Custom House Bar: Hospitality Management - Guest Perception & Strategy

This report explores various aspects of hospitality management, focusing on Custom House Bar within the Sydney Harbour Marriott. It delves into guest preferences, staff opinions, and competitor strategies to understand market dynamics and improve business practices. The research questions cover guest expectations for personalized service, the importance of employee satisfaction, responses to market trends, competitive marketing strategies, and guest perceptions of bar facilities. The report emphasizes the need for hotels to adapt to changing customer demands, invest in research and development, and prioritize quality service over price competition. Ultimately, the goal is to evaluate consumer perceptions, analyze competitor trends, and investigate the relationship between staff perceptions and business activities to enhance the overall hospitality experience.

Running head: Hospitality Management
HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

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Table of contents
Research context 2
Section 1: Business oriented literature review 2
Research question 1: Studying about guest preferences 2
Research question 2: Investigating about staff opinion 3
Research question 3: Exploring the surrounding with response to market 4
Research question 4: Exploring the business strategies by competitors 5
Research question 5: Studying the guest perception towards bar and facilities 6
Research question 6: Studying about the guest profile 7
1.2 Quality assessment 8
Section 2: Primary research proposal 14
2.1 Research objective 14
2.2 Research approach 15
2.3 Research methodology and design 15
2.3.1 Research technique 15
2.3.2 Population 15
2.3.3 Sampling design 15
2.3.4 Implementation plan 16
2.3.5 Suggested questions/topics 16
2.3.6 Project schedule 17

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References 19

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Research context
The hotel industry has been undergoing Rapid transformation due to changing customer
demands. In order to survive in the competitive environment it is necessary to take into account
the opinions of the staff members who are responsible for engaging with the consumers as well
as implementing the business strategies of the hotel (Masiero, Pan & Heo, 2016). The business
strategies in turn are influenced by the competitors and their strategies to exploit the industrial
trends. The current research is to be conducted on Custom House bar a part of the Sydney
Harbour Marriott in order to accomplish the research objectives of evaluation of consumer
perceptions, competitor analysis with respect to the trends in industry and lastly investigating the
intricate relationship between stop perceptions, opinion as well as business activities.
Section 1: Business oriented literature review
Research question 1: Studying about guest preferences
Before the improvement in the hotel management industry, most of the hotel is primarily
focusing towards providing the guest with a uniform experience. However, today with increasing
globalisation and modernization in the hotel management industry, the guests have started to
expect a more personalized service which translates into a unique experience. Previously,
according to Kucukusta (2017), such expectations where very challenging from the service
perspective. However, with advancement in technology the effort required for collection as well
as utilisation of the guest data has become easier, that enables in providing the customers with
the exceptional service that they maybe craving. The guest data stored in the hotel management
software are actually a treasure trove of useful information and those data can be further utilised
for segmenting customer expectations and ensuring relevant Communications.

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It is very important to know when to ask for the data from the customers. It should be kept in
mind that the customers should be enquired for the feedback when there is relevance in request
or the customers are open to engage with the service professionals. Confirmations as well as pre
arrival mails are actually a very useful platform for requesting information pertaining to guest
preference. The questions that will help in identifying the guest preference are likely to be the
reason for visit and activities that they are willing to participate in (Bimonte & Punzo, 2016).
Check in Counter as well as reception are very casual for collecting and capturing the preference
data as it enables twin gauge in a face to face conversation that will help in assimilating more
information.
Research question 2: Investigating about staff opinion
Perhaps one of the cornerstones of the guest service Framework implemented in hotels is
employee satisfaction and employee opinions. Hence, according to Moyle et al. (2017), the staff
members are responsible for managing as well as taking care of the guest by providing them with
the superior customer service it is important that the staff members are not only bright, motivated
but are also on board with the mission statement of the brand in order to increase the level of
interactions with the consumer that will help in significantly increasing the happiness quotient of
guests. A company taking into account the employee opinion makes decision for the employee
betterment, which significantly increases the productivity and creativity in comparison to
unhappy employees. Increase in productivity and creativity leads to increase in profitability
among the hotels. It is justifiable that hotels practicing a positive culture of engagement,
experiences drastically less turnover than other organisations.
Staff members whose opinions have been taken into account are motivated and this motivational
impact needs to be both meaningful as well as engaging. The staff members need to align their

