Jeong Da Yeon
BS 3180
Executive Summary
Amatara Resort and Wellness is among the best class destination spar in Thailand. This five-star hotel is located at Cape Panwa and known to offer an enjoyable moment to its customers. One can get a clear view of Phuket while at this place thus adding to its greatness. Additionally, the guests can enjoy the tranquil breezes of the blue sea of Andaman and a broader view of the sky. Being the only unique resort in Phuket, it offers wonderful programs including spacious well-furnished rooms, a variety of meals especially the organic ones to keep one’s health fit, indoor and outdoor activities for wellness (Amatara Resort and Wellness, n.d.). The Amatara Resort and Wellness were originally the Regent Phuket Cape Panwa. Early 2015, the resort was rebranded in 2015 to bring more attention to the spa. During this process, there were no amendments in the management team nor on the quality of services and facilities offered.
Introduction
a. Background to the Theory Area and Aim/Objective of Report
Resort is rated or ranked “five star” when it’s services and accommodation facilities’ becomes exceptional and of a higher class level. Admittedly, this is what makes Amatara Resort and Wellness as five-star resort. While at this place, one enjoys fascinating surroundings of Phuket. The pace has got clean white sands of the Andaman Sea. There have been other new resorts offering similar services that pose a great threat to the resort’s market share. In this regard, the hotel thinks it wise to change the brand name. The aim of this report it to examine the re-branding process of the Amatara resort. There is the need to;
- Review the elements and issues associated with the re-branding.
- Analyze the strategies implemented by Amatara during the re-branding process.
- Identify how successful the re-branding initiatives has been.
There are many benefits that are associated with changing a brand name. For one, there is a probable increase in the rate of occupancy, a raised gross operating profits per room and an overall increased performance of the business (Dev et al 2015). Being one of the management strategies, re-branding is very crucial. According to Sexton (2008), the strategy is core for every activity in the organization. The process results should result in the achievement of the set goals. As a matter of facts, the process should house coordination of all the functions to form a strong brand, concentration of resources to enhance optimal output, and adequate communication in that everyone should be informed (Sexton 2008).
b. Methodology
This research will make use of both qualitative and quantitate methods. Data collection will be done using questionnaires and research questions. The respondents for the research will be the workers both in the lower and the higher management as well as some customers. Additionally, the collected data will be analyzed along with the historical report of the company. Some of the interview questions will be the workers’ take on how re-branding was done, the changes that arose from it, and the effect this had to the customers too.
c. Profile of Amatara Resort & Wellness
The five star resort is well known in the provision of excellent hotel services and accommodation to local visitors and those from abroad. This famous destination have got qualified staffs at all levels who are committed to serving the customers to their satisfaction. The name ‘Amatara’ is allowed from the ancient Sanskrit word ‘Amata’ which refers to endless or super-natural. It is located in a strategic scene with spar and sand beach of the Andaman Sea. The rooms are furnished with modern facilities to add to the comfort of the visitors. It has got spacious rooms for family vacations, meetings, and retreat. This can be said to be among the most up-to-date resorts as it is well connected to the world through the high-speed internet and Wi-Fi services in the rooms. The internet is also among the main means of booking processes available. The main aim of the hotel to provide exceptional hotel and accommodation services (Amatara Resort and Wellness, n.d.).
Theoretical Review of Literature
Re-branding has been known to be the change and improvement of the existing product. The effects of rebranding are broadly applied to firms and industries that are experiencing a decline in their components value chain (Yi-Lin, Dev, & Chintagumla 2015). It should be done to improve on the quality and the value of the products being offered. A good re-branding should look towards improving the former products or services and improve them to look to more attractive to the customers and the buyers. It can be a way of helping the product position improve in the eyes and mind of the consumers to differentiate it from the former brands in the product category (Park at al. 1986). The rebranding does not only change the perspective on how brand customers see the present product or service but also should answer the question on whether the product feature similarly consistently and brand concept consistency (Park, Milberg, and Lawson 1991).
The main why many companies rebrand according to incredible rebranding specialist is to make the new product from the product that is coming of age. In the life cycle of business –the business will often begin, and experience growth, without necessarily having a professionally designed a new brand. However, Rebranding becomes a merely crucial step for businesses to be taken seriously as they expand into more aggressive markets. Rebranding should be aimed at changing the perspective of people towards a certain brand or a certain service being offered. It should be in a position to change to the positive the morale and loyalty of internal stakeholders such as employees (Muzelee and Lambikin 2006). The way customers view the product should be changed anytime a company choose to rebrand.
Elements that Makes a Hotel
A hotel mainly operates within four major elements which are, brand name, slogan, packaging and characters. There is no way a resort can thrive without any of the above elements. Admittedly, Amarata have got every element including well trained workers to offer exceptional services. It have got a management team that works on the management issues like branding. The customers buys these services and always aims for satisfaction.
