Você está na página 1de 6

Contents

Topic Page

Executive summary

Introduction

Decision making process

Things a customer would determine

Factors that influence decision making

Conclusion

References
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This assignment focus on the decision making process of the customer for budget hotel,
what things a customer would consider while making such decisions, what things can
influence the decision of the customer, how can we use other factors in order to lure more
customers to our hotel.

By the name itself we can easily understand that budget hotels have to do something with
price. They offer minimum services at minimum prices for customers who usually tend to
stay for short time periods. Budget hotels are usually a cheap alternative for people with
low social status who just need bed and breakfast while they are on a trip. The frequent
users for budget hotels are usually tourists or business users.

As per our research, 3 things are essential for budget hotel customer, they are price,
facilities, location and services. In conclusion, the major factor that affects the decision
making of a customer looking for a budget hotel is ‘price’, but there are other things as
well to consider. Recently, all types of hotels have started to reduce their prices in terms
of discounts, offers or packages so a marketer should also focus on other aspects that
would satisfy the customer.

INTRODUCTION

By the name itself we can easily understand that budget hotels have to do something with
price. They offer minimum services at minimum prices for customers who usually tend to
stay for short time periods. Budget hotels are usually a cheap alternative for people with
low social status who just need bed and breakfast while they are on a trip. The frequent
users for budget hotels are usually tourists or business users.

DECISION MAKING PROCESS

Decision making process involved in hotel room booking is not a process in which one
would be involved in his/her daily life but it doesn’t mean it is not something important.
Facilities, quality and pricing are some of the very important attributes available as
alternatives which might influence a costumer’s decision in choosing a hotel room with
attainable facilities and then getting a good night sleep. The two types of users for a 3-
Star budget hotel would tourists or business users. A decision making model is made up
of 5 stages and we will be considering each and every stage in such a situation. The
stages are as follows:

1. Problem recognition.
2. Search for information.
3. Evaluation of alternatives.
4. Purchase choice.
5. Evaluation of outcome.
Problem recognition:

Usually in this stage two types of situations are involved; such as:

1. Costumers with an unplanned trip which calls for a need of an accommodation


immediately. It leaves the costumer with less time to make the decision.
2. Costumers with a properly planned trip, who can decide their accommodation
prior to the trip and have more time to evaluate their alternatives.

Search for information:

Information has two types of sources; internal and external.

• Internal sources for budget hotels include;

o Past experiences with hotels


o Life style
o Status
o Age
o Economical situation
o Family lifecycle

• On the other hand, external sources may include;

o Information gained by the costumer from the marketing media


(advertising in newspapers, internet, television, etc.) regarding the hotel
industry. This includes information collected throughout the customer’s
life which somehow affects the costumer’s decision making.
o Information gained from the people around them (such as colleagues, sales
agents, family, friends, etc.). Costumers with an immediate need might
look for an accommodation after arriving at the destination by asking
travels agent, strangers or looking in to newspapers or internet.

Evaluation of alternatives

This is one of the most important part of the whole decision making process which
marketers can use to bring in more costumers. Marketers should understand the attributes
(such as price, hygiene, location, facilities, etc.) that a costumer considers in order to
evaluate his alternatives although, every costumer might have a different set of attributes
he looks in to. As we are talking about budget hotels, the most important attribute is
supposed to be the price.
The purchase choice

The most important thing that influences a customer’s decision is the “word of mouth”.
People with past experiences related to budget hotels or a specific hotel are the most
opinion leaders. One thing is simple, that costumers looking for budget hotels are price
sensitive and would prefer low price instead of high quality and facilities. People who go
for budget hotels are in a way avoiding any sort of risks. What this means is that when
they are paying low price to fulfill a need they wouldn’t be accepting good quality,
therefore they have nothing to lose if they are getting a bed to sleep and breakfast to eat.

Even if we keep price as the most important factor in deciding a budget hotel, there are
still two ways a customer may go through to take a decision. A customer might shortlist a
number of hotels based on attributes such as location, view, quality, etc. and then take the
final decision based on price or vice versa.

