Bern Hotels and Resorts Panama

Strategic planning for the leading hotel and resort group in Panama had always been
important but twelve new hotels were scheduled to enter their market adding 4,304 additional
rooms by 2017. The two new upcoming Westin projects belonged to Bern Hotels and Resorts
but the remainder were direct competitors (see Table 1).
Many first-time visitors to Panama are surprised and impressed to witness skyscrapers,
multi-lane highways, a modern airport and condos, apartments and homes equal to those in
the United States and Europe. Economic growth of the country during the late 1990s had been
upwards to 10 percent and this had fueled the boom in hotel development. The short to
medium term concern was that hotel supply was quickly going to outpace demand unless the
country was able to promote and attract more visitors; a job for both the public and private
sectors.
Mr. Glen Champion, vice president of Bern Hotels and Resorts (BHR), had responsibility
for strategic planning and direction to insure that their current operating group of hotels would
continue to be strong in an increasingly competitive environment. This group included two
Intercontinental Hotels, one Holiday Inn and one Crowne Plaza, owned and operated under
franchise agreements with IHG hotels as well as the Le Meridian Panama hotel under a
franchise with Starwood hotels. The group also had the Gamboa Rainforest Resort in the
jungle alongside the Panama Canal as well as a number of other tourism related service
businesses that were directly or indirectly affected by the hotel business. Further, franchise
agreements had been signed with Starwood to open two Westin hotels, The Westin Playa
Bonita resort in 2011 and The Westin Panama City, Panama in 2012.
Glen said that enhanced marketing/sales strategies and tactics might be needed but that

they would need to support rather than replace the companys basic goals, which had proven
to be the mission for the companys success. These were:

To provide excellent service to guests.

To provide continuous training and motivation to all employees, including empowerment

whenever possible.

To control expenses and permit continuous improvement through solid financial returns.

TABLE 1
Hotel Additions Proposed For Panama
NAME OF

RO

HOTEL PROJECT
Under Construction
Hilton Panama
DoubleTree by

LOCATION
Balboa
Via Espana

Hilton
Panamera, a

Calle 47

OMS

011

012

013

014

015

016

017

156

353
78

351
156

351
156

351
156

351
156

351
156

351
156

130

130

130

130

130

130

130

185
102

369
611
34

369
611
198
84
62
150

369
611
198
167
62
312
300
300

369
611
198
167
62
312
300
300

369
611
198
167
62
312
300
300

Waldorf Astoria
Hotel
Trump Ocean Club
Westin Plaza Bonita
Westin
Hyatt Place
Bristol addition
Aloft by Starwood
Renaissance
Megapolis
Decameron Ritz
Carlton

MediumHigh

Punta Pacifica
Playa Bonita
Costa del Este
Fin. District
Fin. District
Convention Ctr
Fin. District
Balboa

369
611
198
167
62
312
300

Subtotal

3,176

Annual Additions

300

150

300

369
611
198
167
62
234
300
300

364

1863

2,411

2,878

3,176

3,176

3,176

364

1,498

548

467

298

62

Probability (>50%)
Hilton Garden Inn

Behind the

176

Planet Hollywood
Crowne Plaza

El Panama
Fin. District
Tocumen

309
176

Costa del Este

Calle 50

167
300

Subtotal
Annual Additions

1,128

176

176

176

176

176

176

155
176

309
176

309
176

309
176

84
300

167
300

167
300

167
300

891
539
2,878

1,128
238
3,176

1,128
0
3,176

1,128
0
3,176

891

1,12

1,12

1,128

CBT Tocumen
Airport
Hyatt Place
Embassy Suites by
Hilton
0

Total Additional

364

1,863

352
352
2,411

RoomsUC
Total Additional

352

Rooms w/50%
Probability
Grand Total
1,86

2,76

3,76

4,30

4,30

4,30

364

364

1,498

900

1,006

536

Additional Rooms
UC and Probable
Annual Additions

Key to supporting as well as building upon the mission that these three goals
represented for the company were strategic marketing actions and efforts. A long-term
strategy began with the conceptualization of products and services offered. The sales and
marketing efforts which followed up with proper systems and analysis since ongoing
adjustments were crucial to the success of a multiunit growth company such as BHR. An
overview of this follows:
Strategic PlanReinforcing the Marketing Efforts
1. Protect the Product and Serviceby offering and delivering consistently highquality operations in all the businesses, performing renovations on some of the older
properties and refreshing spaces in others. Renew service training in all properties
with stronger BHR backbone, ongoing training, and staff certification using The
Panama International Hotel School as a driving platform.
2. Marketing the Brandsand capitalizing on brand distinct initiatives to differentiate
properties. Maximize the resources of the brand affiliations with the international
chains as much as possible and promote our own internal initiatives consistently, that
is, Corporate Marketing Plan, loyalty programs, online Web-based marketing,
industry alliances, social media, public relations initiatives, print, television, and other
media.
3. Revenue Management Effectively Performedworking in tune with reservations
call centers, sales teams, and hotel front office teams to maximize the yield on the
ever-changing demand in the market. Continuously analyze channels regarding
sources of business per region. Insure that our products and services are found on the
different reservation systems with accurate information and are easy to purchase.

