How To Improve The Marketing Department

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Lillebaelt academy

Hospitality and tourism management

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Teacher:

Table of contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………….3

Problem statement……………………………………………………………..5

Planning………………………………………………………………………..5

S.W.O.T analysis……………………………………………………………….7

8PS Marketing Mix…………………………………………………………….11

Five Forces……………………………………………………………………..13

Appendix……………………………………………………………………….15

Introduction

Hotel Art Montana from Predeal, that will be analyzed, is one of the newest hospitality units in the Romanian winter station, benefiting on a modern design and a spectacular sight, able to attract a large number of customers.

The business was open in 2011, as an alternative solution for existing tourism in the area, the founders of the hotel focusing on a particular target of customers: people of any age, married or unmarried, accompanied by children or friends, but interested in experiencing an ecologic and entertaining holiday. In the case of children staying, maximum aged 5, the hotel unit offers free accommodation for one child, whenever it is possible, which is a reliable advantage for families travelling with children. A similar measure is adopted in the case of parking, being free in the hotel's parking place, excepting periods of agglomeration, when customers are recommended to find parking places outside the unit. The hotel is surrounded by wood, being close to ski slope Clabucet, the medieval city Brașov and to Predeal train station. Being in a crossroads area, Hotel Art Montana's services can be used by customers planning their holiday on a regular schedule or by customers willing to find satisfactory accommodation in last minute conditions.

Hotel Art Montana promotes as facilities permanent access to a large salon offering sight to the mountains, a barbecue area, a terrace for different leisure activities as playing games (darts, billiard) or performing karaoke, a tennis base, a meeting room for business events, as well as access to desktop units and fax machines, an attractive bar and restaurant room. In the case of smokers, there are particular areas arranged, while the persons suffering of different allergies as dust allergy are offered staying on special rooms, suitable for their condition. The rooms created for guests are designed in a vintage style, preserving a stylish antebellum architecture. Additionally, Romanian particular elements as "călușari" are preserved as decorating themes, mixing tradition and modern styles into an attractive appearance.

Comparing with other hospitality units in the Predeal area, Hotel Art Montana can be considered a small unit, based on 62 rooms, including twin rooms for groups of friends or families, couple rooms, junior rooms and flats for business guests.

A particular feature of Hotel Art Montana is that it promotes a store for ski equipment, customers being able to rend ski tools at cheaper rates than on the retailers existing on the slope or in Predeal town. Additionally, if customers own ski equipment, they can freely deposit in Hotel Art Montana's ski facility.

Commonly to similar hotels in Predeal area, Hotel Art Montana promotes free access to Wifi network. The payment options also include modern possibilities as using credit cards or online payments, suggesting that Hotel Art Montana is interested in using the benefits of modern communication technology, in order to offer a satisfactory experience to its customers. The check-in process can be also made online, on the hotel's site or via telephone, but there is no email address dedicated to customers where they could ask questions or a forum section on the site, where they could interact with a hotel's employee, as they can use on similar hotels' sites, which can create an essential disadvantage for Hotel Art Montana's perception as a reliable hospitality unit. Despite the effort to enter the era of online communication, the hotel is not promoted through social network, which could increasingly improved its performance, as the unit could become more visible to potential customers. If the customers need advices about visiting near places or need to book tickets for departure, Hotel Art Montana employees are available to support them, in order to create an exceptional hosting experience, as the slogan of the hospitality unit is that customers are invited to arrive as a tourist and return as a friend.

Although Hotel Art Montana is a constant presence on tourism services market in Predeal, the unit is not promoted internationally, while in the case of national promotion, the references on specialized sites guiding tourists are minimal. This situation is likely to negatively influence the hotel's performance, needing the attention of marketing department, in order to be improved.

Hotel Art Montana is registered on booking.com, being granted three stars, which can suggest that is a moderate hospitality units in terms of facilities and customers' satisfaction. The past customers commented in large number about their experience in Hotel Art Montana, generating a satisfactory score of 7.6 points out of 10 points possible.

A similar performance of moderate satisfaction is retrieved on the Romanian booking site, trivago.ro, where Hotel Art Montana obtained 78 positive reviews out of 100 possible, suggesting that there are measures that the marketing department could implement, in order to raise the degree of satisfaction.

