IVEY Publishing Western The Africa Institute W18587 GOLD CREST HOTEL: FILLING ROOM VACANCIES Mackenzie Schmidt, Matt Bradley, Glen Thomson-Bullock, and John Paul Belmonte wrote this case under the supervision of Professor Nicole Haggerty solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. This publication may not be transmitted, photocopied, digitized or otherwise reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the copyright holder. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Business School, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G ON1; (t) 519.661.3208; (e) cases @ivey.ca; www.iveycases.com. Copyright @ 2018, Ivey Business School Foundation Version: 2018-07-12 At the end of May 2015, Sanjeev Paliath was in his office skimming over the growing list of weddings and business conventions booked at his hotel for the coming weekend. As general manager of the Gold Crest Hotel (Gold Crest) in Mwanza, Tanzania, Paliath had been pleased with the hotel's steady revenue growth from conference room bookings over the past two years. However, the average yearly hotel occupancy was below management's desired 80 per cent rate. The Gold Crest was considered Mwanza's premier hotel for weddings and conferences, but it faced tremendous competition for guest room bookings from many local, lower-priced hotels. Now, halfway through the high season, Paliath had three days to prepare for his upcoming meeting with corporate executives to discuss which consumer market the Gold Crest should actively target. He pondered his available options to increase room occupancy and combat the hotel's slow season, which would soon arrive in July. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS By the end of 2014, Tanzania's population had reached over 50 million. The country's agriculture industry employed approximately 75 per cent of the population and accounted for over one-quarter of the country's gross domestic product; however, manufacturing, real estate, tourism, and business services were the fastest-growing sectors." In 2014, the average annual income per capita was US$930,* but only 28.2 per cent of the population was living below the poverty line, a decrease of 5 per cent since 2007. The completion of the National ICT Broadband Backbone, the country's national fibre-optic cable network in 2010, and the increased number of cell phone users had consequently increased the number of Internet users in Tanzania to 9 million. According to the 2013 National Household Budget Survey, Tanzania was well-positioned to reach middle-income status in the next decade.' "Population, Total," The World Bank: Data, accessed May 20, 2015, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL. Ibid. "Tanzanian Economy," United Republic of Tanzania: Government Portal, last updated October 2, 2015, accessed May 19, 2015, www.tanzania.go.tz/home/pages/29; "Tourism," United Republic of Tanzania: Government Portal, last updated October 7, 2015, accessed May 10, 2015, www.tanzania.go.tz/home/pages/210. All currency amounts are in US$ unless otherwise specified. "Tourism," op. cit. " Sturmius Mtweve, "Tanzania's Internet Users Hit 9m," The Citizen, March 23, 2014, accessed May 29, 2015, www.thecitizen.co.tz/Business/Tanzania-s-Internet-users-hit-9m/-/1840414/2254676/-/dgtops/-/index.html. "The World Bank in Tanzania: Overview," The World Bank: Where We Work, accessed June 5, 2015, www.worldbank.org/en/country/tanzania/overview
