Ritz-Carlton Toronto and Fairmont Tremblant - Case Study Example

Tourism operations planning-Term team assignment Ritz-Carlton Toronto and Fairmont Tremblant, Quebec Introduction Ritz-Carlton Toronto and Fairmont Tremblant, Quebec are among the best hotels in Canada the two hotels provide a range of five-star services and convenient access to the city’s business district. The five-star hotels employ a range of marketing strategies in their attempt to maintain profitability and longevity. They target elite customers of the middle and upper class. Additionally, the two are part of international hotel franchises. Ritz Carlton is part of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C while Fairmont Tremblant is part of the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. The two hotel franchises have a number of luxury hotels in a number of countries throughout the world. Ritz-Carlton Toronto is among the newest luxury hotels in the city. The hotel boasts a number of five-star facility and services and affordable rates. Among the services at the hotel are exceptional dining, 267 luxury guest rooms, excellent spa and impeccable services. The hotel offers convenient access to most of the landmark locations in the city thereby enhancing the suitability of the hotel to the various visitors who come to the city for various purposes. Fairmont Tremblant, Quebec, on the other hand, is located on the feet of Mont Tremblant. The hotel offers a scenic view of the mountain and boasts of a European theme given the fact that its location has the unique European-style village setup. The hotel offers a variety of exotic services that include mountain biking, alpine skiing, ice climbing and a five-championship golf course among many others. The locations and the structures of the hotels show the uniqueness of the markets they target thereby validating the uniqueness of the marketing strategies they use. Ritz-Carlton Toronto targets a wide range of customers given its strategic location at the city center. The hotel offers conference facilities, which are a new target market given the increase in conferences and meetings in the city. The hotel has several world-class conference halls capable of sitting varying number of individuals. Besides conference facilities, it offers the numerous other luxury hospitality services to tourists. Fairmont Tremblant targets people on holiday. Its services are unique with the view of fitting the tastes and preferences of the people seeking a quiet and peaceful holiday destination (Novikova, 2009). As explained earlier, the hotel offers a number of recreational services that make an idea holiday. Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts are two different companies with unique backgrounds and goals. Founded in 1907, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a Canadian company with luxury hotels in nineteen countries. The company has hotels in Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. In Canada, the company has famous and iconic hotels that target different customer bases. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is the most successful hotel franchise in the country. The company has enjoyed steady management ever since its inception in 1907. The ease in the transition of the company’s management has sustained the company’s expansion as it develops a number of luxury hotels in leading tourist destinations throughout the world. Globally, the company competes with other industry leaders such as the Sheraton group of Hotels. Fairmont Tremblant offers its customers tailored services with rates that fit the uniqueness of their demands. The hotel has guest rooms, suites and precedential suites as it attempts to reach the upper and middle class. The diversity of its services includes gym, spa, sauna and free Wi-Fi in the rooms among other exotic services that help enhance the quality of its hospitality services. The hotel prioritizes customer satisfaction. As such, the hotel has a number of unique services that aim at enhancing customer satisfaction, which is the hotel’s main competitive advantage. The rates for the services are equally unique. Ranging from $230 per night, the hotel provides bed and breakfast services among other basic services to enhance customer satisfaction. It further provides other tailored complementary services such as warm swimming pool, lunch, and dinners among other meal plans to help enhance convenience and customer satisfaction. Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C, on the other hand, is the parent company that owns the Ritz-Carlton Toronto. Founded in 1983, the company owns over eighty hotels in more than twenty-five cities throughout the world. The company has undergone extensive expansion with the development of new luxury hotels in some of the world’s leading destinations. Ritz-Carlton Toronto is one such latest hotels that stand majestically in the heart of Toronto. As an ideal modern hotel, Ritz Carlton Toronto prides itself in owning the largest ballroom in Toronto. The hotel’s ballroom can accommodate six hundred guests. The hotel serves unique cuisines, has an excellent spa, steam baths, sauna and a gym among many other five-star services. Ritz-Carlton Toronto is a typical modern day luxury hotel that prides itself in offering convenience. From its strategic location in the heart of the city and the ease of access to nearly all the landmark locations in the city to the diversity of the services it offers, the hotel strives to provide its customers with a one-stop shop. The hotel offers a number of amenities such as shopping, theater, high-speed internet, and fine dining on site among many others. Such are unique services that strive to enhance the holistic nature of the services the hotel offers its clients. Conference is a new form of tourism. Numerous government agencies, non-governmental institutions, and Brittle-wood organizations continue to organize conferences as they discuss vital issues. Ritz-Carlton Toronto strives to offer appropriate conference facilities in its attempt to tap the new market. By offering a one-stop shop for