The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Banglore

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Transcript of The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Banglore

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Differentiation is essential, as the presence of a variety of Hotel brands in India is

limited, whereas consumer choices and patterns show a need for more brands. Taking

this into account as well as branding a strategy of not wanting an omnibus known as

Taj defining all its properties the company has rebranded its properties into Taj,

Vivanta by Taj, The Gateway and Ginger. Gateway is positioned above the economy

brand Ginger but placed below the Residency and the Taj brands.

The Gateway Hotel caters to a pan-India network of hotels and resorts offering all the

key services at competitive prices. The pricing starts from Rs 3,000 and to over Rs

6,000 depending on the location. The company plans to invest aggressively to

promote the brand through owned and managed properties. The Gateway Hotels are

to be set up in each of the country’s business districts and leisure locations, catering

primarily to the contemporary traveller.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The world has changed drastically over past one year and so has business and its

trends. With the global melt down of the economy and its impact most of the

corporate have resorted to drastic cost cutting measures. The effect is contagious- the

meltdown is getting transmitted throughout the industries. Due to this The Gateway

Hotel is experiencing a slowdown in its banquet sales.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To understand the effectiveness of the standard operating procedures of

banquet sales department and determine the gaps that occur during

implementation.

To understand a corporate clients preferences while choosing a particular

banquet facility

To determine their perception of The Gateway Hotel’s banquet facilities and

recommend ways to make The Gateway Hotel a preferred banquet destination

for the corporate customer.

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CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………......................................................6

THE HOSPATILITY INDUSTRY……………………........................................14

HOTEL INDUSTRY IN INDIA.......................................................................... 18

THE TATA GROUP……………….........................................…………………31

The Taj

Indian hotels company Ltd

THE GATEWAY HOTEL RESIDENCY ROAD…..............................…........36

DESIGN & ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRE……….................………….39

Introduction & objectives

Research Methodology

Analysis of the questionnaire

Observations

SUGESSTIONS………………………………………...............................….56

CONCLUSION…………………………………......…........................……...75

ANNEXTURE…………………………................................….....………….80

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HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY – AN OVERVIEW

Hospitality is all about offering warmth to someone who looks for help at a strange or

unfriendly place. It refers to the process of receiving and entertaining a guest with

goodwill. Hospitality in the commercial context refers to the activity of hotels,

restaurants, catering, inn, resorts or clubs who make a vocation of treating tourists.

Helped With unique efforts by government and all other stakeholders, including hotel

owners, resort managers, tour and travel operators and employees who work in the

sector, Indian hospitality industry has gained a level of acceptance world over. It has

yet to go miles for recognition as a world leader of hospitality. Many take Indian

hospitality service not for its quality of service but India being a cheap destination for

leisure tourism

With unlimited tourism and untapped business prospects, in the coming years Indian

hospitality is seeing green pastures of growth. Availability of qualified human

resources and untapped geographical resources give great prospects to the hospitality

industry. The number of tourists coming to India is growing year after year. Likewise,

internal tourism is another area with great potentials.

The hospitality industry is a 3.5 trillion dollar service sector within the global

economy. It is an umbrella term for a broad variety of service industries including, but

not limited to, hotels, food service, casinos, and tourism. The hospitality industry is

very diverse and global. The industry is cyclical; dictated by the fluctuations that

occur with an economy every year. Today hospitality sector is one of the fastest

growing sectors in India. It is expected to grow at the rate of 8% between 2007 and

2016. Many international hotels including Sheraton, Hyatt, Radisson, Meridien, Four

Seasons Regent, and Marriott International are already established in the Indian

markets and are still expanding. Nowadays the travel and tourism industry is also

included in hospitality sector. The boom in travel and tourism has led to the further

development of hospitality industry.

In 2003-04 the hospitality industry contributed only 2% of the GDP. However, it is

projected to grow at a rate of 8.8% between 2007-16, which would place India as the

second-fastest growing tourism market in the world. This year the number of tourists

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visiting India is estimated to have touched the figure of 4.4 million. With this huge

figure, India is becoming the hottest tourist destination. The arrival of foreign tourists

has shown a compounded annual growth of 6 per cent over the past 10 years. Besides,

travel and tourism is the second highest foreign exchange earner for India. Moreover,

it is also estimated that the tourism sector will account for nearly 5.3 per cent of GDP

and 5.4 per cent of total employment.

  GDP Employment Visitor Export

Personal T&T

Capital Investment

Govt. Expenditure

Outlook for 2006

7.80% 1.40% 10.90% 6.90 % 8.30% 7.70%

Outlook for 2007-2016

6.60% 1.00% 7.80% 6.70% 7.80% 6.60%

ATITHI DEVO BHAVO (guest is God)-  we have all heard this phrase many times

during our childhood from our parents and grand-parents. We can also find its

presence in the earliest Vedas and religious epics. Hospitality is deep-rooted in our

traditions and comes as an integral part of our heritage. In very simple terms,

hospitality is the art of being warm to strangers and has been derived from the Latin

word hospitalitem, which means "friendliness to guests".

The hospitality industry covers a diverse range of establishments in the form of

accommodation, food and drinks. It includes hotels, motels, restaurants, bars, ships,

airlines and railways. The concept of hospitality business started when people started

traveling away on business and they needed a place away from home which could

cater to all their needs.

Today hospitality has evolved from the basic food and accommodation industry and

taken a very important position in almost all businesses. In fact, it has become a huge

industry and drives economies across the globe.  The scope of hospitality/ service

industry today is far more than one could have ever imagined a few years back.

Earlier people who graduated from a Hotel School could get employed either in

Hotels, Cruises or Airlines.

But service is the BUZZ word for all businesses today. Be it the Retail Sector,

Banking Industry, BPO, Telecom world, Real Estate or any other sector having direct

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customer contact, a person with hospitality background has an edge above the rest,

because of their sheer capability of understanding the needs of a customer better and

handling  difficult customers/ situations efficiently.

Hotel industry depends largely upon the foreign tourist arrivals further classified into

business travelers (around 65% of the total foreign tourists) and leisure travelers. The

following figures show that business as well as the leisure travelers (both domestic

and international) formed major clientele for hotels in 2007.

Over the last two years, the hotel industry has seen higher growth rates due to greater

number of tourist arrivals, higher occupancy rate (being around 75% in FY'06) and

significant increase in average room rate (ARR). The major factors contributing to

this growth include stable economic and political conditions, booming service

industry, FDI inflow, infrastructure development, emphasis on tourism by the central

as well as state governments and tax rationalization initiatives to bring down the tax

rates in line with the international levels.

CONTRIBUTION TO INDIAN ECONOMY

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The Indian hospitality industry is going great guns presently, with high operating

margins and increase in the number of travellers visiting India - both inbound and

outbound. Thus, the only direction left for the sector points upwards. However, what

needs to be focussed on is the fact that opportunities are not missed, which presently

include the large gaps in rooms supply as compared to demand. India has

approximately 100,000 rooms only in totality, which is lesser than that in Las Vegas,

besides contributing to an insignificant portion of the GDP - just 5.4 per cent says

Sudeep Jain, executive director of JLLM. In comparison to nations like China,

Thailand and Malaysia where the hospitality share ranges between 12 and 15 per cent,

India's growth potential is boundless. "By 2020, the hospitality and tourism sector

would be a major contributor to the Indian economy," says Jain.