Problem statement

The major issue that Hotel Art Montana marketing department has to solve is the poor promotion of the unit. A hotel becomes more visible and as consequence it is susceptible to be chosen by potential customers, if it is promoted on all communication channels, so that customers using one or more of them could be reached by the hotel's message. Currently, an increasing number of young and mature people informs through social networks, forums or specialized sites. As Hotel Art Montana is not promoted on one of them, it is likely not to be taken in account in potential customers' decision to spend their holidays in one of Predeal's area. The measure is required, mostly in the context of rival units as Belvedere, which already takes advantage of online communication, in order to promote their services.

In the case of the services offered to customers, Hotel Art Montana has not provided a clear segmentation based on the type of customer served: business or individual. The information existing in this moment about the services offered tend to suggest that Hotel Art Montana focuses on individual customers, as the bar and restaurant are open 24/h, offering any type of food required by customers from the current menu, also existing the possibility of room service in the case of breakfast. It is not clear whether business customers are provided the same type of service or if they can benefit of other services, naturally based on additional payment.

As parking is an essential feature for customers today, the hotel has to take responsibility for assuring free parking even in crowded periods, as some customers might receive in a negative perspective the fact that they have to pay for parking outside the unit, when other customers arriving earlier benefit of free parking.

Planning

Similarly to any other company in the area of tourism, Hotel Art Montana has limited resources to be used, in order to obtain efficient results for the development of the business. In this phase of the research, the focus relies on establishing a reliable target group, as well as implementing suitable strategies to attract more customers and to improve the existing services, in order to create a positive experience of the hotel's customers. The current resources of the hotel will be directed to obtain the maximal results possible, in order to create an improved experience for customers, as well as increasing profit for the company.

As the current context is analyzed, including customers' needs, current promotion, current segmentation and the existing hotel's facilities, strategies to potentially improve them will be established. It is necessary to create marketing strategies on the long-term, in order to create expanded benefices for the company, although strategies on the short-term are also useful, rapidly correcting the disadvantages noticed in the preliminary analysis of the hotel's performance.

The goals proposed for the improvement of Hotel Art Montana's performance are challenging, yet realistic, essentially transforming the current framework of the marketing department into an improved perspective, taking in account the features of the local tourism market, as the existing marketing strategy seem to be isolated from the transformations noticed in the case of competitors as Hotel Belvedere. Instead of the static activity of promoting the hotel on a local base, offering feedback via telephone or email, the marketing department will be transformed into a dynamic center of communication, focusing on social networks, tourisms forums and similar online communication tools, in order to increasingly promote the activity of the hotel. Additionally, the marketing department will search for suitable solutions with local authorities or owners of properties in the area, to solve the parking issues. These disadvantages revealed in the preliminary analysis are requested to be solved, as competitors in Predeal have already used the benefits of online promotion and offer generous parking places for their customers.

A major disadvantage, that might not be solved in this phase, but will certainly be considered as extremely important by the marketing department, is the need to establish a clearer segmentation between business and individual customers. At this moment, the hotel attempts to capture the attention of both categories, in an effort to obtain profitable sales. The strategy can be efficient on the short-term, as the costs of staying are affordable for both individuals and businessmen, yet on the long-term, the existence of similar or slightly different facilities as in the case of in businessmen, as compared with the services offered to individuals, might create dissatisfaction, which will reflect on the sales corresponding with this customer group. For the moment, the hotel is new on the market and this dual marketing strategy was a compromise to become visible to both target groups, but in the next period, segmentation is required, in order to preserve the current favorable image of the hotel, as well as improving the degree of satisfaction related to business customers.

S.W.O.T analysis

The S. W. O. T analysis, focusing on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats existing in the business environment where Hotel Art Montana develops its touristic activity, is an essential tools to evaluate the current performance and propose potential marketing strategies, to improve the hotel's evolution. The analysis will include both internal and external factors, suggesting favorable or unfavorable strategies to be applied by the marketing department of the hotel.

