Introduction the Hospitality Industry Is Experiencing a Boom
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Introduction The hospitality industry is experiencing a boom across the world. Bangladesh is not an exception. A plethora of new hotels have opened in Dhaka, Chittagong, and other important places. The Five star hotel industry is also rising vary first as new five star brands known worldwide are showing interest in the up coming hotel industry. Four five star brands are operating in the country and some others are about to come within next few years. The competition is very hard and going to be extremely intensive. Dhaka Sheraton has been operating in the city since 1985, Pan Pacific Sonargaon has celebrated its 26th anniversary in the year 2007, Radisson Water Garden Hotel has started its journey in 2006. The newest five star hotel is “The Westin” which has started operation form 2007. Thus the first five star hotel Dhaka Sheraton lost its leading position as well the monopoly business. More new hotels are about to come. In the year 2007 global tourism increases by higher than expected. According to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, from January to April 2007 international tourist arrivals worldwide rose by over 6%. The Asia & pacific region achieved the highest growth which is 9%.1 Responding to the huge growth, many hotels are to be opened in the region. From a review the estimation revealed is, 18 new hotels will be opened in 2008, 24 in 2009 and 35 in 2010. It is very clear that the competition is getting harder. To deal with the completion and to be in the leading position, the hotels must try to give their best services to the guests. Now Radisson Water Garden Hotel is the market leader & doing an excellent job. According to sources, every year 5,000 foreign tourists visit Bangladesh who spend $1,000 each during their visit while around 0.2 million foreigners come to Bangladesh for business or other purposes. The number of business travelers is eyeing a double-digit growth.2 As tour operators are now quite organized with many of them having their own hotels, restaurants, ships and buses to provide quality services to the travelers, the travel industry is now growing by around 30 percent a year, according to Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).3 In this report the performance of Dhaka Sheraton is evaluated in comparison with the other five star hotels in Bangladesh. The present position of the hotel is revealed by analyzing the RevPar, occupancy rate, revenue and the ADR. 1 ‘The Bangladesh Monitor’, Volume XVII, Issue no 2, September 1-15, 2007. Page 1 2 http://www.skyscrapercity.com, page 15 3 http://www.skyscrapercity.com, page 13 1 Statement of Problem: The problem is to determine the present situation of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel in the highly competitive market in comparison with the other five star hotels operation in the market. To mull over on this matter the following sub problems came into focus: a) Setting some certain parameters. b) Knowing and understanding the facts that affects the hotel business. c) Comparing among the five star hotels operating in the industry. Scope of the Study This internship report covers the activities performed by the Sales and Marketing Department of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel such as dealing with customers, maintaining relationship with customers, making phone calls and answering the quarries, arranging functions of various types, arranging marketing & promotional activities etc. Besides this, the report will help in finding problems in the total service process and will provide some suggestions for possible solutions for Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. 2 Objective of the Study The precise objectives of the internship report are highlighted as follows: • To draw a vivid picture of the present state of Dhaka Sheraton by analyzing their synchronous condition in the current perspective • To represent the trend of five star hotel industry in Bangladesh. • To cover an extensive analysis of the activities of the hotels indicating the steps taken to improve the quality of services to stay in the competition. • To study the various services, foods and other unique facilities offered by the Hotel to its customers. • To show the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. • To determine the current position of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel in the competitive market. Methodology of the Study Hospitality Industry is one of the most dynamic, profitable and challenging industries in Bangladesh. In this report I have tried to sketch a vivid picture of the leading five star hotels of Bangladesh on the basis of their overall performance. The current trend of the hotels is to build up the Brand Image apart from others. For tailoring this paper, data has been collected mainly from Dhaka Sheraton. To fabricate the report both primary and secondary data is used. Primary data are collected from the hotel authority. The primary sources consist mainly of personal observation and records during the attachment period and secondary data are collected from hotel’s publications, newspapers, journals, Sheraton’s quarterly magazine etc. Interviews with the corresponding personnel of various departments helped to conceptualize various important matters. The area under consideration is the five star hotel industry as well as the overall hotel industry in Bangladesh. The data are collected by direct conversation with the hotel authority. Data about the other competitor hotels were collected 3 from the same hotel as the hotels used to share their position after every operating day. The accumulated data are scrutinized and processed through various relevant statistical methods. The data are analyzed and presented through several graphs and comparisons are made among the hotels. The deviation in quality & performance and the reasons behind the deviations are determined. On the basis of the analysis of the internal strength and weakness with consideration of the external threat and opportunities, some suggestions are made to improve the company’s overall performance. Limitations: The competitor hotels did not provide any sort of information. The comparisons are made only on the basis of room revenue, because information about the banquet revenue is highly confidential. One major limitation was the time constraint. Some essential data could not be gathered because of confidentiality concerns. Lack of information about the competitor’s strategies. 4 2.1 Hospitality Industry Hospitality refers to the relationship process between a guest and a host, and it also refers to the act or practice of being hospitable, that is, the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, with liberality and goodwill. Hospitality industry is a huge term. It does not only include hotels but restaurants and others. It is entwined in our daily life-grabbing a sandwich for lunch, stopping off for a coffee or drinks with friends, staying at a hotel, going to the cinema or theatre, school meals, eating at a canteen in work, catching a bus, motor-way service stations and the list goes on and on. For an in depth understanding of the term of hospitality, the starting point is the etymology of the word itself. The word hospitality derives from the Latin hospes, which is formed from hostis, which originally meant a 'stranger' and came to take on the meaning of the enemy or 'hostile stranger' (hostilis) + pets (polis, poles, potentia) to have power. Furthermore, the word hostire means equilize/compensate.1 In Bangladesh hospitality mainly refers to the hotel industry. A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging, usually on a short-term basis. Hotels often provide a number of additional guest services such as a restaurant, a swimming pool or childcare. Hotels have conference services and meeting rooms and encourage groups to hold convention and Meetings at their location. The word hotel derives from the French hotel, which referred to a French version of a townhouse or any other building seeing frequent visitors, not a place offering accommodation. The hospitality sector is experiencing a boost due to higher levels of disposable income and leisure time and the falling cost of air travel. The hospitality industry is more focused on those factors that they have control over and the vast majority of hospitality providers also report aiming to boost profitability through customer loyalty. According to a survey performed by UNWTO, among 1000 people more than 50 percent of the respondents cited a hotel brand’s ‘global presence’ as a contributing factor when selecting a hotel loyalty or frequent guest program.2 1 http://www.hotelmanagement-network.com/industry/ 2 ‘The Bangladesh Monitor’, Volume XVII, Issue no 2, September 1-15, 2007. Page 1 5 A hotel’s major portion of the revenue comes from room business which is their main purpose. Revenue from food and beverages is almost as high as that from accommodation. Hoteliers can generate additional revenue when visitors spend money in their restaurant, spa or bar, and this has enabled hotels to offer special rates or promotions to fill nights that typically generate lower occupancy rates. However, competing on price alone is increasingly difficult and many hospitality businesses are now attempting to sell the 'experience' in a bid to attract both new and repeat business. A reported seven out of ten hotels and restaurants were keen to be seen as innovative and stylish. The industry's heritage was built on efficient service, but innovation, style and offering a premium experience are increasingly important brand drivers. Hotels once aspired to be as comfortable as someone's home. Now guests are looking to make their homes as stylish as the hotels they stay in, which is a reflection on how successful the industry has been in creating outstanding experiences. San Amalan, General Manager of Westin Dhaka said that the economy of Bangladesh is growing with people having more purchasing power.