Prof. Dr. Füsun İSTANBULLU DİNÇER, Department of Tourism ManagementProf. Dr. Mithat Zeki DİNÇER, Department of EconomicsRes. Asst. Zehra Binnur AVUNDUK, Department of Management & Organization

İstanbul University, TURKEY

*This ppt is a summary of the article named «Marketing Strategies of Boutique Hotels:A Model Proposal and An Evaluatıon of Boutıque Hotels İn Istanbul». It was presented in theGIBA Conference 2014.

Changing the World startswith life-changing

experiences...

«Boutique hotels are lifestyleproducts with their uniquearchitectural design andunique sense of hosting theguests.» (Page, 2011, p. 166.)

BIG is OUT

SMALL is IN

Boutique hotels which are pretty important for localdevelopment and business are also defined as follows(Turkish Republic, Ministry of Culture and TourismBoard of Inspection, 10.05.2005, Article 43):

“Boutique hotels are accommodation units which displayunique features in terms of their structural aspects,architectural design, equipment, decoration andmaterial content, offer customized and high qualityservice to the guests and customers and have 10-60rooms for their guests.”

Feel at home...

Small and luxury...

Calling the customers by their names...

Do not wait. Get small. Think big!Small is the new big!

(Godin, 2007, p. 217-218).

THE CHANGING DIRECTION OF MARKETINGCOMMUNICATION AND MARKETING INTOURISM SECTOR

A paradigm shift has been observed since 1990s from traditional marketingtowards relational marketing approach (Grönroos, 1999, p. 307).

Traditional Marketing One–Way Communication Relationship Marketing Two–Way Communication

Technology has drastically changed the waypeople travel.

The ubiquity of smartphones and 24/7connectivity, for instance, has allowed frequentfliers to use websites and mobile apps to bookflights and accommodations, keep track ofmileage points and other perks, sharerecommendations and reviews, and post photosin real time.

Internet marketing, compared to theconventional marketing strategies, offeradditional benefits including customerrelations management (CRM), directmarketing, electronic transactions; and as aresult, they reduce the social costs and thecosts of the enterprise (Fang and Lie, 2006, p.296; Chiou, Wan and Lee, 2008, p. 147).

Why Social Media? Low costs Direct communication with target audience Rapid feedback Rich content Easy to use Up to date Attractive Accessible 7/24 Huge community Brand recognition Interact with your customers and potential customers

effectively A source of information for travelers

1 • Boost the Awareness

2 • Optimum Strategy

3 • Utility

4 • Tracing

5 • Influencing

6 • Query

7 • Use the Results

8 • Earning

The purpose is to raise awarenessamong the figures wanting to becomeboutique hotel runners and the localpeople as well as tourists in respect toboutique hotels.

The boutique hotel should define the target group and pursue communication strategies that are compatible with them.e.g. identify different strategies for each age

group

Ensures that the potential customers prefer boutiquehotels as their accommodation in their vacations.

The goal in this strategy is to convince the potentialcustomers and guests that their experience in the boutiquehotel will be fantastic and unique that could never beseized anywhere else.

By this, the hotel makes a pledge that the customers willhave a different taste of vacation during their stay at theboutique hotel

The goal is to track down the views and opinions thecustomers expressed in respect to services, incidents,developments or products in the social media channels.

The positive or negative reviews of the customers in theC2C (consumer to consumer) communication on thematter under discussion play an important role for theenterprise and potential customers.

Refers to the realization and fulfillment of thepromises and pledges made to the potentialcustomers.

The boutique hotel should seek to offer a uniqueand fantastic experience to the customers byfulfilling the services and promises it made tobecome a different actor from its rivals.

The key point here is that the boutique hotelshould be focused on activities to improve thesatisfaction of the customers throughout their stay.

The satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the customers isidentified and what needs to be done to improve servicequality is offered as means of recommendation. To this end,the satisfaction of the customers is measures by surveysduring their stay at the hotel.

To find out about the customer expectations, the boutiquehotel staff should communicate with the customers to gettheir views and opinions on the services and products so thatthe service offered is diversified.

Marketing strategy is evaluated by using the resultsout of the query stage.

In case customer satisfaction is poor, the existingstrategy should be reviewed to identify the flaws andshould be restructured and redefined.

Based on the customer feedbacks, expectations areidentified and the presentation of the services isrenewed.

