1  

1  

                 

RESEARCH PROJECT

(HOTEL) English 2 (ENGL 0205)

FINAL PROJECT

Alexander Chung Siang Yee [1003A78541]

Muhammad Hafidz Mubarak [0311696]

Visagan Arudselvan [0313710]  

     

 

 

2  

2  

Table of Content Introduction Appendix 1 3 - 13 Research Proposal 3 - 4 Introduction 5 - 7 Research Essay A.) Brief description 8 - 9 B.) Comparative Analysis 10 - 13 Appendix 2 14 - 24 Questionnaire 1 14 - 16 Questionnaire 2 17 - 18 Questionnaire 3 19 - 20 Bibliography 21 Meeting Minutes 22 - 24      

     

 

 

3  

3  

     

The Research Proposal

Name: Alexander Chung 1003A78541 Muhammad Hafidz Mubarak 0311696 Visagan Arudselvan 0313710 Class: English 2 Period: Tuesday and Wednesday Introduction: This research report is about the business of hotel. We are conducting interviews with the local businessman or person-in-charge who are operating the particular types of business in Klang Valley. This Survey is focusing on 5km radius with a center of KTM Klang Station. Research Questions:

1. How long does this business running?

2. When was the business founded? 3. Who is the key founder? 4. What prompted the founders to start this business? 5. How was the business started? 6. Why choosing this place (Klang Valley) to set up this business? Is this a strategy

place for business? 7. What are your main services? 8. Who are your customers? Who are your targeting markets? Local? Foreigner? 9. How many branch offices/stores do you have? (If Applicable) 10. What is your resolution to promote your services and product? 11. Do you have many competitors? Who are they? Who are your top 3 competitors? 12. Is the business constantly facing strong competition from other competitors? What

strategies have they practice to compete with you? 13. How much capital is required to start this business? What, if any specialized field of

knowledge do you need to run this business? 14. In your opinion, do you think it is a good business to enter to market stream? Why? 15. How do you respond the competition in this market? What strategies did you

applied to keep customer from your competitor? 16. Are your pricing decision strongly affected by your competitor? 17. Would your company expand the business in the future?

 

 

4  

4  

Methodology: We are setting our survey location to Klang Valley. This decision came after group discussion on 7th November 2013. After that, we are searching for the targets and list their phone number down on a paper. All the targeted groups are reside in Klang Valley. We make call to contact hotels that are already in the list. Then, we ask for permission to carry out the interview session with them. As we expected, some of them do not intend to provide any information to us and turn down the interview. Yet, we did not give up. We are still making call to other target. Eventually, we got permission to interview some hotels. As Alexander (me) and Hafidz are not a local in Klang Valley, they travel to Klang from Taylor’s University Bus station to Carrefour. Then, we walk to the Subang station to take Commuter to KTM Klang Station. For the interview session, Alexander became the person responsible to allocate time of interview and make appointment with the hotels. Hafidz is responsible to record the process throughout the interview session. Visagan is responsible to provide transportation by pick up group member at the station KTM Klang Station. Then, we go to the target according the appointment list. On the spot, Alexander will be the representative speaker for the group to conduct survey and interview. The questions are provided on the previous page. When we are allowed to start the interview, Hafidz will start to record the interview session. After the interview session, we will take a group photography session as a prof. One interview session were conduct in Mandarin language. Then, Alexander will do a translation based on the information given by the interviewee. We also conducted a few walk-in interviews with the person-in-charge of the hotel. Conclusion: We hope the information that collected from the hotel will help us to complete the research project.

 

 

5  

5  

Introduction

As we go further in depth of learning and understanding English, as well as the complexity

and crucial thinking, we finally reach our final destination. Firstly, we decided do a hotel as

a business subject for our research project. We chose to do it in Klang because the

location is more strategic and has lot of potential in the world of business. Moreover, the

nearby area is known by most people is the Port Klang. All types of business such as

restaurants, shopping centre and others including hotels are all centered mostly in Klang.

Why we chose to do hotels instead of other simple business is because of the challenges

in doing the works and it does also teach us other aspects in terms of fields of study as it

differs from architecture. We did our research and at the same time we also learned new

things like the phrase of “killing two birds with one stone”.

Before we start the report brief, we should know some information about hotels such as

the definition of hotel? How it is established? First of all, a hotel is an establishment that

provides lodging paid on a short-term basis. The word hotel is derived from the French

hôtel, which referred to a French version of a building with frequent visitors, and providing

care, rather than a place offering accommodation. The provision of basic accommodation,

during the early stages when the business started consisting only of a room with a bed, a

cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern

facilities, including en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning or climate control. Larger hotels

may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, fitness center, business

center, conference facilities and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually

numbered to allow guests to identify their room. In the United Kingdom, a hotel is required

by law to serve food and drinks to all guests within certain stated hours. In Japan, capsule

hotels provide a minimized amount of room space and shared facilities.

