owned ecotourism resort business located on the Paluma Range North West of Townsville, Queensland Australia (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). The business is owned by Ian McLennan. Hidden Valley Cabins is a carbon neutral accommodation and tour company. The company does not have access to main power grid and initially relied on a generator to power the company. However, the company became interested in being carbon neutral and hence it had to face out the use of the generator (Tourism Queensland, 2010). As a result the firm has managed to face out the use of generator and now relies on solar energy a hundred percent. Even though buying solar panels was initially expensive, it has helped the firm save a lot of money in the long run. Thus the business is run entirely on solar energy and the firm is able to purchase carbon credits to offset other operational activities of the company. The company has been in operation for twenty two years. The location of the firm is less humid and is much cooler and thus air conditioning at the firm is unnecessary. The cabins are constructed from locally grown timbers and windows are products of recycled older homes in Townsville. The firm is run and managed by Ian, Bonnie, son Ross and his business partner Chelsea. Ross was instrumental in adoption of solar energy Purpose of the report This report aims at identifying and evaluating marketing opportunities for Hidden Valley Cabins. First, the situational analysis of the firm is discussed (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). This is followed by identification of marketing opportunities for the firm. The financial viability of the opportunities is then outlined followed by the ranking of the opportunities in the order of the likelihood of their exploitation. Changes which should be implemented at the firm and how quality services are to be maintained are then proposed (Tourism Queensland, 2010). Estimation for implementing the changes and communication to stakeholders is then discussed followed by outline of the findings. Finally conclusion of the report is made. Situational analysis Market background There are several competitions of Hidden Valley Cabins. One of such competitors is Adventures Resort that is centrally located backpackers that overlooks Ross Creek and has air conditioned luxury (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). Another competitor is Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge located a few kilometers from the Gorge entrance that is accessible by conventional vehicle. City Oasis Inn is another competitor which is a multi award winning resort that is located in Townsville city center. The inn is renowned for genuine warmth and hospitality. Hidden Valley Cabins other competitor is Civic Guest House that is located in Townsville CBD and is a popular spot for backpackers and travelers. Cook Street Holidays has some of the best restaurants and boutique cafes located at 51 Cook Street, Townsville and are one of the Hidden Valley Cabin competitions (Tourism Queensland, 2010). Other competitors include Dalrymple Tourist Van park, Foreign Exchange Townsville, Globetrotters Backpackers Hostel Townsville, Mercure Townsville, Noorla Heritage Resort, Orchid Guest House, Reef Lodge Backpackers, seagulls Resort, Spanish Lace Motor Inn, Waters Edge resort On The Strand, Yongala Express and Yongala Historic Lodge which provide accommodation facilities fior travelers and backpackers. Of the competitors, Hidden Valley Cabin stands out as the only solar powered resort in the Townsville. It offers self-contained accommodation facilities which are fully licensed, restaurant, and swimming pool and BBQ area. In addition the firm offers tours for eco friendly traveler (Tourism Queensland, 2010). Environmental factors Queensland is known to be the mother of eco tourism movement (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). It is a leader in sustainable tourist development. The state supports development of eco tourism and hence Hidden valley benefits from government rebates to support eco tourism. Even though the firm is not accessible to the main electricity grid, it has innovatively adopted use of solar energy that helps it save over $26,000 annually that could be spent on buying diesel to run generators (Tourism Queensland, 2010). Climate change initiatives are also favoring the growth of the firm since many people have realized the need to cut on carbon emission and have turned to green products. The firm is located in an environment that favors its business of eco tourism. The location of the firm near Running River on the Paluma Range is ideal for tourist to experience outback tranquility. The area also has a variety of wildlife with over 130 species of birds. The firm is also committed to environmental sustainability implying that it cannot be faced out by changes in the climate. According to a study carried out by PriceWaterhouse Coopers a quarter of Australian companies with a turnover exceeding $150 million reported that their customers were looking green or carbon neutral versions of products and services in 2008 (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). This implies that green consumers market in Australia is very large. In spite these findings; very many companies have done little or nothing to align their businesses going green. Market segments Many consumers of tourism facilities worldwide are increasingly becoming environmentally conscious and are turning to green products. The consumer market in Australia is largely becoming environmentally conscious but most of these green consumers are unable to get products which fit their needs (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). Most companies are trying to align with the changing values of consumers for green products. The federal government is bound to introduce mandatory targets of emissions by companies and this will negatively impact on the businesses which are yet to prepare themselves for such regulations (Tourism Queensland, 2010). Furthermore, many large travel companies in the world have