The boutique hotel tries to convince its customers thatit offers a different service than the rivals do throughits new concept after revisions; in the end, it shouldalso try to improve its image and prestige.

Those who get positive results out of the reviewsshould remain focused on the activities that please andsatisfy the customers so that they become loyal guests.

The goal is to ensure that all the parties (the customers, boutiquehotel and the other stakeholders) will win.

The boutique hotel will please and satisfy the customers via its highquality services; and the satisfied customers will contribute to theimage of the hotel by Word of the Mouth communication andinfluence their relatives and friends so that they would prefer thehotel.

The boutique hotel entrepreneur will be able to promote his and hishotel’s reputation and image by using the internet and mobilesystems effectively through the media strategy he would pick toreach out to the target group and maintain working communicationwith his customers.

When its media strategy becomessuccessful, the boutique hotel may beable to reach out to greater number ofcustomers and will further expand itscustomer portfolio given that thesatisfied customers will also influenceothers.

The boutique hotel will reduce the costs associatedwith its marketing activities and save money; itwill also attract additional customers, becomemore popular and earn greater amount of revenuein the whole process. With the increase in therevenues, the boutique hotel will please and satisfythe customers.

When the boutique hotel makes more money andrevenues, not only boutique hotel owner but also thecustomers and the environment will be positively affectedby this.

The customers will leave the hotel in satisfaction as theyhad a great and different experience; the boutique hotelowner on the other hand will increase number ofcustomers and make more profit; the inflow of tourists andmonies they spent in the area will boost the economythere.

This will be a positive contribution to the profits of thelocal economic players. In this way, all the parties will winin this process.

In this part of the study, questions wereasked to the 12 boutique hotels activein Istanbul on their marketingstrategies and a SWOT Analysis hasbeen developed based on the responsesby the boutique hotels.

(S1) Customized service

(S2) Membership in a design hotel

(S3) Usage of technology

(S4) Word of Mouth Marketing

(S5) Google organic search

(S6) Social media use

(S7) Personal communication

(S8)War and luxury service for those who avoid complexity in big hotels

The hotel’s;

(S9) Location(S10) Nature, concept, food(S11) Amenities(S12) Accessibility(S13) Reasonable pricing and high quality service(S14) Comfort offered to the customers(S15) Unique identity of each room

(S16) Repeat Guest loyalty and increase of repeat guestnumbers(S17) Owning different hotels in the same area(S18) Customer satisfaction(S19) Popularity(S20) Popularity(S21) Good relations with partners(S22) Becoming a renowned brand in the world(S23) Working with qualified staff(S24) Offering special advantages to the customers(S25) Unlike big resort or urban hotels (with theexception of the hotels in the south), leisure in boutiquehotels

(W1) Lack of strong image and reputation in the country and in the world

(W2)Lack of advertising activities (W3) Social unrest, riots and uprisings (W4) Noise pollution because of the location (W5) Insufficient physical conditions • Lack of room capacity • No view in the rooms • Rooms may not be too large • Lack of standard/deluxe rooms • Inability to host group meetings or accomodations • Lack of grand meeting rooms • Lack of a ball room • Lack of a large breakfeast or diner room

(W6) Employment of staff who have no experience in the tourismsector; for this reason, training the staff may take long time and thismay cause communication issues

(W7)Inability to maintain communication with guests over 40 viasocial media channels

(W8)Qualified personnel may want to work for international hotelsrather than local hotels; for this reason, it may be difficult to employqualified staff

(W9) Newly launched international and boutique hotels

(W10)Experiencing difficult in maintaining balance between pricingand utility

(W11)Structural insufficiencies in the hotel

Opportunities by internet channels and social media: (O1) Rapid recognition in the world (O2) Customers may have easy access to the hotel

information, maintain direct contact and communication and make online reservations instantly

(O3)Presentations and promotions are made over social media to increase the attractiveness and appeal of the hotel so that number of potential customers increases

(O4)Creating community (O5)Spread of online sales and reservations in recent years (O6)Contribution to hotel recognition and promotion

Opportunities by internet channels and social media: (O7) Ensures that new trends and technologies are

internalized rapidly (O8)Online sales contributes to profit making (O9)Hotel rating sites offer great opportunities for the non-

recognized boutique hotels (O10)Boutique hotels are able to compete with the large budget

hotels in terms of reaching out to the customers because ofinexpensive information technologies

