Market Analysis of Luxury Lodges in Australia

The paper entails a case study of “Luxury Lodges of Australia”, a collection of lodges which has impacted the Australian tourism and hospitality industry since it was launched. After identifying the offering, the manner in which it impacted the market is described. The analysis was undertaken with regards to the ”Five Ps” of marketing. Afterward, the findings and discussions are presented. In the end, a conclusion is made. Three recommendations for further improving the business are suggested.

Table of Contents

Introduction. 4

Market analysis. 4

Product 4

Price- 4

Promotion. 4

Place. 4

People. 5

Discussion. 5

Conclusion. 5

Recommendations. 5

Case Study

Introduction

”Luxury Lodges of Australia” is an entrepreneurial offering that was brought to the Australian tourism and hospitality industry in 2010 (Skift.com, 2018). This is a collection of independent luxury lodges and camps that offer unique experiences in Australia. The lodges are found in premium locations, such as Kangaroo Island and Lord Howe Island among others (West & Murphy, 2010). The lodges are designed in an environmentally sensitive way that presents the tourist into the country a five-star experience (Booth,2012). They are reached easily from six Australian cities in the Cathay Pacific. The offering has taken the Australian tourism and hospitality industry since its inception due to the effective strategies that it has been undertaking (Pike, 2004). The market impact and sales performances of the product are revealed from the market analysis.

Market Analysis

Product- the product was unique and it changed the landscape of tourism in a dramatic way. Accordingly, independent entrepreneurs invested in building unique properties, such as the Saffire in Tasmania, Southern Ocean Lodge, Qualia on Hamilton Island, and so on. A variety of experiences are offered to the customers (Ottery, 2016). The experiences are Aquatic & Coastal, Family experiences, Aboriginal Australia, Food and Wine, Honeymoon Inspiration, Incentives & groups, Wildlife and Wilderness, Spa and Relaxation, and Reef and Islands among others (Pascoe, 1991). This surely meets and exceeds the expectations of the customers. Essentially, all travel needs of the tourists to the beautiful country are catered for.

Price-premium pricing is adopted by the group collection of lodges. At skift.com, it is noted that the high-end lodging product costs an average of $800 per day per person (Cohen, 2013).

Promotion-in addition to good traditional promotional methods, the lodges are well promoted over the internet. Through the website, all information that the customer would wish to get is available. For instance, under the lodges tab, a visitor to the websites gets to know all the lodges at a glance. The information on the destinations, experiences, and itineraries can be accessed. The website offers high levels of interactivity between the visitors to the site or the customers and the staff. The website utilizes good graphics and overall structure which enhances the visitors’ maneuverability of the web pages. The travel experience of the customers is enhanced as they are enabled to plan their trip.

Place-the collective lodges can be reached easily form six Australian cities which are serviced by the Cathay Pacific. They, thus, give the customers a wide holiday Itinerary. While in Sydney, there are three unique lodges in New South Wales. After approximately three hours’ drive by road, one gets to Emirates One & Only Wolgan Valley between two national parks of the country. Another lodge situated close to Sydney is Serren Pretty Beach House. It is a spa retreat which has four exclusive pavilions. It can be reached by seaplane. Capella Lodge is on Lord Howe Island. Its nine suites look out across Lovers Bay a World Heritage (luxurylodgesofaustralia.com.au, n.d).

People- The staff of the company is well trained. They do offer the highest service levels. In this particular industry, service levels are gauged by the efficiency and effectiveness of communication between the customers and the staff of the lodges. The staff is mainly recruited using a comprehensive recruitment program which guarantees the selection of the best talent in the labor market.

Discussion

The offering has brought about changes in the market. Effective entrepreneurial skills have been exhibited by the establishments since it was launched in 2010. Sales increased over the years due to the ability of the collection of lodges to understand the market and offer more than what the customers expected. Despite the wonderful performance, there is room for the businesses to grow even further. The external environment presents opportunities that could be utilized by the management (Sarwal & Sarwal, 2009).

Conclusion

Luxury Lodges of Australia’s case is one of success and bright outlook (Ordóñez, Tennyson, & Zhao, 2012). The entrepreneurial offering to the market in the Australian tourism and hospitality industry has taken the market by storm. An effective marketing strategy has been undertaken. The product, people, price, promotion, and place have effectively been balanced. An analysis of the marketing strategy gives a clear indication of the current position of the business. The identified gaps are identified, and recommendations for better future performance are suggested.

Recommendations

The series of lodges should adopt more flexible price strategies. This is especially true since currently, world economies are experiencing difficult times. With such, individuals are more price-sensitive. They would demand more of the products and services if the costs were much lower. With regards to this, there ought to be a focus on cutting down costs as much as possible. This could be through the selection of cost-effective suppliers. While introducing cheaper and quality lodgings, the current premium-pricing strategies are retained.

The other thing that could be considered is getting on the international scene. Globalization is a trend that cannot be ignored by players in any industry (Shanahan, 2003). As much as Australia is a beautiful destination for tourists, there is an opportunity in other nations as well. If a tourist travels to Australia this year, he or she will certainly seek a different country as the destination in the following year of travel. The current model of doing business could be maintained while spreading the wings to the international market (Jonsen, 1999).

The offering could also consider partnering with the air, road, and water travel businesses. The firm could partner with leading air, rail and road companies. This would enhance the tourists’ experience. For instance, the tourists could partner with hot air balloon travel agencies among others to enhance the aerial as well as other views, while touring the various destinations from their accommodation points.

References

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Jonsen, Helen (1999). Kangaroo’s Comments and Wallaby’s Words: The Aussie Word Book.

luxurylodgesofaustralia.com.au, (n.d). Luxury Lodges of Australia. Retrieved on October 7, 2018 from https://luxurylodgesofaustralia.com.au/

Ordóñez, . P. P., Tennyson, R. D., & Zhao, J. (2012). Global hospitality and tourism management technologies. Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference.

Ottery James, (2016). ”Australia Well Travelled”. The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/life-well-travelled/luxury-lodges-of-australia/

Pascoe, I.G. (1991). History of systematic mycology in Australia. History of Systematic Botany in Australasia. Ed. by: P. Short. Australian Systematic Botany Society Inc. pp. 259–264.

Pike, Jeffrey (2004). Australia. Langenscheidt Publishing Group. p. 103. Angeles: SAGE.

Sarwal, A., & Sarwal, R. (2009). Reading Down Under Australian Literary Studies Reader. SSS Publications.

Shanahan, M. (2003). Globalization: Australian regional perspectives. Kent Town: Wakefield Press.

Skift.com, (2018) the land down under is going upmarket. SKIFT. Retrieved from https://skift.com/2018/05/08/tourism-australia-targets-high-spending-consumers-with-new-premium-strategy/

West, B. A., & Murphy, F. T. (2010). A brief history of Australia. New York: Facts On File.