The Hotel Sector in Victoria - Luxury and Standard Hotels Connected by New Technology - Example

Hоsрitаlity Industry Rеsеаrсh Name：YUNPENG ZHAO Hospitality Industry- Hotels in Victoria Sector description The hospitality industry especially the hotel sector is much broader compared to the other industries in Victoria, Australia. The hotel sector is a crucial economic sector in the national economic development and social development. In Victoria, hotels perform well because Victoria is a tourism state, which leads to the increased demand for the hospitality services. The hotel sector began with few and small hotels, but today there are over 190 hotels in Victoria, as per the survey conducted by (PwCs, 2010). The hotel sector in Victoria provides accommodation through lodging, foods, and drinks, as well as secondary services, such as gaming. The sector comprises of hotels such as metro, regional, Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs), and no EGMs. There are some heritage hotel buildings in the city symbolizing the history of the sector in Victoria. The roles and activities of the hotel sector have been changing due to economic, demographic, and social circumstances. The changes include widening of the clientele and provision of products, such as meals, community events, trivia nights, and games facilities. The hotel sector operates in a regulated environment; whereby the hotels are selling alcoholic beverages have bottle shops for the service. In the contemporary world, hotel sector in Victoria employs very many people, such as waiters, accountants, cooks or caterers, cleaners, cruise directors, salespersons, park rangers, and entertainment teams among others(AHA, 2016). Tourism Victoria Corporate Website, (2015) asserts that computer system is used to help in operations such as ticket reservations, hotel-room booking, communication with customers and suppliers, and keeping records. Number of businesses in the sector the size of the sector According to Tourism Accommodation Australia, (2016),Victoria is the second known state with many hotels in Australia. It accommodates around 24.3% of the hotels in the entire Australian continent number one being North South Wales with 33.3% and being followed by Queensland with 15.5%. Victorian hotel sector comprises of metro hotels (118), regional hotels (72), EGMs (101), and no EGMs (89). The total of the major hotels in Victoria is 190 as per the survey conducted by PWcS(PwCs, 2010. According to Queensland survey, there are 258 gaming hotels and 1,349 non-gaming hotels, while ABS survey estimated around 866 hotels across Victoria(ABS, 2010). The Metro hotels offer hotel accommodation, for instance, the Metro Apartments on the Bank place, which has a restaurant and a bar.Patiarand Mia (2009) postulate that the metro hotels offer their services within the Victorian metropolitan area only. These Hotels offer all the hotel services, but do not serve dinner, and they are owned and managed by the city council. The regional hotels are those that only offer their services within the Victoria region with no branches outside the city. The EGMs are the hotels with the electronic gaming, they are extra large, and earn more revenue compared to the no EGMs. The EGMs hotels offer a wide range of services and goods(AHA, 2016). Entry in the hotel industry is easy because businesspeople willing to start a hotel business only need to meet the legal and health, as well as environmental requirements as identified by the Victorian City Council. Ultimately, there is very high competition in the hotel sector in Victoria because of the increased number of hotels. Since the majority of the hotels are many, the competition among the smaller hotels is not easily identified. The big hotels compete in improving their services and hotel facilities to attract many customers and make high revenues. Patiarand Mia (2009) find out that among the big hotels in Victoria, there are hotels with gambling facilities and they total to 348 and those without gambling facilities are 518. The competition environment of Victorian hotels is efficient because of the rising demand for the hospitality services in the state. Livingstone and Adams (2011) argue that the hotels operating with ATM are 78 %, and those without ATM are 22%. There is high competition among the hotels with EGMs and those without EGMs because, in the contemporary world, digitization has led to changes in every life aspect. People want to conduct all activities using the new technology. Additionally, the hotels with Gambling facilities are highly competitive compared to the ones without the gambling facilities(PwCs, 2010). McQuadeand Gill (2015) state that gambling is an activity that attracts people together especially men and this leads to many men going to hotels regularly. The large hotels also compete with the medium hotels. The hotels at the city centre are the most competitive because of the increased population in the area. For instance, hotels such as Bell City Preston, Quest Shepparton, Quest Caroline Springs, Hotel Charsfield, Melbourne, and Citadines on Bourke, Melbourne compete among themselves. These hotels offer luxurious services, and they have high-class facilities, which enhance their competitiveness in the hotel sector (Patiarand Mia, 2009). Strickland (2011) states that; the competition condition in the Victorian hotel sector is good because, despite their competition, they offer quality services and earn the desired income. They also influence how tourists and outside visitors come to the state because their competition motivates them to offer high-quality services and improve the nature of their hotel facilities. The Parkside Hotel & Spa and Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort and Spa are four-star hotels located in the city center, and they compete among themselves(PwCs, 2010). Number of employees in the sector The average number of employees in the Victorian hotels is 35 as per the PwCs survey. The hotels with EGMs have 31 full-time equivalent employees (TFEs) while hotels without EGMs have 12 full-time equivalent employees(PwCs, 2010). Many of the employees in this sector are at the age of 25 to 44 years, and the least are those aged 65 years and above(ABS, 2010). Victorian hotel sector is second in contributing to the employment sector in Australia being lead by North South Wales and followed by Queensland.McQuadeand Gill (2015) identify that males are the majority people employed in the Victorian hotel sector with the casual labourers being many compared to other workers. The hotels with gambling facilities employ more workers compared with the hotels without gambling facilities(AHA, 2016). Services provided The major and common services and goods offered in the Victorian hotel sector are beverages and foods, as well as accommodation or lodging services. Nevertheless, because of technological changes and growth, many hotels offer entertainment events and the big hotels extend their services and provide the EGMs for electronic gaming(PwCs, 2010).The hotel sector also charges groups as they hold events such as wedding ceremonies by offering the venue and maybe other services and meals and foods.The larger hotels have the capacity to accommodate meetings and allow the guests to identify the rooms they wish to hold their meetings or conferences. Other services provided by the Victorian hotels are gyms or fitness services. These hotels have fitness rooms where clients go for exercise with guidance from personnel specialised in different exercises in the hotels(McQuade&Gill, 2015).The fitness centers are equipped with quality fitness equipment and TV screens in the case of the need for some directions when conducting a certain things. They provide services to couples going for a honeymoon after weddings whereby they have efficient and excellent amenities for such services. Tourism Victoria Corporate Website, (2015) articulate that some hotels especially the big hotels in Victoria offer services, such as morning delivery of newspapers to client’s rooms, access to the wireless internet, street parking, bicycle riding, shoeshine services, chauffeur services, and concierge services among others.Restaurant & Catering Australia (2016) identify that some hotels also offer laundry and dry cleaning services to their clients who seek for accommodation and those who come for the laundry services as they go. Most of the services offered in the Victorian hotels are personalised services and provided according to the customer demand. The hotels have vehicles for transporting clients to their desired locations for adventure or different occasions. Economic performance 2007 – 2015 The hotel sector has a very high contribution in the Victorian and the entire Australian economy compared to other sectors(AHA, 2016). The tourists who visit Victoria enable these hotels to collect good amounts of money from the sales they make and the services offered to the tourists. Moreover, the hotel sector leads to improvement of the tourism industry because the conditions of the Victorian hotels attract many visitors. The hotels pay tax to the government, thus playing a major part in the local and national development(PwCs, 2010). The per capita population spend per hotel in Victoria is $5100 per year. The major sources of income in Victorian hotel sector comprise of the sale of beverages, gambling income, the sale of meals and foods, and charges for the events. The hotels with EGMS and those having gambling facilities earn high income compared to the hotels without EGMs and those without gambling facilities(AHA, 2016). Sale of beverages leads to the collection of very high revenue compared to the sale of food, gambling income, and other incomes. Tourism Research Australia, (2015), found out that the medium sized hotels are more efficient compared to the small and large hotels in Victoria since the medium sized hotels mare higher average operating margins compared to other hotels(AHA, 2016). Labour costs increase in the hotels without gaming facilities and the ones that majorly concentrate on the sale of beverages and food because of the associated services. The Australian hotel sector employs very many people in Victoria, which highly contributes to personal and national development Employment of people results to general development because once a person earns a living, the businesses develop and the economy improves simultaneously. Due to the location of hotels in different areas in Victoria, those places are developed because they have good roads, electricity, water, and the businesses are also boosted by the growth of the hotel sector(PwCs, 2010). There is also a supply of products grown in the Victorian gardens, which helps in offering market for the farm produce.√ From 2007 to 2015, there has been a great change in the hotel sector because the number of visitors continues increasing, thus, increase in the revenue collection. AHA (2016), identify that there have also been changes in the hotel sector from 2007 to 2015 because of the improvement of technology and digitalization of the business sector in general. Strickland (2011) finds out that since 2007, the hotel sector has experienced high annual growth because visitors increase every year. In 2007, the sales were high, but from 2008 to 2011, they went down just to shoot again from 2012. The sales were very high in 2014 compared to the hotel sales made in 2015.