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individual purposes with that of the organisation for serving the larger purpose (Yang, Cheung &
Fang, 2015). Engaging staff members requires giving them the opportunity to take decision that
they think are best suited for a scenario which is challenging to the professional role of the staff
members. This will help the professionals working in hotel industry to identify the need to
develop their skills as well as knowledge in order to create an ideal balance between skills and
challenges.
Research question 3: Exploring the surrounding with response to market
The hotel industry in Australia has identified the threats in aspects of traditional accommodation
model that has been implemented for a long time. In response to the identified threats the
Australian hotel industry has undergone significant innovation and renovation. The response
towards increase in the customers has given rise to the increase in accommodation in Australia.
Figure 1: Increase in hotels rooms
(Source: Tourisminvestment.com.au, 2019)

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Right now hotels cannot be described as physical spaces to accommodate travellers but as lively
as well as connected destinations that will provide a satisfactory experience to the foreign as well
as local visitors alike (Wong & Li, 2015). In order to respond to the changing needs, the
companies operating in the Australian hotel industry are making significant Investments in field
of research and development, Technology and marketing.
Perhaps the biggest change that has been noted is the changing consumer behaviour towards
aspects of sustainability, individualism, art and localism. The visitors and guest are seeking
unique experiences that they cannot enjoy in the urban as well as Suburban areas. As noted by
Ramseook-Munhurrun, Naidoo, Seebaluck & Abdul (2018), the ongoing success of the
Australian hotel industry depend on designing excellence as well as inventory expansion. The
designing of the hotels need to compliment the local landscape without losing focus on the local
produce in function, restaurant as well as bar menus. The primary factor for driving the changes
in the hotel industry is due to increasing demands of the travelers especially the millennial
generation.
This has led to replacement of uniformity with individuality in context of Hotel designing that
has begin featuring in the functional as a less communal living spaces that provide added
amenities light charging stations, interactive cafes, Indo waterfalls, lounging space to name a few
(Piccoli, Lui & Grün, 2017).
Research question 4: Exploring the business strategies by competitors
The hotel industry can be dubbed as a very extreme and competitive sector where in different
types of hotels are competing with each other for engaging with the same group of potential
customers. Hence in order to survive in such an environment it is necessary for hotels to make
use of varieties of marketing strategies that will enable them to promote their property as best

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choice and make themselves accessible to the consumers. As pointed out by Patterson, Sie,
Balderas-Cejudo & Rivera-Hernaez (2017), some of the fundamental marketing strategies that
are employed in hotel industry are making use of brand website, using Search Engine
Optimisation, marketing the USPs, connecting with the online travel agencies, working closely
with the local authorities, proactively utilising the social media platforms and making use of
content marketing in a progressive manner.
The hotel website is actually a very important marketing tool as well as a very important
distribution channel which can be used for generating direct sales. The website can be used for
collecting information, making enquiries about rooms as well as bookings. Hence it is necessary
to install an efficient engine that is easy as well as comprehensive for navigating through the
website as well as making the booking (Bore, Rutherford, Glasgow, Taheri & Antony, 2017).
Search Engine Optimisation helps in boosting the visibility of the hotel website on search
engines like Google and Yahoo that will be helpful in attracting even more customers.
In order to distinguish themselves from the competitors, it is necessary to have a unique selling
point and this helps in creating a brand identity that can be conveyed to the consumers by
utilising the marketing channels. The online travel agencies actually an important part of the
distribution network and is a great way for generating exposure which helps in reaching out to
customers who could not interact with the hotel via other channels. According to Divisekera &
Nguyen (2018), in order to promote the hotel to the local visitors, it is important to connect with
the local authorities by providing them with Marketing literature that is professional, persuasive
as well as eye catching.
In today's day and age social media platforms are the best marketing tools that are available to
the hotel managers as well as marketers is it allowed to post promotional campaigns to reach the

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established audience. As stated by Argent (2018), iIt also makes use of paid advertisements for
reaching the Global audience and targeting specific interests or qualities of the individual.
Research question 5: Studying the guest perception towards bar and facilities
For hotels which are operating with the commercial purpose always considered the customer to
be the king and hence it is very important for the hotels to make them happy. However, recently
the customers have big concern in expecting additional services which surpass their expectations.
Therefore, as pointed out by Turner, Hodari & Witteman (2017), it is necessary to explore the
way the employees approach as well as interact with the guests and how these two factors are
responsible for customer satisfaction as well as customer retention. It should be kept in mind that
it is unnecessary to provide a truck load of facilities or services to the customers as the
customer's demand for the services to be provided in a professional manner without
compromising the quality that helps in satisfying the customers.

