Hilton Hotels Corporation is recognised as one of the leading global hospitality companies. Hilton Hotels Corporation is also renowned for providing guests and customers with the finest, most exclusive accommodation and service anywhere in the world and brings value for business or leisure. Hilton Hotels offer guests the widest possible variety of hotels, including city centre hotels, convention properties, all-suite hotels, extended stay, mid-priced focused service, destination resorts, vacation ownership and airport hotels.
Hilton Hotels Corporation offer products and services such as Hilton Weddings, Hilton Meetings, its very own caf�, Caff� Cino, Hilton Hen & Stag Weekends, Hilton Bars, Room Service, Hilton Breakfast, Hilton Executive Floor & Lounge for busy executives and finally, Hilton Connections, which offers high-speed Internet & Wi-Fi access as well as state-of-the-art technology in conference and business suites.
Hilton Hotels Corporation has many different brands that its runs under. These include Hilton Hotels, Conrad Hotels, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations Company, Homewood Suites by Hilton, The Waldorf-Astoria Collection, Hilton HHonors & LivingWell Health Clubs.
Hilton also works with other companies in order to provide the best service available. Their partners include BT Openzone, TeleAdapt and iBAHN Managed Conference Solution.
As of April 2007, Hilton has 2,645 hotels and 485,000 rooms, employing 101,000 people in more than 80 countries.
Hilton Hotels Corporation is owned under a public limited company (PLC). 5% of the company is owned by the Hilton Family.
Every business operates in one-way or another and is therefore classified as either b2c (business to consumer) or b2b (business to business).
B2c businesses sell directly to its consumers. Some of them are small and local and do not use the Web to attract or sell to customers. They tend to use traditional methods such as word of mouth, local newspaper adverts and even their shop window as a way of advertising themselves to the public. Examples of b2c businesses are supermarkets like Waitrose, clothes shops such as Hennes & Mauritz, hairdressers and newsagents. B2b businesses sell directly to other businesses. Most of them are very large and use the Web for selling and buying activities respectively. Examples of businesses that can be classified as b2b are mobile phone manufacturers such as Sony Ericsson, soft drink manufacturers such as Coca-Cola and footwear manufacturers such as Adidas. Read also are newspapers necessary nowadays
Businesses are also classified as either bricks-and-mortar or clicks-and-mortar. Bricks-and-mortar businesses have a traditional physical premises used for its operations and offers face-to-face service. They trade physically and also tend to not have an online presence for trading. This helps these kinds of businesses to save money for fixed costs such as rent and rates. However, they do have to account for depreciation on machinery and the building. Examples of these are businesses like local bakeries, launderettes, hairdressers etc.
In contrast, clicks-and-mortar businesses have an online presence for trading. They use the Web as a shop window to trade electronically, as consumers purchase their products directly over the Web. This benefits customers because they can browse for products and services from the comfort of their own home, in their own time. Their fixed costs are relatively low – simply because the place they choose to locate where they do not have high rent and rates. Examples of these are businesses like Currys, Littlewoods and travel agencies such as lastminute.com
Nowadays, most businesses combine both their ‘bricks’ and their ‘clicks’, so that customers can have the convenience of both options. An example of a business that combines both is Waterstone’s. You can buy book from the local high street store or you can order online at waterstones.com.
I would describe the Hilton Hotel as more of a bricks-and-mortar business because most people know about the buildings much more than their website that offers online booking. Their customers normally go to their hotels and enquire about and book a room rather than go online. However, being a clicks-and-mortar business would benefit Hilton greatly, as customers will be able to check offers on products and services available at any time, anywhere in the world.
The aims and objectives of Hilton Hotels Corporations are:
To be the first choice of the world’s travellers, building on the rich heritage and strength of our brands by:
Hilton Hotels aim to achieve their vision, as well as:
Hilton Hotel’s online presence supports them to achieve their aims and objectives in many ways. An online presence has the following attractions:
Global audience – Their website can help them to accommodate a large amount of customers in one time. The Hilton website can help to present and promote their products and services round the clock to people all over the world. By doing this, it will help them achieve the aim of consistently delighting their costumers.
