Small Business Management - Kenya Hotels Ventures - Case Study Example

Running header: Small business Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: INTRODUCTION Kenya Hotels Ventures (Kehovent Ltd) is planned to be a hotel and accommodation venture run and located in Kenya. It is set to offer hotel and accommodation facilities to the tourists visiting Kenya. The services will be offered under the venture goal of offering best services without compromise to the customers of the organization. Due to the neck breaking competition witnessed in the travels industry, Kehovent Ltd has decided to specialize on the hotels and accommodation industry so as to offer nothing but the best services ever to the customers. Over the recent past, there has been a registered growth in the number of tourists visiting Kenya. This in turn has resulted to increased demand for accommodation and hotels services. This is the key driving force as to the establishment of the venture. We believe that increasing returns will be brought about by the provision of exemplary service delivery. BREAKDOWN OF THE KENYAN TOURISM Kenya over the recent past has been a popular tourist destination. Due to this, there has been high numbers of tourists from both local and international sources reported. Kenya is home to 49 national parks and reserves which make up about 10% of the land mass. Due to this there are many tourists visiting the parks and reserves. Some of the attractions other than the game parks and reserves include the ancient towns like Mombasa and Lamu. Ancient traditional cultures exampled by the Maasai village which is located in the Mara are other attractions. Kenya is also home to world class marine parks and beaches (Business monitor store.com, 2014). They are destinations for those wishing to have an equatorial beach sun experience. Kenya is also strategically positioned with the Great Rift Valley passing through the country. Its gives an unforgettable eye catching views of the beautiful landscape not forgetting the escapements. Kenya boasts of being home to some of the near extinct animal and bird species and also to the big five animals. They are evidenced by the presence of rhino species both black and white. INDUSTRY TRENDS Tourism is the backbone of the Kenyan economy. For the last couple of years, it has been on the rise. Over the 2007-2008 post election periods, tourism was the most affected industry in the country. This is because the security situation in the country was at a deplorable condition. Losses were encountered over the period due to the declined tourist numbers. Massive destruction of property was witnessed and loss of life. After the reconciliation process in the country, there has been tremendous improvement in the number of visitors. In the year 2010, revenues gained from the tourism industry in the country grew to a record high 73.68 billion shillings compared to the previously earned revenues of 62.46 billion in 2009. FACTORSFORSUCCESSOFTHETOURISM INDUSTRY In the country, tourism being a major source of revenue, great care and concern is given to the industry. The government is taking all the necessary measures to see to it that there is development in the industry. Over the recently launched vision 2030 project of the country, tourism was stated as one of the 6 pillars of economic development in the country. The government has put in place all the necessary measures to see to it that the development of the industry is enhanced. This has been done through putting in place good infrastructure in and outside the game park and the game reserves. The infrastructure includes putting in place electric fences all around the game parks to reduce the cases of human animal conflicts which existed in the earlier days. Other infrastructure which has been developed over the recent past includes reconditioning of the roads inside and outside the parks (Euromonitor International, 2014). The Kenyan government has also put in place several other measures to foster the development of the industry. T5hey include among others increasing the household income of the citizens. The government is also raising the number of retired baby boomers in the country with time spent. The government is also putting in place policies aimed at reducing the overall air travel costs. This is done in an effort to increase the number of visitors visiting the country. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND SERVICES The company in an effort to offer exemplary services seeks to specialize in the hotel and accommodation line alone. The company seeks at offering an online hotel booking service whereby the customers will be able to use. This will include options whereby the customers can select their favorable hotel location. This will be from a list of our branches. As soon as the customer arrive in the points where pick up had been agreed upon, we will offer transport services for them and their belongings to the hotel rooms where a warm welcome will be awaiting them. Similar services will be offered when they will take up on their return journeys. We intend to put in place the best accommodation facilities not only in the country but also in the region. We would like our facilities to bring out the best in nature. One that gives the customers a feeling of belongingness is what we will be established. The lodges will provide utmost comfort to our customers (Janet, 2003). We will put in place rooms which will be polished and in which best quality art work has been used. We will also put in place an outdoor structure whereby several services will be offered. Some of these services will include a barbeque parlor, massage facilities, gymnasium areas, swimming pools for both adults and children, and an artificial nature park where statues of animals in the country will be placed. We would also like to serve the best dishes and meals to the customers in our hotel and restaurant area. Local dishes will also be pat of the delicacies prepared. In order to achieve this, we will seek the services of the best chefs in the region. They will possess the required skills and capabilities to prepare the best meals. We have also listened to grievances raised by the tourists in the tourism industry. We have tried to work on these so as to offer utmost satisfaction to the tourists. Some of these grievances include