integrated business project(research proposal)

yunish

integrated_business_mgt_final_report.docx

Home >Literature homework help >integrated business project(research proposal)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Research Topic

1.2. Secondary Data

1.3. Research Interest

1.4. Structure

2 Research Question

3. Research Methodology.

3.1 Research Process

3.2 Sampling site and sampling approach.

3.3 Research location

3.4 Limitation.

4. Literature Review

4.1 Introduction.

4.2 Changing pattern in travelling within a hotel industry

4.3 Segmentation and Brand.

4.4 Patterns of New Markets

4.5 Ownership and management.

5. The Gantt chart

6. Data Collection.

6.1 Primary data analysis

6.2 Secondary data analysis.

7. Recommendation

8. References.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research Topic

This study will be focusing on the hotel industry by looking at the change in travelling pattern within the corporate guest structure; it’s not like before where only white colour used to travel but mow even blue colour and workers travel. The study will, therefore, try to understand the implications of these travelling changes in the hotel industry in terms of its services delivery structures and their business strategies.

1.2 Secondary data

Changes in the travelling patterns around the globe arising from the rise in the number of travellers with diverse needs increasing have been the game changer in the hospitality/hotel industry around the globe. There are far reaching implications associated with these changes according to the available secondary data on the trends in the hotel industry. The changes have brought about shortages in skilled and qualified employees in the hotel industry to deal with the needs of customers from different segments (Deegan and Horan, 2003). In the past hotels owners had been concentrating on training their employees on serving white people who were the main travellers around the world. Studies indicate that the new trending in the traveling industry means that the hospitality industry have shortages in the number of skilled as well as qualified employees who can serve the needs of new customer segments in the hospitality sector (Deegan and Horan, 2003).In order to accommodate the new changes, the hotel owners have to invest heavily in education and training of its staffs for them to gain the required skills (Lewis, 2006). As a result the cost of training and development of employees in the hotel industry has been on the risk in recent years.

Additionally, in order to address the growing needs of its customers the hotel industry has to invest heavily in the IT sector as a result, so as to be able to improve efficiency in serving corporate guests, given that their numbers have increased in the recent years(WTO, 2001).The available secondary data only focus on the challenges and merits associated with the new travelling patterns on the hotel industry, failing to identify the actual implications of the changes on the hotel industry business strategies. Thus, this research will seek to fill this research gap by identifying the implications of changes in the travelling patterns on the hotel industry business strategies.

1.3 Research Interest

In conducting this research I am interested in understanding the implications that the new travelling pattern has on the way the hotel industry serves its corporate guest as well as the changes that have been introduced in the industry service structure. My main interest is to understand the long term implications that the changes have on the business strategies that have been employed traditionally by the hotel sector in the past.

1.4 Structure

The research will be organized in a number of sections. The first section will be the introduction part, which will introduce the topic of the study in terms of its background, the importance of the research and its implications. The second part will be a literature review part, which will contain a review of the already existing data in relation to the topic of the study. The section will be aimed at giving an overview of what other scholars say about the topic of this study. The third section will be methodology, and it will contain detailed information on the research methods such as data collection techniques, sampling methods, design and sample size used in the study for purposes of collecting data. The other section will be the finding and discussion section, which will provide information on the findings of the study and its implications in relation to the existing literature. The final section of the paper will be the study’s conclusion, and it will provide a summary of the study findings and it future implications to the hostel industry management.

2.0 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In order to complete this study a number of questions will be used to guide the researcher in the data collection process. Therefore, the following will be the main research questions;

(i) How has your hotel service structure been affected by new travelling trends?

(ii) What changes have you introduced in your business in relation to the new trends?

(iii) What are the opportunities presented to your hospital business by the new travelling trends?

(iv) What are some of the challenges that your hospitality business is facing as it tries to adapt to the new trends in the travelling industry?

(v) In which way have the newest trends impacted your hotel business strategies?

3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Process

The research process will start by designing the interview questions will be used in collecting data. Once the interview questions have been formulated, the next step will be choosing the study sample size from which the participants will be drawn to participate in this study. Once the sample size has been chosen the next step will be collecting data through interviewing the study participants (Ketchen, 2007). After the data collection process is completed the next stage will be to analyse the data in order to come up with the inferences (Kothari, 2004). The final step will be writing the final research report and presenting it to my professor.

