Hospitality Environment

Innovation Hampshire Eden Designhotel Maastricht

Shanna van Heerde - 133760

Henk Postma Iris Smaal Operations Environment
Module 2
I2ENVB
06-01-2014

Stenden University of Applied Sciences

International Hospitality management
Leeuwarden, the Netherlands

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements of the degree Programme

Bachelor of Business Administration
January 2014

Shanna van Heerde, Henk Postma & Iris Smaal

January 2014
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Plagiarism form declaration:

1.

This work is composed by me / by us.

2.
This work has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree or
diploma, by me
by us or anyone else.
3.

The work of which this is a record is done wholly by me / by us.

4.
All verbatim extracts have been distinguished by quotation marks and the
sources of my
information have been specifically acknowledged.

Date: 06-01-2014

Signature(s)
Shanna van Heerde

Henk Postma

Shanna van Heerde, Henk Postma & Iris Smaal

January 2014
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Iris Smaal

Hospitality Environment

Table of content

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Introduction

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Preface

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1. Environment
PESTLE analysis:
Political:
Political stability has great impact on the businesses environment. The Netherlands is
known as a political stable country because of the 'polder model'. The Netherlands has
a lot of taxes, for this hotel the most important one would be income tax. The local
authority of Maastricht has a terrace furniture policy, the furniture has to fit with the
looks of the city. This and more are described in the hospitality note of Maastricht.
According to the hotel nota of 2009-2013 it is not possible for hotels to expand their
number of hotel rooms due to shortage of marketing space.
Economic:
The rise in the inflation rate from last year effects the price of products and services,
but also the purchasing power. Furthermore it cause the interest rate to grow.
Maastricht wants to implement an economical policy to improve and focus on the
current business market instead of the leisure market. The congress tourism of
Maastricht is a big economical motor of the city. Most takes place at the MECC. The
national trend is that because of the stagnating economy in 2013 and decreasing
power of purchase Hotels will have more difficult in generating revenue
Social:
The amount of higher educated persons are higher in Maastricht then in other places
in the Netherlands also the congregation of Maastricht states that the city is
experiencing a brain gain instead of brain drain. This statement indicates that
companies in Maastricht have a more favourable position in finding suitable high
educated employees. The congregation wants to improve its communication with the
hotel branch to have a better understanding of the situation and also being consistent
with the rules and give a better explanation why exceptions are being made.
Technological:
Social media has a big influence on the hospitality industry as well as in reaching out
for guests as for employees. But also the other way around, guests and possible
employees use social media or the internet to find a hotel-stay or a job. Cities are
more compatible with other cities to lure more visitors and inhibitors. Also increasing
in globalisation what brings different cultures more together and gives new challenges
and thrives to businesses
Legal:
Designhotel Hampshire Eden has to deal with the UVH (De Uniforme Voorwaarden
Horeca) conditions. This uniform conditions for the Hotel en Catering industry provide
catering services and enter into catering agreements. The UVH are registered with the
District Court and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in The Hague.
Environmental:
Maastricht is one of the biggest hotel cities in the Netherlands the amount of hotel
stays is increasing each year and the hotels in Maastricht are considered to be the
best in the Netherlands in terms of quality and culinary aspects. Maastricht has been
voted in 2012 as the third most welcoming city in the country. According to the HOSTA
report of 2012 is there an increase in leisure guests and a small decrease in business
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guests. Maastricht also hosts the biggest art fare in the world which makes the city
unique as well. Maastricht is striving to become more sustainable, global and
knowledge economic city.

Trends:
Social Media
Social media and mobile will become a game changer in consumer habits, as more
and more dominance and competition emerges in the online and technology world.
The social media and technology landscape will set the path for consumption
More Emphasis on Hotel Lobbying
The hotel lobby is fast making a comeback as an important section of the hotel
environment. Mobile recharging consoles are on the rise. Vibrantly-colored interiors
along with free access for checking emails are also being offered. While bigger hotels
can afford to offer docking stations for iPhones too, smaller hotels are attempting to
ensure that eat-as-you-move kind of snacks/drinks is offered in their lobbies.
Pump Dispensers
Guests are likely to waste lesser with dispensers. You might not want to jump on to
this trend though it does offer the lure of some immediate savings. Some of your
guests might love the neatly-wrapped soaps on the counter top that lends a
personalized touch to your service.
More sustainability:
As well companies as costumers want to be more sustainable. For instance companies
are looking for ways to reduce their waste by for instance smaller menus or recyclable
packages. More and more costumers want environmental friendly products and also
there is a big increase in vegetarianism.

