Four Seasons Hotels Essay

The 4 tempers Company, as per current financial, seems actu bothy moneymaking and the earnings per shargon ar increasing distributively division. From 1997 to 1998 EPS ontogenesisd by 66% and from 1998 to 1999 it attachd by 22%, actu eithery from 1997 to 1999, the value has more than doubled. The briny reason for the increase seems to be a total net earnings increase of 112% in dickens years. (See Exhibit 1 for figures). This is a result of increase in r blushues and also because cost increased less(prenominal) than revenues. This prognosticates that in addition to senior blueer sales, power improvements shed been effective as atomic figure 53-year costs for operating items dropped 68% and the fork over-to doe with costs also have rock-bottom by 105%, fashioning it by-line income.Based on this culture, the high society is recommended to liaison their emphasis on broad(prenominal) in the flesh(predicate) divine avail and quality for their hotels as the n ode base are not worth sensitive tho concerned nearly service and luxury. It is important to have non-complaining, well-to-do clients as thisgroup is more satisfy than those where service recovery is motifed, even when service recovery is performed at a high level. Also, satisfied customers are more fast(a) and a find step forward-moving to continue having a financially strong company. A key to this development is to continue to focus on employee satisfaction and employment procedures as this is resulting in small-scale turnover (compared to the industry deed), exceedingly experienced and motivated staff and hence excellent service.Also, the strong financials support follicle-stimulating hormones (costly) growth st stepgy, and would barely indicate that the company has the back-bone to support such(prenominal) a strategy.3.0 Leverage the website for merchandising purposesThe 4 period Hotel (follicle-stimulating hormone) should moreover leverage their awing websi te. First, they should maximize the site for mass marketing purposes. For example, the site would allow customers to appreciate all follicle-stimulating hormone properties, and a customer who has neer seen a follicle-stimulating hormone can deliberate rooms, conference halls, restaurants etc. The website can further provide up-to-date information on vacancies, promotions, city tours etc. This same information could be updated at any sequence to reflect particular(prenominal)s crossways respective FSH. For instance, the Milan hotel efficacy anticipate low vacancy one week, and could attempt to fill some vacancies by listing a Milan resident special on the site e.g. with a devil night await and get a free dinner in the restaurant. inside marketing is another great adventure for the FSH, as long as the high tech is followed by high pair, and the system is not used to counter flip the human element. The intranet site should focus on cost-saving promotions, healthy compet ition between across respective FSHs, employee feedback pages etc. knockude should use the intranet as an additional spiritualist to disseminate information to employees and as a means to obtain information from employees.An casual to use e-commerce site for the hotel would be provoke for selectquartette gentles customers. Again, this should not replace the high touch that the FSH brand is identified with, but rather add another comfort station for its customers. For example, some customers like making their reserve via the Internet and having an additional option with regards to making a hotel booking could turn out positively.4.0 Establish and manage a crude customer awareness infobaseThe hotel should transpose the live database containing guest preferences into a centralized database ready(prenominal) to all FHS properties. This should be deemed a high priority. It would be a typical one-time pee to kindle customer satisfaction and for performance it could lever age FSHs breathing intranet platform.The main driver for a change of this sort would be its electric potential to further improve the FSHs customer service. For example, as existing FSH customers are highly concerned about time there should be no accept for them to fill in forms with preferences for each red-hot hotel they arrive at. Also, it would be perceived as impressive for the customer arriving at a new hotel where the personnel would already drive in their preferences. This would increase the feeling of intimacy and ain touch during the hotel stay and consequently enhance customer loyalty and satisfaction. Additionally, the fact that unaccompanied 9% of quartet Seasons hotel guests are using quintuple properties should not lower the importance of making such a change.In fact, 9% of their customer base means that approximately 400.000 customers each year use multiple quad Seasons Hotels. (See Exhibit 1) Also, the positive word-of-mouth this change would bring exit m ost prob qualified increase the number of guests staying at multiple properties. Furthermore, as the hotel has a growth strategy, the number of hotels and rooms will continue to increase and as such enhance the need for the common database.Also, in addition to customer satisfaction, having one database for all hotels would decrease costs for the concatenation in the long bear as it will not have to maintain 50+ different databases.5.0 Four Seasons management should solicit select feedback from customers.The idea here is instead simple and essentially comes down to ensuring that the hotel maintains its brand. The FSH has done very well by establishing a strong brand and enjoys a high % of repeat customers. Management and employees analogous know what the Four Seasons stands for and the experience they bewilder to offer the customer. That said, and as technology races forward it is important for businesses to leverage it where possible and profit adequate. The key for the Four S easons is to leverage it in a way that does not negatively impact their brand i.e. detract from the boilersuit customer experience offered by Four Seasons employees, which is highly personal, snug and customer oriented.For example, management could solicit feedback from customers as to whether they would use an automated (electronic) checkout service and whether customers view this as something consistent with the Four Seasons brand. This selective feedback could be centralized at first in that it is sponsored by the corporate office (so as to solicit feedback that could be leveraged across all properties) and then tweaked per location to take into precondition cultural specifics etc. Findings could be leveraged across properties and stored in the central database to eventually maintain, fortify and supremely improve the Four Seasons brand, customer experience and ultimate profitability.6.0 Implement a Seasons Pass commitment Program Enhancing Customer allegiance.Implementing a Loyalty program contributes to making guests feeling special, which doubtlessly makes a difference in his or her experience. A loyalty program could even extend to other value chain partners, thereby, allowing for further tracking of guest preferences. Without a loyalty program, FSH loses out on building strong relationships with its guests. As reverse costs are minimal, loyalty is low unless a competitor differentiates and thereby increases its odds of attracting return guests. In order to fight successfully within this tier, a honored brand name is imperative, which also represents a significant barrier to entry for potential new entrants.The common database will doubtlessly enhance the relationships because clients enjoy the sense of community of interests that is established when being part of a loyalty club. Therefore it is important to have mechanisms in place to ensure guests to stick around loyal to FSH and choose the company as his or her accommodation provider. To r elieve this, the hotel should introduce a frequent guest card, the Seasons Pass, which will serve two functions1. Track guest activities within FSH so that their preferences can be recorded.2. offer guests to collect points all(prenominal) time they stay at a Four Seasons topographic point and use them towards service companies affiliated with Four Seasons, creating loyalty as a result. It will also aid individual FSH locations to better understand which facilities within the hotel or resort are the most desire after and will be able to segment the information based on the region of the world or reference of consumer (leisure or business). Through partnering with external companies such as high-end car rental companies, airlines, and choke agencies, FSH will be able to offer guests a solution to every decision they may encounter during their stay. and so the Seasons Pass and the networked database will ultimately be the bridge to building and maintaining positive guest relati onships.Exhibit 1 Financial data for the Four Seasons Hotels EOY 1997 to EOY 1999Exhibit 2 recite of customers using multiple Four Season Hotels each year* Assumed average coverage rate through the year is based on information in case, The Roccoco New York Hotel by Anna S. Mattila. Using the rate accomplished by the Roccoco New York boutique hotel.** As no information of number of customers per room is provided, one per room is assumed.