Hotel Service Marketing Strategy

This assignment examines a hotel service's marketing strategy for expanding into Australasian markets, particularly New Zealand and Malaysia. It analyzes the target market segments, including tourists and executives, emphasizing the diverse cultural and religious landscapes of these regions. The assignment delves into advertising strategies tailored to specific markets and highlights the importance of cultural sensitivity in marketing communications.

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Name of the Student
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CAPABILITIES AND STRENGTHS OF GRAND HOTEL GROUP
a. Grand hotel has already started the process of acquiring smaller infrastructures apart
from building its own. The process of acquiring new hotels, help in establishing its
stronghold in the international market (Lam, Ho and Law 2015).
b. The group has its operational existence in a number of countries, including Australia,
New Zealand and Malaysia. Therefore, the workforce is vivid and multicultural. The
adaptability is strong and diverse. A diverse workforce is always helpful in becoming
an international brand.
c. Having its operation in a number of countries and possessing a large number of
properties in a number of places the group is financially stable and having further plan
of expansion and growth vertically and horizontally..
LIST OF POTENTIAL MARKETS TO PROVIDE QUALITY BOUTIQUE STYLE
HOTEL SERVICES
1. Australia
2. New Zealand
3. Fiji
4. Indonesia
5. Malaysia
6. Guam Hagatna
7. Marshall Islands
8. Micronesia
9. Sri Lanka
10. Philippines
11. Singapore

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12. Cambodia
13. Myanmar
14. Maldives
VARIOUS SOURCES OF INFORMATION TO INITIATE THE SELECTION OF
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
1. MARKET SIZE AND GROWTH—
 In Malaysia tourism contributes about 9.3% of the total countries GDP.
A huge number of 10 million visitors come here annually (Statista.com
2018). In 2018, the revenue generated from the Hotels amounted to
more than $538. In New Zealand tourism industry generated a GST
revenue of $2.8 billion (New Zealand Tourism 2018). 7.5% of the total
work force employed in the country are employed in the hotels and
tertiary tourism industry (New Zealand Tourism 2018).
 In Australia alone, there is a 11.5% growth in foreign tourists (Savills
2018). In Malaysia the hotel Industry is booming which has a growth
of 2.2%. The influx of tourists continues to be more than 10 million
and the expected growth is 12.4% (Statista 2018)
 Top competitors in Malaysia are Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur,
Four Season Resort Langkiwi, Shangri La Kuala Lumpur, Lexis
Hibiscus Port Dickson, JW Marriott Kula Lumpur, Grand Hyatt Kuala
Lumpur. In New Zealand main competitors are Sofitel Auckland, Azur
Lodge, Sofitel Queenstown, Blanket Bay, The Spire Hotel, The
Langham Auckland, and Hilton Auckland.

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 The quality of currently available rooms and hotels range from budget
to luxury. The hotels in New Zealand take the advantage of its natural
beauty and picturesque locations.
2. Market Accessibility—
 The tariff rates for hotels in Malaysia are relatively low ranging from
75 US Dollars to 500 US Dollars. In New Zealand, the tariff rates are
higher. It starts from about 150 US Dollars and goes up to very high
rates.
 In the region there are a number of newspapers and news channels
where the advertisements of the hotel can be put up. The foreign
tourists mainly come through the airports, hence billboards and
banners near and around the airport will help.
3. ECONOMIC CONDITION
 The average income of a household in New Zealand is about 5000
Australian Dollars per month. In Malaysia, it is much lesser accounting
to 1670 US Dollar a month.
 One Australian Dollar is about 3.13 Malaysian Ringgit. Again one
Australian dollar is equal to about 1.10 New Zealand Dollars presently.
 The best option in the risk protection factor related to currency
exchange is to open a temporary foreign currency account.
4. CULTURAL, LEGAL AND POLITICAL FACTORS
 There was a recent incident in Malaysia where people not belonging to
a certain religion were asked to eat secretly during in the fasting month
of the majority religion. Similar religious orthodoxy may hamper

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natural growth of foreign nationals. In New Zealand, there are small
sections of radical nationalists who may pose a problem.
 In Malaysia the political situation is democratic headed by Prime
Minister. The country has Islam has the major religion, but there are
minority Buddhists. Political rift among the two sections are common.
In New Zealand the political situation is stable but there are protests
about illegal immigrants.
 In Malaysia to open a hotel or branch one requires to draft an article
for association, registering with the authorities of tax and revenue
department, and submitting the details and documents to Companies
Commission of Malaysia. In New Zealand one has to register and get a
company tax number, appoint a lawyer and accountant and register
with the Companies Office to start a hotel.
CRITERION FOR DETERMINING THE SUITABILITY OF POTENTIAL
MARKETS IDENTIFIED
1. ACCESS OF THE APPROPRIATE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
In New Zealand people are more digitally oriented. Communication which are
digitally enhanced will work in this region. Marketing communication mix
includes the 4 PSs “Product, Promotion, Price and Place”. The product is the
hotel service here, price as to be determined according to the target audience,
place is New Zealand and promotion will be developed according to that. In
New Zealand the economic condition is stable and people are affluent enough
hence marketing can be done through social media and the internet, apart from
traditional media like television and news paper. In Malaysia the economic

