MKT5IMM International Marketing Management - Free Samples to Students

This module has two pieces of assessment, a report analysing key sectorial trends and drivers and their impacts on aspects of the management of various hospitality organisations (which you can choose) (60%) and an essay based on discussing the challenges of sustainable competitive advantage for hospitality businesses (40%). Each should be submitted electronically through Moodle.

Discuss the key trends and drivers in the macro-environment that are having an impact on hotels in Hong Kong in 2018. Explore the ways in which the hotels can respond to these trends. These trends can include those that are identified as part of your preparation for the Open Spaces Workshop. Illustrate your answer with reference to organisational examples from the hotel sector.

This assessment is based on self-directed secondary research to explore the trends and drivers which are impacting on hospitality organisations at an international and local level. The Open Spaces Workshop which will be delivered on day 2 of the schedule of learning can inform the content of your report. During this workshop we will consider a range of macro and micro environmental trends and drivers (which you will identify from market intelligence sources including trade publications and newspapers). We will think about how these factors (such as ageing populations, M-commerce and individualism) have a bearing on the hospitality industry and we will consider the range of options available to strategic managers to respond to these mercurial changes in consumerism. The report should articulate the key drivers and trends that you have identified (fully referenced) and should reflect on the literature (see suggested reading list) to suggest how organisations in Hong Kong are responding (or how they might respond) to changes in the marketplace.

You have full discretion over how you approach this report task. You should build a solid evidence base into your answer using relevant books, journals and quality media sources. You should also make use of market intelligence from sources such as Keynote.

Answer:

Introduction:

Every business that is present in this planet goes through some kind of evolution from time to time which is important for the growth and development of the businesses. These positive changes are often defined in one single word called “trend”. Therefore, analysis of trend is the method of comparison of data collected in businesses over a specific period of time, which is used for the identification of any result that is consistent or the trend (Reiser and Dempsey 2012).

There are several benefits of management of trends. Management of trends help the owner of a business understand and evaluate the performance of the establishment and also analyze and predict the reach of the business by the present operations and practices of the business. If the analysis is done in the correct and appropriate manner, it can help in giving the owner of the business an idea about improving the business in the right direction (Serra and Kunc 2015).

Trends are present in every kind of business, be it in the commercial or the service sector. This paper investigates and analyses and evaluates the trends that are present and affect the hospitality industry of Hong Kong (Schuckert, Liu and Law 2015). This report aims to not only analyze the trends that are affecting the hospitality industry of Hong Kong but also recommend ways and steps that can be taken up by the pioneers of the industry for the betterment of the sector and give the customers a world class experience along with increasing the retention and profitability of the sector in Hong Kong.  

Identification of trends and drivers and their importance

Identification of trends is crucially useful for any business present in any of the sectors of any industry. The hospitality sector is immensely influenced by the varying trends of the industry (Jayawardena et al. 2013). The analysis of trends is important for the industry because of the fact that it allows the businesses, in this case, the hospitality sector identifies the areas where the business is performing well as well as the areas where work is required and there is room for improvement. Trend analysis helps in providing evidence to inform the owners of the business about their decision making.

