INTRODUCTION
Methodology of Report
The following report was derived from the primary use of secondary sources, in addition to telephone contact with hotel representatives. Secondary sources included research from the Internet, industry books, company marketing communications, trade and general business newspapers and magazines, among others. Through all the sources, relevant data and information was extracted into the report's appendices. After individual analysis and group discussion, the following report was devised. The mandate of this report is to provide a macro examination of the luxury hotel industry and specifically the future outlook of Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts, Inc.
Company History and Background
The vision for Four
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Growing at an annual rate of approximately 2-3%, the industry is divided into four tiers, consisting of budget/economy, mid-scale, first-class and luxury. Though there are countless hotels around the globe, the major players in the industry are the 10-12 parent companies that operate a chain of hotels, often with brands that are spread across the four tiers. In addition to international players, each tier also contains an abundance of smaller hotels that competes in its respective tier .
Within the luxury tier, many of the players do not actually own the hotels themselves, but instead manage the operation of the business, similar to that of FSH. In the luxury segment, competition for acquiring new management agreements becomes very high as hotel owners make their choices based on the quality and value of a company's management service and most importantly, its brand name. Moreover, guests who choose to stay in luxury hotels are commonly not very price sensitive, and thus it is essential that a hotel distinguish itself amongst its competition by providing value added services as well as maintaining an untarnished, reputable brand name and image.
To remain profitable, hotels must operate with around 65-70% capacity . Due to seasonality, political and economic events, some hotels are finding it difficult to maintain profitable occupancy levels and have started to provide services along multiple levels within the industry's
1. Think about size, growth, locational aspects and segmentation 2. Market Structure 3. Performance metrics used 4. Trends
Marriott is renowned for its elegant and comfortable hotels and resorts. The company caters to a targeted customer base, ranging from the frequent corporate business traveler to the family enjoying their occasional weekend get-away. Marriott has continued its rise in the lodging, contract services, and restaurant industries. The company continuously strives to meet the needs and wants of its customers while strategically maneuvering the rigors of today’s competitive and ever-evolving market of glamorous destinations and convenient services. In order to remain relevant in a highly-competitive environment, Marriott must strike that successful balance of minimizing costs, and gaining and effectively
For my luxury brand marketing analysis I choosed the Four Season Hotels chain, as on my mind it is one of the most successful and well-known hotel chain, providing 5 star service all around the world.
Europe is different from North America, and Paris is very different. I did not say difficult. I said different. — A senior Four Seasons manager In 2002, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts was arguably the world’s leading operator of luxury hotels, managing 53 properties in 24 countries and delivering what observers called “consistently exceptional service.” For Four Seasons, that meant providing high-quality, truly personalized service to enable guests to maximize the value of their time, however the guest defined doing so. In 1999, Four Seasons opened the Four Seasons Hotel George V
Garden Inn and Hampton Inn which focus on mid-priced services. For extended stays the company's
Hilton Hotels is one of the biggest players in the US lodging industry. It contributes to about 9% of the total rooms in US lodging market. It has presence in over 78 countries with more than 2500 hotels. Lodging industry is highly capital intensive industry, so to reduce capital expenditure Hilton Hotels opted for self-owned Hotels as well as franchising model with the real estate owners. One of the key features of lodging industry is low switching costs for customers. There is very little margin to differentiate from the major competitors in the industry which include Marriott international, IHG, Accor etc.
The hotel industry is a very hard industry to enter into, due to one of the biggest obstacles, which is brand recognition. Right now there are a few large hotel chains that make a large footprint in the market. It is hard for a new entrant to come into the industry and compete with these large hotel chains without bringing something new to the table. Many large chains in the industry dominate the industry due to economies of scale due to franchising.
Tourism is one of the most international industries. Globalisation is the gradual forging of links between groups and societies until they finally reach around the globe in several directions (Smith, D,2006). Globalization is one of the serious challenges facing managers today. It is critical to develop services that are able to satisfy a highly diverse customer base (Ueltschy et al., 2007) Now to keep up with the rising levels of globalization in the hotel industry, there’s a need to understand not only the positive, but also the negative impacts of globalisation. I’ll also talk about the growth and rise of one of the most respected brands in the hospitality industry - the Hilton Hotels. Throughout the evolution of this famous organization, the Hilton has
This will lead the hotel succeeding in filling up all available capacity, which is impossible for single segment. Moreover, serving several segments also bring profits to the hotel.
As we discussed in class, every business is faced with these issues and they are important to managers making strategic decisions. One of the first things learned about business is that if there is no demand for a good or service, the firm that provides it will not continue to exist. Over time the hotel industry has continued to change with market conditions and make itself attractive to business
Hotels too need to differentiate their services from their competitors in order to attain greater share in the market. Marriot chain of hotels differentiates itself from its competitors by focussing on standardization of the services. International customers often need more consistency in the hotel services when they travel across the world. Standardization has its own benefits, not only does it simplify work but also help attain economies of scale, ultimately cutting costs(Singh et al. 2012). Le Meridian chain of hotels offers exactly the opposite of that, it customizes services for its customer to a very large extent(Kielnhofers 2012).It provides services as per the specification of each customer. This might result in adding operating cost but creates additional satisfaction among its
Four Seasons Hotels and Resort is the world’s premier luxury hotel management company. It is currently operating 83 hotels in 35 countries and has built an unrivalled reputation for reliability, trust and connection with its guests (Four Seasons, 2010). As the hotel mogul prepares to enter Brazil, this paper narrates in detail the marketing plan Four Seasons will implement in the local geopolitical environment. Brazil’s present political, legal, social and economic state draws the conclusion that acquiring a local luxury hotelier while utilizing its business resources like a partner, is the best
The main objective of the company is not only to attract but also to retain staff who are interested to work in the hotel business for the five-star level of high service, taking into account the wishes of clients, and which offers an innovative, dynamic environment and reflects the culture of the local country. To achieve this, Hyatt strives to be a company listening to well-informed and concerned people. Hyatt provides plenty of opportunities at all levels for their employees, which are accompanied by numerous development
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts have all opportunity to occupy this niche. If couples are looking place for a beachside ceremony, a big city reception for wedding, the organization helps to arrange everything. -Another sub-group target market is the multi-generational high net worth families. No longer is the luxury hotel business all about the adults. Kid and teen programs are intricately planned by luxury hotel brands to better facilitate to traveling families. According to Janaki Padmanabhan of Euromonitor, ‘the trend of multi-generation travel indicates that families need a place to go which will cater to all members of the family, including, grandparents, parents and kids’, where the typical paying customer is the
Another reason of guests prefer to select a credible brand and it can help them save shopping time rather then choose a brand and they do not know before. This kind of phenomenon can be found in the luxury hotels, and some of the customers prefer to pay more money for room and services to decrease their risks on their expectation, the service from the hotel, and the high quality requirement on the hotel rooms (Abdelbamied, 2011).