The world is getting increasingly competitive. There are various players within the industry having similar products to offer the market. Customers are increasingly becoming demanding. They have increased knowledge, and therefore, know that there is always an option when they need a product. Suppliers on the other hand, have become more demanding.
They want to supply more products at increased cost citing increase in various factors of production. A firm always finds itself in such an awkward situation in the market. This would force the firm to come up with mechanisms through which it can outsmart other firms. It must be able to offer customers products that are unique in the market.
It must stand out as a firm that offers a positive change at regular interval to its customers. According to Wootton and Horne (47), it is through this that it will be in a position to manage competition and come out as a successful firm in the market. This would be achievable if the strategies that the management comes up with are competitive enough to make it be seen as the best. This study has its focus on Elysian Hotel in Chicago.
The hospitality industry in the United States of America has expanded a great within this century. This is one of the oldest industries in the world. The major growth factor in this industry is the tourism sector, both locally and internationally. The number of visitors a region is able to attract within a year always dictates the growth of the hospitality industry.
The United States of America is one of the leading tourists’ destinations in the world. There are a number of issues that affects this industry. The first issue that has been of concern is the seasonality in this industry. During off-seasons, the industry always faces serious economic challenges.
In some extreme cases, the cost of production exceeds the total sales that this firm makes. Another issue that always arises in this industry is the issue of insecurity. Pearson (112) observes that the United States has had a prolonged political stability that has enabled firms to excel in this industry. However, this industry is facing a new security threat in the form of terrorism and hooliganism. The United States remains the leading target of large terrorist groups around the world.
The hotels are some of the institutions under great threat. Trigger-happy Hooligans are also targeting social places including the hotels, shooting at individuals indiscriminately. The management has these challenges, besides the challenge posed by competitors, to deal with firmly in order to be considered successful.
The above strategic issues must be approached and handled with care in order to ensure that Elysian Hotel in Chicago maintains its market lead in this industry. It is a fact that this is one of the market leaders in this industry. It has managed to withstand the market competition, but this may not be a guarantee that it will always be successful even if it fails to develop better strategies. According to Michel (92), the management must come up with various options that will help it remain competitive in the market.
One of the ways it can manage the issue of seasonality is to embrace social media marketing. Most of the travelers who come to the United always try to search important information regarding the firm in the internet. They visit the internet with an aim of finding the best places to visit and to stay. This makes the internet the best place where Elysian Hotel can market itself to these customers.
The firm should also offer online bookings to its customers as a way of making their experience better. This will help it solve the issue of seasonality in this industry. Bruce (125) the firm will be able to attract visitors throughout the year. This will eliminate cases where production cost is higher than sales generated.
The issue of insecurity can be handled through public-private partnership projects. Insecurity is an issue that is arising from the external environment. It is therefore, not easy for a firm to approach it as an individual. Elysian Hotel should partner with other private firms and engage the government of the United States and the Public at large to combat crime and terrorism.
Individually, the firm should install state-of-the-art facilities that can help detect dangerous weapons when one tries to infiltrate them into the facility. Grundy (74) says that it is through this that the firm will be assured of relative security in their facilities.
The team members were concerned of the increasing threat that this firm was facing from various competitors in the market. They were in agreement that this industry has had a massive development in the 21st century. They stated that for Elysian Hotel to be successful, it must consider adopting the following recommendations.
- The management should consider moving most of its operational activities online. It should consider making the process of booking the hotels, and payments of the services online. This will reduce operational activities within the firm.
- The management should consider improving the value they offer customers. This may include offering additional benefits to the customers such as free transportation within the city of Chicago. This will increase levels of satisfaction of customers.
- The management should improve the security of the facility. It should install detectors, and other machines that can help detect and prevent the use of harmful weapons by criminals.
- The management should embrace corporate social responsibility, especially on environment as a way of increasing its popularity.
Implementing the above recommendations will have a number of advantages to the firm. However, it also comes with a number of challenges that Elysian Hotel must be ready to face. The following are some of the risks that the firm will face by implementing these strategies.
- Going online exposes this firm to cyber criminals. These criminals can use this opportunity to rob unsuspecting customers of their valuables. This may have serious integrity issue against the firm. This will spoil the image of the firm in the world market.
- Offering additional value to the customers will increase the total cost of production for the firm.
- Installing the security gadgets may force the firm to hire qualified personnel from outside the firm. Outsourcing this activity will increase the operational costs within this firm.
- Corporate social responsibility may at times fail to achieve the desired impact. The public may fail to appreciate the positive move by this firm to make the environment a better place.
- The above actions are also likely to trigger competitors in this market to do the same. As such, the strategy may not as successful as would have been expected.
Works Cited
Bruce, Andy. Strategic Thinking. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. Print.
Grundy, Tony. Be Your Own Strategy Consultant: Demystifying Strategic Thinking – the Cunning Plan. London: Thomson Learning, 2006. Print.
Michel, Robert. The New Strategic Thinking: Pure & Simple. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2006. Print.
Pearson, Gordon. Strategic Thinking. New York: Prentice Hall, 1990. Print.
Wootton, Simon & Horne Terry. Strategic Thinking: A Nine Step Approach to Strategy and Leadership for Managers and Marketers. London: Kogan Page Limited, 2010. Print.