South Asia is and will remain a must-visit destination and India is looking more and

more lucrative. Within the nation, major contribution as destinations will be from the

growing tier I and II cities with a special emphasis on business hotels across

categories as well as the prime leisure destinations like Goa, Rajasthan, etc, which

will remain on the growth path, creating the aura for India as a leisure destination.

Accordingly, the needs of the traveller, will be nothing less than perfection. Jain says,

"They will be more discerning and more value conscious." With an increase in

choices available, they will be less forgiving of service deficiencies. Guests will

require higher levels of service in the full-service segments, which will warrant

greater training requirements for hotel staff. The limited service hotels will require a

complete shift in the perception of customer service. Nevertheless, this is directly

related to the travellers' travel persona. "The same person will have different standards

when he/she is on a business trip, versus an escape with his partner versus a leisure

trip with the family," he explains.

Future-wise

Hotels as a product will witness evolution, says Jain. According to him, "As the

market becomes more segmented, especially in the mid-market and select service

categories, more product types will appear." The driving force behind these will be

global brand standards and therefore they will have standard specifications creating a

degree of uniformity and standardisation in certain limited and mid-market hotel

segments. Differentiations in product type will evolve more at the higher end of the

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market with boutique hotels, resorts, convention centres, etc. The need to differentiate

design will play an important role. Various brands and operators will play a larger

role in driving design standards, getting involved at early project planning stages. "As

hotel segments cater to specific demand segments, design typologies will be more

customised to suit traveller's lifestyle," says Jain. Equal importance will also be given

to green-building concepts in terms of development and operations, which will go

beyond cost-saving, placating the demands from both investors and customers. "From

the investment side, there will be enough environmentally-conscious investors, who

will only invest in green buildings and will also pay a premium for such properties

relative to other properties," predicts Jain. In addition, 'green-conscious' business and

corporate groups will patronise hotels and brands that support green concepts," he

further adds.

Besides all this, the reliance on technology will move beyond Wi-Fi and internet

requirements to tools to support sales and marketing as well as yield management.

Even basic interiors will be upgraded with the use of technology like self check-in and

information kiosks. This will also revamp sales and marketing as international brands

will leverage their central reservation systems and will initiate networks with third

party reservation agencies. In addition, systems will become more sophisticated and

targeted, customising sales and marketing efforts for each targeted traveller.

F&B, an area of immense importance within a hotel will also evolve, especially for

the select-service hotel categories. Jain gives an example. "The standard two/three-

meal restaurant could be replaced by limited service 24-hr cafés that occupy a smaller

area and employ fewer staff and can provide limited room service." Similarly he

speaks of grab-n-go concepts also that would make inroads in the select service

segments. However when discussing service, which is the main play of this industry,

it has to be understood that the growth phase is still on and the market is currently

undersupplied in terms of trained hotel staff to cater to the large supply pipe-line. "A

larger number of globally recognised training institutes are required in the country and

this is a great opportunity for educational institutions," believes Jain.

The driving force

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Being part of a real estate money management and services company, Jain discusses

the various driving factors for growth opportunities, quoting research done by Jones

Lang LaSalle Hotels. He believes that if the country is able to sustain its economic

growth specially in the service sector, it will have a direct influence on the hotel

industry. This is directly related to the incoming foreign investments, not just in the

hotels but the economy as a whole. Also equally important is the fact that India has

now discovered the power of marketing and with campaigns like Incredible India,

there are also the various large scale regional and global events like the upcoming

Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the recent Indian Premiere League that

builds interest about the nation. "These are just external factors. The policies and

incentives that will be provided over the next decade could further act as a catalyst to

this industry," says Jain. Apart from these external factors there are other factors

where the industry can be given a great boost. For instance if land prices became more

realistic, the process of getting approvals and licences to build and operate hotels are

streamlined, together with strong infrastructure development and investment and more

tax/levy incentives being provided to build hotels, it would prove very fruitful for the

industry. "Also, moving to a more 'international' FSI guideline will stimulate

development. Today, FSI's for hotels in India are only a fraction of those that exist in

other mature markets," says Jain. He believes that there would be no stopping the

growth in the industry if these measures were undertaken. But the fact remains that

half of these changes will only occur if the government begins to take some proactive

measures and provide the much needed stimuli to further accelerate development.

SWOT ANALYSIS

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STRENGTHS

1. Natural and cultural diversity : India has a rich cultural heritage. The "unity in

diversity" tag attracts most tourists. The coastlines, sunny beaches, backwaters of

Kerala, snow capped Himalayas and the quiescent lakes are incredible.

2. Demand-supply gap : Indian hotel industry is facing a mismatch between the

demand and supply of rooms leading to higher room rates and occupancy levels. With

the privilege of hosting Commonwealth Games 2010 there is more demand of rooms

in five star hotels. This has led to the rapid expansion of the sector

3. Government support: The government has realized the importance of tourism and

has proposed a budget of Rs. 540 crore for the development of the industry. The

priority is being given to the development of the infrastructure and of new tourist

destinations and circuits. The Department of Tourism (DOT) has already started the

"Incredible India" campaign for the promotion of tourism in India.

4. Increase in the market share: India's share in international tourism and hospitality

market is expected to increase over the long-term. New budget and star hotels are

being established. Moreover, foreign hospitality players are heading towards Indian

markets.

WEAKNESSES

1.Poor support infrastructure: Though the government is taking necessary steps,

many more things need to be done to improve the infrastructure. The total

expenditure made in this regard was US $150 billion in China compared to US$ 21

billion in India.

2.Slow implementation: The lack of adequate recognition for the tourism industry

has been hampering its growth prospects. Whatever steps are being taken by the

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government are implemented at a slower pace.

3.Susceptible to political events: The internal security scenario and social unrest also

hamper the foreign tourist arrival rates.

OPPORTUNITIES

1.Rising income: Owing to the rise in income levels, Indians have more spare money

to spend, which is expected to enhance leisure tourism.

2.Open sky benefits: With the open sky policy, the travel and tourism industry has

seen an increase in business. Increased airline activity has stimulated demand and has

helped improve the infrastructure. It has benefited both international and domestic

travels.

THREATS

1. Fluctuations in international tourist arrivals: The total dependency on foreign

tourists can be risky, as there are wide fluctuations in international tourism. Domestic

tourism needs to be given equal importance and measures should be taken to promote

it.

2.Increasing competition: Several international majors like the Four Seasons,

Shangri-La and Aman Resorts are entering the Indian markets. Two other groups - the

Carlson Group and the Marriott chain - are also looking

forward to join this race. This will increase the competition for the existing Indian

hotel majors

THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

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Hotel Industry in India has witnessed tremendous boom in recent years. Hotel

Industry is inextricably linked to the tourism industry and the growth in the Indian

tourism industry has fuelled the growth of Indian hotel industry. The thriving

economy and increased business opportunities in India have acted as a boon for

Indian hotel industry. The arrival of low cost airlines and the associated price wars

have given domestic tourists a host of options. The 'Incredible India' destination

campaign and the recently launched 'Atithi Devo Bhavah' (ADB) campaign have also

helped in the growth of domestic and international tourism and consequently the hotel

industry.

