Question:
Discuss About The E-Commerce Performance In Hospitality And Tourism?
The assignment is delving with the preparation of a Tourism E-Commerce Plan. The purpose of the E-Commerce Plan will be discussed. Also, the situation analysis regarding the company will be elucidated. This will be discussing about the company, the details of the organization and its current products and services. A discussion will also be made regarding the description of the target market and the segments that the company is required targeting for the chosen product. The organization’s objectives relating to the marketing campaign will get briefly identified. Moreover, the methodology regarding the evaluation of the website will also get discussed.
The company that has been chosen for this assignment is Manly Guest House. The guest house is offering the best quality service relating to budget accommodation in Manly, Sydney. This place is considered as the most famous beachside suburb. The guest house is offering a homely atmosphere having private accommodation as well as common amenities such as kitchen as well as bathrooms. The guesthouse is offering best quality budget accommodation in Manly where Single, Double, Twins, Trios and Family Rooms are being offered. The salient features of the guest house are free high speed internet, free wireless access, free towels, free bed linen, complimentary tea and coffee as well as pleasant backyard (Manly Guest House, 2017).
The Manly Guest House is a budget guest house that is located near the beach. The guest house is within a 10-minute walk of Manly Beach as well as Manly Wharf. The Manly Sea Life Sanctuary as well as Sydney Harbour National Park is also within 5 kilometres radius of the guest house. In regard to the property features, it can be stated that there is the availability of self-parking, 24-hour room service as well as laundry facilities at this guest house. There is also the availability of free WiFi in public areas of the guest house. In addition to that, there is the presence of a computer station, a library as well as free newspapers onsite. In regard to room amenities, it can be stated that all the 19 rooms are offering free WiFi, 24-hour room service as well as complimentary newspapers on weekdays (Manly Guest House, 2017). On the ground floor, a guest can do the cooking of their meals in a kitchen that is fully equipped and relax in the TV lounge of the guest house with Foxtel, do the checking of their emails for free on the computer having high speed internet or the guests might use their personal laptop with wireless connection. There is also the facility for enjoying the sun outside in the backyard of the guest house. Concerning the various kinds of rooms that are available in the guesthouse, it can be stated that there are single rooms, twin rooms, budget double room, standard queen room, trio room, and family room for four people, family room for five people, as well as family room for 6 people (Manly Guest House, 2017).
The target market for the guest house can be identified with the help of surveys, online reviews, Google analytics, Facebook insights as well as Twitter insights. In respect of surveys, it can be stated that the earlier guests are the best resource of qualified information. The guest house does the using of post-stay guest surveys for ensuring that the travellers are having a better stay, and also finding other essential information. The online reviews of Manly Guest House are another area to search for key information. Guests most of the times do the mentioning of things they liked, disliked and what could have been better (Dima, 2014). This information could be used for making the necessary improvements at the guest house. For instance, in one of the reviews for Manly Guest House, the guest did the mentioning of the free beach cruisers, surfboards as well as skateboards (Fatima, 2017). Those additional services are a nice touch, particularly taking into consideration the location of the guest house near the beach. The guest house is having the knowledge that Manly beach is drawing a lot of travellers to their property. They are capitalizing on their distinctive services and adding extras that most of the guest houses are not doing. The guest house is also planning to do the installation of Google analytics on the company’s website, which is considered being a very effective tool (Rusko, 2017).
The Manly Guest house is targeting the budget travellers who are searching for a clean, comfortable and relaxing place that is very near to the beach. The Manly Guest House is focusing on quality, luxurious, as well as individualized accommodation in respect of travellers. It’s most significant groups of potential customers are those travellers who traditionally do the selection of the distinctive atmosphere of guest houses to the more conventional and sterile surroundings of hotels. To create a ‘home away from home’ will be ensuring a large number of customers who will be revisiting again (Kant, 2016). The main segment of customers for the Manly Guest House is leisure travellers trying to find an accommodation in Manly.
The guest house is planning to get registered at all the main destination-websites in Australia. The guest house is also undertaking the launch of a direct marketing campaign. Since, the guesthouse is located very near to the Manly Beach; the location plays a major role in the marketing strategy focused upon tourists who like to spend some leisurely time at the beach (Huang, 2017). The guest house is also directing their marketing efforts relating to conferencing as well as other events, at the locals in Manly.
The Manly Guest house in order to achieve success and become one of its kinds follows various marketing objectives. This includes:
Manly Guesthouse exactly knows the needs of the guest and thereby tries to cater to them. The guesthouse thus provides various facilities so that the guest gets the best value for their money.
Every business has some unique selling point considered as a desirable feature for making business. Similarly, the Manly Guest house uses its unique location as selling point to its guests
Advertising is important for every business in gaining visibility. The Manly Guest house also adopts this advertising technique through posting online reviews in its website, surveys, Google analytics and Twitter and Facebook insights.
