Курсовая работа: Marketing in tourism

Surveys are labor intensive since they take a bit of time to create, administer, then compile and analyze the data. If spending a couple of thousand dollars can lead to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands or more in revenue, it’s money well spent. The same can be said if that investment saves you from spending even more money to invest in something that your customers don’t want (and remember: Customers don’t buy what they need. They buy what they want.).

There are lots of ways to conduct a survey. The method used depends on what data you’re trying to obtain and what customer segment or segment of potential customers (or former customers) you’re trying to reach.

For example, if you own a bricks-and-mortar store, you can ask your customers to complete a quick comment or survey card while you package their purchases. Of course, they may not be as entirely honest as they could be since you’re standing in front of them and, assuming you read the card right after they walk away it’s not anonymous (you could have them drop it in a box for an extra level of anonymity).

You could also mail surveys to customers (with a self-addressed, stamped envelope or SASE), try phone surveys (you can just imagine how hard they are to conduct), or email surveys. All of these techniques have pros and cons and we can’t stress enough that the method you pick should be the best method to be used with the population you’re targeting. If your customers are in a certain age group who are not heavy internet users, an internet-based survey administered through email would be a mistake.

Focus groups can be a great source of information but you’ll need to consider how you recruit the participants, what characteristics (demographic and psychographic) should your participants possess or not possess, and what will you give them as an incentive to attend.

Only the rarest of the rare will participate in a focus group just because it sounds like a fun thing to do. Even surveys need some level of incentive to increase participation. Including a SASE is a bare minimum. No one is going to provide the envelope and postage to complete a survey for your business.

Conclusions

The peculiar nature of the hotel business may compel the management to think short term about day-to-day problems or the next-meal periods, as the room day is a perishable item. The room occupancy perishes on the expiry of the day.

Overall, the environment appears very positive for the Grande Bretagne Hotel. The forces driving market demand, mainly economic and geographical, are strong, with more people staying closer to home for shorter getaway trips and their comfort level of visiting London. On the negative side, there is competition, and it will take a while for the Grande Bretagne Hotel to get “established” in its market niche.

Bibliography

1. The International Hotel Industry: Sustainable Management by Timothy L.G. Lockyer, December 2007.

2. Hotel Operations Management by David K. Hayes, Ninemeier, October 2006.

3. Opportunities in Hotel and Motel Management Careers by Shepard Henkin, March 2008.

4. Hotel Front Office Management by James A. Bardi March 2006, Hardcover, 4th edition

5. Hotel Management And Operations by Denney G. Rutherford, Michael J. O'Fallon Ph.D. (Editor), February 2006, Paperback, 4th edition

6. Hotel Operations Management by David K. Hayes, Jack D. Ninemeier January 2006, Hardcover, 2nd edition

7. A Survival Guide for Hotel and Motel Professionals by Alan Gelb, Karen Levine, October 2004, Paperback

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