among others; a. Hygiene levels b. Security standard So as to be at a good level in the hygiene of foods and facilities, we will put in place several measures. These include among others the recruitment of staff well qualified to deal with hygiene standards. We will also develop a culture from among the employees on the maintenance of good hygiene practices. We will also outsource cleaning services so that well qualified and trained cleaners can work on our facilities. Hygiene in the foods will also be observed. This will be done through a close liaison with the ministry of public health. The staff handling the food and drinks will also be subjected to a daily hygiene checkup. This will be in order to prevent transmission of diseases and infections from among the staff. Security has been an issue of concern in the country. This has made the customers to check on the levels of security in affirm before using their facilities and services. We shall employ the services of well trained and well equipped security guards to guard our entity and to escort the tourists to and from the facility (Robert, 2014). A thorough check up will be taken on the people and goods entering the facility. We shall also be in close contact with the police officers so as to assist when there are security breaches. We shall also observe the security in terms of animal attacks. This will be done through putting in place electric fences to prevent the entry of wild animals and other reptiles common in the country to the facility. Security in our out door facility will also be strengthened. This is in order to reduce cases of fatalities in the facility. This will be done through putting in place rescue services in the facility like the swimming pool to prevent drowning from occurring. The vehicles used for transport will also have met all the regulatory specifications put in place. This will be in order to prevent the occurrence of road accidents which would claim the lives of the tourists. Safety gadgets e.g. the speed governors and the safety belts will be fitted to the vehicles. The drivers will also be well trained and well conversant with the terrain of the country. In order to be distinct from the competitors, proper product differentiation facilities will be put in place. This will be done through putting in place trade barks on our products. The transport vans for example can be marked in a ribbon different from those used by the competitors. The staff can also have distinguished attire from those of the competitors. This will help disguise the venture from those of the competitors. Similarly by strict following the code of conducts of the staff and all other related parties will lead to the provision of exemplary services to those of the competitors. Effective timeliness in our activities and in fleet management can also help differentiate our products from those of the competitors. OPERATIONS PLAN Strict following of the operations plans will help Kenya Hotels Ventures (Kehovent Ltd) to offer simply the best services to the customers. It comprises a frame work of activities to be undertaken and when they will be undertaken. a. Operations objectives The objectives of any firm are customer satisfaction. We will try to see to it that our customers get the best of our services. Another objective is cost minimization. This will be done through the reduction of wastages in the processes. This will be possible through maximum utilization of the resources of the entity (Gaynor, 2011). All these if put in place will lead to increased profitability of the venture. b. Preferred location The prime location of the main branch will be at Nairobi City. This will be due to the central location of the town in the country. This is also due to its nearness to the largest airport in the region where most tourists land. This will also be advantageous due to the nearness of the town to other facilities such as shopping malls where the customers may require services from. The town also being an administrative head of the country means that it will be simpler to put in place adequate security for the tourists. The city is also a center where all the required supplies for operations will be cheap and readily available. The town is also located only seven kilometers from the Nairobi National Park and it will be easier for the tourists to be taken to the park and back at lesser costs. Another branch will be located at Narok Town. This is the town nearest to the main tourist attraction in the region, The Maasai Mara. This as a result of the popularity of the pack will accommodate many visitors. Due to its location, it will be effective for those tourists visiting the famous Mara. Another branch will be located at the rift city of Nakuru. Its central location enables the tourists to have many visiting sites at their disposal. Another branch will be located at the coastal city of Mombasa. Its nearness to the beach gives it an advantage for the marine tourists who tour the East African Coast. The branch will be able to accommodate all these visitors effectively. The last branch will be based at the lake side city of Kisumu. This is due to its location nest to the largest lake in the region and also the source of the world’s longest river the Nile. c. Property acquisition The main branch will have to be leased from one of the property owners in the city. This will be due to the fact that land for purchase in the city is unavailable especially in the prime areas. Leasing a property in the central business district will cost the company an annual fee of 50,000,000 shillings. This will be a better option since renovations in the leased buildings are allowed and hence the desired appearances are attained. Branch at the Mara will be constructed. This is due to the fact that leasing properties are not available in the town and it will be cheaper to construct than purchase an existing building in the long run. Branches at Nakuru Kisumu and Mombasa will be rented. This is because it is cheaper to rent property in these towns compared to leasing or building. d. Service process Kenya Hotels Ventures (Kehovent Ltd) will be solely specialized on offering hotels and accommodation services to our customers. We believe that in order to offer the best services, we have to specialize on one field and get the best out of it. This is the main reason