Transcript E-commerce and the Hospitality Industry

E-commerce and the
Hospitality Industry
By :
Dirk Abbot, Juan Caamano,
Marvin Callicotte, Bruce
Crawford and Jason
Kennedy
Hotels Studied
• Motel 6
– Entry level discount hotel chain often used by
families on vacations
• Country Inn & Suites
– Mid level hotel chain catering to business and
leisure travelers
• Trump International Hotel and Tower
– High end 5 star hotel catering to the most
discriminating traveler
Areas of Study
• Web presence
• Supply chain for each company under a brick and
mortar environment and how e-commerce
affected it
• Marketing tools and the tools used by each web
site
• Customer service provided by each site
• Legal, ethical and regulatory issues each site
must address
• Security, confidentiality and international issues
for each site
Web Presence
• Each website had a different feel as was
expected but each was successful at
meeting the customers needs and
providing information on the following
topics:
– Accommodations/amenities
– Making reservations
– Local attractions
Web Presence Cont.
• URL’s for each hotel chain
– www.countryinns.com/home.jsp
– www.trumpintl.com
– www.motel6.com
Supply Chain B&M
• Communication with vendors not automatic
• Additional resources required for inventory
management taking away resources for
other activities
• Limited to local vendors
• Shipments can not be traced quickly
Affects of E-commerce
• Increased efficiencies and cost savings
• Larger vendor base and ability to create vendor
alliances that allow for electronic data
interchange for inventory management
• Partnerships with on-line brokers creating
additional market exposure
• Streamlined invoicing, accounts receivable and
accounts payable
Marketing Tools
• Pay for placement of website on search
engines
• Paid advertising on various web sites
• Use of artificial intelligence agents for
individualized, automated target marketing
• E-mail marketing
• Affiliate programs
Tools used by Motel 6
• Motel 6 has taken a small business
approach to marketing
– Use of search engines to get services in front
of their customers
– They do not use sponsored links
Tools used by County Inn &
Suites
• Country Inn & Suites does take advantage
of more e-commerce tools than Motel 6
including:
• Search engines
• Partnering with major travel sites
Tools used by Trump
International Hotel and Tower
• Trump International Hotel and Tower does
the best job at using the marketing tools
available in e-commerce and incorporates
the following in their efforts:
• Search engines with additional key words
• Partnering with major travel sites
• Sponsored third-party links
Customer Service Provided
• Allows the customer to get feel for the hotel
without physically visiting it
• Provides ability to make a reservation
• Provides rates for customers
• Provides a description of amenities
• Provides information on specials available
• Provides information about the local area
Legal, Ethical and
Regulatory Issues
• E-Business companies are international
companies.
• International exposure creates unique
legal, and regulatory issues.
• Ethical lapses can be communicated online
much faster by disgruntled consumers.
Security, Confidentiality and
International Issues
• Security polices must protect the integrity of
the website and that data contained within.
• Online companies must protect consumers
personal information from hackers.
• Marketing of the international customer
must comply with legal and regulatory
issues.
Conclusion
• Each hotel has designed its website to
address its target market.
• The marketing tools are similar across all
three businesses.
• Each companies website allowed the
customer to get a feel for the hotel site and
met specific needs of its demographics.
Conclusion Continued
• All three hotels have established privacy
statements and provided confidentiality of
customer data.
• Trump Plaza and Country Inn & Suites
have developed international websites that
Cater to the international traveler.