MountainViewHotel

MarketingPlan

2008
.

MountainViewHotel MountainViewHotel 0800555666777 info@mountainview.com

Table of Contents
1.0 Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.0 Situation Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.1 Market Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.2 The Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.2.1 Market Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.2.2 Market Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2.2.3 Market Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2.2.4 Macroenvironment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.3 The Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.3.1 Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.3.2 Service Offering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.3.3 Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.3.4 SWOT Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.3.4.1 Strengths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.3.4.2 Weaknesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.3.4.3 Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.3.4.4 Threats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.4 Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.4.1 Direct Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3.0 Marketing Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 3.1 Value Proposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 3.2 Financial Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 3.3 Marketing Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 3.4 Target Market Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 3.5 Messaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 3.5.1 Branding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 3.6 Strategy Pyramids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.0 Marketing Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.1 Product Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.2 Pricing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.3 Promotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 4.3.1 Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 4.3.2 Public Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 4.3.3 Direct Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 4.4 Web Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 4.4.1 Website Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 4.4.2 Website Marketing Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 4.5 Implementation Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 4.8 Sales Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 4.8.1 Sales Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 4.8.2 Sales Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 5.0 Financials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 5.1 Break-even Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 5.2 Sales Forecast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 5.3 Expense Forecast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 5.4 Contribution Margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 6.0 Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 6.1 Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 6.2 Keys to Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

1.0 Executive Summary

Mountain View Hotel is a four star hotel offering 75 luxury rooms. Mountain View offers unique lodging products and exceptional hospitality services. Our brand will be synonymous with the exemplary personal service our guests receive, and the extensive range of business facilities available in a luxurious environment. Mountain View Hotel will be targeting corporate guests with a two to three night stay requirement. Our future expansion plans include adding resort type facilities to draw in more leisure/vacation travelers. Keys to our success will include developing, maintaining and continuously improving our standard of services, and differentiating our offering from the rest of the competition. Complementing our quality offering will be a well planned marketing tactics to augment our business and build Mountain View as a strong brand. We hope this marketing plan creates a long-term growth model for our financial success.

2.0 Situation Analysis

The hospitality industry is currently somewhat depressed due to economic downturn. Leisure travel is on the decline, however, threat to the critical business segment can be considered as short term as indications of a return to normal business travel are observed. We aim to specialize in serving primarily corporate clients by offering state of the art business facilities and an exemplary personal service. Our major source of revenue will come from annually contracted clients from various business sectors. This area of business will account for approximately 70% of the property's revenue. A conscious planned effort to offer more value and better service than our competitors will help us retain our customers beyond one stay and win repeat corporate contract business.

2.1 Market Needs

The Mountain view Hotel will offer value to our clients by helping them save their time, effort and money; this will be realized by offering reliable and competitive room rates and advance booking services over the internet. We seek to provide our guests with an exemplary personal service and level of recognition that they can rely upon. We will provide our guest with a luxurious, relaxed environment, an environment which they cannot find at our more impersonal competitors. Our guests need to know that they can develop a relationship with the hotel that will ensure efficiency, value for their money and reliability in supplying them with the support they need, when they need it.

2.2 The Market

The sources of revenue for the hospitality industry in Islamabad are the Leisure and Business travelers. The Mountain View Hotel aims to specialize in servicing primarily business and corporate clients. We will serve the business community, and visiting business traveler, in Islamabad Our key clients will be contracted corporate clients originating from both domestic and international markets. The reason for targeting mainly business travelers is the opportunity to enter into annual contracts and repeat business from these clients. While our prime objective is to initially win business travelers in the long run we aim to develop resort type facilities to attract leisure travelers.

Table: Market Analysis Market Analysis Business Travelers Leisure Travelers Total Growth 10% 5% 7.86% 2008 50,000 40,000 90,000 2009 55,000 42,000 97,000 CAGR 10% 5% 7.86%

2.2.1 Market Demographics

Business Travelers: Guests belonging to this segment are business people, 26- 65 years old, staying in 3-4 star hotels, have visited the destination more than once and are travelling alone or with a business partner. Leisure Travelers: Guests of this cluster are predominantly 28-40 years old couples, visit the destination occasionally, and mostly stay in 3-4 star hotels.