2. Competitor analysis
The competitors are chosen firstly on the amount of stars they own, in this case all
competitors have four stars. Secondly the distance from the city and from the MECC.
Furthermore if the hotels have a restaurant and a fitness center has been taken into
account. At last the price which is selected on not more or less then 50 Euro then the
Hampshire Eden.
The Hampshire Eden hotel and Hotel Golden Tulip:
The Golden Tulip hotel is a competitor mostly because of the lower price. The
difference is 20 Euro on a single room. Another important factor is that the Golden
Tulip is the only one from the competitors which also has green key. Sustainability is a
upcoming trend en important for a lot of guests. Furthermore provides this hotel free
parking, even dough private parking is not for free. On the other hand is this hotel a
little further away from the city center and the MECC then Hampshire Eden.
The Hampshire Hotel and Crown Plaze Hotel:
Crown Plaze hotel is a competitor because of the location. This hotel lies closer to the
city center and the MECC in comparison with the Hampshire hotel. It is also slightly
bigger and the website provides more international information like languages guests
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can choose. But the price of Crown Plaze is much higher and there are less facilities
within the hotel.
The Hampshire Hotel and NH Hotel:
NH hotel is a competitor because of the amounts of facilities. This is the only hotel
compared with the others that has a sauna and solarium. The hotel is also a lot bigger
and more international, the website has eight different languages. Also NH hotel is the
closest to the MECC however the city center is far more away. It depends on the
guests chose on room if NH hotel is more expensive or even cheaper. The Hampshire
Hotel is the smallest compared with it's chosen competitors. All hotels have a
restaurant and a bar and provide breakfast, also all restaurants do have an a la carte
option. The biggest competitor will be the Golden Tulip hotel since the price of the
rooms is lower and especially because of the green key.
Benchmark Analysis:
Benchmark Analysis
General
Stars
Location
Target group
Rooms
Total
Food & Beverages
Restaurant
Breakfast
Bar
Facilities
Free wifi
Conference Rooms
Dry cleaning
Parking/Free
Fitness
Sauna
Solarium
Terrace
Location&
Surroundings
Maastricht
Centrum
MECC
Website
Available
Languages
Available
Prices
Facilities
Reservations
Social media
Prices
Standard Single
Room
Standard Double
Room

Hotel
Hampshire
Eden

Hotel Golden
Tulip Apple
Park

Crown Plaze
Hotel

NH hotels
Maastricht

****
Maastricht

****
Maastricht

****
Maastricht

****
Maastricht

105

166

144

275

Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes

No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

1.0 km

1.4 km

0.7 km

2.0 km

1.0 km

1.5 km

1.5 km

0.5 km

Yes
5

Yes
2

Yes
4

Yes
8

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

122.55

103.75

164.25

136.10

129.00

189.50

118.55/158,
55
137.10/182.
10

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Sustainability
Green key

Yes

Yes

No

No

3. Internal Analysis
Strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths:
One of the strengths of the Hampshire Eden hotel is the location. The hotel is located
nearby the city center of Maastricht and also close to the MECC. It is a city with a lot of
leisure and business activities which attacks a lot of guests. Secondly the hotel has a
green key, with the more and more upcoming trend towards sustainability this is a
important strength of the hotel. Another upcoming trend which the hotel manages well
is the use of social media, on the website there are many social media options.
Furthermore are the rooms of the hotel designed by famous designers, guests have
plenty chose in room designs.

Weaknesses:
When looking at the chosen competitors the hotel is relatively small, with not a large
amount of facilities in comparison. Another weakness is that the hotel does not make
use of pump dispenders, this is not sustainable and it causes a lot of money. According
to reviews on Tripadvisor and hotel.com there are a lot of guests complaining about
the current state of the hotel rooms and about the lack of information given about the
specific designed hotel room.

4. TOWS
Tows matrix: Hampshire Eden design hotel.
Strengths

TOWS MATRIX

Opportunities

Expanding hotel
rooms in 2014
Increase in the
leisure market
Globalization of the
hospitality industry
Further increasing
room occupancy and

Weaknesses

Location
Green key
Paid parking
Business facilities
Rooms designed by
famous designers
(unique selling point)
Effective use of
social media

SO strategies

Use of social media

to attract more
customers and the
recovering economy
can further
increasing the room
occupancy and room
rates. (S1, O4, O5,

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Relative small hotel

in comparison with
the competitors
No pump dispensers
Current state of the
hotel not up to date *
Communication
about room facilities

WO strategies

Use technology to
improve website and
information about
the rooms. (W4, O6)
Expand rooms (W1,
O1, O4)
Use of pump
dispensers because
Hospitality Environment

room rates
Recovering economy
Better use of
technology
Upcoming
Sustainability trend

Threats

Increase in taxes
Terrace furniture
policy
Decrease in the
business market
Recession
Lots of competitors
No expansion of
hotel rooms possible
till end of 2013
Environmental laws

O6)
An increase in the
leisure market makes
the location even a
bigger strength. (S1,
O2)

of the upcoming
sustainability trend

ST strategies

WT strategies

The hotel can use it's

location to attract
guests to reduce the
impact of the
recession. ( S1, T4 )
The unique designed
rooms and the green
key make the hotel
stand out from its
competitors. ( S2,
S5, T5 )