24 -Hour Access – Hilton’s website is available at all times, which enables customers to view and shop for products at any time of the day, therefore, exposing itself to the whole world. Also, the costs of running online are minimal compared to the costs of maintaining it as premises. Running as a website also enables Hilton Hotel to operate costumer service 24 hours a day. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve the aim of consistently delighting their customers.
Educational – Hilton’s website offers information about their products and service as well as its history, corporate information, legal information, investor relations, annual reports and many more. This information can also be accessed at any time when needed, which benefits students with their studies because they do not need to contact Hilton’s Head Office to obtain any information needed. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve the aim of consistently delighting their customers.
Information – Hilton’s website provides information in detail about the current deals on offer as well as information on how to download an eBrochure of a hotel of choice, how to check an existing booking, how to gain membership etc. Showing information will help them display an image of themselves to people interested and assist people if things go wrong. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve the aim of continuously improving performance in their balanced scorecard. Read about personal selling
Recreational and commercial – Hilton use their website to advertise, promote and sell their special offers from around the world. They promote city breaks, beach breaks, skiing holidays and even last-minute deals that include luxury massages, fitness suites, spa and beauty centres. They also promote offers on trips to different cities such as Paris, Rome, Amsterdam as well as the continents of Asia, Australasia and Africa. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve their aims to deliver innovative products and services, increase shareholder value and consistently delight their customers.
Increased flexibility of location for both consumers and providers – Hilton’s online presence gives them & its consumers many benefits. The Hilton website’s benefits to its consumers are that they can look through the website from the comfort of their location, be it in their homes, at work or anywhere else convenient. Consumers can also browse for as much information or products and services needed before deciding on what to choose. Finally, the Hilton website benefits consumers because they do not need to be near a local Hilton hotel before they can get information.
Hilton’s online presence benefits them because the running costs of the website are minimal once it is set up. Also, Hilton’s online presence can lay out much more information about products and services on its website rather than its brochures. Finally, the Hilton’s online presence benefits them because they can access a wide market from a small location, therefore, selling more products and services. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve its aim of consistently delighting their customers and strengthening the loyalty of their constituents.
Follow up website visitors – Websites that are set up well will attract attention and allow follow-up communication from ‘cookies’. For most websites, it is essential to keep a record of browsers that have shown an interest in the goods and services offered. A cookie is a small file that a web server places on a computer so that it can see who has been browsing. This enables the web server to observe what browser the visitor is using, what pages they requested and how long the visitor browses for. Cookies also enable web servers to store this information through the Internet protocol (IP) address. With cookies, Hilton can follow up their visitors by sending them promotions and new offers through e-mail addresses of customers collected. By doing this, they will be able to communicate directly with them. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve its aims of delivering innovative products and services and strengthening the loyalty of their constituents.
Hilton use their website to promote its sales that they are having. They use the top of their screen to advertise their sales. Also, Hilton use large white font to highlight its link on sales in order to attract the customers’ attention. Hilton advertises its sales using bright colours. They use a bright colour like red right at the top of the page to attract the customer’s attention. By doing this, they are making customers aware of what they are trying to advertise to them. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve its aims to deliver innovative products and services and consistently delight their customers.
The layout of Hilton’s website is very simple. They use almost 3/4 of the page to display their sale and deals and the other 1/4 to book a hotel as well as other things such as eBrochures, planning events and destination guides, as seen above. The layout of the sales column attracts customers because it is one of the first things you see right at the top. By doing this, they are making the site easier to navigate and access properly, therefore, enabling customers to want to visit the site again. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve its aims of continuously improving performance in their balanced scorecard and consistently delighting their customers.
Hilton use pictures as another way of using its website to attract customers. They use pictures to give its customers an idea of what they will get if they purchase one of the deals on offer. They use distinctive pictures that include lighting to catch the customers’ eye. They also put the picture on a white background so that customers can see the picture clearly. By doing this, they are giving customers an insight into what they have on offer. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve its aims of continuously improving performance in their balanced scorecard and consistently delighting their customers.