Table: Market Demographics Market Segment Business Travelers Leisure Travelers Other Age 26 65 28 40 Dominant Gender Male NA Loyalty Status Medium Low Benefit Sought Productive Stay Relaxing Stay

2.2.2 Market Trends

The number of corporate travelers is increasing, as business activities increase further in Islamabad more business travelers are expected to seek reliable and comfortable accommodation. In summer season a large number leisure travelers / vacationers visiting the Northern areas of Pakistan, and these travelers tend to stay at Islamabad before they head further north. However, due to mild recession in the economy consumer spending in travel and tourism is on the decline.

Market Analysis (Trends)

70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 2008 2009 2010 BusinessTravelers LeisureTravelers Others

2.2.3 Market Growth

C.A.G.R
10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% Business Travelers LeisureTravelers Others

C.A.G.R

2.2.4 Macroenvironment
The external, environmental issues that affect the Riverview Hotel are: Political: an unstable political environment may affect our ability to generate revenue in the future. Economic: Economic recession and rising inflation will be challenging. The recent recession has seen many smaller hotels go into liquidation, as they do not possess the infrastructure to support under-performing properties. Social: the trend towards minimizing travel costs leads hotel guests to seek more value for money. We will take a value pricing approach. Technological: Internet is becoming an increasingly important source of information and convenience for hotel guests. We will develop an independent website to cater to that need.

2.3 The Company

Mountain View Hotel is a 4 star hotel comprising 75 luxury guest rooms and specializing in servicing primarily business and corporate clients.

2.3.1 Mission
Mountain View is dedicated to perfecting the travel experience through continuous innovation and the highest standards of hospitality. Mountain View strives to lead the local hospitality industry with innovative enhancements, making business travel easier and leisure travel more rewarding. We also aim to maximize staff potential and development in a constructive, clean and healthy atmosphere using efficient and profitable means.

2.3.2 Service Offering

Our hotel provides guests with an alternative to the impersonal, large five star hotels in the city. Mountain View Hotel offers 75 luxury rooms equipped with high quality specialized amenities. The hotel also offers a lively ambience with a unique oriental feel. Each item on the menu, from sophisticated breakfasts to gourmet meals, offers a pure gastronomic experience. Our well trained staff is perhaps the most important differential factor providing exemplary personal service.

We offer comprehensive business facilities to our corporate travelers such as wireless internet access, DHL express delivery kits, fax and conference room facilities.

2.3.3 Positioning
Business Travelers; For Business Travelers Mountain View will be positioned as a strategically located hotel offering a high level of personal service. We will also position ourselves as the only Hotel catering extensively to business needs by offering wireless internet access, on site fax services, meeting room space, DHL kit for easy mailing. Vacation Travelers; For Vacation travelers the hotel will be positioned as a 4 star luxury hotel that is both central and secluded. The hotel will offer a warm atmosphere and stress free and relaxing stay.

2.3.4 SWOT Summary

An increase in business activities and tourism promotion is expected to bring more travelers to the area, we need to capitalize on our strengths to gain maximum benefits from the opportunities presented to us. Continuous improvements and innovations in our services will be needed to stay ahead of the competition and to minimize threats.

2.3.4.1 Strengths
Well established differentiation strategy. specialized and well trained staff that are motivated and highly skilled. Conveniently located. The upscale ambiance of Mountain view hotel will help attract sophisticated clients. Detailed web plan

2.3.4.2 Weaknesses
Points of differentiation need to be more clearly communicated externally, within local and national markets. Seasonal turnover requires ongoing training and orientation of new staff. Premium room rates may deter certain cost conscious customers. Challenges of the seasonality of the business.

2.3.4.3 Opportunities
Repeat corporate business based on personal service and quality.

2.3.4.4 Threats
Potential for a competitive brand to enter the market with a similar product. Fully furnished and serviced business apartments offering lower daily rates. Recovery from economic recession may take time.

