Экономические
науки/6.Маркетинг и менеджмент
U.A. Sutkovaya, V. V. Smaznyy
Donetsk National
University of eonomics and trade named after M. Tugan-Baranovskiy, Ukraine
Hotel Services Demand Smoothing in
the Aspect of Seasonality
One of
the important and dynamic industries of world economy today is hospitality
industry. This sphere includes hotels, catering and other establishments that
provide tourism services. Many countries pay significant attention to hotel
business as the main component of hospitality industry. None of the civilized
countries can normally function without the proper level of hotel business
development. Existence of comfortable hotels is not just a consequence of
demand development, but also a growth into the important stimulus for international
relations intensification and Ukrainian integration into a world community.
The
modern state of national hotel companies is characterized as unstable progress
which is stipulated by the seasonal fluctuations of demand and inability to
create supply of a specific product - hotel service, by a price increase on
services and insufficient level of service quality at the low elasticity of
demand by price and organizational conservatism of management process.
Determination
of demand seasonality on hotel services and factors which influence it allows
to estimate correctly the existing condition of service providing in the
separate enterprises of hotel industry, and also to offer measures on the
increase of hotel rooms’ workload. Because of impossibility to move hotel
services supply operatively from one city to another, the different market
conjuncture of hotel services is formed in different cities and regions. That
is why determination of demand seasonality of hotel sphere in cities and
regions of Ukraine and argumentation of separate hospitality services
development are actual.
Problem
of additional services development, as a factor of increase of demand
seasonality on the hospitality sphere, arises at the current stage of hotel
business development in Ukraine. This process includes formation of assortment
policy of hospitality services, depending on the type of a hotel, appropriate
analysis of these additional services, effective management and providing
high-quality services constantly.
On the
basis of the long-term investments attracting program and efforts directed on
the increase of hotel services demand and obtaining a possibility to function
during all the year round, the flow of tourists is increased in different
periods of time that stimulates smoothing of demand on hospitality services in
the aspect of seasonality.
Dislocation
of modern hotels doesn’t play a key role, as they often become a component of
multifunctional complexes, where clients can find everything they need,
including entertainments, not exceeding the bounds of the complex [1]. In spite
of huge amount of investments needed for such multifunctional complex
realization, developers believe that they worth it due to synergy effect and
income diversification possibility. For example, a complex with four components
can be observed. During the first 2-3 years of construction developer receives
investment returns from residential real estate. Income from commercial
component is received closer to the construction accomplishment: investments in
trading and office estate property returns within 4-6 years. Because of a
comprehensive interior arrangements necessity, hotel component has the
long-term payback period, approximately 5-7 years [2].
The
projects of multifunctional complexes have extremely high chances on success
and can take the notable place at the Ukrainian real estate market. As several
market elements drive hotel demand, including commercial individual travelers,
corporate groups and tourism, I offer the following directions how to increase
room amount workload, due to forming of such additional services of hotel:
-
Organization of conferences and providing them on a regional level with
all necessary equipment and space for different amount of participants. This will provide a workload of the hotel
rooms in working days of a week during months with high business activity;
-
Mixed-use hall providing organization of weddings, banquets, congresses,
concerts and other mass events. For example, a summit is held in the first half
of a day, and in the evening it is transformed into banquet hall for the
participants of this seminar;
-
Tourist firm (operator) that provides weekend tours for one or two days
around the region with placement of tourists in the hotel;
-
Sport and health-improving center with a set of exclusive services that
are given for regular visitors with a discount. Also permanent clients receive
certain services free of charge from time to time;
-
Shopping - entertaining center as a basic element of multifunction
complex which gives additional entertaining services for the clients of hotel
and shopping opportunity for any taste.
Hotel
as a component of a multifunctional complex, providing above-mentioned
services, will be able to function successfully throughout the year. Hotels,
located in the center of city, are not able to provide such service-mix. They
are usually situated near architectural sights and there is no place for
building of a multifunction complex with an adequate parking that occupies up
to 10 hectare. Correct combination of additional services of hospitality and
balanced assortment policy of the hotel will smooth the demand on hotel
services, taking into consideration seasonal fluctuations. It will especially
influence on tourist infrastructure development of regional centers which are
not tourist or business destinations.
Literature:
1. Холловей Д.К. , Тейлор Н.,
Туристический бізнес // К: Знання - 2007, 798 с.
2. Jones Lang Lasalle Inc.,
Перспективы девелопмента многофункциональных комплексов в Украине //
Исследование рынка недвижимости – 2008, 8 с.