Hilton use their website to display the different holiday themes that they have on offer. They set it out in a clear manner so that it can be accessed easily. They also use distinctive (blue) writing on a clear background (white) to attract the customer’s attention. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve its aim of consistently delighting their customers.
Hilton use pictures of famous sites on their website to show the different places their customers can visit during their stay at one of their hotels. Hilton decides to use monumental attractions such as the Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower in order to make potential customers interested in booking at their hotels. This would appeal to people such as tourists. They use bright pictures of these places on a clear background so that it can stand out as well as appeal to viewers. Also, they use a bigger and classier font to highlight its locations e.g. ‘Europe & Africa’. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve its aims of consistently delighting their customers and delivering innovative products and services.
They also use the words ‘Other Hotel Specials’, which informs customers that there are many special offers of every kind available at their hotels. Hilton use very large font to capture the viewers’ attention so that they can focus on the special offers available to them as well as look at all the options they may want to take up. By doing this, it will help Hilton to achieve its aims of consistently delighting their customers and delivering innovative products and services.
The Internet has had a major affect on people. It has kick-started a communications revolution, which has enabled businesses to become more efficient, find new opportunities and maintain close relations with customers and suppliers. This revolution has resulted in a massive impact on customers. Customers benefit from Hilton Hotel’s online presence, as they can purchase a room for the night using their website rather than purchasing the same service in person at a Hilton hotel in Central London. By ordering online, customers can be able to book a specific room of choice, therefore, saving time, without any complications as well as providing comfort.
Hilton Hotel’s website can affect customers in many ways. Hilton’s website can make a big impact on customer choice. The impact on customer choice is:
Increased variety of products and services – Customers that have access to the Internet have a wide range of products and services available to them from the comfort of their home. This speeds up the process of buying on-line; shopping on the Internet is very quick and easy process. Nowadays, you can buy a book from the comfort of your home with minimal effort. With Hilton’s website, you can book a room within minutes.
Constant global availability – with Hilton Hotel’s website, customers can tap into global availability of products and services. With this, Hilton’s customers can find particular hotels or hotel rooms that may not be available to them within their vicinity.
Increased range of suppliers – throughout the Internet, there are many e-tailers that sell the same product that customers are looking for, therefore, giving them variety. This is a good way of browsing for products online, as you may have an easier chance of locating it as well as comparing prices and styles. Browsing online gives more information such as other users opinions, different versions available, prices, methods of payment etc.
Hilton Hotel’s website could also affect customers, with its impact on product prices. On-line business gives people lower prices due to the minimal costs of dealing with suppliers, therefore, saving money. If Internet prices are compared with high street prices, we can see that on-line prices will appear cheaper. The impact on product prices is:
Reduced scope for brand loyalty – throughout the Internet, there are many businesses similar to Hilton Hotel that offer the same service or better, but at a lower price. This will cause the customer to go for the cheaper hotel, effectively making it harder for them to stay loyal to the Hilton brand, causing them to sample other hotels. This also causes Hilton Hotels to lose out to its competitors as well as lose money.
Opportunities for lower prices due to lower costs – the Internet enables costs to be kept minimal due to the fact that, for example, items are quite small and light with low postage costs, saving money in the process. With Hilton Hotel’s website, the services are standardised, therefore, keeping the costs to book a room low.
Creating an online presence – the website is for The Cherry Blossom, the Bed & Breakfast hotel located on the High Street of Croydon. It has been created so that the B&B hotel can use its online presence to advertise itself through the Internet as well as attract more customers, using its online booking system.
For my homepage of Cherry Blossom B&B, I have inserted three illustrations that show customers what the bed and breakfast hotel looks like. I have put two on the middle of the page and an animated one in the top left corner. I intend to use three illustrations in all but two of my pages. The title of the page says ‘Home’, at the top in big, bold writing. Underneath the animated picture, I have written the links needed with small font. Also, on the right hand size, I have inserted a column promoting the business’ products and services, once again using small font. I intend to insert a column on the right hand size of every page so I can display my information.
For the background of all of my pages, I decided to use cherry red. I simply picked that colour because of the name of the bed & breakfast hotel. For the writing on all my pages, I have decided to use fuchsia pink. This will enable my writing to be distinctive against a dark colour like cherry red.
