Strategic Management - Strategic Service Vision- Hotel Stay - Report Writing Assessment Answer

Strategic Management Assignment

Assignment Task

Strategic Service Vision- Hotel Stay 

Executive Summary

Being a business development manager at one of the new Australian Hotel Stay, a strategic service vision is prepared that will both propose and implement the service strategy for the Hotel Stay. This proposal will include certain aspects that are put into consideration like service concept, target market segment, service delivery system, current and future implications, and operating system. Besides that, this report will also explore the service dimensions while setting up the benchmark for all the service qualifiers, and service losers and winners.

Section 1: Introduction

Purpose of report

Hospitality implies offering the service to others and demonstrating the quality and consistent excellence. It should also indicate profitability offering value at the cost level while depicting the unique distinction point. Most of all, hospitality is considered as a place, in which people can be treated as individuals and they can even try to extend their style and their personality (Akbaba 2006). The hospitality industry is included in the broad range of companies that is known as tourism and travel industry; that offers the required or either traditional services and goods to travellers. The hospitality industry is one of the fastest growing industry all over the world (Akbaba 2006).

The hospitality business makes use of continuous efforts for the purpose of maintaining the positive image and customer service. It seems to appear that the quality service relies on the success of the industry. Therefore, companies that stress over the quality act as a leader for all the on-going customer's satisfaction tries to create the loyalty and create influence on the future intentional behaviour (Akbaba 2006). The new hospitality philosophy mentions that managers often counsel their associates, provide them with adequate resources and support them to think for oneself. They should take every critical thing that is required for attaining success. For the service success, the operations of the hotel need to stress over the guest, stress over high-touch, it should emphasize over high tech and even try to encourage innovation and changes (Akbaba 2006).

Objectives

The purpose of this report is to analyse the strategic service vision of the company. It will also explain the service concept of the hotel industry and even explore the future and present implications (Akbaba 2006). It will include Heskett’s strategic service vision model to discuss the target market segment of Hotel Stay in Australia.

Overview of report structure

This report will analyse the company, its services as well as servicescape in section 2. In the next section, target market segment of Hotel Stay with be analysed with the help of Heskett’s strategic service vision model. It will even discuss the customers that will be targeted by the hotel. In section 4, current and future implications of the company will be debated. It will also include three issues faced by the hotel, along with factors that had future impacts and the strategies for mitigating the problem. In section 5 that is based on service concept will explain about service design, and how one can bridge the needs of customers that are determined by target market, and even perceived by clients and stakeholders. The last section is the conclusion that will discuss the all the important points discussed in the report and come up with the conclusion.

Section 2: Organization Overview

Hotel Stay had opened its no-frill branch in Sydney. Currently, the company is operating its services in various regions of Australia (Blum 2008). The hotel offers the world-class facilities to their customers and ensures that the clients have comfortable stay over there.

Descriptions of operations

Hotel Stay makes use of the services related to outsourcing, as operating strategy can support in saving the operating cost and enhance the better output as well as hotel efficiency. For instance, Hotel Stay located in Sydney is available for all 24 hours, and offer the facility of fast food outlets like CIMB ATM, Subway, and money changing service along with various another part of outsourcing (Blum 2008). Through implementing the effective operating strategy, Hotel Stay can help in saving the huge amount of cost and can support Hotel Stay in enhancing the better productivity and production efficiency and effectively of the hotel (Blum 2008).

Services (Core and external services)

Hotel Stay offers better service that could meet the needs of the customers. For example, Hotel Stay provides clean environment and housekeeping services. Moreover, Hotel Stay consider the safety and include 24 hours application of security system. Moreover, the hotel had also tried to introduce the insurance of Hotel Stay in Australia, and in the global market (Brownell 2009).

Service scape

Hotel Stay holds the modern décor as well as advanced technology. The hotel also recommends for expanding the visitor parking, give training to employees, make use of promotional channels, provides guest with a diverse menu, enhance the decor and lightening, and try to enlarge the room size as well as improve the chamber’s service cleaning (Brownell 2009).

Section 3: Target market segments

Heskett’s strategic service vision

There is a requirement for the management tools that could support the business in becoming competitive, represent and develop their strategies, and even analyse the appropriate strategic level (Clark, Hartline and Jones 2009). In context to that, there are many calls for developing the further framework that could assist the managers in formulating the strategies in Service Company like a hotel, as the same could be more powerful if it is presented in visual and straightforward form (Clark, Hartline and Jones 2009). The Heskett’s strategic service vision is hugely adopted in several literature, but the same could be considered as a disadvantage. It offers the managers with the way to explore the strategic gaps existing; second, it needs future development for the purpose of creating the useful tool of management (Clark, Hartline and Jones 2009). The aim of this research critically addresses the criticism by making use of Heskett model, as it is helpful in creating the managerial framework.

This structure can support the company for understanding and explore the actions for enhancing the internal strategic fit. For the purpose of using the effective management tool, it can be understood that the framework should present the information in the visual format (Clark, Hartline and Jones 2009). The visual format for collecting as well as structuring the data is considered as valuable for the company. The resulting picture often provokes equally helpful for the researchers and managers. In the area of strategic management, operations strategy and activities management, various methods could be used for the purpose of creating the visual representation of information; these are the 2*2 matrix, product/service profiling, triangular matrix, and fitness landscape (Clark, Hartline and Jones 2009).