 

 

6  

6  

There are a lot of businesses running in Klang, it is quite unusual to see luxury hotels in

certain areas. The ports where the cargos are organized and distributed are one of the

busiest places in Klang. The enormous amounts of cargo are stored in their respective

company buildings and the unattended cargos left are placed in a warehouse. Imports and

exports are separated upon their arrival so that it is easier to be sent to their holders. Most

places had been expanding to store up newer cargos each day because of the high

market demands.

The picture below is a group photo taken with supervisor of Sea Lion Hotel.

 

 

7  

7  

Photograph with receptionist of Station Hotel. ( We are not allowed to take photo with the

owner.)

   

 

 

8  

8  

Brief description of the Businesses In this final research project, we have chosen hotel as our research topic to conduct a comparative analysis of 3 businesses within the same industry. For the research target, we found Sea Lion Hotel, Station Hotel, and Puteri Garden Hotel. These hotels are located in 3 different geographical locations. They are currently reside at these location: 44 Jalan Bagu Tinggi 2A/KS6, Taman Bagu Tinggi, 41200 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia; 27A, Jalan Stesen, 41000 Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan; and Garden Business Centre, 3 Jalan Istana, 41000 Klang. Sea Lion Hotel is located in a business and commercial area where there are many shop lots. This area is recommended for business, restaurants and shopping. It is 2.9km away from Teluk Gadong KTM Train Station. Where Station Hotel is located in a business area. You can access to the hotel by going to first floor, as it is a shop lot. For your information, it is about100m away from Klang KTM Station. Puteri Garden Hotel is located in a business and commercial area. This area is recommended for business, restaurant and shopping. Besides, it has a few top attractions in this area, which is Istana Alam Shah Palace, Tengku Ampuan Rahmiah Hospital and Royal Selangor Yacht Club. Based on the interview with supervisor of Sea Lion Hotel, we found that there are 2 branches including this hotel. The other branch, the main hotel, is located at Pulau Ketam. It was told to be the largest budget hotel in the Island. Unfortunately, they refuse to reveal the number of their staff where the information is strictly confidential. For the Station Hotel, we had interviewed the staff and the owner. It has only one hotel at the moment. The information of the number of staff is not given as well. Puteri Garden Hotel has two branches in the country, but they did not mention the location of that branch. Since they are hotel, they do not sell any product but provide services. Sea Lion Hotel (Klang) is an oriental boutique style hotel. They provide accommodation and restaurant services to the customer. The hotel also provides many facilities such as coffee shop, oriental dim sum teahouse, in-house food, laundry service and dry cleaning, family room, disable facilities, smoking area, air conditioning, free Wi-Fi access, satellite and cable TV and car park. They have many packages for the accommodation, which are deluxe (queen), deluxe (twin), single, standard, family, deluxe day use and VIP. Station Hotel provides accommodation to the customer. They provide a few facilities such as laundry service and dry cleaning, family room, Wi-Fi in public areas 25 appointed guest room, LCD and plasma screen TV, satellite and cable TV. They have 2 packages for the accommodation service that are deluxe and family triple. Puteri Garden Hotel provides accommodation and restaurant services to the customer. This hotel also provides many facilities such as elevator, laundry service and dry cleaning, meeting facilities, restaurant (garden café), room service, smoking area, Wi-Fi in public area and car park. It has 2 packages of accommodation service, which is deluxe and superior. This hotel also provides 2 types of meeting hall that are Irish Hall and Tiara Hall. Unfortunately, we did not gather information of the current number of customers. These hotels refused to reveal about the figure of customer, as this is matter of a confidential business. But, we were told that these hotels have a good number of customers during weekend.

 

 

9  

9  

Sea Lion Hotel was started 18 years ago at Pulau Ketam. In 1996, the founder, Cha Ken Glee, decided to make a career switch from a fisherman to become a businessman to operate home stay hotel. Mr. Cha wants to earn a living and better lifestyle for his family. That is the reason for a man at his 30s put his career at risk by career switch from his familiar profession to a different field. In the beginning, the hotel was owned by another owner. As the business is not doing well, the previous owner decided to sell it to Mr. Cha. Therefore, by a coincident, Mr. Cha has become an owner of a home stay hotel. The home stay contains 5 rooms in the very first place. Then, Mr. Cha and his wife decided to improve the business by providing food services. Thus, Mrs. Cha are making seafood for the home stay hotel while her husband operates the hotel. After 18 years, today, they have become the largest budget hotel in Pulau Ketam. They serve various services such accommodation, leisure and restaurant. Besides, they have a branch at Bayu Tinggi, Klang Valley. Recently, they are in the progress of setting up another branch in Kuala Selangor. The branch will be set up and ready to operate on the coming year on June 2014. Station Hotel was started 14 years ago nearby Klang Commuter station area. In 2000, the founder, Rathatrishna Delusamy, decided to improve the standard of living by operate a hotel by starting his business with a home-stay hotel. This idea came after his further studies. The owner does not have any development plan for now. This is because the economic is not stable. He decided to observe the market for a period and make an expansion for this hotel. Puteri Garden Hotel was founded 13 years ago. In 29 June 2010, the founder A&M Group establishes the Puteri Garden Hotel. They decide to invest on the tourism field to expand their business streamline. Therefore, this group resides their location at Garden Business Centre 3, Jalan Istana, Klang. A&M Group is on the discussion addressing the issue of expanding this hotel by setup another branch within country.    

