Sofitel Hotel Business Analysis and Quality Appraisal

The assignment provided is a comprehensive report on Sofitel hotel's business operations, services, and quality management practices. It includes an analysis of the hotel's strengths and weaknesses, as well as recommendations for future growth and development. The report also highlights the importance of quality appraisal in the hospitality industry and suggests strategies for improving customer satisfaction.

Hospitality Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.................................................................................................................................................3
AC1.1................................................................................................................................................3
AC1.2................................................................................................................................................3
AC1.3................................................................................................................................................4
AC1.4................................................................................................................................................5
AC2.1................................................................................................................................................5
AC2.2................................................................................................................................................6
AC2.3................................................................................................................................................7
AC2.4................................................................................................................................................7
TASK 2.................................................................................................................................................7
AC3.1................................................................................................................................................7
AC3.2................................................................................................................................................8
TASK 3.................................................................................................................................................9
AC4.1................................................................................................................................................9
AC4.2..............................................................................................................................................10
AC4.3..............................................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
The report is written to the operations manager by assistant operations of Sofitel hotel
for making operation manager understand the nature of hospitality operations. Sofitel hotel is
a luxury hotel in Paris, France is working worldwide.
TASK 1
AC1.1
Hotel business has the variety of products and services to offer to customers. The products of
the hotel are very much perishable and the nature of products and services of Sofitel hotel are
discussed below:-
Perishable- Perishable goods do not have a long duration and they mostly have their
shelf life. Hospitality products such as food and beverages are perishable.
Element of Tangible and intangible- Sofitel hotel deals with both tangible and
intangible elements in its product and services. The design of hotel interior and exterior,
equipment and the ambiance of the hotel comes under tangible as they are clearable visible to
customers (Pizam and Holcomb, 2010). The intangible elements are present in the hotel's
responsiveness to the customers, showing of empathy, reliability, and assurance which is
invisible.
Service areas- The services of Sofitel hotel majorly consist of food, beverages,
division of customers in a hotel room, conference hall for business meeting and banquet
system allowing the customer to arrange for lunch and dinner.
AC1.2
The business of hotel is influenced by many factors which affect the patterns of
demand and thus the same type of demand is not there in all over year. Factors affecting
demand pattern are here given below:-
Healthy living- Some customers are possessive and concern for their health and
therefore always choose the hotel having cleanliness and standard level of sanitation facility.
Cultural- Some of the customers also look at the culture before choosing the hotel.
These customers do not like to adjust to others culture.

Regional and ethical- Customers also prefer ethical behavior and preference to the
region and thus select the Sofitel hotel on this basis.
Seasonality- Customers have different choice and purpose of traveling such as hikers,
climbers, and ramblers etc and this amusement are available in particular season (Morrison,
2013). Thus the customers prefer the season where such amusement is present.
Time of day and week- Customers such as couples and families also have choices of
weeks in order to prefer traveling and thus the demand of the Sofitel hotel changes with such
preferences such as weekends customers or weekdays customers.
Economic factor- The condition of the economy plays an equal role in demand of
hotel. If the economic condition of both the Sofitel hotel and country of the customer is
unfavorable then the demand will be less and if the economy is favorable then demand will
be high.
AC1.3
Each customer has a different taste, preference, and expectation and thus led to the
existence of a different profile of the customer. Customer profile based on the expectation of
Sofitel hotel is as follows:-
Spending power- Different customer have different power on spending depending on
their job and financial condition. The economic condition of the country also has an impact
on their spending. Thus customer will prefer five stars or three-star hotel depending on
spending power.
Type of hospitality business- Hotel business can be for food and beverage,
accommodation, and travel and tourism purpose (Mok, and Kadampully, 2013). Sofitel hotel
has mainly accommodation services and the customer comes here to accommodate.
Menu/Accommodation- Customers having high demand for accommodation and
menu will prefer hotel having quality accommodation and variety of food. A customer with
reasonable expectation will consider low-quality accommodation and less variety of menu.
Sofitel hotel is rich in both menu and accommodation.
Pricing consideration- Families and couples mostly concerned for services then
prices and thus ready to pay a high price for services.

