Essay, Research Paper: Economics

Table Of Contents
1. Background
2. Buyer Behavior
3. Analysis-qualitative, quantitative/SWOT
4. Evaluation of alternatives/Recommendations
5. Implementation
Background
Eng Huang bought SleepyTime Motel two years ago. The current operation is losing money and Eng has to face several choices. He can either join the hotel chain of Holiday or Days Inn or he can make changes in his own operation to try and turn a profit. The Motel is within ten miles of a growing resort and near an interstate that carries a lot of traffic. SleepyTime does have to compete with several Motels and resorts located in the tourist area for business. Eng has done much advertising for the hotel. Matter of fact the only signs he has are the two on the hotel property. Advertising has depended on people driving by the motel, seeing the signs and stopping. The Motel does not have a pool or any other recreational opportunities on its location it also offers a modern room with standard bath facilities and free cable television, but because of minimum features he could offer a more competitive rate.
Both Holiday and Days Inn offer Eng some features and promotions that he might not get if he stayed as an independent hotel. Both hotels carry a name that people recognize and they have promotional marketing that they put in place for their hotels. Another plus with these chains is that the have a central reservation system that could handle a lot of there booking which is now handles by Eng and his wife. The chains also offer a web site that can help market the motel. The chains are going to require Eng to make some changes, which might include upgrading the facilities. Holiday Inn would require him to add a pool. Of course, there are charges and rules in order for SleepyTime to become a part of these chains.
The regional tourist bureau did do a study and found out some information on the tourist spot.
Some of the things they found where:
X Most visitors are young couples and older couples without children.
X 40% reserve rooms more than 60 days in advance.
X The majority of visitors stay more than three days at the same location
X A high majority felt that recreational facilities were important when choosing where to stay.
X Most visitors family incomes were over 24,000 a year.
X There are a high number of repeat visitors.
Eng needs to start by evaluating these findings to help identify his customers and there needs. Then put the marketing in place to provide utility.
Buyer Behavior
Buyer behavior is very important for SleepyTime Motel because it helps them determine who there target market should be and how to market to them. The study that was done by the tourist bureau gave a general description of the people in the area that SleepyTime could possibly direct their market to. One thing that effects SleepyTime is the markets attitude. An attitude is the point of view that is had toward something. Eng has witnessed several people pulling into the driveway of his business, stopping, then leaving. Research might need to be done on the appearance that SleepyTime portrays to possible customers. And after reviewing the tourist bureaus information Eng knows that 60% of possible customers do not make there reservation 60 days in advance. Eng might need to try to find out how many try to find a hotel when they get to the vacation place and how to better attract them. Or he needs to find a way to market to those that do make reservations in advance. He also needs to look at what people are looking for or expecting when the come to the vacation when they come to the vacation area. Eng believes that all that the customers want is moderate accommodations. But if he looks at the motels around and in the tourist area (Resorts, Bed and Breakfast, etc) he might find what most customers are looking for. Eng must also look at who is the person that is making the reservations and who influences their decisions. The Tourist bureau found that most people visiting the resort were older and younger couples with no children. Eng needs to focus on marketing to these people and what would influence them to stay at SleepyTime. Looking at the social class of the majority of people that visit the resort might also help his marketing needs. If research finds that most people visiting the tourist area are upper class, he might find that his modest accomadations will not fulfill their needs.
SleepyTime might also want to look at what it is doing now in reference to its strengths and weaknesses. For instances, some of SleepyTime s strengths might include its price. Its rates are sometimes 40% lower than the full service hotels and close to the lowest price resort area motels. SleepyTime is also in a very good location. The interstate carries a lot of traffic right by it, its very close to the tourist area , which is expected to grow largely. One important strength is that Eng has been running most of his business on his own. Him and his wife have handled all the motels business. Because of this, Eng should be able to more easily see what other hotels/motels are doing and how it can help his own. Some of SleepyTime s weaknesses include that they do very little advertising. The only advertising is in brochures and the signs they have on the property. Also, SleepyTime s rates might be lower because of this but they do not have some of the luxuries they are looking for when vacationing. People also do not seem to be attracted to the motel, the people that came in and stayed found it acceptable, but there were a lot of people apparently did not find the motel appealing enough since they would pull through the parking lot and then drive off.
Eng also has to evaluate his opportunities. He has the chance to be part of a chain motel. This chain will give him a recognizable name and a national reservation system that should severely help his business. The tourist area is also growing, so if Eng takes advantage of this growth it can only mean good things for the business. But while looking at these opportunities Eng also know that a lot of threats including that with the growth of the area will be a lot of new competitors that can offer equal or greater service. Though some say you should not focus on your competitors it is sometimes necessary to look at what customer needs they are not meeting in order to improve your market and make a name for your company. Another threat is that he is finding that a lot of the characteristics of the people visiting the area are not the people that his motel would attract.
In conclusion, Eng might want to evaluate and change SleepyTimes marketing mix. Through study