Marketing Plan and Strategies for Cosmopolitan Motel (University)

This report provides a detailed marketing strategy and plan for the Cosmopolitan Motel and serviced apartments, focusing on market expansion. It begins with an introduction to the tourism industry's contribution to the economy and highlights the motel's location and target customers. The report explores research methods, including qualitative analysis and a 5 P analysis (Product, Price, Promotion, Place, People), examining the motel's offerings, pricing, promotional strategies, location advantages, and customer demographics. It also includes a budget allocation for various aspects of the motel. Furthermore, the report analyzes the current value of the motel, emphasizing the importance of brand value and customer perception. It discusses the customer's perceived value using the value hierarchy model and Utilitarian and hedonic model, while also suggesting a value proposition for the motel. The report concludes with a discussion on the potential of digital communication tools for brand promotion and marketing, aiming to increase profitability margins.

Running head: MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Name of the student
University name
Author’s note

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................3
Background............................................................................................................................3
Research methods...................................................................................................................4
Current value analysis............................................................................................................9
Marketing promotion plan....................................................................................................12
Porter’s five forces analysis.....................................................................................................12
Brand value chain analysis:......................................................................................................14
Brand positioning analysis.......................................................................................................15
Conclusion............................................................................................................................16
References............................................................................................................................17

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Executive summary
The current study focuses upon the marketing strategies and plan developed for the
market expansion of the cosmopolitan motels and serviced apartments. The motel being
located at the heart of the city is frequented by visitors. Additionally, the low cost rooms
available also act as an additional promotional objective.
However, the rates of domestic customers visiting the regional motels are falling.
Therefore, effective digital communication tools could be used for brand promotion and
marketing. In the consecutive sections of the report we have tried to discuss in details the
different marketing approaches for expansion of the profitability margins of the cosmopolitan
motels.

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Introduction
The tourism industry contributes towards a significant portion of the economy of the
economy of a country. The current study explores the potential market for the Australia based
cosmopolitan motel. It has been seen that the motel is frequented by business class as well as
tourists. Therefore, developing a clear picture regarding the Australian tourists industry can
help in the development of the marketing plan. The report explores the different aspects of
marketing in order to develop a promotion plan for the cosmopolitan motel. In this respect the
aspect of digital communication had also be taken into consideration for promotion and
marketing of the cosmopolitan motel.
Background
The current assignment focuses on the management and marketing methods adopted
by the cosmopolitan Motel and serviced apartments. It is located centrally in the
Rockhampton and situated over the Corner Albert and Bolsover streets. It aims at providing
the best in class hospitality and accommodation services. Some of the competitors of
cosmopolitan motel are- Glen more palms, Best western cattle city, Golden fountain motel
etc. The target customers of the cosmopolitan motel are the ones on vacation as well the
business classes ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018). The cosmopolitan motel has been
rated as a top rated beachfront motel in rockhampton. The goal is to design effective plans
and marketing strategy for adding more value to the cosmopolitan motels. It could be used for
maximizing the profit earning capacity of the cosmopolitan motels compared to its
competitors.
In the year 2000, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has published a Tourism
satellite account (TSA) which studies in-depth regarding the tourism industry of Australia.
The TSA estimates the contribution of the tourism to the economy by calculating individual

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
areas that if frequented by the visitors ("Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended
Methodological Framework - OECD", 2018). The TSA defines a tourist as anyone who has
been travelling to a region for a period of less than a year and which is outside of their normal
geographical location. As per the TSA data the output from tourism was around $ 34 billion
in 2010, which 2.6 percent of Australia’s GDP ("Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended
Methodological Framework - OECD", 2018). On the contrary the GDP contributed from
domestic tourism has considerably fallen. This is because there has been a remarkable shift
within the Australian citizens of travelling abroad, which accounts to almost a sharp rise of
12% ("Searching: Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au)", 2018). Therefore, the
Australian tourism sector banks heavily on the international tourists. As per the reports
published by ABS in the year 2010-2011, 45% of total tourism expenditure was undertaken
in regional areas ("Searching: Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au)", 2018).
Therefore, the cosmopolitan motels can consider expanding its branches to the important
cultural and regional centres in order to attract maximum customers.
Research methods
A qualitative research method has been used for analysing the current position of the
cosmopolitan motel. The consumers have been interviewed regarding the services and
facilities offered by the cosmopolitan motel. The survey and competitor analysis highlighted
the cosmopolitan motel to be a five star motel ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018). The
survey had been conducted with respect to the quarterly census of accommodation
establishments established by the ABS which is known as the Survey of tourist
accommodation ("Searching: Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au)", 2018). It
laid down the criteria based upon which the motels or services apartments are rated. In the
current report a five P analysis have been conducted in order to gather sufficient information
regarding the target market, customer value and competitors’ value proposition.