In recent years government has taken several steps to boost travel & tourism which

have benefited hotel industry in India. These include the abolishment of the inland air

travel tax of 15%; reduction in excise duty on aviation turbine fuel ; and removal of a

number of restrictions on outbound chartered flights, including those relating to

frequency and size of aircraft. The government's recent decision to treat convention

centres as part of core infrastructure, allowing the government to provide critical

funding for the large capital investment that may be required has also fuelled the

demand for hotel rooms.

The opening up of the aviation industry in India has exciting opportunities for hotel

industry as it relies on airlines to transport 80% of international arrivals. The

government's decision to substantially upgrade 28 regional airports in smaller towns

and privatization & expansion of Delhi and Mumbai airport will improve the business

prospects of hotel industry in India. Substantial investments in tourism infrastructure

are essential for Indian hotel industry to achieve its potential. The upgrading of

national highways connecting various parts of India has opened new avenues for the

development of budget hotels in India. Taking advantage of this opportunity Tata

group and another hotel chain called 'Homotel' have entered this business segment.

According to a report, Hotel Industry in India currently has supply of 110,000 rooms

and there is a shortage of 150,000 rooms fuelling hotel room rates across India.

According to estimates demand is going to exceed supply by at least 100% over the

next 2 years. Five-star hotels in metro cities allot same room, more than once a day to

different guests, receiving almost 24-hour rates from both guests against 6-8 hours

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usage. With demand-supply disparity, hotel rates in India are likely to rise by 25%

annually and occupancy by 80%, over the next two years. This will affect the

competitiveness of India as a cost-effective tourist destination.

To overcome, this shortage Indian hotel industry is adding about 60,000 quality

rooms, currently in different stages of planning and development, which should be

ready by 2012. Hotel Industry in India is also set to get a fillip with Delhi hosting

2010 Commonwealth Games. Government has approved 300 hotel projects, nearly

half of which are in the luxury range. The future scenario of Indian hotel industry

looks extremely rosy. It is expected that the budget and mid-market hotel segment

will witness huge growth and expansion while the luxury segment will continue to

perform extremely well over the next few years.

Over the last decade and half the mad rush to India for business opportunities has

intensified and elevated room rates and occupancy levels in India. Even budget hotels

are charging USD 250 per day. The successful growth story of 'Hotel Industry in

India' seconds only to China in Asia Pacific.

'Hotel Industry in India' has supply of 110,000 rooms. According to the tourism

ministry, 4.4 million tourists visited India last year and at current trend, demand will

soar to 10 million in 2010 – to accommodate 350 million domestic travellers. 'Hotels

in India' has a shortage of 150,000 rooms fuelling hotel room rates across India. With

tremendous pull of opportunity, India is a destination for hotel chains looking for

growth. The World Travel and Tourism Council, India, data says, India ranks 18th in

business travel and will be among the top 5 in this decade. Sources estimate, demand

is going to exceed supply by at least 100% over the next 2 years. Five-star hotels in

metro cities allot same room, more than once a day to different guests, receiving

almost 24-hour rates from both guests against 6-8 hours usage. With demand-supply

disparity, 'Hotel India' room rates are most likely to rise 25% annually and occupancy

to rise by 80%, over the next two years. 'Hotel Industry in India' is eroding its

competitiveness as a cost effective destination.

‘India Hotel Industry' is adding about 60,000 quality rooms, currently in different

stages of planning and development and should be ready by 2012. MNC Hotel

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Industry giants are flocking India and forging Joint Ventures to earn their share of pie

in the race. Government has approved 300 hotel projects, nearly half of which are in

the luxury range. Sources said, the manpower requirements of the hotel industry will

increase from 7 million in 2002 to 15 million by 2010.

With the USD 23 billion software services sector pushing the Indian economy

skywards, more and more IT professionals are flocking to Indian metro cities. 'Hotel

Industry in India' is set to grow at 15% a year. This figure will skyrocket in 2010,

when Delhi hosts the Commonwealth Games. Already, more than 50 international

budget hotel chains are moving into India to stake their turf. Therefore, with

opportunities galore the future 'Scenario of Indian Hotel Industry' looks rosy.

Sky hitting property prices in metros are forcing the players of the hotel industry to

expand their horizons to tier-II and tier-III cities.

Now the focus is shifted on tier II and III cities, after the top metros of India, as these

cities would drive the investment and growth phase of the country owing to the huge

unexplored potential capabilities.

A survey was conducted on Tier II cities of India. The cities like Chandigarh,

Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Indore,

Surat, Goa, Mysore, Coimbatore, Kochi and Vishakhapatnam were selected and

surveyed.

During that survey, the parameters studied were investment scenario, physical and

social infrastructure, business environment, real estate, decadal growth, purchasing

power, literacy and so on and these cities were declared as the fastest growing cities

after the metros.

One of the main reasons for the big players in hotel industry to venture in these cities

is the ever increasing land prices in metros. The land prices in tier two and three cities

are far lesser compared to metros. So it leads to lower costs in setting up a hotel.

The middle segment people mainly look for basic criteria like hygiene, affordability,

safe and secure accommodation and also good food. They don’t want too much of hi-

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fi facilities with exhorbent prices. People prefer a hotel which is affordable and meets

the necessary requirements to have a pleasant stay.

The mid-sized segment is the fastest growing one in the hotel industry. Increasing

demand for affordable holiday stay has triggered for growth. So all the key players are

eying on tier-II and tier -III cities for their new projects to gain profits.

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THE TATA GROUP

The Tata Group is India’s best-known conglomerate in the private sector with a

turnover crossing US$ 11 billion. Long known for its adherence to business ethics,

with 230,000 employees across 95 companies, is also India’s most respected private

business Group.

Founded by Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata in the 1868, the Group’s early years were

inspired by the spirit of nationalism. The group pioneered several firsts in the Indian

industry. India’s first private sector steel mill, India’s first private sector hydro electric

power plant, the Indian luxury hotel chain 91903) and India’s first international airline

(Air India) are among the few. The Group’s pioneering spirit has continued in more

recent times when in 1958. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS Ltd) was founded which

stands as India largest software and services companies today. In 1999, the Groups

automobile company, Tata motors became the first to develop a car designed,

manufactured, and produced indigenously. Tata Tea, after the takeover of the British

Tea company Tetley, became the largest manufacturer of tea in the world.

The business operations of the Group currently encompass the Engineering, Materials,

Energy, Chemicals, Consumer products, Services, Communications and information

systems sectors. The Group has the largest footprint in India’s largest private sector

telecom service provider. Today, the scale of the Group’s operations is increasingly

turning global. Tata Tea is the first Indian MNC in the global tea industry and India’s

largest integrated tea company; Tata chemicals is Asia’s largest manufacturer of soda

ash; Titan is one of the worlds top six manufacturer brands in the watch segment; Tata

Engineering is amongst the top ten commercial vehicle manufacturers in the world

and Tata Indicom with the takeover of VSNL became India’s largest ILD services

provider and one of the largest players in the internet service market.

