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Introduction

Owing to the growth in the lodging industry, the level of competitiveness among firms has recorded a great increment and has created a situation proving Darwin’s theory “survival for the fittest.” Firms and companies in this market must develop strategic plans to cope with, and match the current situation. One of the recent implemented strategic plans is the use of social media as a form of advertisement to potential clients. However, the information provided here is not credible enough to attract these customers. The reason behind this is the increase in fraud, where cons attempt to extort money from people. Sufficient strategic measures have to be put in place to surpass competitors and rival companies in the lodging, tour and travel industry. Facts prove that millions of people spend a lot of hours searching for perfect destinations in the web. Considering the great number of firms in the hospitality industry, different approaches are required to attract customers. Such measures include creating a bond and relation between the company and the clients. This can be through use of contact details as a means of keeping in touch with past and potential customers. Another important and efficient strategy is continuous innovation, through incorporation of technology in service providing.

Task

The dominant feature in the hospitality industry is the global competitive rivalry among firms. The lodging industry is characterized by a huge number of firms, because of the high profitability level. Unfortunately, economic recessions and increase in living costs have led to the decline in number of customers. Increase in oil prices have resulted to a reduction in tour and travel all over the world, leading to heightening of the competition level. Firms are continuously innovating and generating new techniques of bettering their services for customer attraction. This has led to the generation of the prevailing trait that portrays the industry as highly competitive and risky. For a company to thrive in this industry, stipulation of a strategic plan is mandatory. It is necessary that the company understand its goals and objectives, and most importantly, the steps and drivers towards achieving them. This is simply a strategy and its actualization process or formula.

Driving Force

The major force driving change in the hospitality industry is technological advancements. The industry is in a revolution phase where technology has become a voracious necessity. Consistent innovation is required to ensure that a company thrives in the industry. For purposes of dominance, a firm has to take its technology to a whole new level. Some of the examples to this are areas such as lighting. In hotels and lodges, lighting plays a major part in creating an excellent impression to consumers. With modern technology, lighting can be remote-controlled, making it fancy and appealing to customers. Even more appealing, guests can use tablets to control the lighting and vary the intensity to their liking. Other areas include room service, concierge services and music in the room. Despite the fact that the hospitality industry and technology are not close matches, application of appealing and relaxing technology boosts the company’s profitability and market acceptance.

In major hotels, this has been a major driving force that has seen companies going global and conquering the industry’s market. This has generated a new term in the lodging industry, “high-tech hotels” that refers to technologically advanced lodges. With such innovations, convenience and profitability have been achieved, advancing the industry’s technological status. Implementation of technology is a key driving force in the hospitality industry, but it must be addressed and implemented appropriately. Failure of proper technological executions may to enhancement of boredom among guests. The fact that new technology and hospitality are not perfect bedfellows limits the degree of hi-tech implementation in the industry.

Strategic Plan Provision

For my company, the strategic plan, to a great deal, focuses on technology as a means of diversification of products. With the incorporation of technology steered to better services, customer satisfaction can be greatly heightened, creating a stronger tie and bettering the company’s image. The plan behind its execution is focused on areas including, room service, air conditioning, curtains, lighting, concierge services, and entertainment. With the use of an iPad, a guest has the power to control almost everything in the office. My plan allows for the execution of this strategy and fully addresses it. The technological application is wide and I have chosen a few other competitive forces that would enable my company remain ahead of its rivals and competitors.

Another alluring part of technological progression is the provision of wireless internet. Wi-Fi has been a major want for many guests in hotels and lodgings all over the world. With the provision of quality internet access, my company can attract many consumers from all over the world. Facts from customer feedback in places such as Trip Advisor prove that many customers are unsatisfied with their downloading experiences in many hotels all over the world. My company’s aim is to counteract and quench this consumer need. The plan specifies that the internet provided must be fast and can serve a great number of people, without congestion or slowing down.

Other applicable forms of technology include proper air conditioning systems, temperature maintenance and security. With a proper execution as intended in the plan, the application of the listed forms of technology globalizes the company and increases the number of visits, alongside good customer reviews. The company is, therefore, highly competitive and stable in the market.

Differentiating competitive characteristics

The hospitality industry is a major example of the existence of a monopolistic competition. Many companies are in the industry and their products are differentiated to meet varied needs. However, customers seek almost similar provisions from companies. Two of the most common differentiating characteristics are the quality of service offered and the provision of luxurious amenities.

