Hotel De Glace

Video Case 12: Hotel de Glace

Date: June 19, 2016

Group H

Question 1: What is the “real product” that Hotel de Glace is marketing to potential customers?

Hotel de Glace is a service provider who markets their services to potential users. The "real product" that they are marketing is the incredibly unique experience of staying in or visiting a hotel made completely of ice and snow. They are able to play up the uniqueness of this hotel and service as there is no similar service in Canada.

Consumers today want unique experiences and that is what Hotel de Glace offers.  Constructed out of 500 tonnes of ice and 15,000 tonnes of snow, the Hotel de Glace offers something for everyone. The hotel is built every year from ice and snow in about six week’s time to be used for four months of winter.

In addition to the hotel, there are many other offerings that are unique to this Quebec based wonder.  Ice sculpting activities, a restaurant, a giant ice slide, and fireworks at night, to name a few.  And for those that have always wanted to be a princess, what could be more exciting than actually being married in an ice "castle".  It is the real life version of Frozen - making dreams come true and memories that will last a lifetime.

Question 2: How does marketing Hotel de Glace differ from marketing a traditional consumer product such as breakfast cereal?

A product such as breakfast cereal is tangible and it allows for live demos and sample products that can help popularize it. People can see, touch, feel and taste breakfast cereal.

Marketing a service is much different than marketing a product. Marketing a pure service requires the marketer to reach the potential consumer, convince them to embrace the idea and purchase the service. To be successful, the marketer must highlight the quality of the experience, winning the consumer over to the idea that their service is superior to other service providers. It is important to have good, memorable service providers as consumers typically rate the quality of a service based upon their impression of the provider and not on what they actually received (the service). Hotel de Glace provides both a good and a service.

The following are the four “I’s” of service as applicable to Hotel de Glace:

• Inconsistency: The quality of a service is often inconsistent as services depend on the people's opinions and judgment. Hotel de Glace needs to ensure all staff are fully trained and understand the vision of the company to ensure a consistent experience for all customers, all the time.
• Intangibility: A major marketing need for the service industry is to make them seem tangible or to show the benefits of using a service. Hotel de Glace gives customers a unique experience of staying in an ice hotel. Their website quotes “…enter this magical universe by visiting or lodging in this ephemeral work of art.”
• Inseparability: Goods are first produced, then sold and then consumed, whereas services are sold first and then produced and consumed. Like Hotel de Glace, people consume the services of the hotel while they are being produced. It is not possible for someone to separate the use of the hotel from the actual experience, highlighting the importance of providing the service well.
• Inventory: Inventory of product usually includes handling and storage costs. Inventory in a service organization includes inventory-carrying costs, which occurs when the service providers are available. For example, Hotel de Glace is only able to be booked when there are rooms available and the tours are not full. If the hotel is at capacity, it cannot accept any additional bookings.

Question 3: Using the 7 Ps of service marketing discussed in this chapter, outline the basic elements of the Hotel de Glace’s services marketing mix?

Product:

Hotel De Glace offers consumers the experience of a lifetime of sleeping and "playing" in an ice hotel.  There are a variety of activities that are available for kids of all ages including dog sledding, team building, ice sculptures and hot tubs.  But the largest draw for consumers is the experience itself.