To leverage the value of the Tata brand, the thrust of the Group’s business has shifted

from a product-driven to a brand driven portfolio. The Group’s array of brands and

services includes Tata Tea, Tetley, Titan, Taj Group of Hotels, Tata Indica, Tata

Safari, Tanishq, Westside, Tata Indicom and Tata salt.Today the Tata group accounts

for 5.1 % of the country’s total exports.

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The Group has always believed in giving back more to the society than what is has

received. Thus, nearly tow thirds of the equity of Tata sons, the Group’s premier

promoter company, is held by philanthropic trusts, which have created a host of

national institutions in natural sciences, medical care, energy and the arts.

By combining ethical values with business acumen, globalization with national

interests and core strengths with flexibility, the Tata group aims to be the largest and

most respected global brand from India; a long-standing commitment to improving

the quality of life of its stakeholders.

Five core values

The Tata Group has always sought to be a value driven organisation. These values

continue to direct the growth and business. The five core Tata values underpinning the

way business is done are

Integrity: We must conduct our business fairly , with honesty and transparency.

Everything we do must stand the test of public scrutiny

Understanding: We must be caring, show respect, compassion and humanity for our

colleagues and customers around the world and always work for the benefit of India

Excellence: We must constantly try to achieve the highest standards in our day to day

work and in the quality of goods and services we provide

Unity: we must work cohesively with our colleagues across the group and with our

customers and partners around the world, building strong relationships based on

tolerance , understanding and mutual cooperation

Responsibility: We must be responsible , sensitive to the countries , communities and

environments in which we work, always ensuring what comes from the people goes

back to the people many times over

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THE TATA BUSINESS EXCELLENCE MODEL (TBEM)

The Tata Business Excellence Model has been instituted in memory of late Mr.JRD

Tata as a tribute to his eternal quest for perfection and quality. This model forms the

basis of the JRD QV (“JRD’ for JRD Tata and “QV” for Quality values) award. The

award aims to promote customer driven quality in the products and services offered

by Tata companies by recognizing those Tata Companies which excel in instilling

Quality as an organization wide value, articulated throughout every aspect of

business.

THE OBJECTIVE

To recognize Tata companies for the emphasis that they lay on quality values in every

sphere of their functioning. Only when the quest for the highest level of Quality is an

ongoing and continuous process within the company, will the company reach world

class standards.

Towards this end the Tata Business Excellence Model provides a framework for

improvement and assessment of quality on the following dimensions, which the

model terms as “Categories”

Category 1 Leadership

Category 2 Strategic Planning

Category 3 Customer & Market focus

Category 4 Information & Analysis

Category 5 Human Resource Focus

Category 6 Process Management

Category 7 Business Results.

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TATA BUSINESS EXCELLENCE MODEL

Framework and interface with current group. Initiatives launched till date.

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CUSTOMER FOCUSED STRATEGY AND ACTION PLANS

BUSINESSREVIEW

COMMITTEESGROUP

HR

STRATEGICPLANNING

HUMANRESOURCE

FOCUS

LEADERSHIPBUSINESSRESULT

GROUPEXECUTVE

OFFICE

GROUPFINANCE

CUSTOMER ANDMARKET FOCUS

PROCESSMANAGEMENT

INFORMATION & ANALYSIS

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THE HISTORY OF THE TAJ GROUP OF HOTELS

The true story of our beginning starts in the last decade of the 19th century (1868) with

the founder of the House of Tata’s. Mr.Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata. The story goes

that Mr.Tata decided he would build a hotel in Mumbai, the likes of which would

never have been dreamt of anywhere in the British Raj to contribute to the city of

Mumbai formerly known as Bombay which supported him and his endeavours. He

formed a company – the Indian Hotels Company in 1897, raised finances, invested his

own money, hired the best of architects and craftsman and he began constructing the

Taj Mahal Hotel in 1902 on a prime reclaimed site at Apollo Bounder, with the rooms

looking out to brilliant sunrise on the horizon of the Arabian sea, against the backdrop

of the hills that lay beyond the city. The hotel was opened to the guest on 1903.

In those days, The Taj Mahal Hotel was built around two or three great walls, which

ran the full height of the building, the straits were of stone and the railing of iron, and

around the great walls wan galleried, likewise with stone floors and iron railings. The

corridors were as much an exchange place of gossip as any market place. The bearers

from one end to the other of the vast hotel knew everything about the guest of the

hotel, his vices and his peculiarities, his meanness or generosities It was as if each

room were walled with glass for the entire world to look inside.

In those days, Bombay was a wide-open town. The Taj Mahal was a famous

rendezvous for men and women from all over the East. They came from Sumatra and

Madagascar and the Malay States, from Medan, Delhi and Semarang and Borneo and

Ceylon and Sourabya. There is a legend that the hotel was designed to face the bay

but the Indian Contractors who built it put the wrong was round and that the English

architect who designed it look one look at the on his arrival in Bombay and seeing

what they had done, hanged himself. Although this is and amusing tale, there is no

truth in it the reason hotels gardens are located at the back is so that they could offer

guest a safe haven from the noise and filth of Bombay.

From 1903 till the end of the ‘06s the Indian Hotels Company was synonymous with

the Taj Mahal Hotel, for our Company restricted itself to the sunning of this one hotel

pnly. In the early 60’s when it was becoming apparent that India’s future and here

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ability to earn foreign exchange was crucially dependent on fostering the Tourism

Industry, the company began to take in more professional men and women with

proven abilities and great potential.

Mr.Jehangir Ratanji Dababhoy Tata took over as the Chairman of the Tata sons in the

year 1938 and remained the chairman of the company until 1991 when the current

chairman Mr.Ratan Naval Tata took over. Mr.J.R.D. Tata passed away after a brief

illness on November 29, 1993 at the age of 89.

While in 70s Taj group was expanding at rapid race, it was content with its

achievements in India alone. The group’s success in India had now become known all

over the globe and the company started receiving offers to promote technical know-

how and supply success recipe to hotels and restaurants abroad.

Billed by the Times, London as the finest hotel in the East, the Taj’s first hotel, the

Taj Mahal palace & Tower, Mumbai was perhaps the only place in the world where a

British Viceroy could rub shoulders with an Indian Maharajah, where the Congress

could debate with right wing leaders, and where sailors on shore leave could flirt with

Pompadour Follies. Built at the cost of a quarter of million pounds, the hotel

introduced a series of firsts that set new benchmarks in Indian hospitality. Over the

years, the Taj brought into Bombay, “Professors of Dance” Mademoiselle Singy to

raise temperatures and a few eyebrows with the Tango, the first air-conditioned ball

room to cool things down, the first cold storage, the first licensed bar, and more.