Experience of the meal- Customers are different and thus their meal too. Actors,
model or sportsman will like no heavy food in the menu and business class customers will
prefer heavy and spicy food in their meal.
AC1.4
Impulse and whims of customers are defined with the help of average spending
power. Since there are a wide variety of services offered in Sofitel hotel and thus the
customer can have a different power of spending to avail such services and thus the concept
comes average spending power (Law and Buhalis, 2010). Average spending power is affected
by many factors which are here described below:-
Income size- There is a high relation between spending on services by the customer
with its average spending power. Average spending power will upgrade if the income level of
customer is high.
Status- If a customer has a rich mentality and belongs to the royal family then it
cannot control its limit on expense and will prefer high-cost quality services and thus
increases its average spending power.
Influence of culture and society- Culture and society also impact the average
spending power of the customer (Hassanien, et. al., 2010). For instance the customer will
prefer to spend more on Christmas than any other festival.
Economic situation- Customer will decrease their average spending if the economic
condition of their country is not appropriate.
AC2.1
Many steps are followed by the Sofitel hotel when it has a new plan to organize or
launch. The key stages for initiating any plan are given below:-
Idea screening- Screening of idea is considering different aspects of the idea and then
taking the final decision of proceeding. Under this step, the idea is evaluated and analyzed
with various factors such as internal and external. Internal factors such as a number of
employees, other resources available such as finance. The idea is also evaluated with external
factors such as market demand, economic status, and competitor’s strategies.

Idea generation- After the screening of idea, the idea will be tested and checked for
its viability with the help of experts and professionals. The viability will also be check with
the threats and opportunities. After completing this the idea will take the complete shape-
Concept development and testing- After generation of an idea, the concept will be
developed for utilizing it well.
Business analysis- Under this analysis, the need and demand of business will be
matched with the idea (Dwyer and Seetaram, 2012). Further, the steps will be looking
forward for adapting the change which going to arise with change. The solutions will also be
recognized in order to adjust to the change easily.
Test marketing- Marketing test will involve segmentation of the market on the basis
of Customer choice and preferences keeping in mind the idea need to be launched in the
market. This will also involve research on the market to know the demand for a new idea.
Sofitel hotel can go for price-taking initiative or differentiate the cost of a new idea in order
to attract customers.
Commercialization and launch- After development and test marketing of idea, the
next step is to commercialize the idea with the use of advertisement such as hoarding, media,
newspaper, etc. The specialty of the idea must reach to the customer.
AC2.2
The customer has always a perception towards each hotel which is based on the
services provided by the hotel and its features (Brotherton, 2015). The features which
contribute to the perception of the customer are discussed below:-
Brand image- If the hotel has a good image in the market then the customer will find
the hotel to be of high quality and better services and will prefer to go in such a hotel. Sofitel
hotel has a good brand image which draws positive perception of customers.
Healthy food- Food provided by hotel should be nutritious and healthy as it can
attract the customer. Food must be delicious and dietary to turn the perception of customer
positive.
Arrangement for disabled customers- Customers will appreciate highly for hotel
providing extra care and facilitate better to disabled customers.

Resources availability- Resources must be available to each customer equally and
sufficiently. Unequal distribution and access to resources can create a negative perception
towards the hotel.
Style of service- Service must be stylish in terms of women and men. There can be
separate service holders for families, couples and females.
Standardization and utilization of space- Customer should be allowed to use
enough space and the further standard should be maintained in food with reasonable prices.
AC2.3
Sofitel hotel has a great opportunity in terms of providing excellent services to the
customer such as high-quality food, excellent arrangements for able and disables, enough
space for playing sports, swimming, etc (Zikmund, et. al., 2013). The hotel also has the
opportunity to grasp each type of customer such as sportsman, businessman, teacher, etc.
The constraints to any hotel occur when there is lack of space, accommodation and
facilities and competitor is able to provide extra services. There is a shortage of human
resources with qualified professionals in Sofitel hotel. Sofitel hotel is looking for the process
of recruitment in order to get the best employees in the hotel. The major constraint for Sofitel
hotel is lack of opportunities in terms of local business and local people around the hotel area.
AC2.4
The travelers come for both business and recreation purpose from different national
and spend in accordance with their purchasing power (Yeoman, et. al., 2012). This leads to an
increase in the business of Sofitel hotel all around the world. Sofitel hotel can display its
advertisement and can provide the best services which will give merchandise benefits to the
hotel. On the basis of their purchasing power, the hotel can have more value with a premium
charge. With the improvement in the economic position of traveler and hotel country, the
merchandise benefits can be availed. The hotel can also include some free services to its
menu which can also provide merchandise benefits.
TASK 2

