Pricing Strategies and their impact on Revenue Research Paper

Pricing Strategies and their impact on Revenue - Research Paper Example Revenue management has been a practice in the hotel industry for approximately 20 years (Anderson et al., 1994). Good revenue management results from a correlation of pricing and hotel occupancy. The study came to the conclusion that the hotels which maximized their revenue tended to have relatively higher prices and did not engage in price undercutting (Enz & Canina, 2008). Another study found that Asian market consumers did not seem to be influenced by discounts (Lomano, 2008). It may be argued that since these studies were conducted in varying Geographical regions and in different economic circumstances, they may offer practical insights that may be used to determine pricing in the hotel and hospitality industry (Varki & Colgate, 2001). There is however a shortage of research as regards the impact of pricing on individual hotel revenues. Markets have had relatively stable occupancy and a steady growth in revenue since the beginning of the century (O’Neil et al., 2006). The changing dynamics of the market through the provision of advertising through the internet and an increase in supply is certain to lead to increased competition. It is thus important that the hotel industry reevaluate their pricing models to reflect their changing dynamics if they are to maximize their revenue (O’Neil et al, 2006). This paper will study the impact of these changing dynamics on the hotel industry with specific focus on individual hotel case studies and other strategies and economic models. Purpose The defining purpose of this literature review is an analysis of available literature concerning pricing in a market context and how it affects hotel revenue and its management. The review studied the correlation between hotels charging relatively lower prices and client demand for rooms. The review further goes on to analyze literature with regard to the behavior of demand when a particular hotel decides to set higher prices than the competition. The review evaluates the influence of contextual pricing approaches on financial performance of the hotel; whether it is advantageous to charge higher or lower prices than rivals. The review additionally analyzed the response of clients concerning price strategies through the study of relative ADR. The literature review recommendations are made basing on the views of data studied from various journals and from the opinions of experts in the hospitality industry. The significance of customer satisfaction, loyalty, resulting from quality provision of service is linked to pricing and subsequently revenue management. Discussion The concept of revenue management has its roots in the mid 1980s airline industry (Belobaba, 2002). Due to its success in the airline industry it was subsequently adopted by the hospitality industry. Pricing remains an elemental part of revenue management as can be shown by a variety of literature on the subject. Since the concept was adopted from other service industries, its defin ition may tend to be different in each of the perspectives used (Stanford, 2003). Price Elasticity of Demand The price elasticity of demand is defined as the quantity of a good or service demanded relative to its price. When Price Elasticity of demand is greater than 1 it means that demand is influenced by prices and vice versa. Strobl et al. (2012) found that the hotel industry’s prices are influenced by demand. During periods of low demand, rooms are discounted and available to all. During periods of high demand, administration would apply revenue management and avail rooms only to customers who would maximize revenue. Revenue

Kennedy Administrations Successful Handling of the Cuban Crisis Essay - 7

Kennedy Administrations Successful Handling of the Cuban Crisis - Essay Example The involvement of the USSR forced the USA to contemplate attacking Cuba through air and water strikes, but for legal reasons, decide to blockade further supply of the missiles by the USSR to Cuba. In response, the USSR argued that the blockade amounted to an act of aggression against another country, which would propel a nuclear war. This resulted to a negotiation talk being held between President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). Thus, these are the reasons that indicate that the negotiations by John Kennedy’s administration were successful: The negotiations in Cuban crisis were perceived as successful since they ended up creating a scenario where the USA was the winner. This is because; the USSR removed its missiles from Cuba, while the prestige of the USA military was preserved (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This occurred because; the world finally saw the USSR back down and withdraw its missiles from Cuba, while the removal of the USA missiles from Turkey was not made a publicly accepted demand, but was rather agreed upon silently between the Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the USSR ambassador (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This served to preserve the image of the military might of the USA. The negotiations reached a deal, where the USA was to stop any attempt to attack Cuba and remove its missiles from Turkey, in return for having the USSR remove its missiles from Cuba (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This was an act of mutual agreement that established equal treatment of all parties, through having both the USA and the USSR return all offensive weapons to their countries, and thus avoid involving other countries in their contest for supremacy, which would have ended up destroying the whole world through, a nuclear war. The negotiations are also considered successful since they helped the USA to adopt a safer option; that of a blockade, as opposed to the highly championed  military action that would have left the world devastated (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999).  

