Solutions to improve business efficiency at Hotel Continental Saigon

Tourist source market is understood as: at a certain time, at a certain point, there are actual buyers and potential buyers who are able to buy tourism products.

The tourism market is very large and diverse. Tourists can be international, domestic, vacationers, visitors, business travelers or other types of tourists.

In different customer markets, their needs are also different. Therefore, the goal of customer market segmentation is to divide the market into groups with common outstanding characteristics, helping tourism businesses grasp the information and needs of tourists. Then determine the most attractive market segments, suitable for the strengths and resources of the business. Choosing this market is choosing the target market of the business.

The target customer market is a market consisting of customers with the same needs and desires that the business is able to meet, and at the same time can create an advantage over competitors. For each suitable market segment, the business can develop specific business strategies for each customer market.

1.1.5. Tourism business

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In essence, tourism business activities are the sum of the relationship between economic phenomena and the economics of tourism activities, formed on the basis of fully developing tourism products and the process of exchanging, buying and selling tourism goods on the market.

Tourism business is the implementation of one, some or all stages of tourism activities or the implementation of tourism services on the market for profit purposes.

Unlike ordinary goods, the products exchanged between the two sides of supply and demand in tourism are not concrete objects, but are the feelings, experiences and enjoyment that tourists have. The exchange of tourism products and currency conducted by the two sides of supply and demand in tourism does not change the ownership.

tourism product ownership, during the conversion process there is no product transfer, tourists only have the right to temporarily possess the tourism product at the tourist destination. The same tourism product can still be sold many times to many different tourists to use, the tourism product only temporarily transfers the right to use, but the ownership is still in the hands of the business person, this is the basic characteristic of tourism business.

Tourism business is a service business, including the following industries and professions:

- Travel business

- Tourist accommodation business

- Tourist transportation business

- Business development of tourist areas and tourist attractions

- Other tourism service business

1.1.6. Hotel business

Hotel business is one of the main activities of the tourism industry. We can understand that hotel business is one of the business activities that provide accommodation, food and beverage services and additional services for tourists during their stay at tourist destinations and bring economic benefits to the business itself.

Hotel business is an important and indispensable link in the tourism network of countries and tourist destinations, and hotel activities have brought significant benefits to the national economy such as a large source of foreign currency, job creation, etc. The strong development of hotel business activities also changes the investment structure, increasing income for local areas.

1.2. SOME THEORETICAL ISSUES ON HOTEL BUSINESS

1.2.1. Basic characteristics of the hotel

1.2.1.1. Hotel concept

Hotel is understood as a type of enterprise established and registered for business according to the provisions of law for the purpose of making profit. Hotel comes from French, meaning a place for renting accommodation (accommodation). However

However, not only hotels have accommodation services, but other establishments such as motels, guesthouses, villas, etc. also have this service.

According to the Regulations on standards for ranking tourist hotels (Issued with Decision No. 02/2001/QD-TCD L dated April 27, 2001): "A hotel is an independently built architectural work, with a scale of 10 bedrooms or more, ensuring the quality of facilities, equipment, and necessary services to serve tourists". Although there are many different understandings, we can summarize the same understanding of a hotel as follows: A hotel is first of all a typical accommodation facility built at a certain location and providing products and services to guests for profit. Hotel products and services today not only include accommodation, food and beverage, entertainment products but also include room service, trade, beauty, etc.

Hotels are often located near resorts serving vacationers or city centers serving business travelers or other recreational activities. Hotel rental prices are calculated by day or hour, usually from 12 noon on the day of check-in to 12 noon the next day. Room rates may or may not include breakfast, depending on the hotel.

1.2.1.2. Different hotel classifications

a. By geographical location

- City hotel

- Resort hotel

- Suburban hotel

- Roadside hotel

- Airport hotel

b. According to service level

- Luxury hotel

- Hotel with full service

- The hotel offers a limited number of services.

- Low-ranking hotel

c. According to the selling price of accommodation products

d. According to the size of the hotel

e. By form of ownership and management

- Private hotel

- State hotel

- Joint venture hotel (Joint ownership/ Franchise/ Management contract)

1.2.1.3. Hotel organizational structure

GUEST HOUSE

Food & Beverage

Room Division

Sales/ Catering

Engine eering

Human

Resources

Accounting

Front of House Back of House

Diagram 1.1: Organizational structure of a hotel

1.2.2. Overview of hotel business operations

1.2.2.1. Characteristics of hotel business operations

Hotel business requires a very high amount of initial investment and fixed investment. Hotel business is cyclical, depending on the tourist season, because hotel business only exists and develops when the demand of visitors comes, they need beautiful resources, stable weather and climate. We cannot change the laws of nature, so this system is cyclical.

Hotel business requires a large workforce because the hotel's main product is service. In business

In hotels, production and consumption of products take place almost simultaneously in a space and over a period of time. The hotel is fixed while tourists are scattered everywhere. Customers who want to consume the hotel's products must travel to the hotel. Therefore, the selection and arrangement of the hotel's operating space is extremely important.