Customers

In the context of business, target market segments are considered as an important component that needs to be seen as it is significant in directing and facilitating the trade path within the market (Clark, Hartline and Jones 2009). A segment of the target market that targets the audiences is necessary for the purpose of sustaining in the industry and business. Hotel Stay that is categorized in the service sector and it can consider the market leader in the Australian budget hotels (Clark, Hartline and Jones 2009). Hotel Stay has tried to implement the innovative and creative concept that can be used in Australia, and the same can differ as per the competition, so no other hotel had claimed in the similar market segment.

Hotel Stay had made used of the geographic segmentation in order to influence in the market opportunity, for example, Hotel Stay in Australia will be known as the budget hotel that will be quite similar to the Air Asia Airlines; therefore, Hotel Stay had also adopted the same concept that fit in Asia hotel concept (Clark, Hartline and Jones 2009). Hotel Stay is strategically placed in Sydney, as it is close to the key shopping, beverage and food outlets along with many entertainment areas. Moreover, the location is quite convenient and offer many facilities like LRT (Clark, Hartline and Jones 2009).

Section 4: Current and future implications

Current issues

Hotels are often challenged with maintaining high-quality standards as well as fulfilling the customers’ expectations that had undertaken important amount of research while traveling (Claycomb 2001). It is expected that clients will be more demanding in future and to engage with the hotel; it is important for hotels to offer world class facilities to them. Hotels are expected to capture the information and need to be fast in targeting the guest for the purpose of personalizing the experience of customers (Claycomb 2001).

Tourism and hospitality business is also severely impacted by the high rate of taxation in this industry (Mullins 2001). Customers these days have to pay heavy tax while booking the room, paying for airline ticket, renting cars and services. This type of tax, most of the time discourage people from traveling to various tourist destinations (Mullins 2001). At few places, taxes are so high that a middle class person can’t afford to visit it (Mullins 2001). Only the families who are highly affluent can easily afford the high cost of living at certain places in Australia, and the one from not wealthy background cannot visit such places (Mullins 2001). In result to that, many hotels and tourist companies failed in attaining the main purpose of attracting the tourist or guest (Mullins 2001).

Future implications

The company tries to set the future-oriented objectives to predict as well as assess the organization's future trend and to devise the way for ensuring to meet the set goals. It is quite challenging to predict the trends of the market due to the happening unexpected situations (Claycomb 2001). For instance, a natural disaster might create various market trends that could be a key drawback for the model. By focusing on marketing process with top management, the company can be committed to design as well as apply the strategic plan (Claycomb 2001).

There are few other issues that might occur in near future like the issue related with security and terrorist attack, where most of time tourist is targeted (Mullins 2001). In past many terrorist attacks had been taken place in Australia that’s the reason, tourist afraid in visiting such places (Mullins 2001). Terrorism is impacting many countries of the world and this had hampered the tourism and hospitality business of such countries. This might even reduce the tourist visit in near future (Mullins 2001). It is expected that with globalization, everything will be available at any place; therefore uniqueness of certain place might not be considered as unique, as people can get the same thing from anywhere (Mullins 2001).

Strategies for reducing factors and implications

Hotel Stay has adopted the overall cost leadership strategy. This program mainly stresses over the little cost producers existing in the industry (Mullins 2001). Establishing the price low might create influence on the way customers think, where reduced cost might leave the negative perception on customers about quality and company brand image (Claycomb 2001).

Section 5: Service Concept

Service design

Hotel Stay way of providing the service is unique, as compared to other competitors, and the hotel even operates their services within limited service concept, in which they provide the double and single room for the customers (Gretzel 2007). The hotel has five-star beds that are given in every room and even feature the high-quality mattress, along with other essential needs like bed sheets, pillows, and pillowcase. Every room includes the private bathrooms along with the minimal rate of the room and heated power showers (Gretzel 2007). Hotel Stay even has the central, strategic and convenient location that is quite near to the shopping areas, food and beverage, ATM services and entertainment outlets. Moreover, Hotel Stay also provide the 24 hours facility of security that secure and safeguard the hotel surroundings (Gretzel 2007).

How services are perceived by customers and other stakeholders

Hotel Stay is categorized as the service qualifier as it offers the better service that could meet the needs of the customers (Millar and Baloglu 2011). For example, Hotel Stay had claimed about the clean environment, whereby they offer the housekeeping services to ensure the safety and cleanliness of consumers in the surrounding environment (Gretzel 2007). Moreover, Hotel Stay consider the safety, and include 24 hours application of security system, that could be used as the electronic key card for the purpose of accessing in room, round the clock duty of the reception employees, services of CCTV cameras, along with no accessing in the principal lobby without making use of key card pass in midnight (Gretzel 2007).

Moreover, the hotel had also tried to introduce the insurance of Hotel Stay in Australia, and in global market. These insurance are not responsible if in case there is a loss of travel documents, but it is also highly responsible for the personal accident of the guest, and delayed in check in, or medical expenses (Grimm 2009).

Service winner are the one having the competitive dimensions that could make use of final selection in the competitors, for example cost. The Hotel Stay pricing strategy come in the range of RM 9.90. Price of Hotel Stay might go different during the peak seasons or in promotional season, or it might get different in case of advance booking (Grimm 2009).

In case Hotel Stay gets fails in delivering the requirements of the customers, it might come under the category of service losers. Service loser happens when the hotel fails in fulfilling the expectations of customers (Hall, Timothy and Duval 2003). Hotel Stay need to implement the new strategy for marketing, as the hotel can give tough competition to the competitors that could threat for them.

Section 6: Conclusion

Overall, the Hotel Stay is adopting the efforts for the purpose of reaching the audiences through implementing the hotel concept of no-frills. As the hotel is new on the market, it should try to apply the new ideas that could easily expose their brand name and can easily win the perception of local customers and also adopt the name. It should also focus on the services they offered to the customers.