The changing decades ushered in new tastes and newer guests including Mick Jagger,

Steven spielberg, and David Rockefeller, to name a few. From Nobel laureates to rock

stars, fashion divas, to oil-rich sheiks, Taj represented a global village long before the

term was to become a cliché. Even today, a hundred years on, guests will find Taj

talking luxury to greater heights in all its hotels around the world including business

capitals, fairy-tale palaces, on secluded islands, in private yachts, abroad executive

jets, and amidst spas and resorts. Still, as the discerning traveller will note, a little

ahead of its time.

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VISION

Embrace Talent and harness Expertise to leverage standards of Excellence in the Art

of Hospitality to grow our International presence, Increase domestic Dominance and

Crate value for all stakeholders.

MISSION

Product, Service and Profit Leadership.

TAJ PEOPLE PHILOSOPHY

You are and important member of the Taj family.

We endeavour to select, retain and compensate the best talent in the industry

We reward and recognize quality customer care based individual and team

performance.

We commit to providing you with opportunities for continuous learning and

development.

We abide by fair and just policies that ensure your well being and that of your family,

the community and the environment.

We commit to regular and formal channels of communication, which nurture

openness and transparency.

We strongly believe that you are the Taj.

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THE INDIAN HOTELS COMPANY

The Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj

Hotels Resorts and Palaces, which is recognized as one of Asia's largest and finest

hotel companies. Incorporated by the founder of the Tata group, Jamsetji Tata, the

company opened its first property, the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, Bombay in 1903. The

Taj, a symbol of Indian hospitality, completed its centenary year in 2003.

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces comprises 64 hotels in 45 locations across India with

an additional 15 international hotels. The most significant additions to the Taj

portfolio have been The Pierre, the iconic landmark hotel on New York's Fifth

Avenue, the Taj Boston and the Blue, Sydney.

In 1993, the company established the Indian Institute of Hotel Management in

Aurangabad in Maharashtra in western India.

AREAS OF BUSINESS 

IHCL operates in the luxury, premium, mid-market and value segments of the market

through the following:

Taj is the flagship brand for the world’s most discerning travellers seeking

authentic experiences in luxury. Besides luxurious living and fine dining,

Taj Hotels also promise a whole new experience of tranquility and total

‘wellness’, through Jiva Spas, a unique concept, which brings together the

wisdom and heritage of the Asian and Indian philosophy of wellness and

well-being.

Taj Exotica is a resort and spa brand found in the most exotic and relaxing

locales of the world.

Taj Safaris are India's first and only wildlife lodges circuit, that allow

travellers to experience the unparalleled beauty of the Indian jungle amidst

luxurious surroundings

Premium Hotels provide the new generation of travellers a contemporary

and creative hospitality experience that matches their work-hard, play-hard

lifestyles.

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The Gateway Hotel is a pan-India network of hotels and resorts that offers

business and leisure travellers a contemporary hotel experience.

Ginger is IHCL’s revolutionary concept in hospitality for the value

segment.

The other areas of business include:

Taj Air, a luxury private jet operation and Taj Yachts, which can be used by guests in

Mumbai and Kochi, in Kerala. It also operates airline catering services.

JOINT VENTURES, SUBSIDIARIES, ASSOCIATES

Taj Sats Air Catering: a joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services, a

subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, Taj Sats Air Catering is the largest airline catering

service in South Asia

Roots Corporation: a wholly-owned subsidiary that operates the Ginger chain of

budget hotels in India.

LOCATION

IHCL’s head office is in Mumbai, India. Taj properties are located in Asia, the UK,

the US, Australia and Africa.

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IMPORTANT MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF TAJ

1903: Created history with the opening of The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Bombay

(Mumbai) – India’s first Luxury hotel 

1971-72: Pioneered the concept of authentic Palace Hotels in the country with

sthe Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, the Palace of the Maharajah of the Esrtswhile state of

Jaipore. 

1974: Conceptualized the unique beach resort at u   built within the walls of a

Portuguese fort overlooking the Arabian Sea 

1978-82:  Taj launched in Delhi with its luxury hotel - Taj Mahal Hotel on No. 1 Man

Singh Road and then prepared India for the Asian Games by setting up Taj Palace,

Delhi with the largest convention centre in the country 

1982: Taj established a presence in the Western Hemisphere with the historic St.

James Court Hotel near Buckingham Palace, London 

1984-92: Well before these destinations became world renown for their beauty, Taj

expanded to Kerala and Sri Lanka 

1992-97: Rolled out Business Hotels in key cities and towns across the country,

branded as Taj Residency hotels 

2000: Consolidated its position as the largest chain in India with hotels in Ahmedabad

and Hyderabad, the latter city being a joint venture with GVK Hotels resulting in a

dominant position in the market for premium and luxury hotel rooms 

2002: The new Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives, within six months of its launch,

was awarded "The Best Resort in the World" - Harpers and Queen Travel Awards .

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TAJ PROPERTIES

The Taj Hotels are broadly classified under three SBU’s (Strategic Business Units)

TAJSATS

Taj also offers innovative flight catering and related services, TajSATS. TajSATS Air

Catering Ltd., is a joint venture of the India Hotels Company, popularly known as the

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces and SATS (Singapore Airport Terminal Services).

TajSATS is the market leader in airline catering. TajSATS operates out of the 4 major

metros in India, viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. Currently TajSATS caters

to over 26 international and domestic airlines, and is the leader in the India flight

catering market.

The Taj Madras Flight Kitchen operates airport restaurants in Chennai. The Company

is a joint venture of the Indian Hotels, SATS and Malaysian Airlines. All these

facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and advanced kitchen

equipment for efficient and hygiene food production and handling. At the heart of out

offering is a commitment to be ‘One with the Customer’. We are focused on creating

affinity with our customers every single day. We believe in strengthening this

relationship by delighting the customer in every interaction.

TajSATS is expanding its operations in the following cities in India – Amritsar,

Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Hyderabad & Pune. Amritsar is first on the list and

construction has been initiated already. All the other cities would have commenced

operations with the next 12 months.

26

Luxury SBU Palace Hotels

City Hotels

Business SBUITPLResidencyGateway Hotels

Leisure SBUCultural HeritageGarden RetreatsResorts

Page 27: The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Banglore

INDITRAVEL

Inditravel was formed in 2002; Post the acquisition of the 18 year old agency stallion

Travel services Pvt. Ltd by the India Hotels company Limited.

Headquartered in Mumbai, with branches in 34 locations across India, Inditravel is a

professionally managed travel agency providing total travel management solutions.

Affliated to IATA, UFTAA, PATA, TAAI and the Department of Tourism, India.

Inditravel offers the following services:

International Air ticketing

Domestic air ticketing

Rail ticketing

Hotel Bookings

Car Rentals

Visas

Passport Assistance

Foreign Exchange Assistance

Global Telecards

Medical Insurance.

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CORE VALUES

PEOPLE DIVERSITY,

INTEGRITY &

RESPECT

People are our greatest asset and the key to our success. We

respect diversity of people, ideas and cultures and honour the

value of individuals in a team

PASSION FOR

EXCELLENCE We believe the perfection to achieve excellence. We

continuously improve processes to surpass global benchmarks

EXCEED

EXPECTATIONSWe succeed by exceeding expectations of all stakeholders and

protecting the interest of our shareholders and playing by the

rules.

