Question 1 What factors lead to variations in demand for rooms at a hotel such as the Accra Beach?

Answer: There are 3 factors that will lead to variations in demand for rooms at a hotel, which are seasonal cycle, economic cycle and days of the week. Seasonal cycle - Hotel such as Accra Beach will depends highly on seasonal cycle, hotel will be in low demand on September (64.7%) as it is in peak hurricane season. High demand on January through March (87% to 92%), when Caribbean is in nice weather and people need to get away from the horrid season in North America and Northern Europe. Economic cycle - Business travelers, which are one of the main customers in Accra Beach Hotel (ABH), will be affected by the economic cycles. When there is an economic downturn, business will be down and there will be less business travel, in fact there will also be a decrease in the number of conferences. Thus this will lead to variation in demand for rooms. Days of the week There will be differences between the days chosen by the vacationers and business travelers. Usually business travelers will stay on weekdays, might be from Monday to Thursday. While vacationers will usually look for weekend getaway, might be from Friday to Sunday.

Question 2 Identify the various market segments currently served by the hotel. What are the pros and cons of seeking to serve customers from several segments? Answer: There are various market segments that are currently served by the hotel. Based on behavioral segmentation that segments market according to their purposes, it could be categorized into four segments: Corporate customers Tour group participant Individual vacationers Individual business travelers While based on geographical segmentation, it could be categorized into two segments: United Kingdom Canada There are several pros and cons that should be taken into...

1. What are the key considerations facing the hotel as it reviews the booking request from the WICB? Three concerns that Cherita and the GM should question when reviewing the booking request from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) are: i. Whether revenue- Income/Expenses, would be good or not ii. The impact on their regular guests, i.e. the individual travelers, the corporate travelers, & the tour operators. iii. Whether they would receive the publicity they are expecting to receive The hotel recalled from past experiences, the desired dates that the WICB requested were usually very busy days. Therefore, their key considerations were whether to accept the business from the WICB. In terms of revenue: it was forecasted that the WICB would more than likely pay the average lower rates ($140-$150) that the hotel offered for the rooms. In addition to that, they presumed that the team members and officials would eat elsewhere because of the per diem budget they were placed on rather than eating at the hotel. On the other hand, their regular customers who frequent there for a number of meals such as breakfast accounting for 80% of all guests and 30% of them who dines in were a much promising crowd. On average, both vacationers and corporate customers spend about $8 per person for breakfast and about $25 VAT inclusive, per person for dinner. They also wanted 50 rooms, each at $130 per night, including two additional suites at no extra cost. The WICB requested that the hotel do the teams laundry services at no additional cost. Cherita estimated that it would cost the hotel $20 per day to do it inhouse as oppose to sending it to an outside source which would cost them about $200. Other guest: The impact on these guests can be positive or negative depending upon their purpose for travelling. Their concerns about...