(O11) Hotel promotion reaches to large masses; hence, thiscontributes to sales

(O12)Advantage of transforming the opportunities to salesthrough a good marketing policy online

(O13) Creation of a department specifically focused ononline sales in hotels and employment in thesedepartments as a result of advance in internet technologies

(O14)Comments and ratings in social media and internetsites visibly affect decisions by potential customers;therefore, the hotel is able to devise strategies based on thenegative or positive comments

(O15) Promoting the hotel through a diverse set of salechannels and ability to reach out to more potentialcustomers

(O16)Growing popularity of the city of Istanbul (O17)Contribution of a popular location to sales and

marketing activities (O18) Offering accommodation services in a tourist-

intensified area (O19) Situation of the hotel in the historical peninsula (O20)Convenient transportation (O21)Safety in the area (O22) Reduction in marketing communication costs (O23) Changes in customers’ demands and expectations

(T2) Competitive pricing policies of other hotels in the area (T3) Association of the hotel name and the location with

the social unrest and demonstrations in the minds of the customers

(T4) Situation of the hotel in a relatively poor area may lead to undesired outlooks and images

(T5) Recent unrests and social incidents negatively affect sales and marketing activites

(T6) New national and international hotels join the market; they significantly make the competition bitter as they affect the decisions of the customers

(T7) Increase in the number of rivals makes the market even more competitive

(T8) Some state policies (T9) Inability to have loyal employees because they are able to

change their jobs very frequently (T10) Negative comments in internet channels may raise serious

doubts in the minds of the potential customers who have no experience with the hotel; this eventually negatively affects the sales and revenues

(T11) Expansion of the railway system in Istanbul which makes transportation more convenient; as a result, Istanbul becomes less important as it becomes accessible from other parts as well

(T12) Traffic problems in the area and the location is closed to traffic in some parts of the day

(SO1)Benefitting from the advantages associatedwith the location

(SO2)Raising and improving brand recognition (SO3)Using information technologies effectively (SO4)Striking good balance between price and

service (SO5)Improving customer satisfaction and loyalty (SO6)Placing emphasis upon importance of boutique

hotel

(WO1) Improving brand recognition (WO2) Improving physical conditions (WO3) Placing emphasis upon advantages of the

issue (WO4) Maintaining communication via diverse

channels (WO5) Employing qualified staff (WO6) Ensuring price-utility balance

(ST1) Improving competitiveness (ST2) Improving human resources (ST3) Openness to criticisms (ST4) Remaining calm vis-à-vis social incidents and

unrest (ST5) Location is no longer a problem

(WT1) Improving competitiveness

(WT2) Improving security measures

The findings out of the SWOT Analysis are evaluated and a TOWS Matrix is created to offer some concrete strategies. These strategies can be summarized as follows:

Benefiting from the advantages of the location Increasing brand awareness Using information technologies effectively Balancing between price-quality and utility Increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty

Placing emphasis upon boutique hotels Increasing competitiveness Strengthening human resources and picking qualified

staff Being open to criticisms Remaining calm to the social upheavals Improving physical conditions Maintaining communication through different

channels Increasing security measures

References Only Used in ThisPPT Chiou, W.-B., Wan, C.-S., & Lee, H.-Y. (2008). Virtual Experience vs. Brochures in the Advertisement of Scenic Spots:

How Cognitive Preferences and Order Effects Influence Advertising Effects on Consumers. Tourism Management,XXIX(1), 146-150.

Fang, C.-L., & Lie, T. (2006). Assessment of Internet Marketing and Competitive Strategies for Leisure FarmingIndustry in Taiwan. The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, VIII(2), 296-300.

Godin, S. (2007). Small is the New Big: and 183 other riffs, rants, and remarkable business ideas. England: PenguinBooks.

Grönroos, C. (1999). Relationship Marketing: Challenges for the Organization. Journal of Business Research, XLVI(3),327-335.

Page, S. J. (2011). Tourism Management. Spain: Elsevier Ltd. Butterwort-Heinemann Publications. Turkish Republic. Ministry of Culture and Tourism Board of Inspection. (Official Journal Date: 21.06.2005 Official

Journal Number: 25852). Regulations Regarding Certification and Qualifications of Tourism Establishments, ChapterVII, Private Establishments, Boutique Hotels, Item 43, March 30, 2014).Http://teftis.kulturturizm.gov.tr/TR,14518/turizm-tesislerinin-belgelendirilmesine-ve-niteliklerin-.html.