INNOVATIONWe encourage innovation, embrace change and support growth

through knowledge and learning

SENCE OF URGENCY

& ACCOUNTABILITYWe accept responsibility and deliver on promises with a sense

of urgency and agility

SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITYWe commit to improve the quality of life of the communities we

serve and our concern for the environment by returning to

society what we earn

JOB AT WORK

We recognize and respect each others in all interactions and set

the example for our guests, business associates and colleagues.

We encourage a fair environment that supports equal

opportunity to attract, develop and retain the best talent and

Endeavour to have fun too.

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THE GATEWAY HOTELS

Differentiation is essential, as the presence of a variety of brands in India is limited,

whereas consumer choices and patterns show a need for more brands. For instance,

the margins of luxury hotels have taken a beating in recent times, but budget hotels

and above are doing brisk business. Taking advantage of such gaps, global hotel chain

majors like the Wyndham group, MGM Mirage Hospitality, Langham Hotels,

Movenpick,  Accor Hospitality and Jumeriah are launching a variety of brands that

will operate at different levels.

Taking into accountas well as branding a strategy of not not wanting an omnibus

known as the Taj defining all its properties the company has rebranded all its

properties into Taj , Vivanta by Taj , The Gateway and Ginger. The Gateway is

positioned above the brand Ginger but placed below the Residency and Taj Brand.

“We think the star game in hotels is outdated and, therefore, we have not defined this

brand as any star. It remains an upscale option whereas Ginger would be our economy

segment,’’ said Ajoi Misra, senior V-P (sales and marketing), IHCL.

The Gateway Hotel caters ss to a pan-India network of hotels and resorts offering all

the key services at competitive prices.

The pricing starts from Rs 3,000 and to over Rs 6,000 depending on the location. The

group is looking at smaller cities as they are growing and also plans to expand in

places such as Varanasi and Agra which attract a lot of leisure travelers.

The brand will be present in all business districts and leisure locations across India to

offset the growing competition in the Indian hospitality market in the future .16

existing hotels have migrated to this brand and another 10 new hotels have already

been signed up to be incorporated within the Gateway chain.

The hotels that are rebranded as Gateway are at Agra, Bangalore, Calicut,

Chikmagalur, Conoor, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Madurai, Mangalore, Nasik, Sasan Gir,

Surat, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vijaywada and Visakhapatnam.The group has also signed

up in all key metros – Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune. Other locations signed up

are Jalandhar, Mysore, Navi Mumbai, Raipur and Gondia.

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The existing 16 hotels have been refurbished to maintain consistency across the

Gateway brand.The company plans to invest aggressively to promote the brand

through owned and managed properties. The Gateway Hotels are to be set up in each

of the country’s business districts and leisure locations, catering primarily to the

contemporary traveller.

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THE GATEWAY PROPERTIES

The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Bangalore

The Gateway Hotel Beach Road Calicut

The Gateway Hotel Fatehabad Road Agra

The Gateway Hotel KM road Chikmanglur

The Gateway Hotel Church road Conoor

The Gateway Hotel Marian Drive Ernakulam

The Gateway Hotel Ramgarh Lodge Jaipur

The Gateway Hotel Rawalkot Jaisalmer

The Gateway Hotel Pasumalai Madurai

The Gateway Hotel Old Port Road Manglore

The Gateway Hotel Ambad Nashik

The Gateway Hotel Athwalines Surat

The Gateway Hotel Akota Gardens Vadodara

The Gateway Hotel Ganges Varanasi

The Gateway Hotel Anardhanapuram Varkala

The Gateway Hotel MG road Vijayawada

The Gateway Hotel MG road Visakhapatnam

 

DEPARTMENTS AT THE GATEWAY HOTEL

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1. FRONT OFFICE

Customer contact point

Counters - Reception

Cash counter

Bell desk

Travel desk

Reservations, operator’s cabin

Business centre

2. ENGINEERING

Maintenance of buildings, equipments

Suggestions and installation of new machines

Plumbing and air conditioning

Ensures smooth flow of operations

3. LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

Provides training for staff

Ensures that staff are well equipped with perfect knowledge

4. SYSTEMS

Implementation of IT

Connects all the departments with IT

Ensures proper communication within and outside the company

5. HUMAN RESOURCES

Responsible for the overall productivity of the organisation

Recruitment, selection, staffing

Takes care of problems, grievances, progress, development and welfare of the

staff

6. FINANCE

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Accounts

Credits

Stores

7. FOOD PRODUCTION (KITCHEN)

Kitchen work (cooking)

Deep freezer, butchery area

Bakery, salads

Ensures proper hygiene

8. SECURITY

Crisis management

Responsible for sensitive situations (guests and outsiders)

Deal with public unrest, strike, terrorist attacks, bomb scares, etc.

9. SALES AND MARKETING

Responsible for sale of rooms and banquets

Generate revenue, attract customers

Advertisement and promotion

Public relation

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

As a part of my endeavour, I interacted with the various corporate customers availing

the banquet facilities of The Gateway Hotel , Residency Road Bangalore as well as

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Page 35: The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Banglore

corporate who didn’t use the hotels banquet facilities These interactions gave an

insight into the various factors that influence a customer’s choice of banquet facilities

and how they perceived the hotels banquet facilities. On the basis of the various

criterions that would enable me to meet the objectives of the study, a questionnaire

was designed. The questionnaire was administered by me rather being filled by the

customers. This was due to two reasons:

1. The customer would not be restricted by choices

2. The survey was conducted over the telephone

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To understand effectiveness of internal standard operating procedures and the

deviation from the S.O.P’s

To determine the factors that influence a customers choice of banquet facilities

To evaluate customer perception of The Gateway Hotel, Residency Road

banquet facilities

Recommend ways to make The Gateway Hotel, Residency road the preferred

banquet destination for the corporate customer.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Data Collection:

Primary Data:

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Direct Interaction.

Observations

Questionnaire Method

Secondary Data

Reports, Journals

Newspapers

Internet

Data Analysis:

Percentage Method

Bar graphs

Comparative charts

TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS: 100

84 Clients

16 Non clients

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DATA ANALYSIS AND

INTEPRETATION

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Frequency of usage

05

10152025303540

Always Frequently Occasionally Rarely Never

Frequency

1. How often do you use The Gateway Hotel?

Usage Frequency Percentage

Always 6 6

Frequently 20 20

Occasionally 38 38

Rarely 20 20

Never 16 16

INTERPRETATIONIn course of the study , it was found that only 6 % of the corporate customers use the Gateway hotel whenever there was a function where as a substantial 38% used it occasionally.

Always being 100% of all the company’s events being held at The Gateway Frequently being more than 80% of the company’s events being held at The

Gateway Occasionally being 40%- 80% of the company’s events being held at The

Gateway

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Rarely being less than 40% of the company’s events being held at The Gateway

2. Does The Gateway Hotel’s Banquet service provide you with complete

and accurate information in good time?