 

 

10  

10  

Comparative Analysis of the businesses’ Competitive Traits

(I). Number of competitors in their respective geographical markets?

- Strategic places calls for strategic management, in the world of fast-paced moving modern era, business have to be running in an orderly fashion so that it doesn’t have any issues with customers and clients. Competitors are common things owners had to face so that they could keep improvising their markets. Most hotels earned their customers trust by providing excellent services and as well as comfortable rooms, some budget hotels followed the same steps from luxurious hotels as a guidance and the result was satisfying as more and more customers came to stay at their hotel. Our interviewee stated that there are many competitors in their area and some of them sets their rate slightly cheaper and most of the budget hotels are competing at a lower pricing market.

(II) Brief bios of each business’ top 3 competitors

a) The Premiere Hotel is one of the new and luxurious 4 star hotels in Klang, it is conveniently next to the royal city’s main shopping and interest places as well as business and entertainment hub. Other than that, the location of the hotel has a closer access to the airport too. Premiere Hotel, set in Bandar Bukit Tinggi, has much to offer in the way of function facilities. It has the largest ballrooms, the 1,125sqft pillar less Grand Ballroom is able to accommodate 1,500 guests with a 26ft-high ceiling and state of the art audio, visual and light facilities, plus the hotel also houses six versatile meeting spaces. Onsite facilities within the hotel consist of an outdoor swimming pool with a sundeck, a spa, gym and three restaurants, serving Chinese, Japanese, local and international fares. Meanwhile, hotel services ranges from the 24-hour on-call doctor and free shuttle service to nearby local hotspots. There are six room types available, with all 250 units done up in classic hotel style and offering basic amenities as well as Wi-Fi and a 32-inch flat screen TV. Guests of the Executive Club rooms received add-on benefits such as personalized check-in and check-out and access to the 18th floor Executive Lounge for complimentary breakfast, all-day refreshments and snacks and evening tea.

b) Prescott Hotel is a three-star hotel located along Persiaran Sultan Ibrahim in Klang. It is accessible via major highways such as Federal Highway and New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), the hotel is within easy reach of neighbouring townships such as Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, and local malls such as Setia City Mall and AEON Bukit Tinggi. Less than 10 minute drive from the hotel is KTM Komuter Klang station. The hotel also has a total number of 156 comfortably-suited rooms, each fitted with modern amenities such as TV with in-house movies, IDD telephone, air-conditioning and en-suite bathrooms. Hotel facilities that are available on-site include ballrooms, an all-day dining outlet and an outdoor swimming pool. In-house guests are also entitled to complimentary parking and wireless internet access all throughout the property.

 

 

11  

11  

c) Grand Kapar Hotel is a modern budget accommodation located in Kapar, a quaint town in the district of Klang. There are several convenient shops located within walking distance. The hotel also provides city conveniences right outside your doorstep. Kuala Selangor has an exciting attraction such as Kampung Kuantan Firefly Park, a mangrove park with beautiful illuminating fireflies at night, Bukit Jugra a scenic hill famous for paragliding. Lastly, Pantai Remis, a quiet beach with markets selling fresh shellfish. Grand Kapar Hotel has 48 guestrooms, and several on-site facilities such as 24-hour front desk, luggage storage, room service, restaurant and ATM. All of the rooms comes complete with flat-screen TVs with cable channels, free WIFI, air conditioning, telephone and private bathroom with power shower. Non-smoking and disabled-friendly rooms are also available.

(III). How do the businesses compete with their competitors? What strategies were employed and how successful are they?

- As a starting point to start a good business, we need to analyze every aspect from the strength to all of its weaknesses as to strengthen the structural base so that we know the potential in our company. Experienced is the crucial part in the process as it helps a lot in doing business. For most successful owners with big company names, their journey to succeed is not as easy as it looks. They had to face with the economy, the respective competitors, clients, and losses. But all the hardships finally paid off after years of years enduring and improving business quality. There are a lot of ways to improve our business, first of all is by using the media network. Go online and find a company in your area that specializes in website optimization. Have the company conduct a website analysis. Make sure you meet with them and discuss your promotional needs. Check with the local Better Business Bureau to make sure there are no complaints against the company. Have the company create an ad and link so your hotel appears on page 1 of hotel listings in your area. Next, conduct satisfaction surveys with your guests. Leave space for customers to write in their comments. Use a separate form that enables a customer to provide a testimonial about their experience. Get the customer's signature. Use high customer satisfaction results and testimonials in company brochures. Last but not least, contact the welcome center and state-run rest stops in your area. Get permission to place your brochures in their display unit.