For my next page of Cherry Blossom B&B, I have once again inserted two illustrations that show customers what the bed and breakfast hotel looks like. I have put two on the middle of the page and an animated one in the top left corner. The title of the page says ‘About Us’, at the top in big, bold writing. Underneath the animated picture, I have once again written the links needed with small font. Also, on the right hand size, I have inserted a column talking about the business’ history and services that we provide, once again using small font.
For my next page of Cherry Blossom B&B, I have once again inserted two illustrations that show customers what the bed and breakfast hotel looks like. I have put two on the middle of the page and an animated one in the top left corner. The title of the page says ‘Bedrooms’, at the top in big, bold writing. Underneath the animated picture, I have once again written the links needed with small font. Also, on the right hand size, I have inserted a column stating the prices of the bedrooms we have, once again using small font.
For my next page of Cherry Blossom B&B, I have once again inserted two illustrations that show customers what the bed and breakfast hotel looks like. I have put two on the middle of the page and an animated one in the top left corner. The title of the page says ‘Bookings’, at the top in big, bold writing. Underneath the animated picture, I have once again written the links needed with small font. Also, on the right hand size, I have inserted a column stating the type of booking service they operate and how to book, once again using small font.
For my next page of Cherry Blossom B&B, I have inserted six illustrations show customers what some of the rooms on offer in the bed and breakfast hotel looks like. I have put six on the middle of the page in a row at the bottom of the page that show the rooms on offer and an animated one in the top left corner. I have also put a ‘On Offer’ sign above the pictures, indicating the rooms available that are top quality for a low price. The title of the page says ‘Special Offers’, at the top in big, bold writing. Underneath the animated picture, I have once again written the links needed with small font. Also, on the right hand size, I have inserted a column describing the offers available and how long they last for, once again using small font.
For my last page of Cherry Blossom B&B, I have inserted two illustrations that show customers what the bed and breakfast hotel looks like. I have put two on the middle of the page and an animated one in the top left corner. The title of the page says ‘Contact Us, at the top in big, bold writing. Underneath the animated picture, I have once again written the links needed with small font. Also, on the right hand size, I have inserted a column telling potential customers how to locate Cherry Blossom, as well as the details to phone, fax and email, once again using small font.
In order to create the design of this website, the web authoring tool I decided to use was Microsoft PowerPoint. Microsoft PowerPoint is widely used by business people, educators, students and trainers, usually for presentations and slide shows. However, I decided to use this program for my website because I can modify shapes, text and graphics with new tools and effects that grab attention.
When designing websites, it is important to use cascading styles sheets. Cascading style sheets are commonly used with website and webpage designers, as they are a quick, easy and effective tool for when designing Internet pages. It is a programming language used to control the design of webpage or a whole website. Using cascading style sheets on the website is important because it tells a web browser how to present a document properly. The use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) will also allow browsers to read and load your webpage very rapidly. Also, using Cascading Style Sheets can be a huge time saver. Once you create the design rules, you never have to do it again, therefore, presenting a consistent image while spending less time on it. Cascading style sheets will help your website be more efficient and rank better with search engines. It is much easier to maintain the appearance of a Web site. If you use a single CSS file, updating this file allows the Web site look-and-feel to be altered easily. Use of CSS provides much greater accessibility, allowing users with special needs to alter the appearance of a Web page to suit their requirements. CSS also allows Web pages to be more easily rendered by special devices, such as speaking browsers, screen readers, Braille programs PDAs etc.
The domain name that will be used for The Cherry Blossom B&B will be www.cherry-blossom.co.uk . The reason for this is because the business is based in the United Kingdom and is one of the most used domains.
It is important to have the right Internet service provider for a website. Having to retrieve your e-mail but you cannot due to the line of your provider being busy is a problem. Then when you do get on, downloading your mail and sending out replies may take a long time. Another scenario is when you or anyone else tries to access your web site; an error message appears stating the site not available. These problems mentioned happen to businesses each day because of limitations experienced by ISPs. Slow lines and connections can slow down service. At the same time, a big increase in subscribers can also clog up ISP equipment. A large increase in customers can make the new system even slower than the old one had been.