AC3.1
Question 1
There are different pricing methods used in the hospitality industry and these are here
evaluated below:-
Market-oriented pricing- Sofitel hotel applies mostly market-oriented pricing under which
prices are set in accordance with the market or price of a competitor under this method,
Sofitel hotel also conducts market research in order to know the price charged by rival firms.
Cost-oriented pricing- when some percentages of profits are added to the cost then it is called
pricing.
Apart from the above two pricing method, Sofitel hotel also charges some service tax on the
meal as per the prevailing rates. Sometimes customers are also charged with a minimum
charge and cover charge is imposed at the time customer enter the hotel(Swarbrooke and
Page, 2012).
AC3.2
Question 2
Many factors are responsible for the generation of revenue and profitability in hotel
business which is here discussed below:-
- Labour Intensity- Hospitality industry requires more human than capital. Sofitel hotels
are rich in labor but still requires to appoint some high professionals in order to enhance
its value of services.
- Shelf Life- Sofitel hotel is planning to have new product and services and also believe in
the weekly purchase of products and thus the quality is always maintained high in
Company.
- Elasticity of Demand- There is high elasticity of demand of products and services as if
Sofitel hotel changes the price the demand also changes in a great sense (Qu, S.Q. and
Dumay, 2011).
- Standardization- Sofitel hotel is highly focused on maintaining quality food and other
services.
- Portion Control- Portion control is also effective in the hotel and thus has very less
effect on revenue of Sofitel hotel.

- Price, and- Since the price of Sofitel hotel is as per market, hence there are very less
impact on the revenue with a change in price.
- Procurement- Sofitel hotel has made good relations with suppliers and thus there is
timely availability of services and products.
TASK 3
AC4.1
Quality has always been one of the major concerns for the hotel industry. Quality is
always required to be there at levels of Sofitel hotel in order to ensure the long-term
sustainability of the hotel. The quality must also be measured and evaluated time to time.
There are a number of appraisals and performance measurement techniques which are
used by Sofitel hotel and are here discussed below:-
Quality management – Quality is an inevitable part of the hotel industry as without
which any Company could not survive. Quality in hotel must always be able to meet the
standards of customers (Pizam and Holcomb, 2010). Quality management techniques will
work in four components namely planning, quality control, assurance, and quality
improvement. Further, there are eight quality management principles such as a focus on the
customer, people involvement, system and process approach and continual improvement,
factual approach, mutually beneficial and better relationship with the supplier. These all
principles will lead to high satisfaction of not only the customer but also of the employees.
The quality management will lead to the saving of cost as it will assist in removing the
wasteful activity and will also enhancement in profits.
Speed of delivery/customer service- Customer would never like to wait or stay after
making huge payment of bills. Hence, the speed of delivery matter in a great sense for the
hospitality industry (Oakland, 2014). In serving time, the hotel is measured by the customer
on how fast orders are delivered to them. Hence the hotel must evaluate the speed of delivery
time to time.
Developing of qualitative and quantitative data- Qualitative and quantitative data
on the performance of hospitality industry can also be one effective method for measurement

of quality. Qualitative data such as quality of service, the satisfaction of the customer, the
reliability of customer etc and quantitative data such as a number of the royal customer,
customer per week, pricing of product in relation to competitors can be helpful in the
accomplishment of appraisal. Qualitative data can be accumulated through the help of 360
feedback under which the customer can be asked about the service quality. Employees are
also asked to give their opinion on other employees and the performance of the Company.
Quantitative data can be gathered through the in-house generated bills, data, and data from
market. This information will be helpful in assessing the performance.
Analysis of data and evaluation- After data is collected through qualitative and
quantitative method the data will be analysed with the use of statistical tools such as a graph,
chart, bars etc. (Morrison, 2013). Further, the results will be compared with expected
performance.
External comparison- External comparison will be done through analysing the
performance of top Companies in the hotel industry and comparing the performance of
Sofitel hotel with those Companies. The topmost hotels can be set as benchmark such as
services and prices and comparing them with Sofitel hotel.
Gross profit/sales and net profit- Sales and profits are also one of an effective way
of measuring the graph of the performance of the hotel. If the sales and profits are
continuously increasing then it is implying that the hotel is performing well. Increase in sales
will automatically lead to an increase in gross profits and net profits. If there is a big
difference between the gross profit and net profit then it can be summarized that the expenses
in business are high which need to be in control.
AC4.2
Qualitative and quantitative appraisal techniques are one of the frequently used
techniques by business. One appraisal of qualitative techniques such as 360 feedbacks is
effective in terms of increasing the value of customers as they are asked to openly share their
views and opinion regarding the services (Law and Buhalis, 2010). 360 feedbacks also enable
better communication between the employees. Since employees are also asked to share their
views and suggestion regarding the Company and their colleague's performance. Employees
get the opportunity to know how their colleagues see them and enhance the communication