Though increasing number of companies are relying on the Internet and e-mail facilities in driving business, this particular guest house is trying to adopt better means for increasing its profitability and thereby bringing in more business.
Promotions considered as stalwart of marketing programme as there is scope for ample creativity. During peak seasons, the guesthouse also does various promotions on its special offers.
The Manly Guesthouse believes in being consistent and efficient in its business that they believe will encourage return visit from guests. This also allows them to convey a message about the guesthouse to their friends and family.
Website considered the most efficient process for the promotion of offers via the website of Manly Guest House. This allows individual special offer to be clearly visible on the homepage of the guest house via a banner or visual advert, and with the help of a link in the major navigation that helps in bringing customers to the special offers page of the guest house (Standing, 2014).
The home page is one of the most important pages of a website as it is responsible for driving in maximum traffic who can finally be potential customers. Thus, the homepage of the Manly Guest House is clear and simple and conveys the visitors about what it does in a simple language (Ren, 2014).
The quality and quantity of the content is important for a website. Thus, Manly Guest house website not only maintains quality but also quantity. The content is crisp and to the point and is devoid of any punctuation, grammar and spelling mistakes (Cao, 2016). Descriptions are also to the point. The fresh touch in the content allows visitors in taking interest in going through the website.
The web architecture referred to as a two-tiered architecture dependent on the web browser and the web server (Hua, 2016). The web browser is responsible for displaying information content and the web server transfers information to the clients. In terms of web architecture, the website of Manly Guest House seems perfect.
Usability refers to how easily the website is usable. This depends on five criteria that include memorability, efficiency, errors, learn ability and satisfaction. On the other hand, accessibility refers to the facility in presenting information with sensory channels that not only include sight but also sound (Sigala, 2017). In this regard, the website of Manly Guest House is not only accessible but also usable.
Commercialization defined as the procedure in introducing a new thing into the market for the purpose of financial gain. The Manly Guest house has designed its website keeping in mind commercialization that would not only drive business but also increase its profitability.
The language of the website should be easily understandable by the visitors. This has to note because in certain cases the first impression is usually the last one. The language should be lucid and have less of creativity (Ren, 2014). Familiar words must be used so that people takes an interest in reading the website. Now in this context if the website language for the Manly guesthouse is considered then it is not only lucid but also written in manner that anyone can understand.
When designing a website the brand image of the company needs portrayal in a heartfelt and human manner (Gavalas, 2014). While accessing through Manly Guesthouse website one can see how the company has designed the website keeping the prime focus on the brand identity.
For a website to be persuasive there should be clarity so that the visitor can get an idea about what the site is dealing with even at a glance (Mohapatra, 2013). The use of superlatives should be less to the best extent possible and focus should be more specific. In this regard, if the website of the chosen guesthouse is considered then the website has maintained all the criteria required for persuading a visitor.
Website interactivity is essential factor in designing a website. Therefore, to make the website more interactive, the website should incorporate structure that ensures easy navigability. There should be use of varied colours that is to be hyperlinked with the page dedicated for subscription (Gavalas 2014). Moreover, in the era of Smartphone there should be required amount of optimization dome so that the website becomes accessible through the smart phone. There should also be a whole lot of content that should keep the visitors engaged. The website of Manly Guest house is quite interactive in this regard.
Social networking is a great way for showing the audience how invested one is in building one’s brand image and bringing in business (Ren 2014). Thus, by answering queries of customers or by sharing content that is innovative the company ensures that it mainly focuses on creation of a brand of their interest. Content marketing should never end with the publication of your content. In this regard, the Manly Guest House discussed in report tries to enhance its visibility through promotion in various social media platforms.
Mobile communication is a wireless communication where data and voice information transmitted, emitted and received by means of microwave. Some of the examples of the mobile communication include digital and cellular cordless telephones, pagers and satellite based communications. The website of the Manly Guest House provides a booking number to which the visitors can make a call for reservations.
Conclusion
To conclude, that Manly Guest house mainly concentrates upon the budget travellers who are searching for a clean, comfortable and relaxing place that is close to the beach. The Manly Guest House is giving high priority towards quality, luxurious, as well as individualized accommodation for the travellers. The guest house’s most significant groups of prospective customers are those travellers who in general, do the selection of the distinctive atmosphere of guest houses to the more conventional and sterile surroundings of hotels. The guest house is also considering the launch of a direct marketing campaign. As because, the guest house is located close to the Manly Beach, the location plays a key role in the marketing strategy that is concentrating upon tourists who are having the inclination to spend some leisurely time at the beach. Therefore, the marketing objectives of Manly Guesthouse well described in the report. In addition to this, one can also find the website evaluation methodology in the perspective of home page, quantity and quality of the website, web architecture, usability and accessibility, language, commercialization, persuasiveness, social networking and mobile communication. Therefore, when the website of the company analyzed in this perspective, there is perfect implementation of all the aspects. Thus, the chosen company with its marketing strategy and perfect website will be able to draw in more visitors thereby adding them to their guest list
Reference
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