threatened to refuse to sell holidays to destinations which do not meet carbon emission standards. Given that Hidden Valley Cabins is whole dependent on solar energy that is green, the firm will reap many returns from the increasing market for green products (Queensland Holiday, 2010). The firm targets green consumer market segment that is on the increase in both Australia and worldwide. Market growth Given the legislation that are bound to be introduced Australia to cut on emissions and climate change, many consumers of tourism facilities will increasingly become green consumers (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). In addition, the threat by many large travel companies in the world that they will refuse to sell holidays to destinations which do not meet carbon emission standards, Hidden Valley Cabins is bound to benefit from this since is renown for being environmentally friendly eco tourism company worldwide (Tourism Queensland, 2010). Marketing opportunities The firm has an opportunity to market its products to many large travel companies in the world which are mainly interested in reducing carbon emission (Tourism Queensland, 2010). This can be done through targeted marketing, internet marketing and promotions and sponsorship of international workshops and seminars on sustainable energy and eco tourism. The firm also has an opportunity to market its products to increasing green consumers within Australia. This can be done through cooperation with other firms; catering for conferences, weddings and renewable energy workshops; seeking advice from tourism agencies such as Tourism Queensland and creation of point of difference marketing (Queensland Holiday, 2010). Financial viability of the opportunities The opportunity to market to large travel companies in the world which are mainly interested in reducing carbon emission is viable since the firm has many programs which has reduced carbon emissions (Tourism Queensland, 2010). In addition, the firm can employ an agency to identify and market its products to such firms (Miles, 2003). The use of internet to market its products is one of the cheapest and easiest way to access many green consumers. Marketing the firm within Australia to green consumers is easier and cheaper given that it can cooperate with other tourism firms, sponsoring workshops and seminars on renewable energy and marketing itself as the first and the major eco tourism destination in Queensland Australia (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). Ranking of the opportunities and their likely contribution to the business Marketing to large travel companies is the best opportunity (Miles, 2003). This is likely to contribute greatly to the revenue of the firm since many of these firms have threatened to stop selling holidays to destinations which do not meet carbon emission standards (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). Given that Queensland is one of the major eco friendly tourism destination the firm can reap greatly from this. Even though Australia eco tourism sector is growing drastically, marketing the firm within Australia is not likely to earn the firm revenues as those expected from marketing it internationally. Changes that ought to be made on current operations More eco friendly accommodation facilities need to be build by the firm (Tourism Queensland, 2010). In addition, the firm ought to set up a link point within the Townsville CBD that can be used by travelers as converging point before being taken to the resort (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). Temporary accommodation to travelers from far places needs to be provided at this point to ensure that the firm does not lose out to competitors located within CBD (Queensland Holiday, 2010). Assurance of continued quality service to the existing customers Due to expected increase in the number of visitors as a result of intensive marketing and more tourists becoming environmentally conscious, the firm need to employ more staff to maintain the quality of services offered. The new staff needs to be trained on how to maintain the quality of service to existing and new customers (Tourism Queensland, 2010). Estimated resource requirements for changed operations To implement the changes suggested, the firm will require an approximate $500,000. Determination and communication of viability of making changes to current operations to stakeholders as required The suggestion to make changes to operations at the firm will be communicated to all stakeholders and a discussion session held to outline the merits of such changes. Findings Hidden Valley Cabin has a potential to expand and increase its profitability (Hidden Valley Cabins, 2010). Its remote location is an advantage to it as an eco friendly tourist destination. However, it needs to have a facility within Townsville’s CBD to link its potential customers to the resort (Tourism Queensland, 2010). With many firms and consumers being interested in firms which offer environmentally friendly products, Hidden Valley Cabin is bound to benefit from this growing market (Queensland Holiday, 2010). Conclusion Hidden Valley Cabin is an eco tourist resort that has the potential of becoming a world destination for many tourists. The firm has an opportunity to market it both nationally and internationally. Marketing the firm internationally is likely to increase customer base and revenue for the firm than just marketing it locally. Employment of talented staff to run the firm and development of a facility within Townsville CBD to link its potential customers to the resort is likely to improve the financial performance of the firm. Reference Hidden Valley Cabins. (2010). Home. Available at http://www.hiddenvalleycabins.com.au/ Miles, R. (2003). Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Queensland Holiday. (2010). Home. Available at http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/things-to-see-and-do/nature-and-wildlife/ecotourism.cfm Tourism Queensland. (2010). Home. Available at http://www.tq.com.au/resource-centre/special-interests/ecotourism/ Read More