3.2 Sampling Site and Sample Approach

The study sampling site will be in Melbourne whereby a sample of ten guest hotels that deals with corporate guests will be sampled. The ten hotels will be expected to provide who participants each (one employee and one customer), who will be interviewed based on the research questions (Kothari, 2004). On the other hand, the random sampling approach will be used in this study. The study participants (hotels) sampled randomly to avoid biases which may affect the quality, accuracy and validity of the data that will be collected during the research process (Jha, 2008).

3.3 Research Location

The study, research location will be Melbourne which is one of the cities around the globe that has many hospitality businesses. The data will be collected from ten hospitality businesses that deal with travelling guests. The purpose of using Melbourne City as the study location is due to the high number of hotels found here, making it easier and less expensive to conduct the study, given that the data collection approach that will be used in the study will be time consuming requiring for a research location that is not big.

Literature Riveiew

Introduction

This section of the paper intends to provide an overview of the existing literature on the implication of changes in travelling patterns on the hotel industry corporate guest structure business strategies. The literature review will be informed by the fact that it is not like before where only white collar used to travel but even blue collar and workers travel which is impacting the hotel industry. They were mainly built along the routes of travelers awaiting the tired guests who would come to look for somewhere they would stay in. Today, there is a wide range means of finding accommodation and various reasons for them to travel. Some travel for office work where as some travel for labor work which is compelling to bring change with in a hotel industry however the hotel industry has been able to overcome the challenges that arise as a result of today recreation. There has been an emergence of new patterns and four of them are examined in this chapter and they include; market, product, ownership and management (Frechling, 2001).

Changing pattern in travelling within a hotel industry

The changing pattern of individual and group travelers around the globe has impacted the hotel industry largely .This has resulted in the introduction of new products in the market. There is interlacing of the four patterns. An invariable change in one pattern has impacts on the other. There may be creation of new patterns of management by new financing methods. For example, the emergence of new products as a result of being driven by new market arising from changes in the travelling patterns. One size does not fit all. The respected person charge of booking a accommodation began stretching the brand depending on the person travelling in accordance to their position which was later termed as brand segmentation and this is one means through which a dip in the curve of demand is offset(Weaver & Lawton, 2002).

Segmentation and Brand

The new travel patterns have brought the concept of branding and segmentation within the hotel industry as it tries to cater for the new groups of corporate guests.

Segmentation: In order for the upscale hotels to counter the occupancies that were falling in 1990s, they moved vertically downwards to come into operations that were midscale. There was introduction of Fairfield Inns by Marriott for example, there was counter by the midscale by having movements in both up and down dimensions (Weaver & Lawton, 2002). It has tried to enhance its quality by ensuring that it improves its property and a breakfast that is inclusive. There is a differentiation of Sleep Inn and the Comfort Inn by the Choice Hotels. Choice Hotel is also raising its services and rates at the Comfort Suites. Increasing the richness, there is a thought by most people that confusion Choice has added the Cambria Suites to its group thus designating it as a chain of lifestyle.

There is movement of other chains that are made differently. Holiday Inns Hotel introduced a new brand that is known as Crown Plaza. This brand interfered with the identity of Holiday Inns Hotels. Motor Inns are no longer a roadside as it competes with the urban likes of Starwood’s Sheraton and Hilton Doubletree brands. Recently, Hyatt which is a strong urban chain on conventions and groups of business has acquired Arneri Suites which is a chain that is leisure oriented. Resort companies were brought by other shifts into commercial businesses and vice versa. There was a spilling of segmentation from differentiation of the product into other aspects that are adopted by the industry (Kimes, 2010).

Brand: There are issues that have been created by segmentations, and solutions to the challenges that exist. New product identification has been accompanied by too many designs that have recently erupted. There are also new logos and new promotions that have also accompanied identification of these new products. A long time has been taken by hoteliers to realize that collection of a group of hotels that are alike or even those that are not alike will not in any way create a brand automatically. The main thing that defines a brand is recognition of the customers, logo and the name. In order for the hotel chains to create new brands, they have poured dollars of advertising. The question is the number of customers that are well aware that Renaissance Hotels are actually Marriotts, or Starwood has children such as Le Meridien and Westin. Most large chains are comprised of several brands like Starwood, Marriott and Quest. Some of these brands have either been purchased or created. If the parent company is in a position to sell the differences that exist between its multiple brands and the value associated with every brand, it will be in a position to reap a lot of benefits(de Seve (2008).The company will also be able to retain the umbrella of the broader brand.

