CASE STUDY- ACCRA

BEACH HOTEL
Services Marketing

SUBMITTED TO
Mr. SYED KAMRUL ISLAM (SKI)
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, North South University

SUBMITED BY
Ahmed Siffat Naveel Nur
ID 1210234030
Section: 5

1. What factors lead to variations in demand at a hotel such as the

Accra Beach?
Answer:
A hotel having the location similar to Accra beach hotel will naturally
experience variation in demand in different parts of the year. Some points to
be noted in terms of the location of the Accra Beach hotel:
Situated at the Coastal region offering scenic beauty of the beach
Short distance from the Airport
Situated in the Capital City
When we consider these aspects of the hotel by default we can say that the
clients of this hotel are
i.
ii.

Vacationers
Businessmen/ Corporate job holders

In terms of the vacationers we may presume they expect a mild weather to

make their holiday enjoyable. Especially for a place associated with the
beach, holidaymakers expect warm sunny weather. It is a fact that the
weather pattern of any place includes some rough times when the number of
tourists is expectedly low. As for instance Barbados enjoys a hot tropical
climate with two distinct seasons wet and dry. The wet season begins in
May/June and runs though until November/December. As seen from Accra
beach hotel monthly occupancy rate chart of the previous year, the
occupancy rate was low throughout the months May to October. In fact the
months throughout June to November bear the possibilities of hurricane. For
the rest of the year Barbados sees an enjoyable weather accompanied by
great number of tourists precisely for the months January throughout April.

In terms of the Businessmen it is obvious that the demand emerges for

working days of the calendar year as most of the meetings, seminars and
deals are penned during official working hours. On the contrary clients on
business purposes may not be found during holidays such as Christmas, Eid,
Puja etc. Business clients may not follow weather patterns for their visit
unlike vacationers.
Again in case of business clients, much also depends upon economic
conditions of businesses. Of course during recession periods staying at a
luxury hotel may not be a top priority for businessmen.

Also beautiful locations such as the Caribbean are often places of interest for
hosting various cultural and sports events during the calendar year such as
cricket series which may bring about a different trend in demand.

2. Identify the various market segments currently served by the

hotel. What are the pros and cons of seeking to serve customers
from several segments?
Answer:
The various market segments currently served by Accra beach hotel are:

Holidaymakers
Business Customers
Individual guests
Vacationers via Tour operators

The Pros of serving customers from several segments

Lets consider Accra beach hotel in this case. There is a counter cyclical trend
in visiting of different segments. Different segments visit the hotel in
different parts of the year. Mostly vacationers seek times of the year
including holidays and also suitable weather conditions. On the other hand
business customers are found during official working days when there may
not be many holidaymakers. Serving both the segments mean the hotel is
never idle throughout the year and resources are utilized.
Cons of serving customers from several segments
The Cons of serving customers from several segments can be summarized
along the following points
Different market segments may have different demands and it may be
difficult to efficiently serve each segment. The fact of serving different
market segment may require some extra training of the staffs of
certain segments the failure of which may result to poor service.
Different market segments have different expectations from their stay
at the hotel. Some seek solace, some seek adventure and thrill while
some are more concerned about business. These varying expectation
require different environments. Trying to serve all the segments under
the same environment may see clashes between customers
expectation.

2. What are the key considerations facing the hotel as it reviews the
booking requests from the West Indies Cricket Board?
Answer:
As the West Indies Cricket Board has put up a booking request, before
making a decision to approve it or not there is a number of issues to be
considered.
Revenue and Finances: Accra beach hotel had been enjoying a relatively
high occupancy rate, consistent in generating revenue due to some loyal
customer responses. In case they accepted WICBs request they would have
had to give away the opportunity to maintain the consistency of revenue
generation since WICB was willing to pay lesser than their general
customers. Also the revenue from food servings would be expected to lower
down since most athletes were supposed to dine out. Hence a financial
setback for the two months was most expected resultant of accepting the
request.
Promotional Prospect: In return of low hotel charges WICB promised to
promote ABH in their live match broadcasts as hotel partner which was
indeed a mammoth opportunity for them to promote their hotel in the
international arena.
Experience of other Guests: In case the proposal was accepted, Accra
beach hotel would have had to turn down a big portion of their general
customers due to accommodation constraint. This could hamper relation with
regular customers.
Also the presence of a large group of sportsmen would attract a huge
number of fanatics and media attentions which might spoil vacationers
seeking peaceful environment, and business people having to worry about
privacy being exposed.
Also these sportsmen being highly regarded celebrities more focus of the
hotel staff would have had to be put on them than the general customers
which could create negative brand equity.

4.

What action should Cherita Howard take and why?

Answer:
A. The following calculation shows the revenue generated by 50 rooms in
case of general customers for 28 days of the certain months of April
through June considering the previous year RevPAR as standard.
Total number of nights (50 rooms times 28 days) = 1400 nights
1. The Average revenue per room calculated from RevPAR of previous year is
$107.74. Considering it as standard of comparison, revenue form 50
rooms (1400 times $107.74)= $150836
Now, revenue from Food
2. Considering 80% of 50 customers having breakfast, revenue (40
customers times $8 per serving)= $320
3. Considering 30% of customers dining in hotel, revenue ( 15 customers
times $25 per serving)= $375
Total Revenue from vacationers and businessmen= $151531
B. The following calculation shows revenue generated by 50 rooms in case
WICBs proposal is accepted.
If average revenue per room is $130 the revenue from 50 rooms (1400 times
$130)= $182000

Now since food cost and VAT cost were to be included, the Total revenue
stands $182000
Again laundry costs incase Cherita decides for in house laundry (28 days
times $20 per day)= $560
Deducting laundry cost Total Revenue = $181440
Thus, the net financial impact of accepting the WICB business is ($181440$151531) = $29909. Hence we can see it would be profitable to accept the
booking.

On another consideration, the promised promotion as hotel partner of WICB

for the upcoming international cricket series holds a great prospect of
promotion. Also since the hotel was moving from vacation oriented

customers to more business oriented customers the damage done by turning

down vacationers is most likely to be made up by increasing focus on
business customers who are lesser likely to not consider a second visit due
to temporary inconvenience.
Considering these, I think Cherita Howard should accept the proposal.