Master in Tourism and Hotel Management

Question: Discuss about the Master in Tourism and Hotel Management. Answer: Introduction Hotel management is my area of interests and in this assignment, I intend to explore a hotel "COMO The Treasury" in Perth after reading about its promotion in Western Australia Newspaper written by Rebecca Boteler. The COMO news article was published on August 5, 2016. This news is promoting COMO hotel the newly renovated historic heart reopening in the city of Perth (Boteler, 2016). It is fully ready to offer new experiences to its customers by way of two restaurants, bars and popular COMO Shambhala wellness therapies. Thus, visitors can enjoy Wilder lures of Australia standing on the restful base of COMO. In respect to this hotel, the report intends to highlight the market segment that uses the services provided by COMO hotel and characteristics of customers visiting Perth. This report is an outcome of an objective to analyze and evaluate how well the advertisement targets a market for COMO. Further, the report will examine the effectiveness of the advertisement. Overview of COMO The Treasury." COMO is the geographical heart of Perth located at Point Zero. It has won several awards including Gourmet Travelers award for its construction, elegance, and architecture (Boteler 2016). The news article written by Boteler (2016) gave a clear description of the state building with eye-catching images. As described in the newspaper, the COMO contains Wildflower, a dining restaurant. Food presented here is vibrant, reflects art and creativity. The ground level of COMO includes Post restaurant, which serves breakfast for a guest of COMO hotel. Fresh, healthy and delicious food made of flair is served here. The COMO Treasury Lounge Bar behind the Post is a clasy and comfortable place to chat. "Petition Wine Bar and Merchantis one of the petition outlets on the other side of Post Hall. An extensive list of wines and cheeses are available here. The other outlets are Petition Beer Corner and adjoining Petition Kitchen. The later offers rustic, tasty and colorful foods. Next to it, is the Long Chim a thigh food restaurant. The hotel has elegant rooms equipped with furniture and decors bought from different parts of the world. The well-designed floors and stairways reflect 140 years of history beneath the feet. The COMO Shambhala Urban Escape spa offer people with relaxation heaven. Visito rs can also enjoy shopping gems, high quality goodies wide range of skin care products, candles, and jewelry. It also includes fitness centers, parking lots, spa, gym, and yoga studio and much more (Boteler 2016). It appears from the news that there is more to explore than that highlighted here. Visitor characteristics and market segment After the promotional advertisement of COMO, I decided to research about the type of customers visiting this iconic building. According to Manoharan et al. (2013), Perth receives more than 1000 visitors every week. The majority of the visitors include millionaires. The outdoor-loving residents are responsible for its distinct personality, which inspires hipper and more cosmopolitan city. This city has diverse ethnicity with European, Irish, Chinese, German and Scottish residents. People from different parts of world visit COMO for holiday or vacation (Darcy et al. 2011). Alonso (2010) believes that Perth has a positive market indicator. It is the gateway to enter into Australia from Asia. Dobson and Hooper (2015), reports that Western Australia earns $9.3 billion from the tourism industry. According to Herington et al. (2013), the prime source markets of COMO are New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Singapore. The market segment of COMO includes Budget, upscale, luxury and Mid-market. The target group includes leisure travelers, rich business professionals, families, honeymooners, and others with the extended stay. The services of COMO are positioned in the prime location and luxury living (Sugio 2010). Evaluation of advertisement Advertisement and marketing are critical to every business (Ogle et al. 2013). Marketing through magazines and newspapers is an age-old technique but are effective in creating the lasting impression. Social media and internet have emerged as the new channel of distribution. COMO can promote brand name at low distribution cost by developing its websites or online sales channels (Sugio 2010). Different theories are applicable for advertisement and marketing process. The push and pull theory of marketing refers to a situation where service users pull information, products, and services as per their needs and demands, while the offerers push them towards the customers. COMO attracts customer attention by marketing in the prime location having its target population (Ogle et al. 2012). The theory of unique selling elements refers to an application of the strategy that would help a hotel to turn unique and distinguished. Elements that act as the cornerstone for marketing includes famous guests; unusual element may be pet goldfish in every room or special items such as unique fruit bowls (Sugio 2010). According to Means-End Theory, an advertisement must contain a message that will trigger a customer to a desired end-state (Herington et al. 2013). COMOs press release regarding its reopening after 8-year renovation was effective in pulling customers by luring. Press advertising has been highly beneficial for COMO. Hotels attractive, colorful pictures cannot stop anyone from visiting the place. The effectiveness of the advertisement can be enhanced by using AIDA structure. It refers to advertising sequence where the first step is to attract Attention of a customer for example "I love to visit COMO". The next step is to build client's Interest followed by strong Desire for the services. Lastly, taking Action such as call or email is crucial for advertising (Darcy et al. 2011). The news article in WA today related to COMO has grabbed attention by making its central message prominent, for example, "COMO The Treasury-Unraveling the mystery of the State Buildings" (Herington et al. 2013). The headline is impressive, to the point and simple to absorb. Additionally, the eye-catching images of hotel rooms can make anyone irresistible to visit the place. Thus, COMO is effective in pushing consumers to link personal values to service benefits. The packaging must reflect both newness and originality to develop good business sense among customers (Darcy et al. 2011). COMO offers products and services that are highly distinguished from its clients. This advertisement very well targets the market of COMO that is Perth. Thus, COMO is efficient in exploiting and proactively managing the opportunities offered by Public Relations and Press Release (Dobson and Hooper 2015). Conclusion COMO hotels and resorts had made significant achievement through its brand name, culture, and global strategy. Thus, this report clearly depicts the role of advertisements in promoting business. The report provided a clear understanding of market segments and visitor/customer characteristics. References Boteler, R. (2016). COMO The Treasury: Unraveling the mystery of the State Buildings. WA News. [online] Available at: https://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/como-the-treasury-unraveling-the-mystery-of-the-state-buildings-20160803-gqjvp0.html [Accessed 7 Aug. 2016]. Herington, C., McPhail, R. and Guilding, C., 2013. The evolving nature of hotel HR performance measurement systems and challenges arising: An exploratory study.Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management,20, pp.68-75. Dobson, C. and Hooper, K., 2015. Insights from the Australian Tourism Industry.RBA Bulletin, pp.21-32. Manoharan, A., Griss, M. and Sardeshmukh, S.R., 2013.Two sides of the same coin: Benefits and challenges of employing an ethnically diverse workforce in Australian hotels(Doctoral dissertation, Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management). Alonso, A.D., 2010. Importance of relationships among small accommodation operations around the city of Perth.Tourism and Hospitality Research,10(1), pp.14-24. Darcy, S., Cameron, B. and Pegg, S., 2011. Developing a business case for accessible tourism.Accessible tourism: concepts and issues, pp.241-259. Schilling, O., Sheldon, H.A., Reid, L.B. and Corbel, S., 2013. Hydrothermal models of the Perth metropolitan area, Western Australia: implications for geothermal energy.Hydrogeology Journal,21(3), pp.605-621. Sugio, S., 2010. Why ask the Guests?: An Examination of Mechanisms and Efficacy of Guest Feedback Used in Hotels in Perth. Ogle, A., Rowe, M. and Coates-Erkan, J., 2012. Mystery shopping as an indicator of quality: The comparison of Perth hotels. InCAUTHE 2012: The new golden age of tourism and hospitality; Book 1; Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference(p. 469). La Trobe University. Ogle, A., Henley, N., Rowe, M., Jongeling, S. and Fanning, S., 2013. Hotel guest e-questionnaires: implications for feedback and relationships.