Amber Inn & Suites, Inc. was established in 1979 and it runs 200 assets which are distributed evenly in ten states. In addition to that, the organization possesses fifty lodgings. The rooms inside the lodgings are in various sizes such that customers can choose either a single room or a self-contained unit depending on their needs. The proceeds from the accommodation units were estimated to be 422.6 million as of 2005.
Amber lodgings are quite comfortable because the guests enjoy large beds, besides a television set that is linked to a cable news network and a desktop telephone that allows the visitors to make toll free local calls. The hotel’s locations are convenient for business executives because they are strategically located near points of exits such as airports and convenience stores. According to Proctor (2000), this is because customers don’t like going to hotels that are too far from the social amenities.
On April 4, 2005, the organization appointed a new chief executive officer to replace the previous CEO. His name is Joseph James who came with drastic measures to revive the company because as from the year 2005 the company proceeds had declined and he intended to assist the company to make more proceeds to compensate for the losses that were incurred within a timeline of two years.
Before James was appointed the organization used to have budget allocations that were based on revenues but he came and turned the cultures to introduce budgets that were based on earnings. The declines in earnings that were experienced from the year 2001 were due to the September eleventh attacks. Parry (2004) explains that the hospitality industry was adversely affected by the attacks because people were afraid of traveling to prone areas. After all, the US was not safe like before.
The hotel industry in the US is very profitable because the number of accommodation has swelled and by 2004 there were 4.4 million accommodation facilities. Surprisingly, the hotels share common brand names though some are owned privately but again there is no monopoly in the US hotel industry. The hotels are rated according to their facilities, cost, and quality of service. The cost of checking into a hotel is influenced by the quality of the services offered such as room service and the facilities that are within the hotel such as golf courses (Guenther, 2007).
From the year 2003, Amber Inc. has been closing branches that have not been profitable while at the same time establishing new ones. Beamish (2008) argues that the cost of renting a room has gone up since 2005 because the expenses on labor and items supplied by vendors have shot up. The organization has a dedicated team of marketing executives to help advertise the organization with travel agencies and another relevant medium of marketing. Also, the organization employs telemarketing techniques to attract more customers.
The Amber hotels integrate information technology to an advanced level such that reservations are made through its website. The organization rewards its clients through a program known as a loyal program. Kelly Elizabeth was selected to chair the sales and marketing department. One of her greatest achievements was modern-day advertisements that were displayed on banners to boost sales.
In the year 2005, the organization came up with measures to ensure that there was a heavy presence of guests in the suites daily. Besides, the sales department drafted the advertisements to feature the most attractive locations to encourage fresh visitors. Once the visitors checked into the suites they would be lured into overstaying probably by the quality of services offered in the Inn.
The long overstay was boosted by the discounts that were offered as visitors continued to remain in the suites. In the year 2006, most of the marketing strategies that were used in the year 2005 were carried forward but some were revised such as the free stays to become discounts that were offered on selected weekends. Additionally, the cost of accommodation was raised by two percent. In essence, Amber Inn & Suites, Inc. depicts good management strategies that a company in the hotel industry can emulate in this ever-competitive marketing environment.
References
Beamish, K. (2008). CIM Revision Cards Strategic Marketing. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Guenther, K. (2007). Strategic Marketing. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag.
Parry, E.M. (2004). Strategic Marketing Management: a Means-End Approach. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Proctor, T. (2000). Strategic Marketing: An Introduction. New York: Routledge.