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Figure 2: Occupancy rates for hotels in melboune
(Source: Statista.com, 2019)
In order to prevent hotels from failing to retain the guest, the most common strategy that is
adapted is price cutting which not only affects the profits of a hotel but also results in
deterioration of its status. Hence it is necessary for hotels to understand the necessity of Quality
Services and facilities rather than price as a key influencer of consumer behaviour (Patiar, 2016).
When operating a bar it is necessary to keep in mind that the customer needs to be provided with
the cool as a less comfortable environment that is complimented by ample service and pleasant
music.
However, as noted by Searle (2018), the changes in customer demand have led to added
expectations which seating arrangements, drinks quality, brand availability, complementary
specs and temperature inside the bar. In order to retain customers it is necessary for the hotel to
avoid selling fake drinks which can be a by-product of brand unavailability. This means that the
hotel needs to ensure that a wide variety of brands are available to the consumers which will help
in identifying the choice of the regular customers (Brochado, Rita & Margarido, 2016). Apart
from drinks, the hotel should also look into the aspect of complementary snacks and this means
that the hotel is to experiment with the variety of snack items in order to breakaway from the
monotony of providing the customers with the same snacks.
The hotel industry cannot sustain on floating customers who means that in order to survive in the
competitive environment it is necessary to sustain the already existing customers which will help
in attracting even more customers (Sitawati, Winata & Mia, 2015). This means the regular
customers are to be provided with Quality Services in terms of bar facilities or other amenities

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that will make them into regular customers as well as free broadcasters and marketed of the
brand.
Research question 6: Studying about the guest profile
The online travelling agencies actually know more about the guests as compared to the hotels. It
may sound as a critical comment but it is actually very true. These agencies compile the guest
data in order to learn the behaviour of a certain individual over a period of time which gives
these agencies a competitive advantage over the traditional hotels in context of studying guest
profiles (Battour, Hakimian, Ismail & Boğan, 2018). The data that has been collected by
observing the user behaviour helps in marketing activities as well as progression plans in regards
to the product. However in order to sustain in the competitive market it is necessary for hotels to
embrace the necessity of profiling the guests. Profiling the customers indirectly is related to the
need of refurbishment of the custom bar of harbour Marriott for $15 million (Smh.com.au,
2019).
Normally the online travel agencies engage with customers by providing them with a seamless
booking process, targeted marketing campaigns and loyalty schemes (Peng, Bilgihan &
Kandampully, 2015). However, people in the hotel industry can use their guess profile data in
order to learn about the behaviour of the guest so as they can engage with them in an appropriate
fashion. According to Bradley, Elenis, Hoyer, Martin & Waller (2017), in order to create a very
robust guest profile it is necessary to obtain the email address off the guests. It is also very
important to integrate the reservation data in the marketing platform. In order to take into
account the shortcomings it is necessary to collect additional booking data and collect the guest
feedback in order to keep track of the marketing engagement.

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It is also necessary to set up a marketing automation that uses behavioural data and booking data
for generating automated emails that can be set up to target specific type of guest. This enables
the hotels to engage with the customers effectively as well as efficiently does improving brand
perception by providing a personal experience which is responsible for driving the interaction
with the guests (Barrows, Vieira Jr & DiPietro, 2016). Based on the data that has been collected
it is necessary to provide the customers with an up sell opportunity that has been Tailor fit for
individual customers based on the reservation data. Learning about guest profile is very
important as it is clear that just providing the best customer service isn't enough. In order to
surprise in the competitive as well as crowded landscape it is necessary to win customers, engage
with them and retain them.
1.2 Quality assessment
Research question Assessment Rationale Gaps in knowledge
Studying guest
preference
1.5/3 Scope: In order to identify
what drives a customer to
become a regular at a hotel or
bar it is necessary to
understand the guest
preference. Understanding
the guest preference also
helps in determining the
consumer psyche that is
responsible for undertaking
The findings in the
literature review are
actually very
appropriate as it is
useful for answering
the questions
pertaining to
customer opinion and
the need for
conducting a survey
for supporting the