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condition i not as affluent as the former country hence pricing has to be done
keeping that in mind.
2. DISTINCTIVE NEEDS OF HOTELS IN MALAYSIA AND NEW ZEALAND
- The starting point of hotel price in Malaysia is about 20 Australian dollars
which can go up to 1000 dollars depending on the luxury provided
(Mosbah and Saleh 2014). The hotel price for Grand is kept at 300 to 800
dollars. In New Zealand the price is higher starting from about a 100
dollars ranging up to 3000 to 4000 dollars. The prices for Grand will be
from 800 to 3000 dollars.
- Services other than rooms include dinner, parking, beverages, spa, theme
restaurants and shopping.
- The website booking for New Zealand is higher than Malaysia. Online
hotel booking in New Zealand has gone from 65% to 80% between 2007
to 2015. In Malaysia the number is expected to grow to 0.5 million by
2022 (Tourism.gov, 2018). Grand will be having a dedicated online
booking website and will be linked to leading travel booking websites.
- As a leading hotel chain Grand will keep its door open all the time of the
day so that people can check in. The customer helpline and the online
booking will be open through the day.
- The weekend pricing will be 20% more than the weekdays. But the people
who will be booking in the weekdays for weekends will get a normal
pricing.
- In the peek seasons of tourism like the spring the prices will be 10% higher
throughout the season.

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HOW THE COMPANY WILL ACCESS AND USE MARKETING INFORMATION
1. ACCESS INTO PRIMARY SOURCE
 The company will access primary data by interviewing, surveying and
online questionnaires. Interviews are views of people and are qualitative
data, whereas surveys are numbers and are quantitative (Matthews and
Ross 2014).
2. ACCESS INTO SECONDARY SOURCES
 Secondary data are those already collected and analyzed by a third party.
The government websites and portals provide such data (Bryman and Bell
2015).
 There are agencies and data processing centers which give data in lieu of
payment.
 Internet research and surfing into various authentic sites also provide data
which the company will use. Example- Statista.com.
 Newspapers and reports often go for researchers about market profile
which can be accessed (Sekaran and Bougie 2016).
KEY APPROACHES FOR ENTERING AND PROFILING INTERNATIONAL
MARKETS
In New Zealand the population is economically stable, though there are various
sections of population who still need economic up liftmen. The main target population that is
aimed is working affluent professionals, and the international tourists. The international
tourists are the main target group and the executive class are the next target option.
DEMOGRAPHIC

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GENDER- MALE AND FEMALE MARITAL STATUS- MARRIED/
UNMARRIED
AGE GROUP- 28 TO 65 YEARS INCOME-$50000 AND ABOVE
GEOGRAPHIC
AUCKLAND
PSYCHOGRAPHIC
TOURISTS LOOK FOR COMFORTABLE AND LUXURY LODGING IN VACATIONS
KEY APPROACHES THAT WILL HELP YOU TO DETERMINE THE TOTAL
MARKET
- The consumers who have need for better hotels in New Zealand are the tourists who
cannot find suitable accommodation during peak tourist seasons.
- The current and potential users of luxury hotel service include the tourists and the
executive class who travel for work.

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- People in related categories are political leaders, business leaders, motivational
speakers, delegates of other countries, sportsmen.
THE TARGET MARKET IN TERMS OF THE POTENTIAL USERS
The potential user of the luxury service provided by Grand Hotel would mainly
include the tourists and the executive class of the country. The Chinese tourists are the largest
number in this region (Sun, Zhang and Ryan 2015). The large number of Chinese tourists can
be targeted as potential users of the service. The executives of large MNC companies and
senior managers use a large amount of services from luxury hotels. Frequency of service
usage is in the peak seasons when tourists pour in. The targeted members can be reached via
social media, internet and advertisements around the airports.
EXPANSION PLANS INTO NEW MARKETS
The expansion plans as stated includes markets in the Australasian region. The
countries mentioned in the target market include regions with both high and medium internet
usage. Advertisement in the region can be taken up by using international news channels into
consideration like BBC or CNN. Both TV and radio can utilized. Marketing experts from
those regions would be employed to develop the proper marketing mix.
THE TARGET MARKET STRATEGY
The target markets are diversified with cultural, ethical and religious differences. New
Zealand is mainly a Christian country whereas Malaysia is a Islamic nation. Their values are
different. The marketing strategy should be developed keeping that in mind. The cultural
values should be given maximum importance in order to enter new markets and not offend
the majority of population of that region.

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REFERENCES:
Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2015. Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA.
Lam, C., Ho, G.K. and Law, R., 2015. How can Asian hotel companies remain internationally
competitive?. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(5),
pp.827-852.
Matthews, B. and Ross, L., 2014. Research methods. Pearson Higher Ed.
Mosbah, A. and Saleh, A.A., 2014. A review of tourism development in Malaysia. Euro J
Bus and Manage, 6(5), pp.1-9.
New Zealand Tourism., 2018. About the industry. [online] Tourismnewzealand.com.
Available at: http://www.tourismnewzealand.com/about/about-the-industry/ [Accessed 22
Jan. 2018].
Savills., 2018. Savills Hotel Market Report. [online] Publications.savills.com.au. Available
at: http://publications.savills.com.au/hotelsreport/?_ga=1.176398051.791909754.1485131638
[Accessed 22 Jan. 2018].
Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R., 2016. Research methods for business: A skill building approach.
John Wiley & Sons.
Statista.com., 2018. Hotels - Malaysia | Statista Market Forecast. [online] Statista. Available
at: https://www.statista.com/outlook/267/122/hotels/malaysia# [Accessed 22 Jan. 2018].
Sun, M., Zhang, X. and Ryan, C., 2015. Perceiving tourist destination landscapes through
Chinese eyes: The case of South Island, New Zealand. Tourism Management, 46, pp.582-
595.