.

 

 

 

12  

12  

       (IV) What are the obstacles faced by new business that who wish to enter this market stream? Are they easy or difficult to overcome? Why? There are a couple of obstacles faced by the new business that who wish to enter the market today. One of the main issues faced by new hotel businesses is they lack of price credibility. This new businesses don’t really know how much to actually charge for, if a customer rents or books a room. At first some customers would be interested to try out staying at a new hotel, but the price of the rooms will let them to decide on whether to stay there the next time they come to that place. If they find that the price is too expensive and is not equal to the level of comfort of the hotel room and services, they will choose not to stay there anymore. This is especially common to middle income groups where they tend to compare prices of different hotels. A new hotel business that charges slightly higher per room would tremendously affect the business. The next obstacle faced by new hotel business is that they face a tough competition with long standing hotels in that area. The reason is that most customers are more familiar with the long standing hotels as they are use to it. This is where ‘customer loyalty’ plays its part. Customers prefer to go to these hotels as they have a feeling of trust in the hotels. They might feel that the new hotels will simply overcharge or will not provide good services as those long established hotels. At the same time , the long established will know various strategies to use when a new competitor opens up its business in the same geographical location. Furthermore, this new hotels face a problem in terms of promoting their business. They do not know the best way to promote their business. At the same time, the cost for promoting the business should not cost too much as it can have a severe impact on it. They need to know which is the main media source their customers get information from. For example, those days, promoting through the newspapers was the best way as most people read them, but this is different compare to the present generation, where most people look through the Internet. In this case, investing their capital in newspapers would not be a good idea. At the same time businesses that are long standing would know how to promote their already well known hotel. Moreover new hotel business may not know the taste of their customers. They may not know the type of food or services that is needed to encourage more customers to stay at their hotel. For example , they may consider having room service and free WiFi as something that is not beneficial to their business. Customers who are not satisfied will choose never to return to that hotel the next time they visit that area or location. In the end, some of this new hotel business will not even realise what is causing them to lose their business. Instead of looking at the real reason why they are loosing out in their hotel business, some of them will just choose to give up and close up the hotel. (V) What is the nature of their markets and your justifications. The nature of the markets can be said as perfectly competitive. All the three hotels have a sufficient amount of customers. They do not face problems such as going bankrupt or making a loss. In fact, their business could be making profits even though if it may not be huge amounts or up to the expectation of the hotel owners. One of the reasons they are all in a perfectly competitive state is because Klang is undergoing a rapid development currently. This increases the number of visitors to Klang .Although Klang may not be the best tourist destination, it has many government buildings

 

 

13  

13  

and shopping complex. To add on, Klang has the biggest Aeon and GM mall in South East Asia .Besides that, the hotel businesses in Klang do not face a problem where there is too many competitors but too few customers. Klang city has about 20 hotels which includes budget hotels to 5 star hotels. (VI) Summary table to compare the similarities and differences between the 2 businesses. Hotel Sea Lion Hotel Puteri Garden

Similarities Located in Klang City Built in restaurant Competitive

Located in Klang City Built in restaurant Competitive

Differences Budget Hotel Competing at a lower market Cheaper rate Elementary services and facilities.

3.5 star hotel Competing at a Higher market Higher rate Luxurious service and facilities.

(VII) Based on your analysis, which business is more commercially successful? Why? Both hotels (Puteri Garden Hotel & Sea Lion Hotel in Klang) seemed to be quite successful. Bases on the analysis I suggest that Puteri Garden Hotel is more successful than the other . We can see this from a few aspects . The first is the size of each hotel . Puteri Garden Hotel has 69 rooms but on the other hand , Sea Lion hotel has only 31 rooms . Besides that , most of the rooms in Puteri Garden hotel are occupied almost every day . Although the price per room at Puteri Garden Hotel is more expensive , they don’t seem to lose out business to other hotels nearby especially those located in the heart of Klang itself . Another clear proof is that Puteri Garden hotel has a huge private car parking bay whereas Sea Lion hotel does not have any private parking.

Recommendation  Based on the analysis of the previous section, you will provide a minimum of 2 recommendations on improving the competitiveness of each business with proper justification. 1.    Get a list of major businesses in your area through the Direct Marketing Association. Create a sales letter that highlights the amenities and benefits of using your hotel. Mail the sales letter and a brochure to these businesses, telling them to consider your hotel for their business guests or conventions. Include a return form, if the business wants a hotel sales person to contact them.

