Marketing Strategies and Profitability: A Study of Australian Hotels

This research proposal investigates the role of marketing strategies in the profitability of five-star hotels in Australia. It begins by outlining the competitive landscape of the Australian hotel industry and the increasing pressure on hotels to generate revenue. The study aims to assess the importance of marketing strategies, determine the essentiality of profitability, evaluate the impact of marketing strategies on profitability, and recommend measures for improvement. The research design employs an explanatory approach, utilizing qualitative data collection methods, specifically interviews with 10 marketing managers from five-star hotels in New South Wales. Ethical considerations, including anonymity and data protection, are addressed to ensure the integrity of the research process. The proposal includes a plan for data analysis and a list of references.

Research Proposal

Table of Contents
Problem Statement and Objectives..................................................................................................3
Research Design..............................................................................................................................4
Data Collection Method...................................................................................................................7
Sample Selection.............................................................................................................................7
Ethical Considerations.....................................................................................................................7
Data Analysis...................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

Problem Statement and Objectives
The Australian Hotel Industry is highly competitive especially in the five star hotel sections
because of the presence of the different big players operating in the market. The likes of Hilton,
The Park Hyatt, Amora Hotel et cetera have been present in the country for a long period of time.
The main issue at the present moment in the hotel industry is the consistent pressure that the
hotels have to work in due to the increasing number of players in the market. It cannot be denied
that in order to survive in the market it is extremely important to generate revenue and profit
which would only be possible when the organisation is able to reach its target customers and are
able to manage profit from the market (Narteh et al., 2013). This is where the importance of
marketing strategies is visible because the increase in the overseas tourists have increased but
due to the highly competitive market environment the five star hotels have to largely alter their
rates in order to attract consumers which is mainly done through marketing strategies. Given the
constant rise in the competition in the Australian market most of the five star hotels have been
inclined to improve their marketing strategies that would help to sustain in the market for a
significant period of time (Xiao, O'Neill and Mattila, 2012). Hence the present study takes an
opportunity to explore the role of marketing strategies in profitability for five star hotels in
Australia.
The key objectives developed for the present study are discussed below:
 To assess the importance of marketing strategies for five star hotels in Australia.
 To determine the essentiality of profitability for the growth of an organisation.
 To evaluate the role of marketing strategies on the profitability of five star hotels in
Australia.
 To recommend measures for improving the marketing strategy for the five star hotels to
have visible growth in profitability.

Research Design
Research design is one of the key segments in the methodology of a research. The research
design is an extremely important strategy because it provides the basic blueprint for the
operations of the research. The research design is mainly discussed in three different levels and it
is important to have proper understanding of all the three levels which would help to effectively
choose the different key research strategy that would help to achieve the overall objectives of the
study (Mitchell and Jolley, 2012). The research design is an important segment because it
involves the aims, core function, purposes, motives that would help to ensure that the research is
moving in the right direction. The research design is responsible to implement all key
components that make the research highly coherent and effective and this eventually increases
the reliability of the research. Hence it could be said that the research design basically provides
the conceptual framework for the effective implementation of the methodology in the research
which would help to complete the research effectively. The effective application of the research
design components would help to address the research objectives in the best possible way
(Maxwell, 2012).
The research is a process of reckoned investigation. There are number of calculations that go on
in a research. It is extremely important for the researcher to realise the importance of calculation
in the research. Synchronised research process helps to implement effective decision making that
is important to reach an effective conclusion. It is important to first of all realise that whether the
research is done in the basic form or an applied form. The basic research is the research where
the investigation is done in order to effectively expand the information base of the study and to
expand the understanding of the topic. On the other hand the applied research is mainly
implemented or designed to solve the specific practical questions that are raised by the research
issue (Wahyuni, 2012). It is extremely important for the researcher to understand the topic of the
research. The core function of the research is to expand the existing knowledge base that relates
to the five star hotels operating in Australia. The Five star hotels operating in Australia are
working in the highly competitive market have to have effective marketing strategy which would
help to address the key issues and objectives in the research. Since the present study is not
addressing any particular question the study would be mainly focused on being a pure research
that is intended to expand the knowledge base on the variables of the study. Even though the
study wouldn’t be completely theoretical and there will be practical instances the core function

of the study will still be pure or basic (Creswell and Creswell, 2017). The present study is likely
to provide an overall view of the marketing strategy and its impact on profitability which is
extremely important and effective because the applied study is limited to a large extent whereas
the pure research will help the study to be universal where the knowledge of this research could
be utilised by any of the organisations because marketing strategy and profitability are two
relevant variables needed by every organisation. Hence it could be said that the present research
will be a basic research purely intended to expand the knowledge base (Maxwell, 2012).
The research design in terms of information requirements could be divided in three segments
namely exploratory, explanatory and descriptive design. Addressing the information
requirements is extremely important for a research because it will help the researcher to gather
effective information and address the objectives developed for the research. It is important for
the researcher to ensure that he or she is able to choose the right kind of research design so that
the research objectives are properly addressed. It is important to note that the researcher needs to
choose the design as per the core function of the research as this will help to make sure the
research is moving in the right direction. For instance for basic research it is important to have a
theoretical design which would help to interpret the data gathered in the best possible manner.
On the other hand the applied research requires a design that will be more practical in its
approach to be on the same page and effectively complete the research (Panneerselvam, 2014).
There is a significant difference between explanatory, exploratory and descriptive research
designs and are used specifically based on their functions in different researches.
The exploratory research design is mainly implemented when it is extremely important to come
up with new ideas and insights that would help to make sure an organisation is able to sustain in
the market. Hence the exploratory researches are most apt in marketing researches which helps
in coming up with new ideas and plans which would help the organisation to operate effectively.
This is effective especially for analysing the alternate growth opportunities of organisations,
potential financial growth et cetera. On the other hand the descriptive research is focused on
gathering the data effectively and is preplanned pretty unlike the exploratory research which is
done based on the merit of the research topic. The descriptive research design is mainly focused
on the description of the research data which mainly helps to define the opinion possessed and
attitude and behavior showed by people or researchers on a particular subject (Creswell and

