Answer
Introduction
The service and hospitality industry is one of the largest industries in Australia, and the economy is significantly dependent on this industry. One of the leaders of the hospitality industry, Hotel Marriot Australia has been chosen for this project proposal. Hotel Marriot Australia has been dominating the hospitality industry for ages and offers a wide range of lodging options to its customers (Han and Yoon 2015.). It offers a wide range of luxurious stay along with world class amenities.
Background of the research
With the growth of the hospitality industry, the number of customers has been increasing in Hotel Marriot Australia. However, in the recent past, a sharp decrease in the customer retention has been noticed (Rahimi and Kozak 2017). This research would focus on the improvement of the customer retention policies that are to be implemented by the hotel, in order to attract as well as retain customers.
Research aim
The research aims to identify the crucial factors that needed to be implemented for customer retention and customer loyalty.
Research objectives
- To identify the causes of customer deflection
- To analyse the necessary factors needed for customer retention
- To recommend strategies for achieving customer loyalty
Research questions
- What are the causes of customer deflection?
- How can customer retention be done?
- How can customer loyalty be achieved?
Research methodology
In order to conduct the research successfully, the appropriate research design, research approach as well as data collection method has to be chosen. In this research, the deductive approach and descriptive design would be chosen (Pearl 2014).
Data collection method
In this research, both primary and secondary data has been collected. In order to collect primary data, customers are directly surveyed. Online questionnaires have been circulated among some of the friendly customers willing to participate. The questionnaire contained closed ended multiple choice questions. Few of the managers of the hotel have been interviewed with open ended questions. The primary data collected from the surveyed customers and interviewed managers makes the research reliable and authentic.
For collection of secondary data, the hotel’s newsletters, financial reports, press release as well as reviews in social media has been used.
Ethical considerations
While the research has been conducted, the ethical considerations have been strictly abided by. None of the participants were forced to participate (Tripathi 2014). Moreover, written consents were collected from each of the participants. The data collected would be confidential and used for the research purpose only. The identity of the participants would not be revealed.
Conclusion
It has been observed that with the rise of other contemporary hotels, many customers have been deflected towards the newly established hotels, thus resulting in fall of customer loyalty of hotel Marriott Australia.
Recommendation
Attractive discounts to the loyal customers might result in customer retention and winning back the lost customers. Moreover, innovative ways of customer entertainment and leisure in the hotel that has not been introduced among the competitors could also act as a competitive edge for the hotel.
References
Han, H. and Yoon, H., 2015. Customer retention in the eco-friendly hotel sector: examining the diverse processes of post-purchase decision-making. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(7), pp.1095-1113.
Pearl, J., 2014. The deductive approach to causal inference. Journal of Causal Inference, 2(2), pp.115-129.
Rahimi, R. and Kozak, M., 2017. Impact of Customer Relationship Management on Customer Satisfaction: The Case of a Budget Hotel Chain. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 34(1), pp.40-51.
Tripathi, M.N., 2014. Customer Satisfaction and Engagement-Customer Retention strategies for brand manager. Vilakshan: The XIMB Journal of Management, 11(1).