between them. This kind of connection and communication are helpful for customers and
vendors as the chances of errors are reduced.
But 360 feedback techniques cannot be always a good idea as there can be the
creation of differences between the employees. Any unfair evaluation of staff performance
may demotivate them and drop their satisfaction. This will ultimately impact the performance
of the Sofitel hotel negatively. Employee morale will also decrease. The appraisal techniques
also utilise the sample data which may not always be right for measuring the true
performance (J. Harrington and Ottenbacher, 2011). The techniques do not consider the
quality of employees, service and products and the attitude of employees etc. Additionally,
the sample only takes into account the opinion of a few populations.
Quantitative appraisal techniques involve the data collection through questionnaire
and interviews on a group of people which are applied to the wider population. Hence results
cannot be applied to the wider population. The services and products of Sofitel hotel are
delicious to average customers which do not mean that all customers like at the same level.
The techniques can be applied by hotels but with use of two or more methods. Sofitel hotel
should not solely depend one method for taking any decision.
AC4.3
Business analysis is the practice of organization in order to determine the needs
required for adopting change and recommending the better solution which can deliver value
to the stakeholder. This kind of practice by organization ensures regular change and identifies
problems to the problems of business.
Business evaluation can be said as determining the value of business economically
and also in consideration of market (Brotherton, 2015). The valuation of the business is also
based on the financial market as it tells the price at which participants of the market are
willing to pay for Company.
Business planning is the process of setting the actions and steps for various operations
such as the launching of new product or expansion after performing business analysis and
evaluation. Business planning is found to be in a written document including the goals to be
attained, time frame and how these goals will be achieved.

There are different approaches available for analysis of business, evaluation, and
planning but it is difficult to find the right approach for hospitality business such as the
offering of services, catering of accommodation of market and generation of demand source
(Buhalis and Crotts, 2013). Hotels were used to treat by customers for lodging facilities but
now the hotels are used for many purposes such as traveling, education and business tour etc.
Later, the facilities in the hotel are increased such as value added services called Safari.
Focusing on catering market is equally important now for the hotel business. The major
services which are creating good profits for the hospitality industry are house guest,
organized groups and non-residents.
The demand for services is mostly recreational, institutional and transit. These are
sources of demand in Sofitel hotel and create a good impression on building demand in the
market. Business evaluation and analysis should be a constant activity of hotel and further,
the demand of customers must be recognized by the hotel. The services as discussed must be
proposed in the further expansion of the business (Boella and Goss-Turner, 2013). Sofitel
hotel must also take advice from the expert or can also go for an online solution under which
the guidance from the top business analyst will be received. After taking guidance, the Sofitel
hotel should propose any further big decision such as increasing size of business or moving
for merging option.
Quality and its appraisal is an inevitable part of operations of the hotel industry. The
qualitative and qualitative appraisal techniques have their own benefits but there must also
use in addition to the other techniques of quality measurement and management in order to
assure the safety and consistency of business.
CONCLUSION
Thus, Sofitel hotel is one of the renowned hotels which is providing its services all
around the world. The report has provided with the range of goods and services offered and
many other aspects of the hotel business. This is clarified that hotel business needs to have
the best quality to sustain in the market.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Boella, M. and Goss-Turner, S., 2013. Human resource management in the hospitality
industry: A guide to best practice. Routledge.
Brotherton, B., 2015. Researching hospitality and tourism. Sage.
Buhalis, D. and Crotts, J., 2013. Global alliances in tourism and hospitality management.
Routledge.
Dwyer, L., Gill, A. and Seetaram, N. eds., 2012. Handbook of research methods in tourism:
Quantitative and qualitative approaches. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hassanien, A., Dale, C., Clarke, A. and Herriott, M.W., 2010. Hospitality business
development. Routledge.
J. Harrington, R. and C. Ottenbacher, M., 2011. Strategic management: An analysis of its
representation and focus in recent hospitality research. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 23(4), pp.439-462.
Law, R., Qi, S. and Buhalis, D., 2010. Progress in tourism management: A review of website
evaluation in tourism research. Tourism management, 31(3), pp.297-313.
Mok, C., Sparks, B. and Kadampully, J., 2013. Service quality management in hospitality,
tourism, and leisure. Routledge.
Morrison, A.M., 2013. Marketing and managing tourism destinations. Routledge.
Nickson, D., 2013. Human resource management for hospitality, tourism and events.
Routledge.
Oakland, J.S., 2014. Total quality management and operational excellence: text with cases.
Routledge.
Pizam, A. and Holcomb, J., 2010. International dictionary of hospitality management.
Routledge.

Qu, S.Q. and Dumay, J., 2011. The qualitative research interview. Qualitative research in
accounting & management, 8(3), pp.238-264.
Swarbrooke, J. and Page, S.J., 2012. Development and management of visitor attractions.
Routledge.
Yeoman, I., Robertson, M., Ali-Knight, J., Drummond, S. and McMahon-Beattie, U. eds.,
2012. Festival and events management. Routledge.
Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C. and Griffin, M., 2013. Business research methods.
Cengage Learning.
Online
Sofitel, 2018. About Sofitel. Available at https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/brands/hotels-
sofitel.shtml. Accessed on 29.11.2018