Ecommerce and the Hospitality Industry

1
E-commerce and the Hospitality Industry

• By
• Dirk Abbot, Juan Caamano, Marvin Callicotte,
  Bruce Crawford and Jason Kennedy

2
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

3
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

4
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

5
Web Presence Cont.

• URLs for each hotel chain
• www.countryinns.com/home.jsp
• www.trumpintl.com
• www.motel6.com

6
Supply Chain BM

• 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

7
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

8
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

9
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

10
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

11
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

12
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

13
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.

14
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.

15
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.

16
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.