2. Contact travel agencies in your area and get your hotel listed with them. Consider using a link exchange promotional strategy with these agencies, where you list them on your website and they, in turn, list your hotel on their site. Go online and find large travel directories where you can list your website or advertise.

 

 

14  

14  

Questionnaire 1

Hotel Sea Lion Klang Oriental Boutique Hotel. A hotel based on modern Chinese concept where embodies traditional oriental style with serene feel. Address: 44 Jalan Bagu Tinggi 2A/KS6, Taman Bagu Tinggi, 41200 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia. Tel: +603 3325 4121 Fax: +603 3325 8121 Email: info@sealion.com.my Interviewee: Lee Ying Qi. Language: Mandarin.

1. When was the business founded? - It was founded 18 years ago in 1996, at Pulau Ketam. 2. Who is the key founder? - My father, Cha Ken Glee. 3. What prompted the founders to start this business? - To earn a living and a better life style. My father was a fisherman before entering this business. A fisherman cannot support his family living expenses just by doing hard labor work that is very exhausting. It is impossible to continue the workload for a man at his old age. Besides, it is risky profession for a man with family members who are counting on him. Therefore, at his 30s, he decided on a career switch to run a guess house. 4. How was the business started? - It was started from a home stay, which contain 5 rooms. His wife also helps out with this business by serving seafood to the guess house. Then, it slowly became a budget hotel in Pulau Ketam.

5. Why choosing this place (Klang Valley) to set up this business? Is this a strategy

place for business? -This is our first branch. It is also our first oriental boutique hotel in Klang Valley. This is the nearest place from the Pulau Ketam by board. It is the reason we choose this location to set up a branch. -Yes, it is a business strategy. This place used to be a concave landform, so the price is cheaper compare to Bukit Tinggi. Many people despise this place. It is a heavy investment after all. Therefore, we came to this area Bayu Tinggi and carry out the survey. We saw this piece of land is facing the highway. It is an advantage. It also can be a landmark for a hotel to

 

 

15  

15  

stand out. 6. What are your main services? - We provide accommodation, hotel rooms; and food, restaurant. We have a team or crews running an oriental boutique style hotel based on modern Chinese concept where embodies traditional oriental style with serene feel. Beside, our in-house Dim Sum are made fresh daily. Taste, food presentation and as always, clean restaurant. We also offer discount for stay over 3 nights. 7. Who are your customers? Who are your targeting markets? Local? Foreigner? - Both local and foreigner. For local, they are mainly salesman or passer-by. This location is a central region. We are targeting people from the northern and southern region who happen to drop by. Some businessmen also stay in our hotel for out-station occasion. We also have customer from the port. They are mostly old-customer. Besides, some local also came to us for a wedding dinner event. 8. How many branch offices/stores do you have? (If Applicable) - Currently, we have two branches that are Pulau Ketam and Bayu Tinggi. We are also expanding our business in Kuala Selangor. 9. What is your resolution to promote your services and product? - Our business is mainly promoted on network. For people who are not familiar with our location, they will approach us through network service. We also associate with Agoda booking agent to promote our services. Some customer who went to Pulau Ketam also promote for us. Besides, some local customers who are doing business in Klang Valley are originally from Pulau Ketam. Based on the feedback on our hotel, they promote our hotel among their social circle. 10. Do you have many competitors? Who are they? Who are your top 3 competitors? - Yes, we are running a budget hotel business, so there are many competitors in this market. There are many budget hotel and one five star hotel in this area. Some hotel set their rate slightly cheaper than us. Furthermore, some budget hotels are competing at a lower pricing market. These hotels have become our competitor in this area, Bayu Tinggi. 11. Is the business constantly facing strong competition from other competitors? What

strategies have they practice to compete with you? - It depends on the customer’s standpoint. Some customers prefer a moderate service provided by us. Our pricing was set at the margins of acceptability, where the services are neither luxurious nor elementary. Thus, it is decided on your target market. So far, we are competing with the market price. I have decided not to serve an elementary market by setting a fixed price. 12. How much capital is required to start this business? What, if any specialized field of

knowledge do you need to run this business? - A few millions for this branch. Yes, I have studied Hotel Management in Taylor’s University. After my study in Taylor’s University, I came to help with my family business.

