Question 2

As the management company hired to turn around Last Resort Hotel and put
it on a path towards growth and sustainability

Part. 1: What changes would you recommend to Last Resort operational strategy?
There were certain most critical issues last resort was facing in terms of its operational capacity and
implementation.

 Employee Absenteeism due to irregular schedule changes

 No Proper Training session for line staff & managers
 Failed to address customer defection rate
 Communication mostly done from top to lower (Downward communication)
 No appraisal and reward system for employees

Changes required for Last Resort Operational strategy:

 First of all the hotel management should train its staff by providing them with hotel management training,
and monitor that either all aspects of training are being fulfilled or not. Last Resort can fill this gap by hiring
a training professional who is well versed in hotel management.
 Secondly Last resort need to address customer defection rate as soon as possible, as addressing customer
defection rate brings 95% of the business.
 There need to be a proper communication channel (Upward Communication) within hotel management,
where every employee must have a take in weekly and monthly meetings, this ensures employee
involvement, generating employee’s self-esteem and motivation.
 Irregular schedule only creates hassle, and this leads to frustration, and low level of commitment. There
should be a proper schedule plan, and at least prolonged to 3 weeks.
 Last but not least, introduction of proper reward and appraisal policy for the employees, this would lead to
motivation, flexibility in workforce, and organizational abundance.
Part. 2: Based on the overall findings by Fixit Consulting Firm, what are some general interventions
that Last Resort could embark on to save the hotel?
Fixit consulting firm though highlighted some major issues that were jeopardizing Last Resort
credibility. The keys issues that Last Resort could embark on to save their reputation are as follows:

 Last Resort might have a strong brand image, but tangling to only brand image, recognition isn’t enough,
even the strongest brands requires promotion and advertisement to make the brand pulse running. Last
Resort underestimated the power of promotion and advertisement due to which low customer awareness,
recognition took down the aisle.
 Poor market research is also a key factor which took Last Resort down, as hotel management requires
continuous market research to address current trends, customers changed preferences, and new emerging
trends.
 Failure to sustain a competitive edge is a major blow for Last Resort, brands cannot only rely on operational
effectiveness, and they need to come up with a competitive edge to subside competitor’s threat. If Last
Resort would come up with a unique selling point (competitive edge), the situation could be quite favorable.
 No attraction point for customers, neither any guest reward policy for repeat visits, Last Resort could initiate
a guest reward policy where customers could get marginal discounts, add-ons, rewards, or lucky draw.
These attraction points not only generate positive word of mouth but strengthen customer loyalty and
resonance.
 Last Resort could initiate a training session once a month to encourage its employees, which includes
reward/appraisal program, to strengthen operational effectiveness of hotel management.

Part. 3: In order to better understand the competition, Last Resort needs to understand what
differentiates them from other competitors?
Last Resort brand image is its strong competitive advantage, the hotel was also known for its hospitality.
The hotel brand image and recognition were its strongest link which differentiates it from others. Last
Resort could come up with a strong competitive advantage, while making its core management strong and
effective, emphasizing on promotional campaigns, instead of focusing on competitive parity, the hotel brand
image would be suffice enough to attract potential customers. Hotel Last Resort could trade off by giving
best in its hospitality services while laying off unusual amusement like Sauna bath, etc.
(Trade-off: means performing one best activity to its full potential while laying of other which is not
at utmost importance).