Figure 1. The S.W.O.T analysis of Hotel Art Montana

Strenghts:

Brand recognition. Although is a new entry on the local market of tourism services, existing since 2011, Hotel Art Montana managed to achieve a local reputation as a reliable brand, promoting affordable services for groups, families or individual guests. Hotel Art Montana's position, as being near to Clăbucet ski slope, the medieval town Brașov and local train station of Predeal, essentially contributed to its rapid recognition on the local market. The area of Predeal is one of the most visited touristic destination, mostly during winters, by both Romanian or foreigner customers, Hotel Art Montana benefitted of this advantage, creating a facility for winter fans, but similarly the hotel provides satisfactory facilities for customers visiting the area in the summer as barbecue, karaoke or tennis facilities.

Diversification of products. Hotel Art Montana offers besides accommodation, restaurant and other basic hotel services, also opportunities for entertainment. In the case of customers interested in winter sports, the hotel offers free transport to the Clăbucet ski slope, free storing of winter accommodation, as well as recommendations from the employees. In the case of groups of families, the hotel can organize with local partners trips to Parc Aventura, horse riding courses at Diana Center in Râșnov, bungee jumping at Cheile Râșnoavei or ATV trips in the mountains nearby. In the case of summer activities, the Hotel Art Montana can also organize with local partners paintball contests, tennis courses or any other type of leisure activity requested by customers, who are recommended to write an email to the company, in order to establish, if possible, the required activities.

Hotel facilities. Hotel Art Montana promotes permanent access to a large salon, a barbecue area, a terrace for different leisure activities as playing games (darts, billiard) or performing karaoke, a tennis base, free Wifi access, an attractive bar and restaurant room in the case of both individual and business customers. In the case of smokers, there are particular areas arranged, while the persons suffering of different allergies are offered staying on special rooms. The rooms created for guests are designed in an attractive, vintage style. Additionally, business customers can use for their activity a meeting room for business events, as well as access to desktop units and fax machines.

Customer satisfaction. Based on the reviews retrieved on booking.com and trivago.ro suggest a positive experience of customers as staying in Hotel Art Montana. The marketing department can use this debut, in order to improve it, so that customers can perceive their visit at the hotel as a spectacular one, able to become loyal to the brand, instead of searching the services of rival hotels in the area.

Weaknesses:

Unsatisfactory national or international image of the hotel. Comparing with competitors, as Hotel Belvedere, Hotel Art Montana is little known on the national market, being generally visited by people living near to Brașov, as there is reduced information about a positive feedback received from customers in distant area as Bucharest or even from international guests. As mentioned by the necessity to adopt social networks as one of the communication channels, this situation is likely to improve and Hotel Art Montana become visible to additional customers than the already satisfied ones.

Unsatisfactory particular facilities as parking. In the current context or in the future context of more customers coming to Hotel Art Montana, the small parking place of the hotel is unsatisfactory, as some customers have to park in other places, far from the hotel, as consequence in insecure conditions. Solving the parking is mandatory to increase the customers' satisfaction.
Unsatisfactory offer for business customers. Hotel Art Montana promotes affordable services as a complete holiday session of four days, breakfast included for 29 euro per customer, which is extremely attractive for individuals and business customers, as both reduce costs. In the case of business customers, the hotel has to find complementary features to satisfy their needs, as including dinner in the package, naturally based on a discounted price.

Opportunities:

Expand the brand. Based on the current expertise and positive feedback, the marketing department can expand the current offer of the hotel, as including new leisure activities or getting involved in local activities, for example, cleaning the woods of garbage left by tourists, as a reliable partner, in order to stimulate the local social responsibility concept. These new features of the hotel have to be promoted through online communication, so that potential customers can be informed about Hotel Art Montana's projects and choose its services instead of a rival brand.

Offer more advantages for business customers. As mentioned before, the current offer for business customers is unsatisfactory, the marketing department has to develop improving strategies as additional services such as spa, which is included in the business package by competitors or potential partnerships with local business partners, so that business customers can regularly organize formal meeting at Hotel Art Montana.

Improve the current offer for individual customers. Currently, the offer for individual customers is attractive, but it can be improve, in order to render them into loyal, returning customers as more advantages for families traveling with children (facilities for babies, entertaining activities for children) or for groups, as discounts to current packages or vouchers to be used outside the hotel, as on the ski slope for purchasing ski equipment.

Expand with new facilities. The improvement of the parking place is mandatory, as already explained, the marketing department could also analyze the opportunity of purchasing a new property near the hotel, to expand the current activities or organize new ones as an ecological garden of flowers, the customers being initiated in the art of treating exotic flowers.