 

 

16  

16  

13. In your opinion, do you think it is a good business to enter to market stream? Why? - We have entered this market 18 years ago. It is a coincident to operate this business. The business was originally running by someone. My father take over the business as the owner gives up on it. Then, my father operates this business with patient and this business improves gradually. Every business field has their potential value. The key to success is dealing the things on hand with patient. On the other hand, you have to collect experiences. As we also learn from the mistakes. For instance, we were deceived by the trick of other businessman. Besides, some customer does not show up for the room. We are constantly facing setbacks. Yet, we are still learning since we were young. We learned knowledge about running this business as we grow 14. How do you respond the competition in this market? What strategies did you

applied to keep customer from your competitor? - My hotel is probably cleaner than other budget hotel around this area. Services, hotel are depends on the service you provide to the customer. We don’t sell product but we are selling services. For restaurant, we are mainly serving hand-made food. This is because the foods we serve are distinctive from other restaurant. Moreover, we seldom take any food product from the manufacture industry. Hence, we have a considerable good number of customers during the weekend 15. Are your pricing decision strongly affected by your competitor? - Yes, I believe every target market has their standing power. You have to know where is your market, and then you don’t follow the trend. For instance, the big hotels are competing at luxurious prices and services, where the low budget hotels are competing at the cheaper price. As for us who stand in the moderate market, we have to be very firm on the price. Besides, you have to evaluate the responses from the market. Our customers found that the price of our budget hotel is reasonable. We also did the survey on hotels around these sub-urban: Melaka, Kuala Selangor and Penang. Therefore, you are safe when you follow this trend. 16. Would your company expand the business in the future? - We are trying to expand our business at Kuala Selangor as I mentioned before. The next branch will be opening on June 2014.

 

 

17  

17  

Questionnaire 2

Station Hotel. A hotel nearby KTM KLANG STATION. Address: 27A, Jalan Stesen, 41000 Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Tel: +603 33725 572 Email: stationhotel@hotmail.com Interviewee: Java Language: English.

1. When was the business founded? - It was founded 14 years ago in 2000 nearby Klang Commuter Station. 2. Who is the key founder? - Rathatrishna Delusamy. 3. What prompted the founders to start this business? - To improve life style. His father used to be a businessman at the Indian streets. The business was constantly faced with various competitions. It is impossible to support the living cost with the bad respond from the market. Therefore, he decided to operate home stay hotel after his studies. 4. How was the business started? - It was started from a home stay of 5 rooms, at Indian streets, which is 1.5km away from the current location. Once the business on track, he decided to move the location of the hotel to the current location. Then, it slowly became a budget hotel in Klang.

5. Why choosing this place (Klang Valley) to set up this business? Is this a strategy

place for business? - Station hotel located at the entrance to the Klang Township along the Federal Highway and easily accessible via North Klang Valley Express Highway (NKVE). This is the nearest place to the KTM station. Our hotel comes up with the name of station hotel. The purpose of this name is to promote our hotel to the foreign people who came across this area and also the traveler who pass by. Yes, it is a business strategy. Our hotel is closest hotel you can get in this area. It requires only 2-3 minutes of walking distance from the KTM Klang Station. For travelers who are not familiar with Klang area, they would like to stay in our hotel rather than searching for other option. 6. What are your main services? - We provide accommodation, hotel rooms. We provide a few facilities such as laundry service and dry cleaning, family room, Wi-Fi in public areas 25 appointed guest room, LCD and plasma screen TV, satellite and cable TV. They have 2 packages for the accommodation service that are deluxe and family triple.

 

 

18  

18  

7. Who are your customers? Who are your targeting markets? Local? Foreigner? - Both local and foreigner. For local, they are mainly salesman or passer-by. This location is a central region. We are targeting people from the northern and southern region who happen to drop by. Some businessmen also use our facility such as Irish hall and Tiara hall for meeting events. We also have customer from the port. They are mostly old-customer. 8. How many branch offices/stores do you have? (If Applicable) - Currently, this is the only hotel we have. 9. What is your resolution to promote your services and product? - Our business is mainly promoted on advertisement and network. Most customers approach us through network service and booking agents. We also associate with Agoda booking agent to promote our services. Based on the feedback on our hotel, the customers promote our hotel among their social circle. 10. Do you have many competitors? Who are they? Who are your top 3 competitors? - Yes, we are running a 3 star hotel business, so there are many competitors in this market. There are many budget hotels in this area. Most of the hotel set their rate slightly cheaper than us. Furthermore, some budget hotels are competing at a lower pricing market. 11. Is the business constantly facing strong competition from other competitors? What

strategies have they practice to compete with you? - Our pricing was set at the margins of acceptability, where the services are elementary. Thus, it is decided on your target market. So far, we are competing with the market price. I have decided to serve an elementary market by setting a fixed rate. 12. How much capital is required to start this business? What, if any specialized field of

knowledge do you need to run this business? - A few millions for this hotel. 13. In your opinion, do you think it is a good business to enter to market stream? Why? - We have entered this market 14 years ago. This is not an easy market to enter because you need many modal to start and operate this business. 14. How do you respond the competition in this market? What strategies did you

applied to keep customer from your competitor? - My hotel is closer to Klang KTM Station. Therefore, many people get to approach to us. Our location is advantage and strategy. hotel are depends on the service you provide to the customer. 15. Are your pricing decision strongly affected by your competitor? - Yes, I believe the pricing rates of my hotel are lies on the margin of acceptability. Our customers found that the price of our budget hotel is reasonable. This is because this is the cheapest price you can get with good services. 16. Would your company expand the business in the future? - We are trying to expand our business around this area.