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Attributes Factors
Product  The hotel has 38 guestrooms along with pool and
barbeque grills.
 The location of the hotel is at the heart of the
rockhampton which allows frequent visits by the
tourists.
 The licensed restaurants of the cosmopolitan motels
ensures that only fresh cooked foods are made
available to the customers ("About Us |
cosmopolitanmotel", 2018).
 The motel rooms are air conditioned along with tea
coffee making facilities.
 There is free Wi-Fi made available in each and
every room.
 The undercover parking facilities are well
approved by the customers ("About Us |
cosmopolitanmotel", 2018).
 Healthy breakfast made available to the guests.
Price  The rooms are available as single, twin share, triple
share.
 However, the price of booking a single motel
bedroom for overnight starts at 107 Australian
dollars which is cost effective compared to its
competitors ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel",
2018).

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
 The budget allocation should be done based upon
the sustainability parameters.
 A significant portion of the motel budget is
contributed by the annual Revenue per available
room (RevPAR)
 Therefore, lowering the prices of the rooms can
generate negative RevPAR.
Promotion  The fall in the rates of domestic customers calls for
advanced promotional strategies over social
networking sites such as facebook and twitter along
with hotel booking sites such as wotif, agoda etc .
 The motel can offer seasonal discounts along with
organising special events such as musical night and
fun games during special occasions such as
Christmas and new years.
 Digital communications media could be used for
promotion of services provided by the motels such
as hosting a specific facebook business page for the
motel to attract maximum customer attention as
well as pasting links of the events and seasonal
discounts offered in the e-mails which are sent to
the priority clients (Chiu,Wang, Fang & Huang,
2014).
 Additionally, sending personalised text messages to
the customer group of the motels can help in

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
developing affective bonds with the customers
along with promotion of the events organized by the
motels.
Place  The place or location of the motel is of utmost
importance in attracting the maximum number of
customers. Here, the cosmopolitan motel is located
at the centre of rockhampton which is a preferable
location in terms of travelling.
 The motel is located at a distance of maximum 20
minutes from some of the important cultural and
community centres which significantly increases its
customer value ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel",
2018).
 It is located nearby to the airport making it easily
accessible to the visitors.
People  The motel is mainly frequented by business class
and tourist.
 The motel flaunts large dining halls which can be
used for conducting business meetings ("About Us |
cosmopolitanmotel", 2018).
 The tourists visiting the place are from different
ethnic backgrounds. Therefore, respecting their
culture in terms of providing special discounts
during festivals and events can be a tourist attractor.
Table 1: 5 P analysis

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
(Source: author)
Attributes Cost
Flooring and roofing of the
rooms
0.5 million Australian dollars
Installing of equipments
and furniture
0.75 million Australian dollars
Car parking an adding
banquet features
1.5 million Australian dollars
IT installation 2.3 million Australian dollars
Table 2: budget allocation for cosmopolitan hotel
Source: ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018).
In this respect, a value proposition could be designed for the cosmopolitan motel
based on its unique range of products and services. As mentioned by Baum (2016), the value
proposition of a hotel is one of the most important conversion factors. The value proposition
could be explained with the help of a simple Venn diagram, where the services offered by the
motel should lie at the centre. As commented by Covin, Garrett, Kuratko & Shepherd (2015),
the value proposition of a motel should be suggested in a manner which makes it different
than some of its competitors. A value proposition could be suggested for the cosmopolitan
motel in four easy steps such as:
 Designing a great headline
 Using strong promotional strategies such as use of digital media for reaching out to
the diverse groups of customers