√ MAJOR TRANSACTIONS in Victoria Hotel Rooms Rating Date Price $ per room Bell City Preston 828 3.0 Dec-14 $117.00* $141,304 Quest Shepparton 69 4.0 Feb-15 $11.80 $171,014 Quest Caroline Springs 80 4.0 May-15 $12.20 $152,500 Hotel Charsfield, Melbourne 41 4.0 Jun-15 $28.00 $682,927 Citadines on Bourke, Melbourne 398 4.5 Jul-15 $158.50 $398,241 The table above demonstrates some sales made in Victoria in 2015. Future potential The hotel sector in Victoria expects to realise huge growth especially in the luxury segment which is probably going to expand and grow huge with time. Due to continued growth and changes in the technology, in the future, these hotels might be operating through automated machines to improve the quality of their services. As identified by Livingstone and Adams (2011), the automation of machines and techniques are likely to improve security and accuracy, as well as improvement of the manner at which services are offered. Customers purchase meals and foods and pay for the services using the cards rather than using cash, thus increased efficiency in the hotel operations. Booking or reservation of the rooms would also improve because clients would not be required to be in the hotels physically, but would just go online and make their reservations, which would be more safe and quick. According to AHA, (2016), modernization of tourism is also likely to support the hotel sector, which is likely to experience tremendous success in collection of revenue and to make of profits. Consequently, the hotels will increase their revenue, and this will also contribute to the national growth since they will pay increased tax and offer more support to the Victorian residents. √ The communication process is going to improve because of the technological support, and this will maintain and improve the operational efficiencies in the hotel sector. For the hotels to continue competing healthily in Victoria, they will be required to meet the technological market needs; whereby they will manage to implement efficient technology techniques in offering their services. Restaurant & Catering Australia (2016)states that with the enhanced consumer experience, the Victorian hotels are likely to improve their productivity and have access to greater returns from their conduct. The global business recovery and growth of the domestic profile is likely to enable the hotel sector have increased the number of international travellers seeking for accommodation in their rooms. The level of service quality is going to improve once the Victorian hotels implement the technological advances in their operations.√ Conclusion The hotel sector in Victoria comprises of luxury hotels and the standard hotels with different services and charging different prices for their products. Despite the complexity and size, many hotels in Victoria are connected by new technology. The Victorian hotels compete among themselves, but they compete depending on their levels, the five-star hotels compete among themselves meaning that all hotels in the same or similar level compete among themselves. The hotels offer different services. The support of the hotel sector to the residents improves their connections, and they all contribute towards the economic growth. The Victorian residents also support the growth of the hotel sector in the state through their visits to different hotels. If the next goals of the Victorian hotel sector would be intelligent and extensive data mining, the traditional services in the hotels will be transformed, and the particular hotels will experience more advantage. The growth of the sector is potential for continued economic growth. It is likely to improve its contribution to the employment sector and generally in the business sector. References Australian Hotel Association (AHA), (2016). Australian Hotels: Contributing to economic growth and national prosperity. Retrieved from; http://aha.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AHA-National-Policy-Platform-2013.pdf Livingstone, C., & Adams, P. J. (2011). Harm promotion: Observations on the symbiosis between government and private industries in Australasia for the development of highly accessible gambling markets. Addiction, 106(1), 3-8. McQuade, A., & Gill, P. (2015). Harm Minimization, Responsible Gambling, and Pre-commitment in Australia: What do Club and Hotel Managers Think?. Journal of Gambling and Commercial Gaming Research, 1(1). Patiar, A., & Mia, L. (2009). Transformational leadership style, market competition and departmental performance: Evidence from luxury hotels in Australia. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28(2), 254-262. Price Water House Coopers (PwCs), (2010). Australian hotels more than just a drink and a flutter: an overview of the Australian hotels industry April 2009. Retrieved from; http://aha.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/PWC-Hotel-Industry-Report-20092.pdf Strickland, P. (2011). The benefits of family employment in ethnic restaurants: A case study of regional Victoria in Australia. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 16(5), 537-549. Tourism Victoria Corporate Website, (2015). Tourism Victoria research. Retrieved from; http://www.tourism.vic.gov.au/research.html http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/LRDCPC/Submissions/Submission_11_-_Australian_Hotels_Association_Victoria.pdf Australian Hotel Association (Victoria) www.abs.gov.au Australian Bureau of Statistics www.aha.org.au Australian Hotels Association www.restaurantcater.asn.au Restaurant & Catering Australia www.ret.gov.au/tourism/research Tourism Research Australia www.tourismaccommodation.com.au Tourism Accommodation Australia Read More