1.

Strength #1: Outstanding culture of service

The Ritz Carlton culture of service is probably the strongest in the world, all industries
combined. The RC Leadership Center even trained Apple and many luxury brands on customer
service. From the training, the credo, the 12 service values, the 3 steps of service, the motto, the
wow stories, the discretional budget and the line-up, everything is in place to inspire the
employees to offer the highest level of service luxury, while creating meaningful long-term
relationships with guests. Many competitors can offer the same level of fine amenities in
pristine locations as Ritz Carlton Hotels, but very few can assure, day after day, the Ritz Carlton’s
‘’Mystique’’ in terms of guest experience. The Ritz Carlton origins are behind this way of
thinking. When the first hotel opened, it was inspired by the grand European hotels and palaces
standards. However, its American ‘blood’ allowed for a more human and emotionally engaging
culture of service, which is hard to replicate.

Strength #2: Employee Empowerment

Ritz Carlton’s motto, ‘’We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen’’, tells us a
lot about the HR culture within the hotel brand. At RC, the employees are empowered to take
action in order to anticipate and fulfill the guest’s needs and wants. It’s permitted (no manager
approval on Wows), made possible (2000$ discretional budget), encouraged (training) and
recognized worldwide (line ups). Having worked at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Arts in Barcelona in the
past, I know how they select only the very best employees and have extremely high
expectations towards their work. There’s almost not space for mistake. However, employees are
empowered to be the best of themselves at work and that’s very rewarding, both for them and
the business. They are completely able to bring the RC mission and values to life, hence reaching
the very high expectations the brand communicates to its guests through marketing tactics.

Weakness #1: Cost of personalised service

Behind the two Wow Stories, or even the coffee preference example, hides a great number of
resources, would they be human, financial, technological, or operational. You can just imagine
the time spent researching the special egg and milk products, picking up the chef’s mother at
the airport, finding the materials to build the wooden walkway and so on… Apparently, the
resources are there to fulfill RC’s mission and vision of exemplary service. However, that
probably leaves very few resources to implement new initiatives that are necessary in the
constantly changing hospitality industry. A Ritz Carlton hotel has a heavy and costly structure,
which also makes it hard to be flexible with their rates in a very competitive luxury hospitality
market. Since they do reach (most of the time), the high expectations of their loyal guest’s
(fuelled in part by the high room rates), that’s great. But I’m certain it might be hard to obtain
new customers with their pricing rigidity.

Weakness #2: Aging target segments

As mentioned in the Case Study, Ritz Carlton wants to build positive lifelong relationships with
their guests. They focus a lot on loyalty and repetitive business, which is good in the mid-term.
On the other hand, their clientele is aging and will travel less and less as they get older, until
they naturally pass away. It is not explicitly said in the present case study, but we can guess with
the ‘’wheelchair’’ example, the focus on lifelong guests and the style of ‘white-tie’ service
implied. Like almost any business in 2021, they need to shift drastically to please the large
millennial segment, where the long-term value currently lies, compared to the boomer segment.
However, Millennials are not as loyal to brands as their parents, they like to experience new
things on a regular basis. They also aren’t as financially secure because of general economic
conditions. That generational shift in the luxury market isn’t exactly in RC’s favour considering
their internal choice of customer segments.

2. Market # 1: Wealthy family travellers

This market is segmented on a demographic manner, based on life cycle and income. The
personalised service of the brand allows to shape this target customer’s experience to its needs.
At a RC hotel, a wealthy family can get large suites or penthouses with separate rooms, nanny
service, a pool, a concierge planning family fun touristic activities and more. This segment also
has the purchasing power to afford the price of the room and all other services. It also fits
perfectly the need of the brand for loyal customers. For example, the grandparents, loyal RC
guests, bring their children and grandchildren on a trip, creating a family tradition of Ritz Carlton
vacations, influencing the kids future travel habits.

Market #2 : Wealthy frequent corporate traveller

This market is segmented on both a demographic manner (income) and psychographic manner
(reason of travel, usage rate). First of all, these target customers, or the company they work for,
are wealthy enough to afford RC’s prices. The reason to travel (business), also makes them less
price sensitive. Their frequent or constant travels also fuels their needs for high level comfort
and personalised service. Wherever they are in the world, they want to have the same amenities
that make them feel at home, and don’t want to waste time repeatedly explaining their personal
preferences to hotel staff. Once you get their preferences right, they’re loyal and easy to satisfy.

3. Technique to manage guest information : Line Ups

The Line-ups allows lateral communication trough all the departments of who’s ‘in-house’ and
what happened (good or bad) during their stay. If a mishap happened with a guest, the
employees know they better not cause another mistake and need to give the best service
possible to that person. The preferences for VVIPS are also communicated during the short
meeting.

Requirement #1: Have 2 or 3 line ups a day.

In the 24/7 hotel environment, most employees work on shifts (day, evening, night), so it’s
important to find that 15 minutes moment 3 times a day to ensure guest information is
communicated effectively. The best moment is at the change of shift, since there’s more people
to cover the ‘’floor’’ while the short meeting takes place. That way, nobody is left behind.

Requirement #2: Have information technology backing up the process

Nobody in the hotel, not even the general manager, can know what’s happening at all times. To
communicate the important details, all staff need to have access to an IT platform to log all the
data. This is where most of the information for the line up will be sourced. For an international
brand, this platform needs to be shared in all locations for maximum efficiency.

** EXTRA **

I knew keeping that card would become handy again 😉

P.s. I’m not quite up to date with all of the course, because my work schedule is very intense
right now, but I wanted to say it’s extremely interesting and I really enjoy every moment I get to
spend on it!

Thank you and have a good day MMT,

Laura 😊