Report Topic:Assess the business structure of one hotel group - Essay Example

It also aims at promoting the exchange of goods as well as services, both symbolic and material (Slattery, 2000). Description of Hotel Group Hilton Worldwide offers its travelers the best accommodation, value and service. It was in the year 1919 in Cisco, when Conrad Hilton bought his first hotel. It has been apparent that since then the hotel has expanded geographically and various services have been introduced in the hotel in order to enhance the experience of the guest. Furthermore, the hotel chain today is one of the leading global hospitality companies that span from luxurious resorts and hotels to mid priced hotels and extended-stay suites.

The company aims at making prudent use of its shareholders’ capital and operates efficiently and effectively in order to achieve competitive advantage (Hilton Worldwide, 2010). The power of its brand, its presence in the world’s most in-demand markets, its financial resources, strength of its systems as well as experience of its team members, provide Hilton Worldwide an advantage to beat the competition. It is hard to replicate the company’s brand development and management process because of its inherent strength.

The company considers this to be one of its strength. Hilton’s presence around the world for last 30 years in most of the countries can be considered as a great competitive advantage. The hotel’s performance in respected consumer surveys confirms that the hotel is taking all possible measures that are important in order to meet the needs of the customers. It has been found that the company is committed towards a sound financial strategy, careful investment spending and maintenance of a strong balance sheet (Hilton Hotel Corporation, 2006).

Demand Forecasting, Profitability and Occupancy Rate It can be analyzed that the lodging industry has a sensitive structure to demand fluctuation. The lodging industry tends to meet the crisis by adopting various strategies. The demand forecasting has been imperative in the lodging industry that depends upon the nature of the industry and operational difficulties and characteristics. The forecasting team at Hilton consists of room manager, food and beverage manager, general manager and financial controller.

Though the sales manager is not involved directly in forecasting; however the forecasting team communicates to the sales department the information required, for instance, a monthly plan of the room and rate targets. The forecasting team meets once in a month in order to discuss forecasts made by the room managers for the future periods. It is the yield management ethos and the process that help to identify the trends of demand at Hilton. Occupancy Rate When a company increases or expands its operation by means of franchise or by increasing the numbers of rooms available for rent, then this indicates the companies’ capabilities to expand its operation in order to cater to the needs of growing number of travelers.

On the other hand, revenue from per room available and occupancy rates indicate efficiency and effectiveness of a company in utilizing its available resources. Since it a known fact that price changes at different times of the year and is different for different market segments, it becomes essential to ensure that the yardsticks to measure the good performance is both fair and accurate. Therefore, throughout the hotel industry, the standard yardstick