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
 Advertising regarding the unique and tailor-made services as per the requirements of
the guests using online social networking sites as promotion through company
websites.
 Measuring the affectivity of the value proposition on a timely basis
Figure 1: value proposition
(Source: Kandampully et al., 2015)
Current value analysis
The average value of rooms offered by the cosmopolitan hotel which has been
successful in attracting the large base of customers that the motel get could be referred to as
the current value attached with the brand (Carlson, O’Cass & Ahrholdt, 2015). One of the key
features of the cosmopolitan motel which provides it with a competitive advantage in
comparison to some of its similar market players is the low prices of the rooms. Therefore,
based on the fact that the motel particularly attracts the business classes; the brand value
associated with the motel needs to be enhanced.

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
However, as argued by Covin, Garrett, Kuratko & Shepherd (2015), the brand value
differs with individual customer perception and value. As mentioned by Hudson & Hudson
(2017), perceived value can be seen as a complex construct, where the difference of opinion
forms the major perspective of thinking. The customer perceived value can be explained as
the differences between the perception of the customer regarding the benefits and costs
associated with a product when compared to others (Wang, Wang, Chung & Chung, 2015).
The perceived value is explained in terms of relationship between the customers and the
products. It is measured in terms of the benefits the customer gets in turn of the money they
have spent on certain services and products. It can be summed as “an overall assessment of
the utility of a product/ service, based on what is given and what is offered?”. The customer’s
perceived value could be described in four different ways: – 1. Low price, 2. Requirements of
the customers within a product 3. Quality offered worth the price, 4. What is got for what is
given?.
A number of theories and models could be used in order to explain the customer’s
perceived value such as the value hierarchy model, proposed by woodwurf. It could be
divided into three hierarchy levels such as desired attributes, desired consequences, desired
goal or purposes. Under this theory the customer may develop a relation with the products or
services based upon their goals or purposes. On the contrary, the customer may think the
product to be attributes which may facilitate them in achieving the stated goals or objectives.
For example, some of the customers visiting the cosmopolitan motel may like to revisit it
owing to enhanced services offered by the motel. On the contrary, some may like to visit the
motel owing to its feasible location which makes travelling to different parts of the region an
easier and convenient option for them. The dynamic concept of perceived value proposed by
woodruff has been successful in explaining the complexity of perceived value. However as
argued by Covin et al. (2015), the model fails to explain the different components or

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
elements of perceived value. The model also fails to explain the preference attributes which
contributes to customer value as well the consequences desired.
Figure 2: value hierarchy model
(Source : Šerić, Gil-Saura & Ruiz-Molina, 2014)
Similarly, the Utilitarian and hedonic model could also be used to explain the
customer perceived value. The model states the customer preference for a product or service
is not just governed based on their utilities or requirements (Dillon, 2016). However as
argued by Hudson & Hudson (2017), the preference of a customer for specific services is also
governed by the feelings or experiences one have received from those services.
The customer perceived value can be divided into a number of components such as –
functional value, monetary value, social value and emotional value. As commented by
Kandampully, Zhang & Bilgihan (2015), the values are defined as the eyes of the customer.
The functional value is the fixed market rate for the products or services based upon the
special features. The monetary value refers to the price paid which is relative of the services
provided (Robinson et al., 2016). The social value refers to the impression created regarding

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
the products or services in front of the public eye (Ruhanen, Whitford & McLennan, 2015).
The psychological value refers to the factors which develops a positive feeling within the
customers regarding the services based on past experiences. These factors together combine
to offer utmost customer satisfaction based upon which the services offered by the
cosmopolitan motel.
In this respect, availability of cost effective rooms, better ratings provided by the
customers as well as overall satisfaction rates of services are some of the features which help
in promoting a positive customer perceived value (Law, Leung, Lo, Leung & Fong, 2015).
The digital communication modes can be used in order to promote the social value associated
with the services of the cosmopolitan motels and serviced apartments. The customer
satisfaction data can be used for online promotions which help in attracting more customers,
which could be achieved by conducting online polls.
Figure 3: customer perceived value
(Source: author)
Functional value
Monetary value
Social value
Emotional value
Customer satisfaction