2.4 Competition
Other 3 - 4 star hotels and serviced apartments compete for the same corporate business segment. However, Mountain View will have competitive advantage in terms of its superior personal service and specialized facilities for business travelers.

2.4.1 Direct Competition

Holiday Inn, Islamabad: 4 star hotel, room rates at par with Mountain View. Shalimar Hotel, Rawalpindi: 4 star city hotel, room rates approximately 10% lower than Mountain View. Crown Plaza, Islamabad: 3 Star Hotel, room rates approximately 10% lower than Mountain View. These hotels offer similar lodging facilities, although somewhat less focused on business needs, and offer more leisure facilities than we currently provide.

Table: Growth & Share Analysis

Growth & Share Competitor Holiday Inn Shalimar Hotel Crown Plaza Average Total

Price Rs 15,000 Rs 9,000 Rs 8,000 Rs 10,666 Rs 32,000

Growth Rate 4% 5% 5% 4.67% 14%

Market Share 20% 10% 15% 15% 45%

Table: Competitor Analysis

Competitive Analysis Competitor Product and/or Service Quality Price Location and Physical Appearance Traffic Appearance Visibility Convenience Factors Added Value Factors Experience Expertise Reputation Image Total Holiday Inn 8 7 6 Shalimar Hotel 6 6 7 Crown Plaza 6 6 7

7 7 8 8 7 8 9 8 83

6 6 8 7 5 6 6 6 69

5 6 7 7 5 6 6 6 67

3.0 Marketing Strategy

Our marketing strategy will be geared towards delivering a message of consistent high quality and personal service. We will use different communication tools to deliver this message and build a strong brand image and communicate our brand values. The initial promotional campaign will be aimed at building awareness and positive referrals. An over all cost-effective strategy focused on direct marketing, publicity, our loyalty reward programs, and advertising is proposed.

3.1 Value Proposition

Mountain view Hotel, first and foremost, seeks to offers the best, most personalized service for the corporate and vacation/leisure travelers. We also aim to provide; Consistent Quality Standards High end amenities Loyalty programs to frequent visitors

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3.2 Financial Objectives

Increase overall room revenue by 10% each year. Keep payroll expenses down and reduce the level of overtime within the workforce. Achieve a double digit growth rate for the first three years.

3.3 Marketing Objectives

Achieve average annual room occupancy of 70% by the end of first year. Increase repeat customers by 5% every year. Develop brand awareness and acceptance, quantified by a decrease in customer acquisition costs.

3.4 Target Market Strategy

Business Travelers will be the primary target market, since there is will be an opportunity to enter into annual contracts. Local firms can also be targeted for the use of professional standard Conference Room facilities. Vacation travelers will be targeted to maximize room occupancy in holiday season.

3.5 Messaging
Our messaging will reflect the high standard, personal service and unmatched facilities that we want to be associated with. Our high quality promotional material will aim to deliver the message that we offer superior services and we will make your stay more comfortable and the same time more productive.

3.5.1 Branding
An important marketing objective will be to establish Mountain View as a mid priceHigh Quality hotel brand. The Mountain View symbol should convey a message of high quality and consistency of our services. The Mountain View brand must be made synonymous with high levels of personal service guests receive, and its convenient and strategic location. Every single element from our hotel logo, websites, brochures, amenities to our mini bar items should contribute to the brand experience.

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3.6 Strategy Pyramids

4.0 Marketing Mix

Mountain View offers unique lodging products and exceptional hospitality services. We aim to position ourselves as a high-quality and high-value brand. Our prices will be competitive but we will not compete on prices. Our promotional activities will include advertising, direct marketing and public relationing. Mountain View hotels website will not only offer convenience to our customers by allowing them to check room rates and getting advance room reservation but will also serve as an important promotional tool.