Hotels can only exist and develop in cities, tourist centers, places with attractive tourism resources. The location of the hotel is convenient for guests to travel, the area where the hotel operates has good infrastructure, a favorable business environment, abundant supply sources, creating good conditions for organizing hotel activities.

In terms of operating time, the hotel depends on the consumption time of the guests. The demand for hotel products by guests can occur at any time of the day, week, month, year. Therefore, regardless of the time when there are guests, the hotel must always be ready to serve.

The target audience of hotels is tourists with diversity in ethnic structure, social structure (gender, status, etc.), awareness, interests, customs, and lifestyle. Tourists' requirements for hotel services are also different.

In a hotel, each department operates relatively independently in a service process. This allows for the implementation of contract and accounting forms at each stage of the business, while at the same time there must be coordination of the activities and interests of each department and each employee of the hotel to ensure the overall business efficiency of the hotel.

Features of hotel products :

 Hotel business is also considered as a production unit of goods, which are service products. Goods are produced and manufactured in one place, then transported to different locations and consumed through distribution channels. Consumers can be anywhere and can consume that product. But for hotel products, it is not possible.

They are produced and consumed in the same place. To enjoy them, customers must come there.

 Intangibility :

Hotel business is service-oriented. Unlike physical products, services cannot be seen, tasted, smelled, felt or heard before being purchased. If it is a commodity product, customers can examine, check, try to evaluate whether the quality is good or not, but for services, customers cannot do that, only when they experience it directly can they evaluate. Hotel sales staff cannot bring rooms to sell to customers through room sales calls. That means hotel products are sold to customers before they see the product. In fact, they cannot sell rooms but only sell the right to use the room for a specified period of time. When customers leave the hotel, they do not take anything with them.

A tangible product can be measured in terms of design details and materials that can be presented to the consumer. However, the services provided by a hotel are more abstract, the perception of the style of the office or the friendliness of the staff cannot be carefully considered and evaluated before the trip, so it must be based on the experience of those who have used the service. When purchasing a hotel product, the buyer has many memories that can be shared with others. Due to the intangible nature of hotel services and products, which are often far away from the customer, the time from the date of purchase to the time of use of the product is quite long.

In addition, because hotel products are far from customers, it is necessary to have a distribution system through the use of intermediaries such as travel companies, travel agents, etc.

 Decomposability :

Because the production and consumption of services occur simultaneously, unlike goods that can be stored or kept in stock until they are sold, services cannot be stocked, meaning that hotel products cannot be kept for later use.

tomorrow. The time of hotel service staff cannot be reserved for peak times nor can hotel rooms be reserved for busy times.

 Indivisibility :

Inseparability shows that the interaction between the provider and the customer creates the consumption of the service. The customer's contact with the staff is an important part of the product. The quality and comfort of the room may not be perfect, but if the staff is superficial, lacking in care and attention, the customer will rate the hotel poorly.

Indivisibility also means that the customer is part of the product. Not only the service provider but also the customer contributes to the quality of the product. For example, in a restaurant, if some customers make noise and cause a disturbance, it will negatively affect other customers. This will invisibly make the quality of the restaurant's service worse because the atmosphere is not comfortable for the customers.

 Variability :

In the short term, the supply of hotel products is fixed, but customer demand can increase or decrease. Fluctuations in demand make it difficult to provide consistent quality during peak demand periods. Product quality depends on the professional skills of the service provider and the contact between the customer and the staff.

 When we buy a product, we can use it weekly, monthly, or for a long time like a car, refrigerator, etc. But for hotel products, the time to access the services is shorter, customers only come to restaurants or hotels to eat, attend conferences, parties, stay temporarily, etc. And if customers are not satisfied, they cannot return or exchange for another service. The risk of consuming the product is high.

 Hotel products include all service activities that take place throughout the process from actually hearing the first request of the guest until the guest leaves the hotel.

1.2.2 .2. Product system of hotels

a. Main products, utility services

These products and services provide key functions and benefits to customers:

Room: The basic amenities in a hotel room are a bed, a toilet, and a small desk. In more luxurious hotels, there may be some rooms with separate bedrooms and living rooms and additional amenities such as air conditioning, telephone, television, broadband Internet connection or wifi, mini bar with drinks, coffee, tea, and hot water facilities.

 Restaurant - Bar:

The system of restaurants and bars introduces the rich culinary art of the world. This is the place that provides food services, organizes conferences, and parties for customers and holds an important position in the hotel, bringing in a large source of revenue for the hotel.

Restaurants - Bars must ensure the following criteria to achieve a certain level: Quality of food and drinks, relatively diverse menu, neat staff uniforms, professional service staff, food hygiene and safety, equipment, background music, beautiful decor, etc.

b. By-products, support services

 By-products

- Mas sage, Sauna, Steambath, Jacuzzi, Gym.

- Tennis court

- Pool

- Business Center

 Support services

- Book tickets and reconfirm airline services

- Welcome guests

- Babysitting service

- Luggage management service