- 12/02/2013
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
Entrepreneurial marketing
At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the development of the small hotel business in Saudi Arabia can be successful due to the overall stimulation of the development of small business in this country. In fact, Saudi Arabia has favorable conditions for the development of small business. This country is ranked fifth among countries, where it is easy to start up business. On the other hand, the situation in Saudi Arabia is not always possible to forecast in the long-run perspective because of the lack of democratic traditions and institutions and the power of the ruling King of Saudi Arabia.
Networking
The development of the small hotel business will need the construction of the hotel, development of its facilities, installation of essential equipment, and close cooperation with tourist agencies and companies working with tourists, such as transportation companies, for instance. At the same time, the network of the hotel will be limited to the hotel proper and its links to other companies or business partners. In this respect, the company should develop close relationships with local suppliers to provide customers of the hotel with fresh food, for instance, as well as local guides, who could help them to travel throughout the region.
Branding
On analyzing branding opportunities, the small hotel business in Saudi Arabia has two options. On the one hand, the hotel can use franchising and become a part of a renowned brand. However, this will deprive the hotel of independence but it will grant with the renowned brand image. On the other hand, it is possible to create the original brand and this is the best solution because in such a way the hotel will attract customers tired of the western lifestyle and seeking for original, Saudi Arabian culture, which manifestation they can find in the brand new hotel.
Cash flow
The first investment into the development of the small hotel business will cover the building of the hotel, development of its infrastructure and facilities, equipment, and promotion. The return on investments will make the hotel profitable in 3-4 years on the condition of the stable and effective functioning of the hotel.
Economic: SWOT, 5 forces, value chain
SWOT analysis
Strengths:
• Low costs of the small hotel development
• Family-type of business Weaknesses:
• Lack of experience
• Cultural barriers of managers and local employees
Opportunities:
• Taking a larger share of the local market
• Development of international business
• Construction of the network of small hotels in the Arabian countries Threats:
• High competition
• Lack of open-market principles
• Interference of state in economy
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PEST analysis
Political analysis. The political situation is characterized by stability due to the rule of the King, who is the ruler of Saudi Arabia. However, the country lacks democratic traditions and standards. Hence, the risk of interference of state into the economy of Saudi Arabia persists.
Economical analysis. The economic situation in Saudi Arabia is favorable for the development of business because the government stimulates the development of business and attracts foreign direct investments to the national economy. On the other hand, the country apparently lacks the open-market economy traditions and principles that may raise obstacles on the way of the development of business in this country in case of the change of the political situation.
Social analysis. The social situation in the country is stable and the small hotel can count for the employment of qualified personnel. On the other hand, cultural differences may raise barriers between managers and employees, which can be eliminated through the study of the local culture and its peculiarities.
Technological analysis. The small hotel should use all the technological advances applied to the hotel industry. In this respect, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that the small hotel will enter the premium segment of the market that implies the high quality of services which is impossible to use of advanced technologies. On the other hand, the use of advanced technologies increases the costs of the business development but attracts customers, especially from western countries.
Reflection
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that the development of the small hotel business opens large perspectives for the development of the tourists-oriented business in Saudi Arabia. The socioeconomic and political situation in the country is not ideal but still Saudi Arabia has good conditions for starting up business in this country. In such a way, investments in starting up the small hotel business in Saudi Arabia are a reasonable decision but such a decision should be grounded on the detailed analysis of the marketing situation and prospects of the business in this country. In this respect, the current study has shown that Saudi Arabia attempts to attract investors but the country still lacks democratic principles and standards being introduced en masse as well as the country does not implement principles of the open-market economy to the full extent. Instead, economy is regulated by the state and the change of the political situation may lead to the change of economic policies conducted by the local monarch. Naturally, in such a situation, it is quite difficult to forecast the development of business in Saudi Arabia in a long-run perspective. Nevertheless, the current study has revealed the fact that, on the ground of existing theories, such as cost-efficiency theory, it is possible to analyze and forecast the development of the small hotel business in Saudi Arabia, at least in a short- and mid-term perspective.
While working on the project, the course materials have proved to be very helpful to me, especially in regard to the marketing research and introduction of the product. The marketing research was grounded on my knowledge of marketing acquired in the course of my learning. I extrapolated my theoretical knowledge on the real life situation and analyzed the current marketing environment and marketing position of Alsaad hotel as well as its prospects in regard to the further development of business in Saudi Arabia and extension its network through closer cooperation with local suppliers and business partners. In this regard, lectures on networking were also very significant for me because they gave me insight toward understanding the development of networks in the contemporary diverse business environment. As the matter of fact, I was conscious of the fact that the small hotel did not need the widely-spread network. Instead, it needed to develop its facilities, whereas the personnel of the hotel should focus on the development of the high quality of services being provided to customers. In such a situation, I needed to understand different opportunities of the development of the network and lectures helped me to extend my narrow view on networking. In fact, I arrived to the conclusion that networking can include the close cooperation of the small business with its suppliers and other companies which are directly or indirectly involved in the business. The development of the network turns out to be a very complicated process which goes beyond the routine extension of business, creation of new facilities and expansion of the infrastructure of the small hotel, like Alsaad hotel.
At the same time, the lecture on planning was the crucial lecture for me because it helped consistently to organize my work on the project and to improve the quality of my work. What is meant here is the fact that the development of the project is impossible without detailed planning. This is why, while starting to work on the project, I started with the definition of the goal of my project, its subject and creation of the plan which helped to build up the project logically and coherently.
Furthermore, I am conscious of the importance of branding in the contemporary business environment but I did not understand the full extent to which branding affects the performance of companies today. In fact, due to the lecture on branding, I understood that brands comprise an integral part of modern companies and they are important assets companies can use to extend their market share, enter new markets, attract new customers and gain the public acclaim. The development of branding is crucial for the overall success of business. This is why I understood that starting up business was inseparable from the development of a positive brand image. To create a positive brand image the promotional campaign alone is not enough. Instead, companies need to focus on the quality management to reach positive outcomes in their performance and to persuade customers in the reliability of their brand. On the other hand, the failure of companies to create a positive brand image leads to the failure of the business development. This is why, at first, I took into consideration the possibility of franchising as an alternative to the creation of an independent brand for my business project. In other words, I expected that franchising will facilitate the advancement of the small business in the market due to the recognition of the brand under which the small hotel could work.
Finally, while working on the project, I paid a lot of attention to the experience of other companies, who operate in the hotel and leisure industry and I studied attentively the learning material concerning management problems, turnarounds, and corporate failure. In fact, I studied in details the negative experience of other companies to avoid pitfalls my business project could have faced. In fact, the negative experience was very important for me because it provided me with significant information concerning the development of effective approaches to management and business start-up.
 
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