Patterns of New Markets

There is a rich choice of selection that customers have today for a bottle of water, options of investment and accommodations in lodgings. Here, there is an application of the old conundrum of which first came between the egg and the chicken. The question is whether all the new products that have been discussed are able to meet the response to demand from the customers, or whether the changes in these products have brought about their demand (Frechling, 2001). The main problem here is the way that customers are to be enticed.

Changes in Hotels Marketing Strategies: Changes in the traveling patterns around the globe have impacted heavily on the marketing strategies employed the business in the hotel as well as the hospitality industry. The two main focus of the new marketing strategies in the hotel industry has been in the pattern of individual guests and group travelers (Deegan and Horan, 2003).

Marketing to individuals: There must be acceptance of all the people that comes to the hotels in good conditions by Law. What is in practice is that hotels cater for particular market niches. Different guests have different things that are appealing to them (Deegan and Horan, 2003). Therefore, the kind of guests that are present in a hotel gives us more about the hotel.

The profile of the Guest: There are several profiles that are there for the guests in that they wear different hats in circumstances that vary. There is a change in personas depending on the reasons for their visit. At times they are business persons and at other times members of the family. They may also be transient travelers, members of a tour group or convention goers. They may either be unsophisticated or urbane or foreigners or nationalists.

Hoteliers are in a position to manage different segments in the markets by knowing their guests in circumstances that are different thus developing the guest profiles. Gathering of the profiles is done by many agencies other than just hotels. Some of the agencies that are involved in profile gathering include trade associations, tourist bureaus and convention. The focus of the typical study is about demographics such as age, gender, job, residence, job, the number of people that are in the party and education (Jagels& Ralston, 2007). This should be conducted with a good deal of accuracy. The starting point of serving the guests is to first know them. There are patterns that are less measurable than demographics. Those involved in development of guest profile should understand and differentiate between buyers who are both upstairs and downstairs. Upstairs buyers are in need of workspaces that are comfortable and sleeping rooms that are large (Sedat, 2007). Because of above reason, they had to sacrifice theme restaurants, intimate bars and other accoutrements of lifestyle. On the other hand, downstairs buyers are the ones who use concierge and they want the public space above all the other things (Getz, 2008). They are also more extroverted. In general, women are upstairs buyers whereas men are downstairs buyers. The profiles of guests with an extended stay have something else that they show. They try to recreate a home by ensuring that they have brought personal items like photos, pillows and animals that are stuffed. Guests that are long-term rearrange the furniture. There is a sparing use of kitchenette by both groups.

Marketing to the Group: Even without giving their historic role of accommodation that is transient, modern hotels become sites of destination due to increase in the number of travelers. Hoteliers sell dozens of rooms at a time. Tourists and leisure visitors have resulted in increased levels of disposable income thus bringing the cost down to attract large numbers of citizens across the globe (WTO, 2001). In order to increase efficiency in manufacturing, hotels have adopted the technique of mass production. The tour package has also enabled the hoteliers to handle the mass movement of the leisure guests.

Ownership and Management

Management: the new travelling patterns have increased the number customers requiring hotel businesses to invest heavily in the area of employee training and development an area of management that was neglected earlier. The training of employees on how to use IT and serve different categories of guest within the hotel industry has been the main focus of management (Lewis, 2006). The management focus in this area has been aimed at dealing with the shortage of employees who have the skills and expertise needed to deal with various categories of guests in the hospitality as well as the hotel industry (Lewis, 2006). Additionally, in order to improve the management performance, the new travelling pattern has had a direct impact on the management structure within the hotel industry, whereby most of the hotel businesses employ their managers on contract basis.

Ownership: within the hotel industry changes in the traveling patters from time to time have increased turmoil and churning activities, as the hotel owners try to deal with business challenges arising from the new patterns(Weaver & Lawton, 2002). This has lead to consolidated ownership of hotel businesses within an aim of ensuring that hotels are large enough to deal with upcoming challenges due to new traveling patterns.