Threats:

Entry of new competitors. As Hotel Art Montana was a new entry on the local market, threatening the position of existing companies in the local tourism, it is possible that another company emerges and provides similar or improved services than Hotel Art Montana and rivals. In order to counterbalance this scenario, the marketing department has to develop long-term strategies focused on attractive, differentiating services, to capture the attention of potential customers.

The competitors develop attractive facilities and services, able to capture the interest of hotel's customers. As noticed in the case of Hotel Belvedere, competitors are also interested in preserving the current position on the market and develop new strategies based on improved services, as consequence the marketing department of the hotel has to analyze this evotuion and create unique, challenging strategies to suggest to potential customers that Hotel Art Montana is the best solutions for their staying. Currently competitors promote themselves through social networks or offers satisfactory parking places, Hotel Art Montana has to find suitable solutions to offer more attractive opportunities than the rival brands.

Other disadvantages. Accidental events as fire, earthquake or floods can dramatically affect the activity of the hotel, as well as political or economical instability on a local context or on a national frame, customers searching for cheaper, closer solutions for their holidays.

8PS Marketing Mix

The 8PS of Marketing is a completed version of the traditional Marketing Mix model, but including elements adequate for services, such as tourism activity.

Product

Hotel Art Montana offers accommodation similar to other hotels in the area, but its offer is distinguishable through several features. The rooms are decorated in a vintage style, including traditional cultural elements, being a stylistic mixture able to satisfy the most pretentious tastes of guests. The hotel includes a suite of rooms designed for every situation, as single, double or for families or groups. According to the needs of guests, there are also rooms particularly designed for persons suffering of allergies. For all types of guests, the hotel offers the possibility of spending time in a large salon whose sight is directed to the mountains, the possibility of enjoying drinks and meals in the bar and restaurant of the hotel, as well as storing winter equipment or spending summertime on the tennis field.

Price

Comparing with similar competitors, Hotel Art Montana still promotes reduced prices, in order to reinforce its position on the market as new entry. For example, a complete four days holiday is estimated at 29 euro, including breakfast, while Hotel Belvedere charges the same service for 40 euro. In order to attract even more customers, Hotel Art Montana provides additional discounts as a free night to the four days package and if the family comes with children aged 5, the little ones can freely stay and serve breakfast, while children aged 12 benefit of 50% discount to the global cost of the package.

Promotion

As mentioned before, the promotional activity of the hotel has to be improved, since the hotel is visible only through its official site and references on touristic sites. Implementing a forum, as well as creating accounts on social networks will help customers contact the hotel for more details, as well as increasing its positive image. Contemporary users of internet usually share their experience on social networks, their friends or acquaintances see it and most likely considering Hotel Art Montana as the future destination of their holidays, based on the pleasant experience of their friends, as well as the products and prices promoted.

Place

Comparing with similar companies on the market, Hotel Art Montana benefits of a central position on the crossroads between Predeal, Brașov and Clăbucet. This position was used as a strategic advantage, when the business opened and has to be gradually improved. For example, the hotel can organize tours to Brașov, based on local partnerships, in order to complete the exisiting offer related to free transport to Clăbucet or the possibility to check for tickets in Predeal, through the hotel's employees.

Process

The hotel is eager to maintain its position as reliable brand on the local market of tourism, as well as attracting new customers. For the moment, the hotel offers quality services for both individual and business customers, at affordable prices, with the possibility of adding new services, in order to improve the existing customer experience.

Physical Evidence

On an external level, hotel Art Montana has the common appearance of similar hotels in the area, based on a white background of the building, surrounded by a large terrace, tennis field, parking and other facilities for leisure. Inside, the hotel offers the perspective of vintage-style rooms, decorated with Romanian traditional elements. If the hotel was satisfactorily promoted on national and international communication channels, it would become a favorite place for Romanian and foreigner tourists attracted by the cultural mixture proposed.