 

 

19  

19  

Questionnaire 3    PUTERI GARDEN HOTEL The 2nd division hotel under A&M Group Garden Business Centre 3 , Jalan Istana , Klang Tel : 603 3374 7777 Fax: 603 3374 1313 Email: peterigardenhotel@yahoo.com Language : English (1)When was the business founded ? -Puteri Garden hotel in Klang was founded in June 29 , 2010. (2) Who are the key founders? -The key founder of Puteri Garden Hotel is the A&M Group. (3) Why choosing this place to start up the business? Is this a strategic place for business ? -Yes , Puteri Garden Hotel being in this location is a good decision . The exact address and location of this hotel is garden Business Centre 3 , Jalan Istana , Klang . The reason I say this is a good location is because government offices and large shopping complex such as the Centre Point and Mydin Mall are surrounding the hotel, which is only a 5-minute drive away. (4) What are your main services? -We offer free private parking, room service, airport shuttle, free Wi-Fi. There is also a place where people can eat and enjoy local as well as western cuisine. Furthermore, we also allow those staying at our hotel to hire or rent cars. (5) Who are your customers? Local? Foreigner? -Locals and foreigners are our customers. (6) How many branch offices / stores do you have (if applicable). -We have 2 hotels within the country. (7) How does the business promote its products? -We promote our products through the Internet as it does not cost much . We also have pamphlets and our hotel cards to those who want to know a bit more about our hotel. (8) Do you have many competitors? Who are they? Who are your top 3 competitors? -The hotel have quite a number of competitors that is other 3 star and 4 star hotels in Klang . Our top 3 competitors are Prescott Hotel, Christal Crown Hotel and Premier Hotel. (9) Is the business constantly facing strong competition from other competitors? What strategies have they used to compete with you ?

 

 

20  

20  

-Yes , the business is constantly facing competition from other hotels . The main strategy they used are by reducing the price and giving discounts for each room. (10) How much capital is required to run the business? What if any, specialized field of knowledge do you need to run the business? -The capital needed would be about a few million ringgits. The knowledge that is needed is hospitality knowledge . This is because if we treat and speak to our customers well, we might in turn get more customers in the future. (11) Generally, do you feel it is easy or hard to enter this market? why ? -I don’t think it is easy to enter this market ? This is because there are too much of competition in this market . In fact, I estimate that there could be up to 15 hotels in Klang city itself. The competition is much harder in bigger cities like Kuala Lumpur. (12) How do you compete with your competitors i.e. what strategies do you employ to divert customers away from your competitors? -We have the Ramadhan promotion every year. We tend to give discounts to those who wish to stay in our hotel during that time of the year . At the same time , this is when most hotels in Klang would be increasing their room rates slightly . We also sell Malay traditional food during the fasting month outside our hotel. We will start to sell the food once the fasting time is over for the day. (13) Are your pricing decision strongly affected by your competitors? -Yes. Customers especially those from the middle-income group would prefer to stay at a hotel that is cheaper yet comfortable at the same time. This is why we try our best not to increase the price unless; it is necessary. (14) Would you like to expand your business in the future? -Currently the top bosses of the A&M Group are discussing on whether to open another hotel elsewhere .    

 

 

21  

21  

BIBLIOGRAPHY and REFERENCES

i. Duluth, MN. Hotel Management. New York: Questex Media Group, 2011. Print.

ii. Hailey, Arthur. HOTEL. London: Corgi Books, 1991. Print.

iii. Abdullah, Nuraisyah Chua. Hotel and Catering Law in Malaysia. Shah Alam: Pusat Penerbitan Universiti,

Universiti Teknologi MARA, 2002. Print.

iv. Ahmed Ismail. Hotel Sales and Operations. Albany, New York: Delmar Publishers, 1999. Print.

v. Door, B. (2008). The Role of Facilities Management in the Hospitality Industry. Retrieved

May20,2013,fromBlueDoorConsultancy.WebSite: http://www.bluedoorconsultants.co.uk/the-best-of-

b-and-b/facilities-management-in-hospitality.html.

vi. Hmgmanagement. (2013, April 2). How Can I Improve My Ranking On TripAdvisor. Retrieved May

20, 2013, from hotel managers group. Website: http://hmghotelsblog.com/2013/04/02/does-your-

hotel-have-what-it-takes-to-rank-first-in-its-category-on-tripadvisor/

vii. Suttle, R. (2009). How to promote hotels. Retrieved May 21, 2013, from eHow web site:

http://www.ehow.com/how_6676205_promote-hotels.html

 

 

 

22  

22  

Group discussion MINUTES [7 NOVERMBER 2013] [9:00] [KLANG COMMUTER STATION]

 MEETING CALLED BY Alexander  Chung  Siang  Yee  TYPE OF MEETING Planning.  Contact  with  targeted  group,  hotels.      FACILITATOR Alexander  Chung.  Visagan  (driver)  NOTE TAKER Hafidz  and  Visagan.  TIMEKEEPER Hafidz  ATTENDEES Alexander  Chung,  Hafidz  and  Visagan.  