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Marketing promotion plan
In order to expand the business of the cosmopolitan motels there is a need to plan the
marketing promotional strategies effectively. Some of the tools of marketing have been used
over here for effective brand positioning and promotion of the cosmopolitan motels such as
porter’s five forces analysis, brand value and positioning analysis.
Porter’s five forces analysis
The porter’s five forces of analysis can be divided into a number of specific
components such as – bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threats of
substitutes, threat of new entrants and rivalry among existing firms. It helps in analysing the
competitive advantage of a specific firm over others.
Bargaining power of buyers
The bargaining power of buyers forms one of the crucial components of motel
industry. It could be referred to as the convincing power of a buyer to lower the prices of a
room by negotiation. However as argued by E. Dobbs (2014), the lowering the prices of a
room as a result of negotiation between customers and the motel staffs could generate
negative RevPAR. This could in turn affect the gross profitability ratios of the motel.
Therefore, in order to cope up with the demand of the buyers the motel staffs have be given
effective training which helps them in negotiating effectively with the customers.
Bargaining power of suppliers
The cosmopolitan motel provides a range of services and solutions under the same
roof. In addition to the availability of rooms they run their own restaurant, bar and lounge.
They also offer free wi-fi along with premium services in rooms. In order to provide so many
services at the same time they need a definite chain of suppliers. However, the cosmopolitan

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
motels and serviced apartments maintain a cordial relationship with their supplier bases (Eid,
2015). This helps in coping up with the unnecessary rise in the prices of the raw materials.
Threats of substitutes and entry of new firms
The cosmopolitan motel and serviced apartments faced stiff competition from some of
its similar market players as glen more palms, golden fountain motel. The changing market
dynamics along with greater customer demands requires improvisation in services (Chiu et
al., 2014). In order to gain a competitive advantage the fellow competitors of the
cosmopolitan motels are also drastically reducing the prices of their rooms and services.
Therefore, the cosmopolitan motels need to build upon some of the specific features offered
by it such as super quality food long with premium hospitality services (Law et al., 2015).
Rivalry among existing firms
There is cut throat competition amongst the existing firms within the same industry.
As commented by Payne & Frow (2014), effective digital communications serves as an
important component of the red ocean marketing strategy. Additionally, promotions through
social media and online versions of newspapers can be effective.

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Figure 4: porter’s five forces model
(Source: E. Dobbs, 2014)
Brand value chain analysis:
Attributes Factors
Motel infrastructure Hierarchical organizational structure ; state of the art facilities
Human resource
management
Effective staff training and development programs;
High level of commitment from management
Technology
development
Extensive use of digital media for communication processes in business
development
Procurement Long strategic relationship with suppliers
Table 3: brand value chain analysis for cosmopolitan motel
(Source: Pizam et al., 2016)
Brand positioning analysis
Motels Customer satisfaction Annual revpar

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
rate
cosmopolitan motels 89% 8.5 million
glen more palms 68% 6.5 million
golden fountain
motel 73% 7.3 million
Table 4: brand positioning analysis
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
customer satisfaction rate
customer satisfaction rate
Figure 5: graph showing brand positioning analysis

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Conclusion
There has been rampant growth within the tourism industry of countries such as china
and India. On top of that the domestic tourism market of Australia is falling which strongly
affects the profits earned by the hospitality industries. Therefore, the cosmopolitan motels
and serviced apartments need to bank upon digital communications means and processes for
reaching out to a wider lot of customers including the domestic and the international markets.
Additionally, raining the quality of the products and services can also help in the
development of a competitive advantage. Moreover, effective market expansion strategies
could also be developed in order to attract the customers.

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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
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MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
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