Answer questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Answer questions - Assignment Example Starting a project requires definition of what the project is required to accomplish. A project starts with an idea them the vision that must be associated with the vision of the business. Project charter acts as the starting point where it established the foundation of the project. This must include the business needs and the deliverables to be executed. All the stipulations must be tied up to roles and responsibilities of the project development team. Human and material resources must be well defined (Goldratt, 1997). Often, an organization must put more efforts in estimation of the cost of the project in the chartering stage. The risks affecting the projects are also considered and their effects to the duration and cost of the project evaluated. The benefits and cost estimates must be supported using consistent approaches which provide realistic estimates for both costs and benefits. The establishment of the vision of a project in accordance with the project charter facilitates the success of the project. The project charter must corresponds to the business case put across to demonstrate that the project is viable and will assist in achieving the financial, employee and customer goals. The project chartering phase allows for establishment of an effective process that identifies and resolves various issues and actions that arise during the project development process. The chartering process forms the first step in execution of Lean project (Leach & Lawrence, 2005). Getting the sponsors and management to sign is normally difficult. Only one person is required in championing the project and passing it around. A good charter must be in a position to offer a written documentation that efficiently approves the launch and the requests of the efforts in project planning. Furthermore, the documentation of the project charter allows for collaboration of the major stakeholders and improves the deliverables. This must fairly represent the views of major

Dessertation proposal (Impact of Strategic HR Management on Business Essay

Dessertation proposal (Impact of Strategic HR Management on Business Performance) - Essay Example This is in recognition of the fact that different countries have different national cultures and physical and socio-cultural environments. Much research has been conducted on the effectiveness of strategic human resource management in the United States, Britain and other European countries while very little has been done to establish its effectiveness in companies that are based in the Middle East. This research study seeks to fill this gap and will use xxxx Company that is based in Saudi Arabia as a case study. Since the Middle East is so wide, this research will use one company (xxxx Company) as a case study. This is also done in consideration of the huge resources that may be needed to conduct the research in several organizations. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is concerned with the establishment and development of collection of policies and programs that are consistent with an aim of facilitating the achievement of a company’s strategic objectives according to Armstrong and Baron (2002). SHRM is designed to help organizations meet best the needs of their workers or employees while at the same time promoting the company’s strategic goals. According to Boxall and Purcell (2003), human resource management practices are those actions and decisions that are concerned with the management of employees and that are related to the strategic implementation of measures that are aimed at sustaining the business’ competitive advantage. These practices cut across all levels and play a great role in the development of a working culture. SHRM practices include staff appraisal systems, recruitment and firing practices, work flexibility arrangements, training, and remuneration systems. Other experts have defined SHRM as the practice of proactively managing people. This therefore means that it involves thinking ahead and making plans that will enable the company to meet in a better