 

Agenda topics [9:00AM, NOVEMBER 7 @ STUDENT LIFE CENTRE]

[CONDUCT QUESTIONNAIRE AND CONTACT WITH TARGETED HOTELS] [ALEXANDER CHUNG]

DISCUSSION Understand  the  methodology  of  the  assignment.  Figure  the  solution  to  get  attention  from  our  target.  

Decide  on  the  type  of  hotel  that  we  are  going  to  approach.  Searching  for  information  about  the  hotels  available  in  Klang.  Making  calls  to  the  targeted  group.  Puteri  Garden  Hotel,  Gold  Course  Hotel,  and  Pearl  Hotel.  

CONCLUSIONS We  manage  to  get  opportunity  to  conduct  interview  with  Puteri  Garden  Hotel  and  Gold  Course  Hotel.  

But  we  were  turn  down  by  many  hotels  in  the  targeting  list.  We  are  on  the  process  getting  other  hotels  as  many  as    possible.  Confirmation  about  interview  time  and  set  on  11  November  2013.  ACTION ITEMS PERSON RESPONSIBLE DEADLINE

Contact  with  the  hotel  in  the  targeting  list.  Alexander  Chung  Hafidz  Visagan  

11  Nov  2013  

Allocate  interview  time  with  the  hotel.   Alexander  Chung   11  Nov  2013  

 [10:00AM, NOVEMBER 11 @ KLANG STATION]

[INTERVIEW WITH HOTEL AND SENDING QUESTIONNAIRE TO OTHER HOTEL AT KLANG] [ALEXANDER CHUNG]

DISCUSSION Get  the  interview  done  with  Puteri  Garden  Hotel.  Go  around  different  area  within  Klang  Valley.  

Walk-­‐in  to  every  hotel  that  we  manage  to  approach  and  send  questionnaire  to  the  in-­‐charge  unit.  Set  our  target  on    Budget  hotel.  

CONCLUSIONS Confirmation  of  meeting  with  Hotel  Sea  Lion  on  the  22nd  of  November  and  Station  Hotel  on  15th  

November.    ACTION ITEMS PERSON RESPONSIBLE DEADLINE

 

 

23  

23  

Recording  the  process  of  the  interview.    Fetch  group  member  around  Klang  

Hafidz    Visagan  

During  the  interview  session  

Communicate  with  the  people  in-­‐charge  and  making  call  to  the  owner.    Allocate  interview  time  with  the  hotel.  

Alexander  During  the  interview  session  

     [10:00AM, NOVEMBER 15 @ KLANG STATION]

[INTERVIEW WITH STATION HOTEL] [ALEXANDER CHUNG]

DISCUSSION Conduct  questionnaire  and  carry  out  a  recording  session.      CONCLUSIONS Complete  with  survey  and  interview  session  for  station  hotel.      ACTION ITEMS PERSON RESPONSIBLE DEADLINE

Recording  the  process  of  the  interview.    Fetch  group  member  around  Klang  

Hafidz    Visagan  

During  the  interview  session  

Communicate  with  the  people  in-­‐charge  and  making  call  to  the  owner.   Alexander  

During  the  interview  session  

 [10:00AM, NOVEMBER 22 @ KLANG STATION] [INTERVIEW WITH SEA LION HOTEL] [ALEXANDER CHUNG]

DISCUSSION Conduct  questionnaire  and  carry  out  a  recording  session.      CONCLUSIONS Complete  with  survey  and  interview  session  for  Sea  Lion  Hotel.      ACTION ITEMS PERSON RESPONSIBLE DEADLINE

Recording  the  process  of  the  interview.    Fetch  group  member  around  Klang  

Hafidz    Visagan  

During  the  interview  session  

Communicate  with  the  people  in-­‐charge  and  making  call  to  the  owner.   Alexander  

During  the  interview  session  

 [10:00AM, NOVEMBER 25

@  Library]   [CORRECTION AND COMPILATION] [ALEXANDER CHUNG]

DISCUSSION Correction  on  the  format  and  layout  of  the  research  project.        

 

 

24  

24  

CONCLUSIONS Complete  the  remaining  part  by  Thursday.      ACTION ITEMS PERSON RESPONSIBLE DEADLINE

Layout  designer   Alexander  Chung   During  that  day  

Correction   Alexander  Chung  &  Hafidz  

During  that  day  

OBSERVERS  RESOURCE PERSONS Every  group  member.  SPECIAL NOTES Visagan  part  doesn’t  meet  the  brief  requirement.