4.1 Product Marketing 4.2 Pricing

Pricing strategy has been consistent with the differentiation objective, to provide added value for a reasonable rate as opposed to devaluing our products and services. Per Night Room rates quoted are; (Inclusive of taxes and service charges, continental breakfast included) Corporate single - Rs 10,000 Corporate double - Rs 18,000 Corporate double deluxe - Rs 22,000 Corporate suite - Rs 25,000 (maximum occupancy 2 persons). Per day Conference room rates are; (Exclusive of taxes and service charges, with tea and coffee breaks (2) included)

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 Boardroom - Rs 35,000 Conference Hall - Rs 70,000 Ballroom - Rs 100,000

4.3 Promotion
The primary objective of our promotional activities will be to initially increase awareness about the Mountain View Hotel brand and gradually position ourselves as a destination of choice for business travelers, meetings and conventions. This will be accomplished through; Mass Communication: Print ads in major news papers, magazines and on the internet Targeted Campaigning: Direct mail campaigns to prospective clients Personal selling in the local market

4.3.1 Advertising
The hotel will be advertised in major news papers and magazines particularly in business magazines.

4.3.2 Public Relations

Our Public Relation activities will involve arranging interviews of upper tier hotel management in top magazines and TV Channels. Tours of media and press representatives will be held to get favorable reviews. The following table shows our primary PR milestones;

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4.3.3 Direct Marketing

The direct marketing activities will be handled by our marketing department. Carefully designed promotional material will be sent to a list of prospective clients.

4.4 Web Plan

The main focus of our Internet presence is to serve as permanent, alwaysaccessible information and branding tool for prospective clients.

4.4.1 Website Goals

Our website needs to be able to do the following: 1. Convey our messaging of high quality, luxury business accommodations 2. Improve room occupancy by making reservations more convenient 3. Be able to take reservations online and make changes to reservations online 4. Enable us to conduct surveys and guage consumer satisfaction

4.4.2 Website Marketing Strategy

Our main website marketing strategy depends upon making sure all major travel sites list our hotel when customers search for hotels in our area. The web site should be designed such that it not only offers convenience for the customers but also promotes the hotel and its services.

4.5 Implementation Schedule

Marketing campaign efforts will be focused from January through April. We will continue to track the results of this campaign for the remainder of the year.

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4.6 Sales Plan 4.5.1 Sales Strategy

Mountain View Hotel's sales strategy relies upon repeat business from corporate travelers. We need to attract new customers and retain existing customers keeping in view our core sales strategy.

4.5.2 Sales Process

We will mail out promotional packets every 6 months to our key prospects. The packets will have information about current room rates and special corporate discounts, as well as information about rooms and amenities for the companies to share with business travelers. The biggest piece of our sales process will depend on personal relationships. We will need to make every business traveler feel like we remember them and we know their likes and dislikes. We also need to cultivate good relationships with the person at the company who makes travel arrangements.

5.0 Financials
Our annual marketing budget is Rs 520,000. Sales are anticipated to achieve revenue of Rs 26,147,500. Our marketing expenses will equate to approximately 1.9 % of the overall revenue.

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5.1 Break-even Analysis

We will need at least 1,250 night stays to break even. However, according to our first years sales forecast we should be able to achieve 3,050 nights stays.

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Break-even Analysis

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5.2 Sales Forecast

The first years forecast is based on the average room occupancy as per industry's standards. Forecast for the coming years is based on a 10% growth rate.

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Monthly Sales

4500000 4000000 3500000 3000000 2500000 2000000 1500000 1000000 500000 0 Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul CorporateSuit CorporateDelux CorporateDouble CorporateSingle

5.3 Expense Forecast

The breakdown of expenditures is as follows:

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5.4 Contribution Margin

6.0 Controls 6.1 Implementation

Implementation dates for the milestones are given; however, their target completion dates may be modified. We will continuously monitor all figures and statistics in relation to projections versus actuals and take appropriate corrective measures if necessary. End results will be evaluated at the end of year meeting where the strategy for the approaching year will also be established.

6.2 Keys to Success

Maintain and continuously improve our standard of services. To effectively differentiate our offering from the competition. Develop ongoing relationships with frequent and new guests. Develop and implement a strong communications plan. Staff training and skill development to ensure the highest standards of service.

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