The Gantt Chart

ACTIVITIES	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9
Research Proposal	·
Collection of data and review of literature on the topic of the research		·
Interview layout			·
Preparing for the interview				·
Interview conduction					·
Assessment and interpretation of feedbacks						·
Primary and secondary data analysing							·
Research conclusion								·
Project submission									·

Data collection:

Primary Data collection:

Explanation: In figure 1, out of 37 survey received 54% of the feedback stated that they have stayed with Quest Caroline Springs in the past. That means the percentage of return guest is more than the first comer. This reflects the opportunity and patterns of the corporate traveller.

Explanation: In figure 2, out of 37 guest 41% guest travelled for work purpose, where was 27% of the surveyed guest travel for leisure purpose for example weekend, wedding, etc. Similarly 8% of the people stayed with us because they had to attend the conference where as 3% and 5% relocation and visiting friend s and family respectively. However 16% of the survey people choose other which means they are not willing to disclose the reason for their travel.

Explanation: In figure 3, it reflects how individual heard about Quest Caroline Springs. As we all know there are different means of getting information therefore it was a challenging part for me to put as minimum option as possible but also in other had to ensure get as accurate result as possible. Out of 37 people 22% of surveyed people choose corporate traveller management where was 19% of surveyed people choose Quest website. Similarly 14% of people choose other and 16% and 13% choose travel agents and previous stay respectively .Whereas no one choose word of mouth, print add and passing by. Above result shows the middle level corporate traveller are increasing because those are the people who use corporate traveller management to make a booking to get better rates whereas high level managers get their secretary to book direct with is falls under other.

Explanation: As above figure it is self-explanatory. The question that was asked “How did you make reservation” so out of 37 guest 4 people choose travel agent, 8 people choose corporate traveller management, 7 people choose direct at Quest location and 7 actually booked from Quest website which is usually a foreign traveller and 2 Quest customer contact centre, which means they did not call property directly but the head office and as expected 9 people choose online as a tool for booking and 0 others.

Explanation: In figure 5 – 9 I have asked the question related to the room as I feel it is one of the element business people deicide weather or not to stay in the hotel. And this question was more focused to get feedback so that we can make changes accordingly to ensure we accommodate corporate guest taste and we are changing along with them to ensure they are happy. This will ensure we have repeated guest and corporate guest which is the aim of the business.

Explanation: In figure we tried to get feedback about the internet service as this is essential for business travel. This would help us to identify weather or not this is one of the factors that influence corporate traveller. Out of 37 feedback 54% did not use , which means the high level corporate traveller are decreasing because leisure guest or lower level corporate traveller do not tend to sue much internet for work purpose. Likewise 16% guest agreed the internet service is satisfactory where was 14% and 15% were not satisfied with internet series and it is mainly hotel still is only provide broadband service.

Secondary Date:

Reference list:

C. de Seve (2008). Room Taxes and Economic Impact of the Lodging Industry. American Hotel and Lodging Educational Foundation,Washington DC, pp. 23–24.

Deegan, M. and Horan, T. (2003).Smith Travel Research, PhoCusWright Inc., Pricewaterhouse Coopers Graphic.Chicago Tribute.

Frechling, D. C. (2001).Forecasting Tourism Demand: Methods and Strategies. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Getz, D. (2008). Event Tourism.Definition, evolution, and research, Tourism Management, 9 (3): 403-428.

Lewis, A. (2006). Stakeholder Informed Tourism Education: Voices from the Caribbean. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 5(2), 14-24.

M.G. Jagels – C.E. Ralston (2007). Hospitality Management Accounting.John Wiley &Sons, Inc, Hoboken, New Jersey, pp.278-280.

S.E. Kimes (2010).Pricing Strategy and Distribution Channels in Hotel Revenue Management.Cornell University, Distance learning online material, Ithaca, NewYork

Weaver, D. & Lawton, L. (2002).Tourism Management. Brisbane: Wiley & Sons.

WTO. (2001). Tourism 2020 Vision: Global Forecasts and Profiles of Market Segments.Madrid:World Tourism Organization.

Y. Sedat (2007). An Integrated Forecasting Approach to Hotel Demand.MathematicalandComputerModeling,Volume 46,Issues7-8, October 2007, pp.1063–1070