Overview – Optimising Returns
Returns to investors and apartment owners in Ramada Hervey Bay is optimised by offering service and a quality experience as well as an aggressive marketing campaign. Further the marketing team of Ramada Hervey Bay have focused on a number of clear mandates -
- Better service, better product and better flexibility to ‘steal’ the existing corporate and leisure traveler to Hervey Bay.
- At present there is approximately 1.3 to 1.4 million visitor (room) nights in Hervey Bay itself of which approximately 500,000 stay in hotels or motels.
- To be 80% occupied Ramada Hervey Bay need approximately 25,000 room nights.
- On that basis Ramada Hervey Bay need to ‘capture’ approximately 2% of the total market and 5% of the hotel and motel market.
- Hence the focus by the Ramada Hervey Bay Marketing team is to capture the existing market and then build further occupancy by clear product differentiation.
Ramada Hervey Bay, Ramada Worldwide and Wyndham Hotel Group
Ramada Hervey Bay is operated by Angel Resort Management Pty Ltd with Affinity Property Group Pty Ltd holds a license arrangement with Ramada Worldwide being owned by the Wyndham Hotel Group. Wyndham Hotel Group has over 6,500 hotels worldwide and over 550,000 rooms under management.
Ramada Hervey Bay is promoted by Wyndham Hotel Group and Ramada Worldwide being listed on their web site and various electronic and marketing material. They provide training support and hotel systems to deliver customer service and operational efficiency. Ramada Worldwide levy a franchise fee for use of the Ramada branding and systems and a marketing fee as part of global marketing and promotions.
Marketing Strategy and initiatives to increase occupancy and returns
Angel Resort Management has adopted a proactive launch marketing campaign to generate occupancy and room rate.
An overview of the marketing strategy adopted by Angel Resort Management (and as detailed and extracted from the Steven Turnbull Aspire letter) to promote and generate occupancy and room rates is summarised as follows –
- Ramada Hervey Bay has distribution contracts in place with most major domestic travel wholesalers.
- Ramada Hervey bay has distribution contracts in place with many major international travel wholesalers, and benefits from the Ramada Worldwide network.
- Ramada Hervey Bay utilizes a channel manager to ensure fast and timely distribution of rates and availability to last minute and many long term booking sites.
- Ramada Hervey Bay has fully utilised the Ramada branding to benefit from the strong international brand awareness (Ramada Hervey Bay is the only international branded hotel in Hervey Bay).
- Promotion of the convenient location has been undertaken – at the marina and the closest hotel to the airport (7 minutes).
- Ramada Hervey Bay has an attractive booking web site – which is currently being upgraded to be more dynamic web site clearly detailed all value add opportunity
- The property uses web traffic optimization.
- Management has established clear levels of service and hospitality.
- An aggressive public relations/media campaign to ensure public awareness has been adopted which includes a number of travel writers on food and accommodation visiting and staying at Ramada Hervey Bay.
- The property has established close liaison with the various tourism organisations such as Fraser Coast tourism and tourism bodies as well as Fraser Coast Regional Council.
- Marketing programs include:
- Newspaper and magazine advertising
- Competitions such as the ‘young environmentalist of the year’
- Local sponsorships of selected significant community events
- Packaging up a whole range of tour and value add activities
- Packaging of conferences both in their own meeting rooms and with a larger conference centre
- Adopting innovative marketing such as packaging of ‘women’s adventure tours’.
- Synergistic packages with the restaurant on site
- Mail outs to corporate and companies to capture the corporate travel and repeat business
- Ramada Hervey Bay is establishing liaisons with companies seeking venues for team building and corporate events