Insure that market analysis information is provided to the sales force to make its
efforts more effective and focused.
4. Sales and Prospecting Through Coordinated National and International Sales
Teams.Insure proper market segmentation follow-up using all internal and external
teams and resources to cover all potential areas such as regular trade fair ad exhibition
participation to drive sales and improve exposure. Individual properties site
inspection and in-house prospecting. Emphasize individual brand and BHR loyalty
programs for demand generation. Insure proper systems control and prospecting for
repeat or similar demand generation. Utilize third-party database communication of
promotions and targeted mailings.
5. Vertical Integration.A unique business model had been adopted by the Bern
Group based on vertical integration and the development of corporate-owned and
operated supporting companies such as Sensory Spas by Clarins, a deluxe spa
service, retail stores within the hotels, The Panama International Hotel School, GT
incentives aimed at corporate incentive group travel, Ocean Business Center, a
turnkey short-term office solution and Gamboa Tours, originally designed to offer
jungle tours but now offering many tour packages. The company had grown and
developed many synergies for handling back of the house operational tasks that were
supported by a lean corporate structure of human development, financial control,
systems, and sales and marketing.
The Panama International Hotel School, a division of Bern Hotels and Resorts, was
open to multinational qualified students who were free to seek employment wherever
they wished following graduation. However, Glen said he hoped to hire as many as

possible for employment in the Bern group. This organizational structure of Bern was not
present in other hotels within Berns competitive set. This competitive set agreed to share
some data on a daily basis, including:

Occupancyprevious night

Average daily rateADR

6. Medical Tourism Market Segment.The Bern management feared that the first
response by the Panama hotel community to added competition would be to cut rates.
To reduce this risk to Bern properties, Glen and the marketing staff had been working
on new strategies such as the development of different segments such as the
Caribbean medical market. The Caribbean represented a market of 5 million people
with few local secondary care opportunities. This market was accustomed to travel
elsewhere for medical treatment such as hip replacement, serious cardiovascular
problems, dermatology, and other needs. Glen had been working with a team of
Panama medical doctors to evaluate this as a new or expanded market.
It was well known that the Venezuelan market liked to visit Panama and many had
purchased property there. However, under the existing administration, it was difficult to
transmit funds from Venezuela.
7. Sales Force Structure.The structure of the sales force had been changed to make it
more efficient and to better combat the new competition. Previously, the sales force
had been divided into national and international. Each salesperson had been expected
to call on accounts and then perform all the paperwork and follow-up associated with
each account.
The new organization was divided into Outside-Pro Active salespeople and

Inside-Reactive sales support staff. The later were expected to relieve the Pro Active
sales force of most or all of the required paperwork thus leaving them with more time
to make additional sales calls and to perform essential public relations activities
associated with their positions.
8. Sales Force Career Portfolios.All Bern employees and especially those in the
sales force were required to develop and maintain an actual career portfolio. Members
of the sales force were encouraged to keep learning new sales skills and to apply them
in the field. Evidence of attendance at sales training sessions and other self-help
programs were placed in their BHR career portfolios and were examined during
performance review.
9. Cross-Selling.Glen felt that improved cross-selling opportunities surely existed
between the hotels and the various enterprises owned and operated by Bern such as
Royal Card, Panama Rental Solutions, and Gamboa Tours.
As Glen reviewed the companys policies and strategies, he believed that Bern Hotels
and Resorts was well positioned in the Panama market to meet the threat of increased
competition, yet he was well aware of the importance to remain open to new ideas. For
this reason Glen made it a point to attend several seminars and conferences in the United
States and Europe which were sponsored by major universities and professional
associations. These were not restricted to the hospitality and tourism industries as Glen
felt that many ideas and concepts developed for other industries had relevance for the
many properties under his direct leadership.
Note: Mr Glen Champion has indicated that he would welcome suggestions and new
ideas from readers of this book. He may be reached at gchampion@-

bernhotelspanama.com