Marketing Research Proposal for Starwood Hotels Client: Starwood Hotels -

http://www.starwoodhotels.com

Background: Starwood Hotels have developed a reputation as a premier hotelier for both affluent families and small corporate gatherings. Each property manages its own client database, storing data about each guest's name and address, the dates of their initial and most recent visits, number of people in their last booking, and the amount spent during their last stay. No other customerrelated data is captured or stored, in order to protect the privacy of their guests. Recently, Starwood's management team has felt "out of touch" with the British Columbia (BC) market, and are concerned that they may be losing ground to competing properties. Before investing in any new hotel or resort properties in BC, the management team desires accurate information about the province's economy, the BC hospitality industry, and the current or projected opportunities or threats posed by competitors. In a recent e-mail, the General Manager for Starwood explains: "We continually strive to be more proactive, especially in terms of staying ahead of the competition and fostering customer loyalty. First and foremost, our company prefers to compete in the corporate and tour operator markets that book greater than 50 doubleoccupancy rooms per property per day. Furthermore, we need to secure our share of the demand for corporate meeting space bookings of 50 to 150 people over 1 to 3 day periods. Over the course of a year, penetration into these market segments can ensure that our facilities (e.g., guest suites and meeting rooms) operate above the required 65% break-even capacity, regardless of their location." In a follow-up conversation, the General Manager writes: "The BC interior, especially the Okanagan valley, is one of the fastest growing areas in BC; yet, we have only one hotel there! We need to evaluate whether there is an opportunity to expand in this region? If so, what type of property should be developed in order to meet the demands and needs of our market segments? And, furthermore, is the market size for these segments sufficient to warrant investing in a new Okanagan property? I suppose this line of questioning leads to further questions: where should it be developed? on the lakeshore, similar to our Westin Bayshore property? or, perhaps, at a mountain resort (e.g., Big White or SilverStar), like our Whistler properties?" "As you can see, there are many questions and few clear answers. Before making any decisions, we would like you to prepare a research proposal that details the nature of research to be conducted and your suggestions on how to best proceed with the research plan. The actual research should commence by March 1st, but we will need to finish the project within 6 months, so that the board can evaluate the proposal during our Fall budget meetings."

Assignment: You have been hired a research proposal for Starwood Hotels. Begin by identifying their information needs using exploratory research of secondary sources (e.g., websites, trends, and hospitality magazines) and then provide a clearly written problem statement with specific and measurable research objectives. Starwood's management team also expects you to suggest a research design plan that will yield the information they need to make their expansion decisions. Specifically, what areas of research should be done and how would you proceed? Remember that this is only a proposal for future research; do not create data collection instruments, such as surveys or questionnaires.

recommended research design, including brief descriptions of your sampling plan (who will you ask), data collection (how will you collect data), and analysis (what information will you hope to elicit)