People

The employees of the hotel represent an essential element of promoting, as well as preserving the hotel's popularity. As mentioned in Appendix, point D, they are trained to politely treat every guest, offering their support to any concern, so that their staying can be a pleasant one and customers might return or recommend the hotel's services to their friends or acquaintances. Additionally, the customers themselves have a tremendous impact on the profitability of the hotel. At the moment, those potential customers who discover the hotel, are interested in the affordable costs and the facilities offered. There is an essential risk that if the hotel decides to charge more for the services currently promoted, a large number of the customers to find alternative solutions, as consequence the marketing department has to adequately analyze their needs and the necessity to adopt complementary measures, in order to preserve their loyalty. A possibility to implement more expensive packages and to preserve their attention could be the introduction of discounts to the costs of the package or the introduction of additional features related to children or group services.

Five Forces

Analyzing the evolution of global market in the last decades, Michael Porter created a model based on five complementary factors that can influence the competition position of a company on a particular market.

Figură 2. Porter's model of factors influencing the competition position of a company

The five factors described by Porter are not just complementary, but also focusing on the internal and external evolution of the company.

One of the first factors influencing the company's competition on the market is the relationship with the suppliers, dramatically affecting its economical activity. For example, if one of the Hotel Art Montana's suppliers is late or decides to ask for an increased price, comparing with previous purchase, the activity of the hotel either will be totally or partially close or the hotel will adopt increased price for the customers' packages, in order to cover the financial impact of the suppliers' request. The situation of the hotel becomes even more difficult, if its suppliers decide to collaborate with rival brands, being forced to search for new suppliers.

The threat of substitutes refers to the potential products or services that the competitors can release, in order to capture the attention of potential customers, including people interested by Hotel Art Montana's services or loyal customers to the hotel. For example, Hotel Belvedere as one of the competitors in the area, can offer additional leisure activities to the existing offer of the Hotel Art Montana as ice circuit, canoeing, cinema for children, the marketing department having to find strategies to promote the existing services as the most attractive ones, as well as to think of potential services to counterbalance the offer of Hotel Belvedere.

The buyers develop an essential power to influence the marketing strategy that a hotel can adopt, as the marketing department is strongly interested in satisfying their needs, which will lead to increasing profit for the company. Comparing with the image of customers in other historic periods, contemporary customers are confident of their power and use it, in order to receive improved and cheaper products or services. Currently, the representatives of Hotel Art Montana can receive the feedback of potential customers or returning customers through email or telephone, which can be considered by customers as old fashions of communication, reducing their interest to communicate their ideas for improved services, as consequence the hotel has to implement social networking or forum opportunities, so that customers can freely communicate their interests, to be implemented as possible by the marketing department.

Hotel Art Montana was a new entry too on the local competition of touristic services in Predeal, has implemented efficient marketing strategies to gain a reputable position on the market and has to continue preserving or improving this position, by analyzing new entrants. Reducing their role, as well as reducing the role of rivals, can negatively influence the activity of the hotel.

As described by Porter's model, the activity of a company is a permanent negotiation of interests between suppliers, the perspective of similar services, the customers' interests, as well as the new entrants' evolution. Reducing the importance of one of these factors or of multiple factors, can create negative effects for the company, as consequence the marketing department has to adopt the less negative strategy possible, in order to preserve the fragile balance between those factors. As mentioned before, the implementation of new parking places or new packages for business customers can be a solution for satisfying the needs of customers, but the decision has to analyze in the context of suppliers (can the company find the required parking places and how expensive would be the cost for the hotel) or substitutes (do similar hotels offer the same type of product or service and how can Hotel Art Montana distinguish itself?). On one hand, the hotel has to satisfy the internal needs of its activity as supplier or customers, but on the other hand, it has to be attentive to the external fluctuation of the business environment such as the emerge of new entrants on the market or the attractiveness of the new services promoted by competitors.

Appendix

Hotel Art Montana external view

Hotel Art Montana internal view

Hotel Art Montana facilities for business

Positive feedback of Hotel Art Montana on booking.com

References:

http://www.artmontana.ro/hotel-art-montana-predeal/, accessed on 14 January 2016.

http://www.artmontana.ro/activitati-outdoor-predeal/, accessed on 14 January 2016.

http://www.artmontana.ro/oferte-speciale/, accessed on 14 January 2016.

http://www.booking.com/hotel/ro/art-monatana.ro.html, accessed on 14 January 2016.

http://www.trivago.ro/predeal-454111/hotel/art-montana-2033313, accessed on 14 January 2016.