Suitability for use – when creating a website, it is important to consider aspects of its suitability for use. The factors to consider when creating a website are:
Cross-platform compatibility – Having cross-platform compatibility on a website is imperative if you want to develop a truly effective web site that is both user-friendly and search engine friendly. The pages that you make for you website by using one computer will look good on that computer, but not others, for example, Microsoft may create a page but it may not work on an Apple Mac. It is not pleasant on a business if someone tries to get to your web site and the images or navigation are not working properly. With such a wide range of browsers available, you can be certain that not everyone, although a strong majority, will be using Internet Explorer. By making sure your web site works across multiple browsers/platforms, you are also ensuring that search engines will have minimal issues when navigating for your website. People want their website to be available to as many people as possible. Ensuring that your web site works across multiple platforms, web browsers and devices will ensure that your web site is accessible to as wide a range of people as possible.
Text-only browsers – you need to be aware of the things that you put into your website, as some browsers may not be able to see the pictures and videos. Therefore, your potential audience needs to be taken into consideration as well as thinking of what your web pages may look like if viewers cannot see you illustrations.
Dial-up speeds – having adequate dial up speeds for both the provider of the website and its customers is essential. Having Broadband these days is a must, as it is almost 30 times faster than dial-up connections. A few years ago, we accessed the Internet using a modem, but after the invention of high-speed Internet, we now notice how slow a 56kbps dial up Internet can be. Today a speed of 256kbps and higher is considered a high-speed Internet. In the time of the 56kbps Internet, downloading a simple mp3 file could take a long time.
Today, the 256kbps high-speed Internet gives you the ability to download full-length movies. There are so many advantages with high-speed Internet. One would be online gaming. It is now possible for people with high-speed Internet to play with others from every part of the world with high-speed Internet connection. Another great feature is that you can update Windows protection software half the time a dial up Internet can. Since many viruses are circulating the Internet, your computer should have updated anti-virus software. The dial up Internet is much more prone to viruses because of slow updates. High-speed Internet changed the way we communicate. With this technology, it is now possible for us to communicate not just by plain text but also through video and voice. The cost of putting up this technology in our home is very affordable. Almost everyone can afford it. Due to the growing demand, many companies opened as providers of high-speed Internet and created competition. This increase in competition enabled people to afford high-speed Internet. The competition between providers did not only result into more affordably priced high-speed Internet connection but it also caused a wide variety of products for high-speed Internet connection. Some companies offer different high-speed Internet packages that you can choose from to suit your needs.
Legal constraints – when setting up a website, it is extremely important that legal requirements are complied with. The following Acts that my website must comply with are:
The Data Protection Act 1998 – this Act states that the website provider must protect individuals’ personal data as well as their personal facts. This applies to data stored on computer systems as well as written records. Users of personal data have to register with the Data Protection Agency. Anyone that processes personal data have make sure that the data is:
People are allowed to access their own information and correct or delete it, if appropriate. They can also request for a copy of their personal data to be given to them. There could also be a charge of �10 for this service. People can also complain to the Data Protection Registrar if they feel that information about them has been leaked or used in a way that could affect them. They can also take the matter to court if needed. Cherry Blossom B&B will comply with this Act by keeping customers’ personal data, such as credit card details and addresses, safe and secure and only keep details that are relevant to the B&B.
Trades Description Act 1968 – this Act is also relevant to websites making offers to sell through it. Under the Act, the description given of the goods forms part of the contract between the buyer and seller and it is a criminal offence to describe goods falsely, inclusive of websites.
The two main offences covered by the Act are:
Cherry Blossom B&B will endeavour to comply with this Act by ensuring that we are describing its product and services distinctly and to the best of its knowledge.
Sales of Goods Act 1979 – this Act states that any goods that are purchased on the Internet should be as described, of good quality and fit for the purpose needed. Also, services that are purchased over the Internet should be carried out using reasonable care and skills, within a specific timeframe at a reasonable price. Cherry Blossom B&B will try to comply with this Act by not taking too much time when processing bookings, especially since they pay a lot for their rooms.
Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 – this Act relates to the supply of goods and services altogether. It states that sellers must provide a right to have goods repaired, replaced or reduced at price within a certain period if the goods do not conform to the contract of sale. Cherry Blossom B&B will do its utmost to comply to this Act by reducing the cost of their stay in the event of them being unhappy with goods or services provided to them.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 – this Act gives authors the right to not allow their work to be copied or sold without them agreeing to it. It can apply to almost anything, such as computer software. This Act makes it illegal to copy software or sell copies of manuals that come with the software unless you have the permission of the copyright holder. It is also illegal to run software on more than one computer at the same tome unless you possess a multiple licence. It is also illegal to send software through a telecommunications line in order to make a copy. The Act also states that to patent something, you must pay annual renewal fees after four years. Lastly, the Act states if you want to register a design and have rights against it, they can make sure that the product or service is only sold under that design. They last for 10 years at first, but can be renewed. Cherry Blossom B&B will endeavour to comply with this Act by not trying to copy anybody in any shape or form and bring forward original logos and ideas to use. We will also try to comply with this Act by using legitimate computer software to design our website.
The advent of the computer and in particular the Internet has bought a range of opportunities now available to businesses. The Internet is used as an intricate part of business, which is often described as necessary in many ways. Having an on-line presence gives tremendous opportunities to a wide variety to become more dynamic in the modern marketplace, no matter how competitive it may be. The key business opportunities that will arise from the Hilton Hotel Corporation having an on-line presence are:
Opportunities for greater processing efficiency – this key business opportunity helps Hilton Hotels to be more efficient, in the sense that processing paperwork and details are much quicker, simply because of its on-line presence. Opportunities are created to keep a track of customer’s orders by checking through the system where their order has got to and when it is expected to arrive. This key business opportunity also helps Hilton to reduce costs, as there are little or no costs in sending an email containing documents. This saves Hilton filing and handling paperwork manually as well as collating it. Customer requests are also dealt with quicker. Hilton want to sell as many rooms as possible and use online payment systems to collect safe and secure money more quickly, reducing bad debts in the process. Also, by trading online, Hilton are free to locate to an area with low costs, either to save money or to avoid paying high taxes.
Opportunities for enhanced competitiveness – this key business opportunity helps Hilton Hotels to be competitive with other similar businesses, in the sense that it offers lower prices on services as well as better quality being offered. This gives Hilton an advantage over competitors close by. Cutting costs in the supply chain as well as having an attractive website will make customers favour Hilton over all other hotels around. This key business opportunity also enables Hilton to track the progress of their competitors through looking at other websites. This will help them to see what they are doing right and what they can do to improve. By doing this, they will be able to know about things going on with their competitors, whether it be local, national or global. Minimal barriers to entering other markets are an advantage to Hilton, as they can now operate on a global level, rather than a national or even local level. This is provided that shipping costs are only a fraction of the overall price.
An online presence for Hilton enables them to monitor the capacity of increased awareness of a product or service and how they react to changing customer preferences. This will help Hilton to know the location of the website visitor and how much interest they have in a particular page or subject, thus, allowing them to make decisions on future offers to promote in order to attract customers. Hilton can also ask customers to partake in online surveys, as this can be useful information for marketing. Another opportunity provided is that Hilton can promote their logo and branding online. As Hilton is a well-established business, they can build awareness over a much wider area. Another opportunity would be establishing links with other websites, portals and ISPs. By doing this, Hilton will be attracting millions of hits (site visits), therefore, gaining an advantage of competitors with fewer hits.
Opportunities for service support – this key business opportunity provides service support to Hilton Hotels, in the sense that they can access information without necessarily being at one of the hotels. This could be through e-mail, which gives a direct link with employees and other people at work. Also, service support helps Hilton to keep large quantities of information on databases and make it available to its employees wherever they are. This opportunity is a major plus because people can access the data needed anywhere without being at a particular location and employees will not have to carry around large quantities of paper records, as unlimited records takes up a small amount on a database. Another opportunity for Hilton to provide service support in the case of answering questions repeatedly asked of them. They can do this by responding to questions asked through the Internet rather than giving them a phone call or writing them a letter. By doing this, they are saving time and money. Another opportunity is providing online customer feedback to Hilton’s customers. By doing this, customers can get their view across and helps them to form an important part of market research.