such customers, the hotel enhances the convenience that such visitors often demand. Despite the fact that Ritz Carlton Toronto and Fairmont Tremblant target distinct customers, the two hotels operate in the same industry and therefore continue to employ unique marketing strategies in their respective attempts to develop a competitive advantage of the rest in the growing industry. The marketing trends that Ritz Carlton Toronto employs in enhancing its competitiveness is the expansion of its franchise, targeting conference tourism and offering a one-stop approach to the trade. An expansion of the franchise in different parts of the world is a major competitive advantage of the hotel. It helps the franchise grow and maintain its global market share. Ritz-Carlton Toronto receives a number of recommendations from its international customers. Additionally, the strategy helps lower the cost of marketing (Morritt & Weinstein, 2012). Targeting the growing conference facility is an effective strategy responsible for the hotel’s growing market share. The hotel enjoys a convenient location in the heart of Toronto with easy access to most of the government buildings among other landmark buildings. The hotel has a large ballroom as it targets the market. Infusing shopping facilities, theaters and dining all help enhance the convenience it offers to its customers. The hotels strategic location is its main competitive advantage that continues to influence the uniqueness of its products and services. The hotel offers convenience to its customers owing to the strategic location. Additionally, it ventures into conference tourism by offering the best conference facilities in the city. As such, the hotel targets official visitors and businesspeople who visit the city for official duties. In doing this, the hotel promises the convenience of movement besides a range of high quality products and services. As old as Fairmont Tremblant is in the city, the hotel has managed to retain its prestigious position as the market leader owing to the success of the marketing strategies and trends it employs. Besides expanding to the leading destinations in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, the hotel continues to enhance diversification of its products and services. The company partners with numerous other companies in its attempt to achieve the convenience, luxury and convenience its clientele deserves. The hotel has for example collaborated with Air Canada and Porter Airlines to provide its customers with direct flights from any city in the world to the hotel. Such unique services enhance the convenience and quality of service for the customers while helping grow its customers. The two airlines carry out extensive marketing for their flights including direct flights to the hotel in their attempt to grow their market. As a tourist and holiday destination, Fairmont Tremblant presents itself favorably as the ideal holiday destination. The hotel boasts of the best casino in the country, a large golf course, river rafting, and mountain biking, alpine skiing and snowballing among many other services that help position it as the most favorable hotel not only in the country but also in the world. While the two hotels are employing a number of marketing trends, they should create a fleet of taxi services. Incorporating taxi services would help enhance the convenience they both strive to achieve and grow their profitability. Currently, the two hotels rely on leading to companies in the cities to offer the much-desired transport service. Key among the advantages of choosing a chain hotel is the fact that they provide value for money (Sheth, Parvatiyar & Shainesh, 2001). The hotels have created loyalty card, a system through which their esteemed customer earn redeemable points. Such services help increase the value that customers obtain for the money they spend in the hotels. The main advantage, on the other hand, is the fact that they domesticate extortion and deny a customer the chance of comparing rates and services. Additionally, the two hotel chains should collaborate with other companies in the same industry to help enhance convenience to their target customers. Collaborating with companies that offer various travel services such as airlines would help grow the markets for both companies. Such relationships are always symbiotic since the two companies market the products of each other. As explained earlier, Fairmont Tremblant has collaborated with a number of airline companies. The airline companies would market Fairmont Tremblant while the hotel markets the airlines. In continuing the spirit of collaboration, the company should collaborate with numerous other companies in various industries including media companies and even other hotels and resorts in other regions where the chains do not have hotels. Conclusion In retrospect, the hospitality industry is among the fastest growing industries globally. Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts are some of the leading companies that influence the trends in the industry as they strive to grow their respective market shares. In Canada, Ritz Carlton Toronto and Fairmont Tremblant, Quebec enjoys substantial market shares owing to the uniqueness and effectiveness of the marketing strategies they employ in growing their market shares. The two hotels engage in healthy competitions as they major on their strengths and the structure of the franchise to grow their markets both locally, and globally (Tesone, 2012). References Morritt, R. & Weinstein, A. (2012). Segmentation Strategies for Hospitality Managers: Target Marketing for Competitive Advantage. New York: Routledge. Novikova, K. (2009). A study of customer satisfaction factors and employee satisfaction in the hospitality industry. New York: Southern Illinois University. Sheth, J. N., Parvatiyar, A., & Shainesh, G. (2001). Customer relationship management: Emerging concepts, tools, and applications. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Pub. Co. Tesone, D. T. (2012). Principles of Management for the Hospitality Industry. New York: Routledge. Read More