Words: 2083
Initially it was smooth sailing, even though the original hotel was conceived and built when the hotel business was not even considered an industry. Right from the beginning, the Tag stood for class and comfort. It was a place where the viceroys of the Empire arrived and departed amidst scenes of splendor. Scenes which were typical of the Raja. In fact, it soon became one of the wonders of the Orient. Singapore Raffles or Hong Songs Peninsula did not come up to the level of the Tag inspire of their rich ancestry. Notably, there was hardly any advertising directly to the consumer.
In fact, this element of the marketing mix was not visible until the late nineties! Advertising was not considered necessary. Secondly the company was conservative and media shy for many years. The reason the hotel towered above the rest was because of the amazing attention to detail that was paid by it’s founder Camshafts Data. As far back as 1900, he made sure that the Tag would have it’s own laundry, an aerated water bottling plant, electroplating for it’s silverware, a Moral sliver burnishing machine, a crockery washing plant and elevators.
The hotel was built completely at a cost of 500,000 pounds in 1903. MARKETING STRATEGIES BY TAG Positioning The Tag marked out three separate entities for the Tag Group: Business, Leisure and Luxury. Though the concept of these sub-brands had come into existence earlier, in he mid nineties, it was in 1999-2000, that the hotels became operationally different. Which meant that though the heads of these three divisions sat at head office, their territory is scattered geographically, according to which type of hotel they look after.
Strategy A higher emphasis was placed on the business segment as the profits are higher (this market being less price-sensitive as compared to the luxury segment). There was a proliferation of the Tag Presidency hotels not only in new cities, but also smaller towns. The group also kept looking at new opportunities. ‘The action plan is more opportunities, adding to and complementing the brand,’ says Sharkskin. More changes There were other changes. Consolidation. Unprofitable ventures were hived of. The sales and marketing functions were separated.
The HARD department modernized, with an emphasis on performance and career and succession planning. The organization was made to flatter and more compact. Moreover, a continual benchmarking against international standards was made part and parcel of the culture of the Tag. Major renovation By the mid sass’s, renovation was in full swing. Units across the country were refurbished. It meant ripping out entire floors. Rooms were revamped, business centers rebuilt. More than a hundred million dollars were reportedly spend for renovation – Just in the lifestyle (luxury segment)!
Since the business segment was slated to be become big (and those using it were likely to be non-traditionalists), the Tag went ostentatious with it’s new business floors. It meant putting in optic fiber cabling, remote control systems and giving the business guy a lounge where he could relax and even have breakfast. It included a min-business centre. In the process, some mistakes did happen. For instance it was thought a mint-gym on the floor would e a convenience. But this had to be dropped after a few years due to disuse. Initially, fax machines ere installed in the room.
They had to go with the advent of the internet and laptops. Other innovations have happened too. It was found that telephone usage was dropping because of the advent of mobile phones. Not only were mobiles provided on hire, the Tag also dropped communication charges by 33 per cent. Advertising It was only when the product was ready, was a major advertising campaign developed. Earlier, advertising had been restricted to the major feeder markets: the US, I-J, Germany, Singapore and Hong Kong. And the advertising emphasized the hardware aspect of the hotel.
The new campaign developed a specific brand identity for the hotel. Though the Tag had high unaided recall, it launched a corporate campaign to reinforce this new identity. The ad (made by Redefinition) shows the enigmatic woman who stands for both hospitality and efficiency. The identity was developed after extensive research on the consumer’s attitudes towards the Tag. Over 60 in-depth interviews were conducted by client and agency. The parameters? Not quantity, but quality. The things done right. The quality of check-in, the smile, the greeting or the welcome drink.
The insights gathered were analyses and a clear slot, which the Tag could occupy when global competition arrived, emerged. This was translated into creating a distinct personality of the Tag as caring, efficient and enigmatic. The line went: ‘She is the Tag,’ The base line was ‘Nobody cares as much. ‘ Success Other hotels’ room occupancies plunged to as low as 37 % during the recession and average room occupancy rates across all hotels were approximately 50 per cent. The Tag maintained a far higher average and continued to grow and expand. Slowly the hotel became more profitable than it had ever been.
The reason is clear. It never slept. MARKETING MIX: THE TAG BRAND The brand “Tag Hotels Resorts and Palaces” comprises 58 hotels across India and 17 hotels globally. The hotels are grouped into 3 categories – Luxury, Leisure and Business. The Tag Luxury Hotels offer lavish accommodation, gourmet specialty restaurants and bars, fitness centers and spas and well-equipped business and banquet facilities. Tag Leisure Hotels are targeted at family holidays and include beach resorts, garden retreats, palaces and historic and pilgrim centers with a wide variety of activities for all age groups.
Tag Business Hotels offer contemporary equines facilities and modern conveniences and are located in the heart of Indian’s key commercial cities and towns. The marketing mix oft hotels is explain as below: Product – The brand “Tag Hotels Resorts and Palaces “comprises 58 hotels across India and 17 hotels in international locations. The hotels are grouped into 3 categories – Luxury, Leisure and Business. The Tag Luxury Hotels offer lavish accommodation, gourmet specialty restaurants and bars, fitness centre and spas and well-equipped business Tag believes that the their core product is space.
