Ram Consultants Case Study

Case 3: RAM CONSULTANTS

Ram consultants have been appointed by a leading group in hotel industry to prepare a feasibility report for opening a 5- star hotel in Poona. The group had been the most successful one in the industry and had always kept its eyes open for new opportunities.

In view of the very fast industrial growth in the city of Poona, the city had for the first time attracted the attention of the group. Poona, apart from being a modern city, has the added advantage of pleasant weather and several places of tourist attraction in the neighborhood. Moreover, the closeness to Bombay, city of international stature made it very easily accessible to international tourist. ‘Corridors of Pune' were getting extended on all sides. New type of industry/sector likes IT, BPO, education, Engineering, design and other were in the growth stage redefining the hotelling needs in the city.

For Ram consultants this was the first time that an assignment concerning hotel industry had been received. They, however, soon realized that the assignment was not as simple as it appeared to be in the first place. The feasibility of such hotel would depend essentially on two factors. Businessmen visiting the city for work would constitute one segment of the market, while tourist would constitute the other. Further the tourist could be Indians or foreigners. A small but definite ‘niche' was getting established with women executives travelling alone and looking for reliable place to stay. The success of such a hotel would also depend upon the relative attraction of other tourist centers in the vicinity.

Further it was necessary to estimate seasonal fluctuation in demand for hotel accommodation so that attractive discounts could be offered during the off-season for business conferences, executive development programmes etc.

The consultants realized that they would have to undertake a market research on