These two features are the most sought-after by guests according to researches. The quality of service varies from how fast orders are processed, to the efficiency of the hotel personnel. The impression made to the customers creates a strong basis and foundation for the company, or ruins its image. All companies in the industry, therefore, strive to provide quality and fast services to their customers.

The second differentiating characteristic is the variety and quality of amenities provided by the company. Owing to the fact that different consumers perceive different tastes and preferences, companies must offer a variety of amenities and services from which customers choose. Amenities refer to all pleasant and desirable facilities and services provided by the company. A greater variety of facilities counteracts the wide range of consumer wants. These wants range from foods and beverages, internet, luxurious beds, Jacuzzis, swimming pools and other forms of recreation.

Our company seeks to cater for as many amenities as possible, to quench customer wants and satisfy them. This will create a better foundation and will enable the company to surpass its rivals. Lack of provision of these services and facilities would result to less or no profits to the company. Amenities and quality of service have been given a greater priority in the strategic plan since they provide for customer wants, which is the core role of the company.

Strategic Group Map

Competitive characteristics Companies	Rival A	Rival B	Our company
Amenities	2.5	3.8	5.0
Quality of service	1.9	3.1	4.9

With a variety of amenities, facilities and quality services, our company is at the top amongst all competitors. We aim at balancing and maximizing the company’s product quality to all guests. This positions the company at the topmost position.

Success Drivers

For my company to thrive and outshine rival companies, I have set up a number of measures. To broaden the reach of our services, I intend to create a partnership with travelling agencies whose role is to market our company. The total earnings of the travel agency are commissions depending on the number of clients they have introduced to our company. Through this, the company maximizes its sales and serves a wider range of customers from all over the world. The purpose of such a measure is a result of the incapability of a company to fully cater for all marketing sectors such as advertising, and still manage to provide quality services to the clients. Therefore, outsourcing plays a key role in enabling the company to focus on providing the best services to customers. The partnership with the travelling agency globalizes the company, making it an international destination to guests from all over the world. The travelling agency maximizes its earnings through ensuring that they introduce as many guests as possible, increasing our profit gains.

Another factor that must be provided to foresee the company at the top is the provision of differentiated products and application of technology in offering our services. This includes creating ties with our clients and communicating with them regarding any changes, amendments or offers. With the application of technology, customer satisfaction is achieved and the company creates a stronger tie with the clients. Consulting and putting in place their suggestions will also help better the relationship. The bond helps in ensuring consistent visits and accommodations, through customer comebacks or first-time visits. Diversification of amenities and facilities helps cater for all customer wants and desires. Different guests have different wants. Provision of a wide range of facilities helps quench and satisfy all customers. With the incorporation of these factors, the company is bound to thrive and succeed, despite the increased level of competition in the industry. The company is thus placed ahead of its rivals and thrives into being among the top firms in the industry.

Competitive Forces

The Porter’s five competitive forces address business strategy and help in enabling businesses to stay aware of all the potential competitive threats. Here is an analysis of the impacts of these forces on our company.

· Threat of substitute commodities

Our company is based in a monopolistic competitive industry. Our products are differentiated from rival companies, and our marketing strategies differ. This force merely affects us, basing its effect on this concept. However, if other companies adopt better technology and production methods, our company can suffer great competition. As depicted, the industry is greatly adopting technology and different production methods, therefore, revolutionizing it. Through our strategic plan, the company addresses the issue of constant innovation and adoption of new production methods. Creativity among the company’s developers is also key in maintaining our position as one of the best company in the industry. With the creation of a company-consumer bond, buyers will tend to consistently value our quality and through it, loyalty is enhanced. Through these measures, the issue of substitution is fully addressed, neutralizing the effect of the force on the company and its productivity.

· Intensity of competitive rivalry

Competitive rivalry is a key issue in the hospitality industry, where consumers easily vary their preferences with different variations. Changes in tastes and preferences are very common among guests, and our company has to set up counteracts. The industry is also very unpredictable and natural calamities and economic recessions greatly affect the companies. Our company must, therefore, create a strong foundation that will favor it despite the impulsive changes. With continuous innovation and application of the current production methods, our company competes favorably with rivals. Creativity and innovation are two aspects in which our strategic plan majors in. with them, competition threats pertaining to advancements in other companies seldom affect us.