Essay about the values of Enlightenment and Romanticism through

About the values of Enlightenment and Romanticism through painting - Essay Example History has shown us that man moves in pendulous ways. From nature to divine, from reason to feelings, from private to public, from objective to subjective. Art is the ideal illustration for these movements, and this essay will discuss the contrasting values manifested in two paintings belonging to the historical movements of the Enlightenment and Romanticism: William Blake's Newton (1795), and Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich. Although Blake is considered usually a romantic precursor in art, in this particular painting, he depicts precisely the most characteristic values of the Enlightenment era. I will also include a typically enlightenment-era painting, Mr and Mrs Andrews by Thomas Gainsborough (1748-49), in order to directly contrast the different movements.The Enlightenment era, which belonged to the Age of Reason, describes a historical intellectual movement of the 18th century, which advocated rationality as a means to establish an authoritative system o f ethics, aesthetics, and knowledge. "The intellectual leaders of this movement regarded themselves as courageous and elite, and regarded their purpose as leading the world toward progress and out of a long period of doubtful tradition, full of irrationality, superstition, and tyranny now denominated as the Dark Age". (Cassirer, 1992).The Enlightenment believed in a rational, orderly and comprehensible universe. It extolled the ideals of liberty, property and rationality which are still recognizable as the basis for most political philosophies even in the present era. Science came to be the new man's religion, and based on the revolutionary ideas like Newton's, it was thought that all the truths of the world could be known by a systematic way of applying uniform laws. William Blake, an English poet and painter, made a series of pictures of Newton as a divine geometer while living in Lambeth in the late 1790s. Newton is portrayed here as a scientist, but at the same time as a divine figure, a creator. He is deciphering the laws of the world with his compass. The compass symbolizes the creation. We can clearly understand that rationality becomes the highest quality of human beings, and it challenges the existence of a divine being responsible for the creation. The enlightenment was a rebellion to the Middle Ages where faith wasn't to be questioned. Likewise, Romanticism was a rebellion to this age of reason. The Romantics found the Enlightenment worldview excessively dispassionate. With reason being the base for humanity's progress, the emotional side of man was set aside. Romanticism stressed strong emotion-which might include trepidation, awe and horror as aesthetic experiences-"the individual imagination as a critical authority, which permitted freedom within or even from classical notions of form in art, and overturning of previous social conventions, particularly the position of the aristocracy". (Romanticism, article by Wikepedia) Here is a painting of this artistic movement, Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich, a 19th century German painter. His paintings portray the untamed power of nature; this is in sharp contrast to Enlightenment-era painters who used nature to bring out qualities in their human subjects. Mr and Mrs Andrews Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog What we can appreciate in the left painting is the power of nature versus the vulnerability of a man, a man who is alone against the world, a wanderer. The romantic worldview is charged with emotions such as fragility, drama, passion, and fate. The character here depicted seems to be at the edge of an abyss. In the second painting, nature is used on the opposite way, to bring out the qualities in the human subjects, the aristocrats. The colors of Friedrich's painting express the feelings of uncertainty, loneliness and vulnerability. While in, Gainsborough's Mr and Mrs Andrew, there is more a sense of confidence and stability. Nature is definitely more

Tension Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tension - Essay Example Stressors are the external stimuli that evoke physiological or behavioral change in people.† (Everly and Smith, 80) Coping with anxiety and tension was one of the most essential challenges I faced in my young life and, I swear, it was a meticulous task altogether to control tension and stress in my life. Being a very sensitive gentleman with great potential for personal achievements, I realized the need for making intensive efforts to deal with the issues concerning tension when it began to delay several personal glories. Therefore, I began to learn more about tension, stress and anxiety and the reasons for human tensions. I also made it a point that I practice some of the tension management methods which could be useful in dealing with the issue of tension and stress in personal life, and the ultimate result of all these efforts has been convincing to me as I noticed enormous changes in my attitudes as well as actions. Therefore, I hold the view that tension and stress managem ent is most valuable to human beings who are prone to suffer from the consequences of tension in life. As mentioned before, my first reaction to an understanding of the threats of tension in my life was to recognize or learn the factors which contribute to tension in human life, followed by an intense and determined decision to adopt measures to fight tension in my life. As I started analyzing the theories and literature on tension and stress, I came to realize that negative thoughts as well as undesirable feelings contribute greatly toward the mood of tense-tiredness. It was obvious to me that reducing tension in life was the essential answer to the problems I encountered in my personal achievements and it can also help one in getting away from the negative state of tense-tiredness. From the various case analyses available in the literature on

Assignment 1-5-3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assignment 1-5-3 - Essay Example Issues like marketing, making information available, the value of a web-page, and maintaining quality online interaction with the audience are addressed in detail. The importance of a global presence in today’s markets is underlined and the value for both, small and large businesses is elaborated upon. The organizations that are reviewed by the book are case studies that exemplify the way in which the internet can become the most powerful tool in an organization’s artillery given the global conditions of most markets. Ghosh, S., (1999). Making business sense of the internet. In William Andrews Sahlman (Ed.) The entrepreneurial venture: Readings selected. Ed. 2. (101 – 116). Harvard Business Press This chapter from ‘The entrepreneurial venture’ is designed to aid a start-up or an entrepreneur to use the internet as a tool to enhance the venture. Entrepreneurial businesses are often unique in their products and services, but lack the visibility to capt ure a significant share of the market. Given the business climate, global visibility, and distinct visibility are the hallmarks of a business that does survive the competition that can be extremely threatening to a young business that is yet to garner loyal consumers.