Creswell, 2017). Finally the explanatory research design is mainly the research design which
focuses on understanding a research subject that was not properly analysed before or the
importance and the general demands of the research variables create the need of doing the
research. The explanatory research design is focused on addressing the problem more efficiently
and within a short period of time which is why most of the basic researches follow this form of
research. The main purpose of the research that is to understand and expand the knowledge base
on the topic is effectively addressed by this research design. Hence the present research will be
following the explanatory research design as it will help to ensure that the variables of the
research are effectively addressed and the research is performed efficiently with proper analysis
that helps to meet the research objectives developed (Maxwell, 2012).
The research methodology is another key segment in the research design. It is important for the
researchers to have an effective hold over the research design especially because it helps the
researcher to gather the best possible data through effective strategy. There are mainly three
different ways to gather data namely through quantitative, qualitative or mixed method approach.
The quantitative method mainly focuses on gathering data to interpret it in the statistical format
which needs larger populace and more time to synthesis the data gathered (Flick, 2015). On the
other hand the qualitative approach is effective for smaller researches as it needs smaller data
and is thematically analysed which helps to get effective insights from the target populace.
Finally the mixed method approach involves both kinds of approach which is mainly
implemented in a research that is bigger in nature and is looking to create new theories and also
test the hypothesis of the research effectively. In the present research study the qualitative
method is used for data collection as it helps to get effective data in the best possible manner.
Since the research is done within time crunch and financial scarcity and yet it requires effective
data the qualitative approach has been implemented which would help to get authentic data
(Panneerselvam, 2014).

Data Collection Method
The data collection method has to be effective as per the research design. It plays a huge role in
the research and hence it is important for researcher to choose the right kind of data collection
technique. There are various data collection techniques like survey, interview, focus groups ,
observations, case studies et cetera. It is important that the researcher chooses the data collection
method in line with qualitative approach and explanatory research design which would help to
expand the knowledge base on the present topic. Given the criteria for the present research the
interview strategy has been chosen as it is the best qualitative form of data collection. The survey
approach is effective for quantitative study as it helps to interpret the data with the help of
statistical tool providing numerical understanding but in order to have proper explanatory
understanding of the data it is important to explain the data gathered which is best done with the
help of interview (Brinkmann, 2014).
Sample Selection
The sample selection is important for the research study. It is important for the researcher to
implement effective strategy for proper sample selection. There are various approaches for
sample selection like random selection, convenient sampling, snowball sampling and stratified
sampling. In the present study time is less and since it is using interview to understand the
variables it is effective to use non probability convenient sampling especially because the sample
populace will be the marketing managers of the different five star hotels in Australia. Hence the
convenient sampling method will reduce the time consumption and will help to provide more
time on data analysis. The sample size for the present study is 10 marketing managers from five
star hotels from New South Wales (Vaioleti, 2016).
Ethical Considerations
Certain ethical considerations have been implemented in the research. For instance the very first
consideration has been done based on the anonymity and confidentiality of the data gathered. It
is important to note that the respondents want safety and security for their responses and hence
the researcher has ensured complete security and anonymity of their identity. Apart from that the
data protection will be applied legally to make sure no data is leaked and is strictly used for
academic purposes which would help the researcher to keep the trust of the respondents. On the

other hand no respondent will be intimidated to take part in the research and is convinced
properly by making them understand the importance of the research (Flick, 2015).
Data Analysis
The data analysis plan is quite simple. Since the data collection is qualitatively based on
interview the data analysis will be done with the help of theme based analysis on every single
question asked in the interview process which would help to explain their overall understanding
and view of the present research topic helping to address the research study properly (Taylor,
Bogdan and DeVault, 2015).

References
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Brinkmann, S., 2014. Interview. In Encyclopedia of critical psychology (pp. 1008-1010).
Springer New York.
Creswell, J.W. and Creswell, J.D., 2017. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed
methods approaches. Sage publications.
Flick, U., 2015. Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. Sage.
Maxwell, J.A., 2012. Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (Vol. 41). Sage
publications.
Mitchell, M.L. and Jolley, J.M., 2012. Research design explained.
Narteh, B., Agbemabiese, G.C., Kodua, P. and Braimah, M., 2013. Relationship marketing and
customer loyalty: Evidence from the Ghanaian luxury hotel industry. Journal of Hospitality
Marketing & Management, 22(4), pp.407-436.
Panneerselvam, R., 2014. Research methodology. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..
Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015. Introduction to qualitative research methods: A
guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
Vaioleti, T.M., 2016. Talanoa research methodology: A developing position on Pacific
research. Waikato Journal of Education, 12(1).
Wahyuni, D., 2012. The research design maze: Understanding paradigms, cases, methods and
methodologies.
Xiao, Q., O'Neill, J.W. and Mattila, A.S., 2012. The role of hotel owners: the influence of
corporate strategies on hotel performance. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management, 24(1), pp.122-139.