The no expansion
and terrace furniture
policy makes it
hard/impossible for
the hotel to expand
until the end of
2013. ( W1, T6, T2 )
The increasing taxes
en environmental
laws can make it
hard to upgrade the
current state. (W3,
T1, T7)

In the TOWS matrix becomes clear that the hotel it biggest strength is it location and
the green key. This strengths can be used to stand out from the competitors and the
location can improve occupancy and room rates. The current state of the hotel is a
weakness which is hard to improve because of new policies and laws. The hotel is not
able to expend at this moment because of the no expansion policy, but this can be an
opportunity in 2014. Also the rends in technology and social media can be used
improve the weakness of the lack of information on the hotel rooms and to attract
more customers.

5. Choose
After analyzing the internal and external of the Hampshire hotel we came to the
conclusion that we want to bring in a innovation what is sustainable, reduce the costs
and efficient in use. We decided in replacing the old fashioned shampoo bottles and
small soaps in the rooms with pump dispensers. Pump dispensers are more
sustainable because you will have none till little waste because if the old shampoo
bottles are half used you replace them with new bottles for the new guests, if you
have pump dispensers you dont have that problem anymore and you just need to
refill the dispenser once so now and then.
The cost are less because you need to purchase the dispensers once instead of
purchasing all those boxes of shampoo bottles and soaps every week, the refill for the
dispensers are available in large cans which uses less storage space in the hotel and
the housekeeping needs less time in cleaning the rooms because the you dont need
to refill or pay attention to the dispensers every day which is also great in reducing the
cost. The only disadvantage of this innovation might be that you can lose some of your
personalized service because some guests love to have that small soap on the top of
the counter. However this disadvantage does not weigh up to all the advantages that
you can gain with this innovation

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6. Implementation
There are not many relevant operational aspects that are directly related to this
proposal because it is a small innovation. First of all the pump dispensers and the soap
need to be purchased for all 105 hotel rooms. Secondly the pump dispensers have to
be installed in each room, therefore someone from the hotel or an external company
needs to be hired. Then the dispensers need to be filled with the soap that had been
purchased. After that all dispensers need to be checked whether they are working
properly. Because the dispensers can break or not work properly maintenance later
should be taken into account.
With this proposal we are definitely take care of sustainability. It is environmental
friendly because you dont have to throw away the plastic bottles and replace them for
new ones every day or every time a new guest arrives. Also it will reduce the soap that
is thrown away because of guests that only use half a bottle or take it home with
them. For the company it will be cheaper on the long term to use pump dispensers
instead of bottles etc.
This innovation has a small potentional risk, guests might love the neatly-wrapped
soaps in their bathroom. It is a personalized touch of the hotel and the service. Some
guests like the bottled soaps as souvaniers to take home with them.

7. Business Case

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Cost of implementingsoap dispensers

price

amount

size

soap dispensers
Soap dispenser refill bag
total
placing/mountingsoap dispenser
equipment cost
material cost
estemated time needed

hourly wage maintanace

cost maintanance for placing

total
Upkeep costs
housekeeping
repairs/replacement
total
total costs
before implementation soap dispensers
after implementation soap dispensers
total cost reduction (profit)
Cashflow
Discount factor
PV
NPV
Payback period
IRR
Profit margin

8. Dashboard
The performance of this innovation will be measered by looking at the costs of the
bottles of soap and the soap used in the pump dispensers. The investment in the
pump disspensers and the maintenance that is need are also taken into account.
Because the hotel will reduce their waste they will also reduce their costs for the
removed waste. Because pump dispensers have a bigger content staff does not have
to replace or refill every time which means less time spend in cleaning the rooms
which reduces staff costs evantually.

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http://www.hampshire-hotels.com/uploads/files/files/Uniforme%20Voorwaarden
%20%20Horeca%20(nederlands).pdf
http://www.crowneplazamaastricht.com/
http://www.goldentulipappleparkmaastricht.nl/default.aspx?Language=EN
http://www.hampshire-hotels.com/en/designhotel-maastricht-hampshire-eden
http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/the-netherlands/maastricht/nhmaastricht.html
Made in Maastricht, economische visie maastricht 2020
Uitgave gemeente Maastricht
Redactie Pieter-Paul van de Wouw
Eindredactie Simone van der Steen
Fotografie Jonathan Vos, Aron Nijs, Guy van Grinsven, Philip Driessen, Petra de Boer,
Paul Rutten
Vormgeving Annemarie Mans, gemeente Maastricht
Druk Tuijtel, Hardinxveld-Giessendam
Horecanota 2009-2013 gemeente maastricht
Gemeente Maastricht
Domein Stadsontwikkeling, Economie en Beheer

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