Factors Affecting Consumer Demands
CONTENTS PAGE Page
Section 1 - Introduction 3
Section 2 - Evaluate main factors affecting consumer demands & types of hospitality products
2.1 Seasonality 4 - 5
2.2 Price 6 - 7
2.3 Location 8 - 9
2.4 Contemporary issue 10 - 11
Section 3 - Conclusion 12
Section 4 - References 13 - 14
Appendix 1 & 2 15
SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION
In the highly changeable hospitality world, there are different types of hospitality products which are based on different consumer needs and demands. Besides, any hospitality company must identify clearly about the factors which are affecting the needs and demands of consumer. After that, they can offer different types of products to fulfil consumers and make profit.
SECTION 2 - EVALUATE MAIN FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER DEMANDS & TYPES OF HOSPITALITY PRODUCTS
2.1 Seasonality
According to Butler (1994), “seasonality is a temporal imbalance in the phenomenon of tourism”. Seasonality affects the number of tourists, their willing to spend and demands. If company is looking for more profit, understanding consumers’ needs is an essential procedure. However, it may be a positive or negative impact for any hospitality company.
For positive impact, it can receive more cash at peak season to cover the fixed cost for the entire year. Using the occupancy rate for hotel industry compare between peak season and low season as an example, based on the research statistics of hotel room occupancy report from Hong Kong Tourism Board, there is around 10% higher hotel occupancy rate than low season compared with peak season. (Appendix 1) On the other hand, for negative impact, it is hard to manage well for any hospitality company because of instable condition. It needs to recruit some part-time employees to serve the abrupt change of consumers at peak season. However,
Section 1 - Introduction 3
Section 2 - Evaluate main factors affecting consumer demands & types of hospitality products
2.1 Seasonality 4 - 5
2.2 Price 6 - 7
2.3 Location 8 - 9
2.4 Contemporary issue 10 - 11
Section 3 - Conclusion 12
Section 4 - References 13 - 14
Appendix 1 & 2 15
SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION
In the highly changeable hospitality world, there are different types of hospitality products which are based on different consumer needs and demands. Besides, any hospitality company must identify clearly about the factors which are affecting the needs and demands of consumer. After that, they can offer different types of products to fulfil consumers and make profit.
SECTION 2 - EVALUATE MAIN FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER DEMANDS & TYPES OF HOSPITALITY PRODUCTS
2.1 Seasonality
According to Butler (1994), “seasonality is a temporal imbalance in the phenomenon of tourism”. Seasonality affects the number of tourists, their willing to spend and demands. If company is looking for more profit, understanding consumers’ needs is an essential procedure. However, it may be a positive or negative impact for any hospitality company.
For positive impact, it can receive more cash at peak season to cover the fixed cost for the entire year. Using the occupancy rate for hotel industry compare between peak season and low season as an example, based on the research statistics of hotel room occupancy report from Hong Kong Tourism Board, there is around 10% higher hotel occupancy rate than low season compared with peak season. (Appendix 1) On the other hand, for negative impact, it is hard to manage well for any hospitality company because of instable condition. It needs to recruit some part-time employees to serve the abrupt change of consumers at peak season. However,
References: * Hagmann, J, Connolly, M., Ficarelli, P., Ramaru, J.(2002). The service delivery framework, from http://www.picoteam.org/pdf1/SDF2.pdf * Rene T * Stephan Weidner (2006). Seasonality in tourism: A review of seasonality of hotel accomodation in New Zealand. Retrieved from: http://www.hausarbeiten.de/faecher/vorschau/122991.html * K * Nagle, Thomas and Holden, Reed. (2002). The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing. Prentice Hall. (pp. 84-104). * Terri Zwierzynski (2005). Differentiation -- Smart Marketing Strategies for the Solo Entrepreneur. Retrieved from: http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol150/differentiation.htm * The Hotels Association of Zhejiang Province (2005)