· Buyers’ bargaining power

The consumers in the hospitality industry have a lot of bargaining power because of the many firms present. They can vary their choices depending on the prevalent preferences and tastes or cost of service. This creates a high level of volatility in the industry, which our company strives to fully address. As stated earlier, our strategic plan puts in place a loyalty program, through which we create a bond with our clients. Here, we allow our customers to review and pass new suggestions on preferences and amendments that should be made. The program must be taken seriously, and all relevant changes that suit our clients should be made. The bond is strengthened through this program and we ensure that all our clients stick to us. Innovation and changes in looks and the company’s image also help in solving this competition threat. It helps eliminate boredom and creates a new experience for our clients. Transparency is also crucial to our company’s success.

· Threat of new entrants

Despite the riskiness and unpredictability of the hotel industry, many companies still seek entrance to bring changes to the niches they view from without. This creates another competitive force, new entrances into the market. With the common changes in preferences and tastes among consumers, this becomes a major threat to all firms in the industry. For purposes of exclusion from this bracket, our company’s strategic plan addresses this threat fully. The company seeks to create a firm foundation through bond formation. Our clients are driven into developing a strong relationship with our company making them regular customers. With this in place, new entries pose the least threat to our already stable company.

· Bargaining power of suppliers

With a stable foundation and regular accommodation of clients, we create a great demand for the required raw materials in the company. These include foods and beverages, amenities such as internet, beds, and other commodities. Developing a poor relationship with our suppliers can thus lead to great harm to the company if they decide to terminate contracts. Despite our need to realize maximum profits, our plan puts into consideration all the expenses. Contracts are created with equal participation from both parties to eliminate any incidences of extortion. This helps create a good relation with our suppliers. Failure to this can result to disagreements and termination of contracts, which harms a company and may lead to collapsing. With our well stipulated and amendable plan, our company stands the least risk of experiencing the force of supplier bargaining. This creates a better image for the company and stabilizes it.

Strategic Plan

The following is our company’s strategic plan which addresses all areas of production, with the implementation of new production methods to maximize profits. It addresses some of the threats to the company and their remedies.

Vision

To become the most preferred and trusted hotel, both locally and internationally, and to transform the society in which we are based. We aim at providing best quality service and creating a company-customer bond. We will provide consistent accommodation to the largest number of guests from all over the world. Our company seeks at ensuring that it betters a society and leaves it in a better state than it found it. This brings together aspects such as protecting the environment, education and security. Our main aim is to create a foundation like no other and to cheer up lives with our services.

Mission

Our mission is to deliver best quality services to our customers and to ensure 100% customer satisfaction. We will maximize our production and efficiency through providing high-standard services. The company will ensure that all standards are met and customer values such as trust and loyalty are upheld.

Distinctive competency

We provide high standard services and products and fair and affordable prices. Our company focuses on bettering the lives of its customers through catering for their desired wants and preferences. Making profit is our last aim, after quality provision and customer satisfaction. Our aim is to solve health problems faced by people as a result of overworking without setting time for recreation. With our high quality and efficient amenities, we help eradicate boredom, fatigue and stress. Our company also ensures maintenance and care for the environment, leaving a place better than we found it.

Based on consumer preferences and tastes, our company has designed and tailored its services to match the intended purpose. Our guest rooms are fully furnished with luxurious amenities. The rooms also differ in prices based on the amenities offered and their quality too. The most expensive rooms are positioned at strategic positions with pleasant views and illumination. Our company therefore caters for all guests, based on their intended spending or taste. We also offer special accommodation to international guests, such as celebrities, during occasions such as performances, shows and visits.

These services and principles differentiate us from our rival companies in the hospitality industry. Our main driver is to aid in bettering lives and the society we are in, different from other companies’ goals which major on profits.

Capitalizing on a market opportunity

Our company looks forward for all arising market niches and plans on seizing as many as it can. We aim at making the perfect deal with customers so as to gain their trust and consequently, the contract or opportunity. For creation of the best terms, we focus on pointing out the quality of the services we offer and their value. Our company’s less concern on one-time earnings enables us to create a bond with our customers for long-lasting relationships, and ultimately more proceeds. We focus on building a good foundation and prosperous future, and not benefiting ourselves at the moment. This gives us a competitive advantage in our endeavors, seizing more contracts and customers.