This space is supplemented with the revives they provide like the restaurants, health club, banquets, discotheque, bar, business centers etc. Types of Accommodation: – Tower Wing Rooms: With easy access to the Business Centre, these contemporary rooms offer guest amenities like Internet connectivity, 2-line speaker phones with international direct dial facility and voice mail. Mini bar, personal safe, channel music and television with satellite programmed. – Heritage Wing Rooms: These rooms are renowned for their architecture and exude an aura of old-world elegance.
Each corridor in this Wing resembles an art gallery, and the design, dcore and furnishing ensure that no two rooms are alike. Guests have a choice of rooms that overlook the city or pool or face the Gateway of India and the Arabian Sea. – Tag Club: Located on the top floors of the Heritage Wing, Tag Club is designed for the discerning business traveler. Guest amenities and services include complimentary airport limousine transfers, private check-in at the Club desk, in-room fax, personal safe, a complimentary bottle of wine, valet service and complimentary deluxe Continental breakfast.
Tag Club also offers guests exclusive Meeting Rooms and a Business Service Unit on the Club Floor. Suites: Choose from elegantly appointed Junior Suites, Executive Suites, tastefully decorated Large Suites, newly renovated Luxury Suites or spacious, plush Grand Luke Suites. The finest suites at The Tag Mall are the luxuriously appointed Presidential Suites. Each of these suites is decorated with original paintings and antiques that transport guests into a world of regal luxury and grandeur. Broadband wireless Internet access at select Tag hotels: Now when you stay at select Tag hotels in Iambi (including The Tag Mall Hotel), New Delhi, Kola, Achaean, Bangor and Hydrated, you no longer need to be in your room r at the Business Centre to use the Internet. Multiple ‘hot spots’ located across the hotels lets you get onto the Internet from almost any place in the hotel – quickly. – Facilities and Services: Swimming pool, beauty parlor, barber shop, travel desk, car rental, pastry shop, book shop, shopping arcade, currency exchange, doctor-on-call and babysitting.
Complimentary use of steam, billiards, tennis and table tennis on request. 24-hour room service and laundry service . Place and Time – As far as place is concerned, all the Tag services and facilities are provided at one point. To ensure timely delivery of their services, they have set processes in place and in case of failure or delay of service, they have built in contingencies and trained their staff to communicate the delay to the customer in the right manner. – To ensure standardization in their services, they have Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), e. G. He food that is served in the restaurant will be of the same quality and taste at any given day and time. – Tag provided us with to explain this concept further is of the implementation of the contingency plan during the breakdown of the elevator. In case of breakdown of the elevator, the Room Service makes use of the elevator in the other wing to ensure timely delivery to the customer. – The Tag Mall Palace & Tower, Iambi, a 105-year old heritage hotel, is the flagship hotel of the Tag group. This hotel was one of the main targets of terrorists during the November 2008 bombings of Iambi and was severely damaged.
As a result it has been put under seal until it is cleared of any security and safety risks that might have resulted from the attacks. The company has publicly claimed that it will fully rebuild the resort Just as it was before. Besides the Tag Mall Palace & Tower, Iambi, the Tag has many hotels around the world, and in India. These include: The Pierre, New York; Tag Boston, Boston; Compton Place, San Francisco; 51 Bucking Gate, London; Tag Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives; Tag Exotica Resort & Spa, Mauritius and Blue Sydney, Sydney.
In India, these include: Tag Lake Palace, Diaper; Rampage Palace, Jasper; Maid Banyan Palace, Jodhpurs; The Tag Mall Hotel, New Delhi; The Tag Residency, Locknut; The Tag West End, Bangor; Tag Malabar, Cochin and Tag Exotica, Ago. The Tag Mall Palace & Tower is also called the Grammas of Maldives and the magmas f the Bengal. Promotion – Tag regularly comes up with offers during season and off-season such as Tag Holiday Summer Package to boast occupancy in their hotels . – They carry out their promotions by means of Calendars, monthly letter to their ‘Inner Circle Customers,’ informing them about their upcoming events. Tag takes part in exhibitions wherein they promote their holiday packages. Price – Tag realizes that their prices are high and not affordable by all, but this is due to various overheads that it incurs and the superior quality that it offers. For e. G. A roadside sandwich seller sells his sandwich for RSI. 0 as he has no overheads and has no quality standards to maintain, like the quality of the bread and the vegetables. But at The Tag, they serve the best quality and also incur overhead expenses. The target audience that the Tag caters to are the one’s who come to the Tag for it’s ambiance and world class standards, therefore they say that their prices are Justified as they help The Tag retain the exclusivity that it stands for. Physical Evidence Tag is fully satisfying its customers on account of physical evidence as the hotel is counted in 5 stars it has maintained its environment HTH is liked by all. Process Major service encounter that extremely delighted or disappointed are: 1 . Check – in 2. Bell person carrying luggage to the room. 3. Food. . Wake up call 5. Check out. These are the main processes that all hotels perform but in case oft many more processes are there as variety of services are offered to its customers which make them happy. People Tag has various professional people to handle its customers and to give a high service to its customers like: ; Skilled person ; Professional person ; Personal Agents ; Technological person ; Travel agents As tag has employed professionals for serving its customers so there are less chances in its service lags and it can deliver its best.