Needless to say, there has been an evolution of trends in the hospitality sector in the recent years and the trends have been positive. The trends that have been evident in the hospitality sector include the hotels serving the millennials more than it did on the previous years (Law et al. 2013). The trend in the present times have elevated to the extent of travelers of every age enjoying the facility of easy check ins and the best of the other facilities that are available at prices reasonable to them. In addition, there has been an increase of the usage of technology in the hospitality sector at an exponential rate. The hospitality industry of Hong Kong has been hugely influenced by the increase in the number of international visitors in the recent years starting from 2015 until the present times (Richards 2016). There has been a rise observed in the number of visitors belonging to other countries traveling to South East Asian countries like Hong Kong (Hall and Page 2012). Furthermore, there has been an increase in the concerns for health amongst the tourists. Therefore, the hotels in Hong Kong have taken up steps and initiatives to provide the visitors with healthcare and fitness facilities so that they can satisfy their needs of the same. On top of that, the practices of preserving the nature along with living a lavish life are becoming the new norm. Hence, the hotels are focusing more on providing renewable sources of energy and tackle the scarcity of water by conserving and using it in a smart manner. There have also been changes in the job roles for the workforce. The evolution of technology and digitization has been allowing the workforce to provide personalized services to the visitors that might as well help in enhancing their experience of stay at the hotel. It is observed that the hotels have started using the destination or the promotion of themselves. Moreover, the hotels are providing facilities for real-time control of damage.  This has become significant because of the fact that solving the problems of the guests on the spot will help in the retention of customers, increased rating and thus, profitability. Better customer service will help the hospitality industry to expand their business in the market and will increase the goodwill of the firms.

Impact of trends on the hospitality industry of Hong Kong

According to Line and Runyan (2012), the hospitality industry is experiencing a rapid change on a global scale each day and this is happening at a rate faster than ever before. Needless to say, the hospitality industry of Hong Kong is getting affected by this change in the trends at a large scale. As a result of this change in the trend, the entire industry continues to grow because of the increase in the number of people traveling each year. This change in the trend is usually in the technological sector, which is affecting the format of the operations of the hospitality industry.

As opined by Law et al. (2013), the hotels of Hong Kong are adapting the use of technologies at an increasing rate which is helping in the convenience of the operations of the hotels. The hotels are improving their facilities responsible for the management of guests. The hoteliers are using the technology for the gathering of information and using them for providing personalized services to the guests. Thus, data plays a key role in making businesses successful and efficient in terms of providing better services to the customers. For example, the guest management systems know about their demands even before they arrive at the hotels, as a result of the improvement of technology.

A trend in the hospitality sector is observed as home-sharing. This has technically reshaped the entire hotel management sector to the extent that the bigger brands are investing in this sector for better business and better service to the customers traveling and availing these facilities (Wang, Tsai and Tsai 2014). On top of this, the option of home-sharing also provides room for a localized experience to the visiting guests. This is because the guests opting for this option get to stay like the locals and get to avail a localized experience of the future of the country they are traveling to; in this case, Hong Kong.

The marketing policy trends of the hospitality industry have also changed to the extent of selling an experience and not just the property (Swanson and Edgell 2013). The marketing trend has evolved from just selling the property to the selling of a story and even the destination. This has a huge impact on the visiting customers who choose the hotels on the basis of better portrayal. This in turn helps them to increase their profitability and retention of customer. The customer retention in turn helps the hotels to improve the brand image and increase goodwill of the property.

The advancements of technology are directly proportional to the increasing demands of the customers. One of the major and perhaps fascinating improvements is the introduction of virtual reality in the business of hospitality. This allows the visitors to visit the room without actually visiting it with the use of proper technology that allows them to get an interactive experience. In addition, artificial intelligence is slowly taking over the hospitality industry in areas such as room service. Many of the hotels have adapted this idea and have employed bots for their service. However, this is done so that the humans can be trained to get involved in providing more personalized service to the guests.

There has been marginal increase in the business in the year 2017. However, an immense increase in the number of travelers have been observed, especially in the Asia Pacific region; precisely Hong Kong. Data suggest that there has been an increase in the number of visitors in the region by 2.4% which accounts to 58 million (Choi and Varian 2012). Moreover, the increase in the number of visitors in the hospitality sector has been proven useful for the medium-tariff hotels. They have gained substantial profits with the increase in the number of visitors in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the growth of hotel supply is estimated to accelerate at a rate of 4.3% between the years 2016 to 2021 (Song et al 2012). In addition, some of the hotel premises can be converted into commercial spaces and this increases the profitability of the firm and this in turn would help in engaging the hotels in to providing more services to the guests.

