The Savoy Hotel- Marketing and Operations Report Essay

The Savoy Hotel- Marketing and Operations Report - Essay Example Introduction The Savoy Hotel has earned its reputation as a British icon since 1889. It has been known to be the first hotel to have electricity and sophisticated bathroom facilities. Its rooms bespeak of luxury, style and sophistication with views of London and the River Thames. In 2007, it temporarily closed down for major renovations and has now recently re-opened in November, 2010 under the management of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. To recover from the expenses of the ?100 million restoration, the Savoy needs to increase its efforts to market and sell its services. This paper will report on a comprehensive contextual research of the Savoy Hotel business situation and its re-opening. Macro and Micro Environmental Factors This portion will discuss macro and micro environmental factors that may affect marketing and service delivery of the Savoy Hotel. A. The Internal Environment 1. Staff: Staff needed to believe in the philosophy the Savoy Hotel stands for, that â€Å"genuine hospi tality is achieved when engaging service and attention to detail elevate each stay into cherished memory† (http://www.fairmont.com/EN_FA/AboutFairmont/OurPhilosophy/, 2011, para.1) Thus, the staff themselves need to be committed to ultimate customer satisfaction with the way they work, thinking of the guests’ comfort and convenience while allowing them the privacy they need and deserve. Brown et al. (2005) recommend that staff be aptly educated in customer relations to achieve the satisfaction of the hotel guests and to enable them to build up the hotel’s good reputation through word of mouth. For many activities, such as product development (Hansen, 1999) and diffusing best practices across the organization (Darr, Argote, & Epple, 1995), expertise must be transferred and shared among units. Indeed, companies that are more effective at knowledge transfer have been shown to have a greater likelihood of organizational survival and higher levels of productivity (Dar t et al., 1995; Dyer & Nobeoka, 2000; Galbraith, 1990). It just proves how knowledge is a critical organizational asset. In the case of the Savoy Hotel, staff should be well-equipped with the knowledge and values of most aspects of the organisation, most especially in their own jobs. Having knowledgeable, courteous and happy staff brings about happy and satisfied guests who will keep coming back for more. These guests know that they are in good hands and with efficient staff who are able to provide them with their needs, it is likely that their satisfaction will bring in more business for the hotel. To take the advise of Nilsson, the person responsible for the resurrection of Scandic Hotels, decision-making power should be shared with sales and service-front-line workers â€Å"right at the customer level† (Goodman, 2000). Nilsson recommends a decentralized management system to focus on total customer satisfaction. So if a customer requests for something, the staff is able to decide on its provision without having to refer the customer to a higher authority. Of course there is a ceiling limit to this kind of decision-making and it has to be known by all staff. Since Savoy is part of a chain of the Fairmont hotels, it should also be given enough authority to come up with local decisions that concern their own