Hilton’s online presence gives them greater freedom of business operations in many ways. This is because they have flexibility in operating online. In operating online, it can deal with a lot of customers. For example, the booking systems are far quicker than before, as minimal research into rooms and dates available is carried out, therefore, having everything done at the click of a button. By having done everything online, it will allow Hilton to multi-task and do other things besides focus on bookings.
Another way that gives Hilton greater freedom of business operations online is their payment facilities. Before they had an online presence, Hilton’s customers would have to go to the actual hotel, book and pay there. Now, Hilton Hotels are able to use the Internet to receive money payments electronically, therefore, receiving payment more quickly and securely. This also reduces bad debt because customers are expected to pay instantly by credit card or another means of electronic payment.
Another way that gives Hilton greater freedom of business operations online is their handling of special requests. When Hilton did not operate online, they had to take customers’ requests, such as an extra mini bar, any specific food etc., write them down on paper documents and file them away. Now, Hilton Hotels are able to process this information from customers electronically and have them available when needed, without the hassle of having to contact them to clarify requests made. This helps Hilton Hotels to provide greater freedom of business operations online, as they can deal with a number of requests at once.
Another way that gives Hilton greater freedom of business operations online is their hotel transfer. Customers that wanted to transfer to a different hotel would have to probably phone up and cancel their booking and then book at the hotel desired. Now, Hilton is able to use their online operations to switch customers to the hotel that they prefer, provided there are rooms there.
I created a website for the Cherry Blossom B&B and I do believe that the website will attract customers. The reasons why I think this is because I have designed my website in a very colourful and distinctive manner, as well as structured and easy to navigate by any customer that views the web site. For the website, I used a red background, as it is attractive. I also used fuchsia pink for the text, in bold print at the top and small print throughout. I also used distinctive illustrations so that my customers will see what the B&B have to offer. This is what I believe will make customers be more attracted to my business website. Also, the online booking system that will allow potential customers to place an order will definitely attract people to the website.
Even though I believe that my website will attract customers, I also believe that there are elements of it that could put customers off. First of all, the colour of the writing does not suit the background, therefore, making it difficult for some people to read. As a result of this, a potential customer could decide to navigate away from the website, losing website visits and business in the process. To improve this, I could change the colour of the writing to a colour that can be seen clearly on the red background that I adopted for my pages. This would enable the website visitors to see things properly and feel at ease without having struggle to read.
I believe that the website allows the B&B to have greater freedom over its operation. I say this because it allows me to keep a track of customer’s enquiries as well as allow potential customers to book whenever they like. This makes my B&B to be more efficient, as customer requests are dealt with much quicker through feedback stemming from their enquiries. The website allows the B&B to have greater freedom over its operation because it advertises their special offers clearly on one of the main screens, therefore, displaying lower prices on services as well as displaying the quality rooms available. This makes my B&B to be more competitive, as it can gain advantages over its competitors in terms of site visits and so on. The website allows the B&B to have greater freedom over its operation because it stores a large amount of bookings on its database, thus, enabling us to avoid saving bookings on paper. This makes my B&B to have more service support.
The website I created is for the B&B owner, Auntie Lilly, to achieve her objective of increasing reservations by 25%. This is similar to competitiveness because if the online website is attractive, it will help attract more customers to the business, therefore, increasing sales. This is because customers will always want to book a room whenever they visit the site rather than go to the place itself, as it could inconvenience them. The more customers that book online, the higher the sales increase will be. Therefore, she can attain her objective of increasing sales through the website created.
Another one of her objectives is to increase profits by 10%. This is also similar to competitiveness, in the sense that once customers are attracted to the B&B more than any other around, they will up the prices. I believe that by adding an online payment system to the website will enable enough growth for the increase of profits for the year. Therefore, generating more money for the B&B using the website will also allow her to consider increasing the room rates slightly.
Businesses that operate online have minimal costs, as there is little money spent in setting up a website. This also helps to generate income as well as popularity, provided the website is attractive. As long as an online business has those elements, the website will help them achieve their aims and objectives.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download