Response to the impacts for the benefits of the industry

The initial and perhaps the most basic response to the impacts of the trends are working on the existing services to improve them along with the introduction of new ones. There are examples of hotels who are actively working on improving their services after the introduction of new and improved technologies (Mohammed and Rsahid 2012). The examples of such hotels include the likes of Marriot, Accor, Hyatt and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. The primary aim is to occupy a majority of the market share in this economic boom (Brandt, Ma and Rawski 2014). This is because the trends suggest a positive impact altogether. The internet of things technology is being used in the benefit of business by the hotels in terms of using them for the purpose of booking of rooms and identifying the needs of the guests from beforehand to give them a satisfying staying experience.

There has been an exponential increase in the number of visitors from other countries. The hospitality industry as a response to this has worked on the improvement of existing services as well as introduced new services.

Technological trends in increasing the growth 

The hospitality industry can be highly benefited by the use of technology in their sectors. There are number of technology available in the market that can help the hospitality industry to increase the customer satisfaction which will later help them to increase their market share. The use of the right kind of technology in the right place will maximize their profit.

• Mobile check in: There are many guests who want to visit straight to their rooms after a hectic day or after travelling a lot. The lengthy check in process can be really irritating sometimes and this is the reason the mobile check in process are taking its place. Hotels are recognizing that the mobile check in are becoming a common tech and is a new trend that can change the whole scenario (Wang et al. 2015). Starwood hotel became the first organization to use the mobile check in software by which the guests can skip the check in process in the hotel counter and can directly unlock the door using their phones.
• Better Wi-fi: Nowadays wifi is available in most of the hotels and resorts, but the thing is that providing better and improving it continuously is important. According to a recent survey, free wifi plays an important role for the personal and business travelers in choosing the hotel (Schuckert, Liu and Law 2015).  
• Cyber security: The hotels industry of the Hong Kong needs to be highly secured. While booking the customers are required to provide many personal details which can easily be stolen by the hacker (McCleand et al. 2013). One data breach is enough to lose a countless customers from the organization. It’s not only securing the credit card details and the personal details of the customers, the hacker can also disrupt the business through the HVAC controls, electronic door locks.
• Hotel management software: The current trends in the hospitality industry are the use of the hotel management software to provide a relaxing and smooth experience to the guest. The software can help in synchronizing the front desk and the housekeeping. It can help in managing the multiple properties in a single time. It helps in managing the quality of the service and keeping tracks of the services that they provide to their customer (Wang, Chen and Chen 2012).

Conclusion

The assignment deals with the understanding of the current trends in the hospitality industry of Hong Kong. The new trends in the market help in growth of the business. Keeping up with the trend and bringing continuous change is very important. The new trends in the market is all about providing better customer satisfaction and at the same time helping the establishment to gain customers. It also helps the organization in retention of the customers. The hospitality sector is immensely influenced by the varying trends of the industry. There has been an evolution of trends in the recent times that have helped the organization to provide better customer service. The most common trends that can be seen is the hospitality sector including the hotels are serving more than they did earlier. Easy check in-s are one of the revolutionary change that has helped the guests to avoid the length check in procedure in the front desk.

The hospitality industry trends have seen the increased use of the technology. Technological usage has helped in providing better service for example cyber security, easy check in facility, better management of the organization. The hospitality industry of Hong Kong has been hugely influenced by the increase in the number of international visitors in the recent years starting from 2015 until the present times. Digitization and advancement in the technology has helped the organizations to provide personalized services to the visitors that might as well help in enhancing their experience of stay at the hotel. The organizations nowadays are gathering informations about their potential customers and looking for way to increase their experience. The strategy behind the marketing policy of the hospitality management has changed drastically. The marketing is now focused on selling an experience and not just the property. They have gained substantial profits with the increase in the number of visitors in Hong Kong. The hospitality industries have been highly benefited in the last few years by the trends that have come up. Technological advancement plays a huge role in this success for example, easy check in, the increased level of cyber security, better wifi connection, hotel management software etc.

References:

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