Post purchase evaluation

The final stage of this process is the post purchase evaluation. In this stage, the customer
evaluates the decision that he has made. At this point the marketer gets a last chance to
avoid any dissatisfaction. It is true that when a customer pays for a budget hotel, he is not
expecting too much in return. However, during the past few years, prices for all kind of
hotels have gone down and quality has improved. Therefore, this has changed the
perspective of the customer that if they are even paying less he should get at least
satisfactory service.
[Deloitte, 2004]

THINGS THAT A CUSTOMER WOULD DETERMINE

Segmentation of the hotel industry is usually done by a combination of attributes such as


price, facilities, location and services. Hotels are usually grouped as Luxury (7 star),
Upscale (5 star), Midscale (4 star) and Budget (3 star) hotels. Hotel rooms are usually
considered as a ‘need’, which in my view is not correct. A motel or guest house is also
enough to get a temporary shelter. Hotel rooms are basically connected with a higher
need which is ‘ego’. Therefore, budget hotels are chosen to be a cheap alternative, as it
satisfies both; need and ego, without paying for other services or facilities that one may
not even utilize.
[Travel lodge, 2008]

People who are price sensitive usually opt for budget hotel, but this does alone does not
show that they are well involved with the purchase. The other reasons which increase
their involvement are the risk they are taking by spending money, their perception about
the quality of the services or the room, or the physiological risks. People with lesser
social standing are usually the ones who show additional involvement in the budget hotel
room booking process.
[IC Colbu, Adrian Liviu Scutariu, 2008]
FACTORS THAT WOULD INFLUENCE DECISION MAKING

1. Past experiences with budget hotels


2. Time left to make decision
3. Purchasing power at time of booking
4. Price
5. Environmental conditions/ weather
6. Recommendations
7. Brand name
8. Quality of services
9. Discounts

We can use some, if not all, of these factors in order to get more costumers. As it is
understood that the main factor that affects the decision making for booking a hotel room
in a budget hotel is ‘price’, we can give them good offers or discounts. On the other hand,
during summer time we can offer hotel rooms equipped with air conditions. Even though,
the amount of services in budget hotels is limited, we can concentrate on the quality of
services which would surely satisfy the customer’s ego even if he is staying in a budget
hotel.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the major factor that affects the decision making of a customer looking for
a budget hotel is ‘price’, but there are other things as well to consider. Recently, all types
of hotels have started to reduce their prices in terms of discounts, offers or packages so a
marketer should also focus on other aspects that would satisfy the customer.
REFERNCES

• Deloitte. (2004). UK budget hotel survey 2004. Deloitte & Touche LLP, London,
UK. 1 (1), 2-10.
• Jurys Doyle Cork. (2008). The River Lee Hotel: #3 of 53 Cork Hotels on
TripAdvisor. Available: http://corkhotels.jurysdoyle.com/jurys_cork. Last
accessed 27th April 2011.
• Travel Lodge. (2008). Travel Lodge. Available: http://www.travelodge.co.uk.
Last accessed 27th April 2011.
• IC Colbu, Adrian Liviu Scutariu. (2008). Aspects regarding the consumer buyer
behaviour for budget hotels in Ireland. Available:
http://anale.feaa.uaic.ro/anale/resurse/020_M05_Colbu_Scutariu.pdf. Last
accessed 27th April 2011.
• Bruce D. Temkin. (2009). Customer Experience Boosts Revenue. Available:
http://www.nuance.com/ucmprod/groups/enterprise/@web/@enus/documents/coll
ateral/nd_007593.pdf. Last accessed 27th April 2011.
• Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong. (2007). Consumer Markets: Influences on
consumer behavior. Available: http://referaty-seminarky.sk/consumer-markets-
influences-on-consumer-behavior/. Last accessed 27th April 2011.
• Chad P. Dawson. (1988). Marketing the small lodging business. Available:
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/modtd/33419744.html. Last accessed 27th April
2011.
• Julia Smolyaninova. (2009). Hospitality Market Opportunities for the Business
Market Segment in Borlänge. Available:
http://www.du.se/PageFiles/5054/Smolyaninova.pdf. Last accessed 27th April
2011.
• Cathy A.Enz (2010). Hospitality strategic management. 2nd ed. New Jersey: John
Wiley @ Sons Inc.. 34-56.
• Collingham JFC. (2008). buyer behaviour - decision-making process. Available:
http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/buying_decision_process.asp. Last accessed
27th April 2011.

Você também pode gostar