forming our focus to only hotel services and accommodation to the customers. The service process includes services such as online hotel booking by customers, picking of customers from point of arrival e.g. airports and sea ports and bus stations, hotel reception and accommodation and transport back to the predestined and agreed points. The service process begins with online booking by the customers. During the booking, the customers indicate their favorite destination region e.g. the coast or Mara. Prior to this the necessary arrangements are made. The customer is then picked at the port or station of arrival by the vans of the Hotel (Holiya, 2010). He is the driven to the branch which he had preferred most. From there, reception and registration occurs at the reception desk where the customer gives his details and is shown to his room. After that, he enjoys the services of the hotel until the lapse of the time period he will be at the country. On lapse of the time, he is transported using the company van to the departure station. The process is recurrent cycles based on the fact that the customers after being transported back to the ports apply again online and hence the repetitive nature of the cycle. The chart simplifying this is shown below. BOOKING PICKING RECEPTION DROPING ACCOMODATION e. Facilities So as to see to it that best service without compromise are offered, different equipment is required to see to it that this is possible. They include among others; 1. Computers and the peripherals- computers are the most efficient communication facilities in the recent days. They should have internet connectivity so as to enable online communication with the customers. It is also essential for the purpose of monitoring online ticketing and bookings by the clients. Computers are available in the leading electronic shops in the city at a price ranging from between 45000-60000 shillings depending on the processor capabilities. The other peripherals like the printers will add up to a total amount of Kshs. 100000. 2. Stationery- stationery is also required. They include among others field note books, receipt books, pens and rulers. They can be purchased from the Kabuki Industries at a price of Kshs. 100,000. 3. Transport vans- they are very useful in the transportation of tourists from one place to another. The destinations include from the pick-up points which include the airports and sea ports to the branches. They should be well serviced and maintained at the best of conditions for best services. One vehicle is retailing at a price of Kshs 1000000. About 20vehicles are required for best networking. 4. Office and room furniture- furniture is required for effective performance. The furniture includes office desks and chairs, beds and other related furniture. The furniture can be acquired at a total price of Kshs 500,000 because of the additional designs required in the chairs. MAINTENANCE PROCESS Different supply materials required for all the processes to be effective. To ensure appropriateness in their delivery, there should be timely ordering dates. There should also be reliable suppliers. Similarly, the suppliers selected should be those tendering the shortest lead-times. To find the best category of suppliers, a competitive supplier selection process should be adopted. A competent recruiting staff should be put in place. The tendering process should be timely to give adequate time for the selection panel to pick the best in all aspects of quality, time, cost and quantity. SEASONALITY OF DEMAND The tourism industry in Kenya is subject to a seasonal demand schedule. This is characterized by increase in the number of tourists during the wild beast migration period and in the Christmas period and decline in the numbers after that period. In an effort to ensure that normal business operations occur even on the seasonal demand schedule, several factors need to be put in place. They include the hiring of part time staff to meet the high demand period, putting in place precautionary stock so as to meet the high demand during peak seasons and vehicle leasing during the high demand period INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM A proper inventory management system should be put in place. This is due to the varying nature of the inventories of the firm ranging from consumables to non consumables. Consumables in most cases are very perishable and hence the need for adequate refrigeration facilities (Johannes, 2007). The non consumables should also be placed in a way that retrieval would be easy to undertake. So as to see to it5 that this is possible, an inventory manger must be hired and must possess all the necessary knowledge to see to it that it is well administered. REGULATORY AND LEGAL ISSUES The venture must possess a working permit and a business license in order to work in the country. All the stipulations set by the health regulatory bodies must also be met. FEASIBILITYANALYSIS The prospects for business growth and development are many and clear. Profitability of the firm is also an assuredly possible factor. This is based on the fact that the government undertakes to preserve the industry and has put in place all the necessary measures to see to it the development of the industry (Irene, 2009). The venture is also on a fertile ground based on the levels and numbers of tourists visiting the country in the recent past. Once established, the business will grow at an unceasing rate. Undertake. References Business monitor store.com, 2014, Kenya tourism report, Retrieved on 4th May 2014, from; http://store.businessmonitor.com/kenya-tourism-report.html Euromonitor International, 2014, Travel and tourism in Kenya, Retrieved, 4th May 2014, from; http://www.euromonitor.com/travel-and-tourism-in-kenya/report Janet, M2003, Essentials of small business starts ups, International Business Journal, vol.101, no.2, pp.95-100. Robert, P2014, Opportunity recognition process for entrepreneurs, International journal of entrepreneurship, vol. 26, no6, pp.643-659. Gaynor, B2011, Entrepreneurship, Journal of business venturing, vol.25, no.2, pp.156-159. Holiya, B2010, Small business management, London, Rutledge. Johannes, D2007, Foundations of inventory management, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Irene, C2009, Feasibility of the business idea, London, Rutledge. Read More