Marketing Strategies
1. To increase the current occupancy rate for week days by 10% and for weekend by 15% within the next year by marketing the 5 star qualities of the accommodations facilities. The hotel will renovate and expensively furnish all the luxury suites in the hotel to deliver an expensive taste.
It will provide a golf course and a state of the art spa in exclusive setting ideal for romance and parties. The hotel will train its staff to give them the capacity to deal with emerging customer requirements by anticipating them and providing them in an efficient and professional manner. The aim will be to create a W hotel experience that will make customers return to the hotel again.
2. To facilitate smooth arrivals from the Airport and essential facilities for executive business travelers. The hotels will provide a dedicated 24 hours chauffeured transport shuttle service from the airport to the hotel. The chauffeured service will be available to guests who request the service in advance when booking.
The drivers will deliver the guests to the front desk where they shall be received and directed to their luxury suites. The hotel will install high-speed wireless internet which will be available 24 hours a day with advanced conferencing and group calling features.
3. Target Markets. The W hotels will target luxury travelers from all over the world who want the very best money can buy.
This is a market segment that is not concerned with the price but rather with the quality of the service and products. It will offer exclusive services to create an individual experience to the guests which will enable them to jet in and relax for a few days with a guaranteed experience to remember.
The business travelers will be the next target. High speed internet and state of the art conference rooms equipped with video calling and group calling features will be available for their use. A dedicated high quality system will be maintained and serviced to the highest quality possible for a smoother and better experience.
The investment on free facilities will bring high returns because the guest will also use other facilities and services provided by the hotels providing a diverse source of revenue throughout the year (Baines et al., 2005).
The luxury accommodation industry is unaffected by economic recessions because the clientele are high end users with money to spend.Hence a guaranteed revenue all year round for the W hotels.(Kiessling, Balekjian &Oehmichen,2009)
With unparalleled customer service and attractive incentives, our aim will be to retain and attract new customers by providing unmatched flexibility to our customer’s needs and anticipating their needs.
Marketing Mix
Pricing
The prices will be set above the normal rates for other hotels. There are no economies of scale in the luxury business (Mintel, 2007) and the aim is to provide exceptional services and products to retain the customers.
Product Strategies
Tailor made services will be provided for individual tastes, wants.The W hotels will train their staff to be able to go the extra mile to satisfy their customers, and the policy will be to provide exceptional quality services. The high prices paid for accommodation in the W hotels will signify the high quality products and services provided by the staff.
Distribution strategies
All services will be offered in W hotels worldwide.
Promotion strategies
The W hotels will partner with marketing Destination Marketing Organizations to increase its relevancy and for promotion in the luxury accommodation industry. To create a formidable and respected brand name, it will partner with “the leading hotels of the world as a marketing strategy. It will use social media sites like you tube to market its experience oriented products services.
This marketing mix will give the W hotels a competitive advantage over the other hotels by virtue of the high levels of quality maintained by the hotels in all aspects. Customer satisfaction will make the guests return.
Marketing Implementation
The hotel will request the services of an accomplished celebrity, to market the W brand and will be featured in popular events hosted by the hotel.
For the business executives, business magazines, and newspaper advertisement will be able to deliver the message exclusively with the products and services available to them (Holbrook and Gardner’s, 1993).
At the front desk an information card will be handed to the guests with a list of all the services and products available in the hotel.
Marketing Organization
The W hotels will have an integrated marketing unit that will be headed by a marketing manager. Most activities will be departmentalized with most activities standardized to have a uniform way of approaching issues (O’Neill and Matilla, 2004).
Decision Making
The decision making authority will rest with the marketing manager for ease of management and for accountability. A hierarchical structure of information flow and relationship will give the organization an efficient management system geared towards gaining more market share.
They will be empowered to make decisions based on the laid down procedures and standards. The organization will centralize all its core decision making activities and hence reduce the responsibilities that front managers and employees have. This will reduce unnecessary and cumbersome monitoring and evaluation of the decision making capabilities of the employees.
Reference List
Baines, P., Worcester, R., Jarrett, D., and Mortimore, R. (2005), Product Attributes –Based Voter Segmentation and Resource-Advantage Theory. Journal of Marketing Management, 22, 1/2, 1079-116.
Holbrook, M.B., and Gardner, M.P. (1993). An Approach to Investigating the Emotional Determinants of Consumption Durations. Why Do People Consume What They Consume For As Long As They Consume It? Journal of Consumer Psychology. 2, 2. 123-42.
Kiessling.G. Balekjian, C., &Oehmichen, A. (2009). What Credit Crunch? More Luxury for New Money: European Rising Stars &Established Markets. Journal of Retail &Leisure Property 8(1), 3-23
Mintel. (2007).Luxury Travel –International –London: Mintel International Group Ltd.
O’Neill, J.W., and Mattila, A.S. (2004). Hotel Branding Strategy, Its Relationship To Guest Satisfaction And Room Revenue. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research 28(2); 156-65.