MHT3214 Marketing

It is therefore somewhat surprising that the accommodation and restaurant scene does not reflect the fact that Mount Kinabalu is a World Heritage site. The accommodation can mainly be found in and around Kundasang which lies 8 kilometres from the main entrance to the National Park. The only other significant development in the area is Ranau which is a further 16 kilometres away from Kundasang. The accommodation in and around Mount Kinabalu consists mainly of guesthouses, small resorts, lodges and retreats. The only “official” hotel is the Perkasa Hotel Mt Kinabalu (which is an old 3-star and rather tired-looking hotel with very low review scores). As for the restaurants, the situation is even more desperate. There are no significant restaurants in Kundasang and even the above mentioned hotel and resort does not boast a restaurant to speak of. The situation is probably best summed up by the fact that the culinary highlight in the district is the KFC in Ranau!
Page 15 of 16The main reason given for the lack of accommodation is that the average stay is only two days. Others argue however that the reason that tourists do not stay longer is the lack of more high-end accommodation and restaurants. Tourism in the area is reasonably well developed and would definitely be able to sustain longer visits to the area in terms of activities and events. As it is at the moment, most visitors come on a (long) daytrip from Kota Kinabalu where there are numerous hotels in all categories (including international chain hotels such as Hilton, Hyatt, Le Meredien and Shangri-La).The Sabah State Government has recognised the need for further development in the area. As part of the SDC (Sabah Development Corridor) they have made a large piece of land available for the development of a high-end hotel (4-star or 5-star) in the area. Your company, HDC (Hotel Development Company) has been asked to put in a bid to build and manage the property. HDC is an established hotel operator with 38 hotels in South East Asia, including a number of Mercure, Novotel, Best Western, Doubletree and Hilton hotels. The piece of land available is situated on the main road through the area and has great views of Mount Kinabalu on one side and the valley below on the other side.As the strategic advisor you have been asked to come up with a recommendation whether to develop a 4-star or 5-star property. Due to the fact that the area is near a World Heritage site and due to building height restrictions the total number of rooms for a 4-star hotel would be 300 rooms, whilst for a 5-star property the number of rooms would be 190.You are required to do the following:1.Identify at least THREE (3) strengths and weaknesses and at least TWO (2) opportunities and threats each for the proposed hotel/resort(Not for Mount Kinabalu as a tourist attraction!)2.Choose either the 4-star option or the 5-star option and evaluateyour choice of option based on a strategic management view. Give at least FOUR (4) reasons for your choice3.Choose a minimum of FOUR (4) facilities you would include in hotel facilities (based on either the 4-star concept or 5-star concept chosen in question 2.) in line with current trends in the hospitality industry and why you would choose those facilities. 4.Identify the competitive advantage of the hotel (for your option) would be and whether it would be sustainable or not.5.Based on the competitive advantage identified in question 4, formulate a Mission Statementfor the hotel (based on either the 4-star concept or 5-star concept chosen in question 2.). The Mission Statement should not be longer than one sentence. Explain whyyou have formulated the Mission Statement in this way