Response Frequency Percentage

Yes 80 95

No 4 4.7

Response accuracy

Yes

No

Yes

No

INTERPRETATION

Around 95% of the respondents felt that they were provided with complete and

accurate information about the banquets in good time and all the respondents recall

their banqueting experience with The Gateway as good. This suggests that the

performance of the banquet sales team highly satisfactory. This also indicates that

current SOP are effective and they are being adhered to.

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3. How did you come to know about The Gateway Hotel banqueting

facilities?

Source Frequency Percentage

Word of mouth 34 34

Advertisements 0 0

Sales Calling 12 12

Internet 6 6

Brand Recall 42 42

Company List 6 6

Source

05

1015202530354045

Word

of m

outh

Adver

tisem

ents

Sales

Callin

g

Inte

rnet

Brand

Recall

Compa

ny List

INTERPRETATION

42% of the customers had the brand in mind when they came to avail the banquet

facility where as 34% came to know about the services through word of mouth.

Whereas only 12 % came to know about the facility through sales calling, which

suggests that the frequency of sales calls should be increased. The effectiveness of

advertisements showed to be nil

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4. Grade the following parameters, which drives or influences you to choose

a banquet facility of a particular brand?

PRICE

Level Of Agreement

05

10152025303540

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee Som

ewha

t

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewhat

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

INTERPRETATION

In various degrees of agreement 76% agree that pricing was one of the factors that

influenced their choice of banquet facility ,with 34% agreeing that price influenced

their choice only to an extent. It was also observed that overseas clients didn’t

consider price as a major determining factor

41

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 14 14

Disagree Somewhat 2 2

Neutral 8 8

Agree somewhat 34 34

Agree 24 24

Strongly Agree 18 18

Page 42: The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Banglore

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 2 2

Neutral 16 16

Agree somewhat 20 20

Agree 36 36

Strongly Agree 26 26

Level Of Agreement

05

10152025303540

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee S

omew

hat

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewha

t

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

INTERPRETATION

Out of the total sample size of 100 respondents 36% agreed and 26% strongly agreed

that good customer service was one of the factors that promted them to use a

particular banquet facility.

CONVINENCE

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Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 0 0

Neutral 10 10

Agree somewhat 22 22

Agree 24 24

Strongly Agree 44 44

Level Of Agreement

05

101520253035404550

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee S

omew

hat

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewha

t

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

INTERPRETATION

The research revealed that convenience is of paramount importance as 44% of the

respondents strongly agreed that it influences their choice of banquets andan overall

90% agreeing at varying levels . It was also noted that none of the respondents

disagreed to the fact at any level.

DECOR & AMBIENCE

Opinion Frequency Percentage

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Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 2 2

Neutral 14 14

Agree somewhat 44 44

Agree 30 30

Strongly Agree 6 6

Level Of Agreement

05

101520253035404550

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee Som

ewha

t

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewhat

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

INTERPRETATION

Out of the 100 respondents 44% said that decor and ambience somewhat influenced

their choice while selecting banqueting facilities which reveals ambience and decor

was not a major determining factor.30% respondents agreed to it though

14% remained neutral.

QUALITY OF FOOD

Opinion Frequency Percentage

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Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 0 0

Neutral 14 14

Agree somewhat 24 24

Agree 34 34

Strongly Agree 28 28

Level Of Agreement

05

10152025303540

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee Som

ewha

t

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewhat

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

INTERPRETATION

It was found that 86% of the respondents agreed in varying levels that Quality of food

will affect their decision while selecting banqueting facilities out of which 28%

strongly agreed and 34%agreed.

VALUE FOR MONEY

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 0 0

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Neutral 0 0

Agree somewhat 24 24

Agree 32 32

Strongly Agree 44 44

Level Of Agreement

05

101520253035404550

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee Som

ewha

t

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewhat

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

c

INTERPRETATION

Value of money emerged as a very important parameter with 44% strongly agreeing,

32% agreeing and 24% somewhat agreeing to it as a decisive factor moreover as

compared to price the level of agreement was stronger . This suggests that the banquet

offerings should be such that the customer perceives it as value for money

GOOD DELIVERY

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 0 0

Neutral 20 20

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Agree somewhat 18 18

Agree 32 32

Strongly Agree 30 30

Level Of Agreement

05

101520253035

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee Som

ewha

t

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewhat

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

INTERPRETATION

When 30% of the sample strongly agreed and 32% agreed that good delivery of

service was a decisive factor, as compared to other decisive factors 20% maintained

that it had nothing to do with their choice of a banquet facility

RECOGINIZED BRAND NAME

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 0 0

Neutral 12 12

Agree somewhat 20 20

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Agree 18 18

Strongly Agree 50 50

1 2 3 4 5 6 70

10

20

30

40

50

60

INTERPRETATION

The major reason effecting the corporate’s choice of a banquet facility emerged to be

a recognised brand name with 50% of the sample strongly agreeing that a recognised

brand name followed by 20% who agreed somewhat and 18% agreeing was brand

was important while choosing a particular banquet facility while no one disagreed to

the fact at any level

QUALITY OF SERVICE

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 0 0

Neutral 12 12

Agree somewhat 18 18

Agree 30 30

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Strongly Agree 40 40

Level Of Agreement

05

1015202530354045

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee Som

ewha

t

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewhat

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

INTERPRETATION

40% strongly and 30% agreed that Quality of service as a decisive factor while

selecting Banqueting facilities while no one disagreed to it at any level

EASE OF ACCESS

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 10 10

Neutral 14 14

Agree somewhat 20 20

Agree 30 30

Strongly Agree 28 28

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Level Of Agreement

05

101520253035

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee S

omew

hat

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewha

t

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

INTERPRETATION

With 28%strongly agreeing and 30% agreeing, ease of access is a factor kept in mind

while corporates select the banquet. The location of the Banquet, hence, is an

important decisive factor.

GOOD SALES REPRESENTATIVE

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 22 22

Neutral 22 22

Agree somewhat 20 20

Agree 26 26

Strongly Agree 10 10

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Level Of Agreement

05

1015202530

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee S

omew

hat

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewha

t

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

INTERPRETATION

The research revealed that a good sales representative was essential but did not to a

great extent influence the choice while selecting a banquet facility with 22%

disagreeing some what and 22% neutral to the variable

5. Rate The Gateway Hotel banquet service on the following attributes…

GOOD FOOD

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 4 5

Neutral 4 5

Agree somewhat 30 36

Agree 40 48

Strongly Agree 6 7

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05

1015202530354045

Strong

ly Disa

gree

Disagr

ee

Disagr

ee S

omew

hat

Neutra

l

Agree

som

ewha

t

Agree

Strong

ly Agr

ee

INTERPRETATION

Out of a total sample of 84 respondents 48% agreed that the food provided by The

Gateway Hotel was good and 36% felt that it was satisfactory. Taking this into

account it can be inferred that the quality of food provided by the hotel is to the liking

