Pinewood Hotel Essay Example for Free

Pinewood Hotel Essay In this essay I will be explaining and evaluating the method chosen and used by Pinewood Hotel in order to gain a better insight onto how aspects of their website are rated, and how it compares to their competitors. In addition to this, I will evaluate the findings that were gained from the research method used by the researchers at Pinewood Hotel. Procedure The information used in this report was gained from several different sources. For example, I have used information from my P4 survey, as well as my P3, M2 presentation and my M1 table of various data collection methods. Findings To begin within the p4 task, we had to design and construct a questionnaire using surveys which included 15 questions. These questions were based on the market research objectives which were to investigate the various aspects of pinewood hotels website is, as well as comparing the company’s website to its competitors, to enquire about the quality of the online services, how accessible the company’s website is. The aim was to have 30 people fill the surveys out, 15 females, and 15 males. The surveys using questionnaires were presented face to face and included a variety of closed and open questions so we could gain enough information so it can enable the business clients to make necessary decisions/changes. I will contrast and compare my method of surveys to other data collection methods used in the case study. The data collection method I used was surveys. This was different to the methods highlighted in the Pinewood Hotels’ case study such as; Focus Groups and interviews. The difference between the two methods was that focus groups and interviews tend to have more qualitative data, as people will express their opinions and views in person, which can enable the market researcher to get a better insight into whether the people wanted real time information on the company’s website. This would be different to my chosen method as surveys using questionnaires are most often considered due to the level of quantative and qualitative data within the responses, which can be quite effective in terms of gathering information on Pinewood Hotels’ online services and aspects to their website. The qualitative data received would be used efficiently so get a better understanding of their market research objectives which are to see the quality of different aspects of Pinewood Hotels’ services such as; content, accessibility, navigation, fundability etc. In addition to this, surveys can also give market researchers quantitative data which is crucial in terms of achieving their marketing objectives to make comparisons between the aspects of Pinewoods Hotel’s website to their competitors. Other comparisons would include that surveys are a cheaper primary data collection method than focus groups and surveys. This is because focus groups require specific amount of people which could cost locating, as well as the documents needed for the focus group requirements. In addition to this, interviews require materials such as; board, pens, paper, as well as finding a suitable location, and equipment such as; projectors etc. This will be quite a costly data collection process, as surveys simply require a written document to be constructed and photocopied for cheap, in order to save costs for the business. However there are also secondary data collection methods which are more effective than some of the primary research methods. Examples of this are previous hotel records which could be used by Pinewood Hotel in order to estimate future sales and bookings. This is an effective method as market researchers would have already obtained the information and therefore saving their hotel quite some costs. Also, they will be able to use the information appropriately so they can fulfil their marketing objectives. It is a more accurate data collection method over a few primary data collection methods because people can exaggerate or rush their answers or not answer appropriately in primary data collection methods, which could influence the results negatively. However hotel records have already been created previously and therefore the accuracy of the data is much higher than a few primary methods. Sampling Methods In terms of choosing my sampling method, I chose quota sampling. This is because we chose to survey 30 people in total but divide the group into genders; males and females. Therefore; 15 males and 15 females were surveyed. This was an important sampling method to choose because it was quite accurate. It was less biased as we decided to interview both genders, leading to varied results for our market research team. We also chose to have quota sampling, because it was the most efficient sampling method which gave us the most accurate information we set out to find. I feel it was important to have more than one division; that being males and females. This is purely because males and females have much diverse views and opinions and also priorities such as; males being more interested in booking rooms and assessing the online services, where the females would also enjoy the online services, but would show more interest in the facilities available, therefore it was quite key to find out how each gender progressed through the surveys. I feel that quota sampling is much more accurate than other sampling methods such as random sampling. This is because random sampling will leave the researchers with a range of results, which will be harder to compare or formulate decisions through. As well as this, quota sampling is considered more effective as it is much cheaper in comparison to random sampling. Conclusion If I were to organise a similar project again, I would take into account various aspects which would be different to how this current project was undertaken. One aspect I would change would be the quota sampling to judgement sampling. This is because both sample methods are cheap, which is a benefit to the market researchers. However, where quota sampling would require the views of specific groups, judgement sample would more or less depend on the factor of which people can be contacted more easily. The only questionable aspect is the accuracy, but this will completely depend on how skilled the market researcher. This means that the people being surveyed would be chosen by the market researcher, and if they choose the appropriate people it could positively impact the results of the research method. Whilst on the topic of research methods, I feel that if this project was conducted again, I would most probably choose to do experimentation in order to gain the information needed for the required marketing objectives. This is because experimentation would be considered a very valid data collection method; however the only problem to this collection method is that it is time consuming. The market researchers can overcome this slight obstacle by locating better areas to conduct their experimentation so they can make their results more efficient. D2:- Recommendations Overall, the majority of people that were surveyed found Pinewood Hotel’s services to be very good. In addition to this, 75% of the 30 people found the contact between the company’s website and customers helpful and useful. This is very good as it would let Pinewood Hotel know that the most of their target market that were surveyed were satisfied with the procedures set by the hotel so they can stay in contact with their customers online and vice versa. A future strategy that can be in use by Pinewood Hotel is to have a QA section on their website. This is because it will make the level of contact much more efficient, as consumers will be able to type up a question and if it comes under the common questions asked, then it will be answered by an electronic system, if not it will forward consumers to a designated helpline. Around 85% of the 30 people surveyed had used the company’s website and also their top competitor Premier Inn. This information is quite useful for Pinewood Hotel because a future strategy they can incorporate into their business and website and create more awareness of their website, services, and facilities through increased promotional materials, so there would be more people that find Pinewood Hotel to be the better hotel over its competitors. Also, there was a variety of ways people had heard of Pinewood Hotel. This included; Friend, radio, and magazine. However, there were not many people surprisingly that found out about Pinewood Hotel from the TV. This could be a possible recommendation for Pinewood Hotel, which is to advertise or release promotional campaigns on the TV, so more people can know of Pinewood Hotel, and hopefully be appealed to their incentives they provide. As well as this, a potential future strategy for the hotel would be to hold public events at the hotel promoting their facilities whilst charging a small entrance fee, this way they can definitely increase the awareness of their hotel, as well as making more money through the amount of people that come to the event. There were roughly around 60% of people that found Pinewood Hotel’s website advertisement creative and 30% that didn’t find it creative and the rest found it very creative. However, this does show that Pinewood Hotel can possibly invest in different advertising methods which appeal more to people and their consumers. They can try testers of different campaigns or releasing information on their websites prior to it being released so more people know of it, and to increase the brand awareness. There were several recommendations which were highlighted. These were to make the website more interactive, more images, and different themes and more colourful.