A sample case scenario of a market opportunity is the rising need for mobile catering and deliverance of hospitality services. In the continuously evolving hospitality industry, there can be a need to offer mobile services to our customers for example during holidays, research conduction, performances or seminars. For us to capitalize on such an opportunity, we have to offer best quality services at best terms. With our well equipped personnel, our company can mobilize its services anywhere in the world.

According to researches, customers go for best quality at lowest values or prices. Our company, on the other hand, goes for consistency and long-lasting relationships. This forms a complete match for the customers’ wants and we stand higher chances of getting many orders and contracts. With the creation of bonds, our company will create a stable foundation and trust in our clients. This gives us a chance to serve our customers for a long-term basis, enabling us to dominate the market. With a strong foundation, many customers seek our services and the reputation makes them seek and value our services. The company realizes major profits from its consistent service to many clients all over the world.

External threats

Putting into consideration the volatility of the hospitality industry, our company is prone to major financial threats. Occurrences such as economic recessions affect our company greatly and may result to a downfall in earnings. The lodging industry has many firms in operation, creating a great competition level for the company. An effective plan should be laid to ensure that the threats are catered for and their effects are least felt.

Uncontrollable threats such as downfall of the economy can cause great harm onto our company. The external threat is also unpredictable and it affects the customers’ purchasing power to our services. During such incidents, companies collapse and quit from the industry. With persistence and endurance, the surviving company encounters a lot of profits after recovery of the economic state. It is, therefore, important to strategize the actions to take during such happenings, to maintain the stability of the company.

Solution

As mentioned earlier, our company mainly focuses at creating relationships and ties with our clients, rather than extorting money from them. During occurrences of economic recessions, many customers opt to spend less, through cutting luxury expenses such as visiting lodges. However, a small portion of the population still goes for vacations and visit hotels. With the creation of a good image through provision of quality services at best prices; our company wins the trust of such customers. Our consistent innovation measures allow us to attract more customers than rival companies. During event of economic recessions, the only major effect is reduction in profits, unlike the total losses experienced by our rivals. After economic stabilizations, we continue dominating the industry with an even greater force than before.

Financial Objective

The financial goal set by our company is to double the number of guests visiting our company in any fiscal year, creating approximately a 25% increase in net profits. The relatively lees increase in net profit is the company’s intention to increase our accommodation room and to globalize the company. These actions demand for large amounts of capital which will be ploughed back from the initial profit gains. Another objective is to achieve a 30% return from the reinvested capital used in developing the company through maximizing room for accommodation of more guests.

To achieve the financial goal, the company has to cut on cost and maximize production and quality of our services. Through advertisements on social media, bill boards and other media forms, we will better the knowledge of the potential customers on our company. Our charges will also be steered to favor the customers, and in this way, we will have a larger market for our services. Adoption of better techniques of offering services such as use of technology will also steer us into achieving our set financial objective.

Strategic Objective

We aim at being the top in the hospitality industry with more than half of the market share. Owing to the large number of firms in the industry, our strategic objective focuses on taking 50% of the total share. At this position, our company is the largest in the industry and dominates the market. This will help maximize our production and sales, making a great increase on the company’s income.

To achieve the set objective, advertisement and customer relation are key in our company’s strategic plan. We must ensure that we develop a personal relation with our clients and put into consideration all their suggestions and pleas. To attract new customers, our company must advertise itself to the public through all media avenues. Social media is a good start, where we will offer constant information and notify the potential customers on any amendments or changes that may arise in our company. Through this, we will keep in touch and attract a large number of customers, therefore, dominating the market and achieving the set strategic objective.

Strategic Plan Execution

Staff the organization with managers and employees capable of executing the strategy

The managerial principle above is very important during execution of the strategic plan. Highly skilled management and workers helps execute the plan fully as intended. To ensure that the company’s staff is qualified, the interviewing team must be chosen wisely and must consist of the loyal company members. The company should also develop a list of requirements that must be met to secure the vacancy. The requirements should revolve about education backgrounds, level of skill and experience, willingness to work efficiently. The interviewees’ attitudes and their hospitality nature must also be accessed to ensure