of the customer

EXPENSIVE or VALUE FOR MONEY

OpinionEXPENSIVE VALUE FOR MONEY

Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0 0 0

Disagree 44 52 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 14 17 8 10

Neutral 14 17 10 12

Agree somewhat 4 5 12 14

Agree 4 5 32 38

Strongly Agree 4 5 22 26

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Strongly

Disagre

e

Disagre

e

Disagre

e Somew

hat

Neutra

l

Agree s

omewhat

Agree

Strongly

Agree

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ExpensiveValue for money

INTERPRETATION

With 52% disagreeing and 17% disagreeing somewhat it can be deduced that the

customers did not find the banquet offerings of the hotel expensive. With 38%

agreeing and 26% strongly agreeing it can be inferred that the customer perceived the

services as good value for money

THE GATEWAY HOTEL AS A BRAND YOU CAN TRUST

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Disagree Somewhat 0 0

Neutral 6 7

Agree somewhat 6 7

Agree 36 42

Strongly Agree 36 42

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05

1015202530354045

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INTERPRETATION

Further, among the customers who had used the banquet facilities of the hotel 84%

fell in the category who agreed that The Gateway was a brand that could be trusted. It

was noted that the customers preferred to refer to the brand as The Taj Gateway.

GOOD AMBIENCE

Opinion Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 0 0

Disagree 1 2

Disagree Somewhat 10 12

Neutral 24 29

Agree somewhat 12 14

Agree 30 36

Strongly Agree 6 7

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05

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INTERPRETATION

36% of the respondents agreed that the hotel’s decor and ambience was good With

28% disagreeing and 28% neutral to the idea it leaves the hotel with a scope for

improvement

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SUGGESTIONS

RECOMENDATIONS

Most of the customers came to know about the banquet facility through word

of mouth or through brand recall where as only a few claimed to have been

approached through sales calling and through company lists .So i would

recommend the hotel to increase the frequency of sales calls which would

also increase its chances of being on the corporate lists

A good majority of the clients used the services of the hotel only occasionally

(40%- 80% of the company’s events) and some who used the services rarely

(less than 40%) . To tap this market the hotel would have to differentiate its

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product offerings from that of its competitors. Keeping this in mind a

suggestion that I would like to make is to enliven the Meetings, Conferences

Inductions and other corporate events by first understanding the nature of the

event and by offering appropriate themes and making them more interesting

In course of interaction with the clients it was found that most of them still

were not comfortable accepting the gateway as a standalone brand they

preferred to associate it to the Taj . The gateway being a start-up brand should

focus on building itself as brand

Foreign clients who used the banquet facility cared less about the price factor

and more about the delivery of service which suggests that the hotel can up

sell its banquet offerings to overseas clients

Another important suggestion that i would like to make is to revise the

existing corporate rates and to also set a limitation period for such rates

As per the research convenience is one of the major factors that that influences

the customer’s choice of a particular banquet facility keeping this in mind an

improvement that can be made is to incorporate state of the art technology

rather than outsource it .

Another suggestion in this regard would be that one operations staff should be

always present as far as corporate functions such as meetings, inductions,

conferences, seminars; trainings etc are concerned as it would be more

convenient for the client to have a person on call.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL! The hotel needs to focus more on detailing its

offerings. A suggestion in this regard would be to give more importance to

presentation in terms of food and venue presentation.

The analysis also suggests that there is scope for improvement of the hotels

decor and ambience

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Most of the corporate customers were looking for value for money rather than

a cheaper price therefore I would like to suggest that the banquets should

increase its offerings in terms of the standard menu which would be perceived

by the customer as value for money rather than negotiate on the price

Rack rates need to be fixed and the pricing should be more structured , rates

should be quoted keeping a fixed profit margin because compromising heavily

on the rates would dilute the brand perception

RECOMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE S.O.P’S

The banquet staff need to be given training on negotiating skills as negotiation

was one of the prime factors that influenced banquet profits

More emphasis should be given to handling enquiries and a foolproof and

paperless operating procedure should be incorporated to keep track of

enquiries as the existing SOP for tracking enquiries is ineffective

Weekly and monthly forecasts need to be made mandatory as this would give

a more clear picture.

In my opinion the hotel can do away with banquet procedures as it would be

more convenient and smart to do the same digitally.

PAPER LESS OFFICE!!Some of the SOP’s such as maintaining a trace file,

present file, past file , future file and menu briefing register have become

redundant and needs updation.

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CONCLUSION

The corporate clients of The Gateway hotel were satisfied with the hotel in terms

of food and felt that the hotels offerings was worth the money they spent.

However some of them felt that the ambience needed improvement. The

customers were also satisfied with the quality of the food provided by the hotel

The analysis also revealed that the customers were not very price conscious but

were on the lookout for value for money. The corporate clients mainly looked out

for convenience a good brand name. They were also interested in the prospect of

having a wider spread of menu..

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During the course of the research not much deviation from the SOP’s were

observed which is supported by the fact the customers were happy with the quality

of service provided by the hotel .How ever most of the clients still were not

comfortable accepting the gateway as standalone brand they preferred to associate

it to the Taj . The gateway being a start-up brand should focus on building itself as

brand. The other hotels that the customers frequented for their banquets were The

Leele Palace , Royal Orchid and The Taj Residency.

Through the implementation of the suggestions made through the analysis and

observations of this project, I believe that corporate clients of The gateway Hotel

Residency Road can be increased in terms of banqueting and also deliver a better

experience

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ANNEXTURE

QUESTIONNAIRE

THE GATEWAY HOTEL

Sir/Madam,

This is a general study on customer perception of banquet facilities in hotels. I seek

only your general views about banquet facilities. I would like to thank you for your

co-operation and information that you have shared with me

1. How often do you use The Gateway Hotel?

Always

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Frequently Occasionally Never

2. When was the last time you used The Gateway services and do you recall your experience?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Does a The Gateway Hotels banquet service provide you with complete and accurate information in good time?

Yes No

4. What is your source of information about banqueting facilities?

Word of mouth Advertisements Sales calling Internet

6. Please Grade the following parameters, which drives or influences you to use a

banquet facility of a particular brand?

( 1- Least importance , 7- Most

important )

1. Economy

2. Customer service

3. Convenience

4. Décor and ambience

5. Quality of food

6. Value

7. Good delivery

8. Recognized brand name

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9. High quality

10. Ease of access

11. Easy/fast service

12. Good sales representative

7. Please tell us how The Gateway Hotels banquet services would rate on the

following attributes

( 1- Least importance , 7- Most important )

1. Quality

2. Expensive

3. A brand I can trust

4. Good value

5. Good ambience

7. Which other Hotel services have you used / are using?

The Leela Palace

Royal Orchid

Capitol

Artria

Chancery Pavilion

Ista

St Marks

Others

Company Information

Name

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Person in authority

Phone number

I sincerely thank you for sparing your valuable time and parting very useful information which will help me a great deal in my research project

Truly yours,

Ann Mary Joseph

( 1st year MBA , Christ University )

BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.tajhotels.com

www.thegatewayhotels.com

www.knightfrank.com

www.indiamart.com

The Gateway newsletter

Business and management chronicle

Understanding and managing customer perception – Dagmar Recklies

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