Modes of communication
Any time a company decides to change any of its routine such as the brand name, there should be adequate communication within the company and to all the customers. This can be done using communication means such as internal memos, social media like websites, blog posts, FaceBook, Letters and many others. Amarata resort mainly rely on the internet means like the e-letters, websites, and the social media adverts.
Unfortunately, Amarata hotel did not review the re-branding element and problems associated with rebranding. The hotel did not go to the market to analyze first on what the customers want in the market. The hotel would have gone to the market to check on what the buyers and the customers would have wished the products of the hotel to be. This was at least not the best mode to do, as selling should start from the market first before coming to production.
Approaches of Re-branding
Any plan to re-brand has to start with a thorough comprehension of the business reason to re-brand. This is driven by the need to boost performance as well as to gain a comparative advantage. A thorough market research should be done to ensure that the product being produced is market friendly and to ensure that what the customers requested for is what was made. This gives a company the benefit of doubt that the product that it is going to produce will be appreciated by the customers at large. This calls for empirical analysis on the consequences of rebranding on performance. In this article, the objective is mainly to qualify the consequences of rebranding and the effects it has to the firm when it is done.
The other issue is about the strategies that the hotel used to do the rebranding. The hotel would have used the gradual rebranding strategy where by it would have started rebranding slowly to give time for the customers to take into their minds the newly formed brands. By using any other method like a day change in the brand would have led to slow change in the market and the number of customers frequenting the place. At least the gradual change strategy of rebranding would have been the best to give the customers room to put the brand in their minds.
The other objective being the successfulness of the rebranding to the hotel. By being able to call for more customers from the previous ones the hotel would have improved and be successful in rebranding. A successful rebrand would mean that the customers are increasingly coming to the hotel and those that are coming are also coming back later after the first visit. The use of cross brands and within brand fact would have been a proper strategy of making a good rebrand.
Application of Theories
‘’Selling starts from the market’’ is a best fit to the rebranding in the product and services of any company. The Hotel going first to the market would have given it a benefit of doubt that the product that is producing is the best to the customers. Collecting information from customers on the product would qualities they would need to be made from the hotel would reduce the losses as customers would be looking for the products they participated in making and they would not shy away from the product they have contributed in making.
Up-scale rebranding would be the more appropriate mode of rebranding. The hotel guests can become well informed of the strategy through mails, board information, social media and other available platforms in the hotel. The management and other employees will be informed through the mails, internal memos and social media to understand the changes in the hotel. All this will solve the previous selling issues where customers refused to pay for the products when they found that the products and the services are not at par with their expectations.
On average, the revenue increases by 6.4% after re-branding. This is caused by the increase in the number of customers frequenting the hotel. Occupied rooms increased drastically by a whopping 25%. The service-waiting time reduced by 10%. The positive customer feedback increased by 10%.
For Amarata, the owner decided to change the brand name without any consultation. Besides the fact that he is in management team, he should have consulted other staff and stakeholders. Deciding to re-brand overnight can have a great effect or can even delay the achievement of the set goals. This is the main reason why rebranding did not work as expected.
Conclusion
The study reflects the changes acquired after re-branding. There is a slight change of approximately 6% after re-branding. Lack of cross-brand and the heterogeneity in within-brand have been noted in this research. The idea that an increase in occupancy hardly translates into an increase in other performance areas has not significant effect on competing resorts and destinations in the same field. The research has inferences for the branding resources by giving a quantifier of brand strength that gauges the potential verifying for a variety of observable and unobservable factor. Some of the issues were not taken into consideration in this study as the study could only focus on the observable heterogeneity in the property to brand interactions. Much of what was found revolves on the procedure that was used to re-brand and more so on the outcomes. It is evident that this re-branding didn’t work successfully as a result of omitting the required protocol of re-branding. In this regard, care should be taken when re-branding to achieve the aimed optimal performance.
References
Amatara Resort and wellness, n.d Amatara Resort and Wellness. [Online] Avaiulable at:
http://ww.amataraphuket.com/wellness-programs/our-philosophy.html [Accessed 16 April 2016 ]
Maheswara, Durairaj, Diane M. Mackie, and Shelly Chaiken(1992), “Brand Name as a Heuristic
Cue: The effect of task Importance and Expectancy Confirmantion on Consumer Judgement,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 1 (4), 317-36.
Muzellec, Laurent and Mary Lambkin (2006), ‘’Corporate Rebranding: Destroying, Transfering
or Creating Brand Equity?’’ European Journal of Marketing, 40 (7/8), 803-24
Park, C When, Bernard J. Jawoski, and Deborah J. Maclnnis (1986), ‘’Strategic Brand Concept-
Image Management, ’Journal of Marketing, 50 (October), 135^-5
Sexton, D., 2008. Branding 101:How to Build the Most Valuable Asset of any Business: New
Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Yi-LI, T, Dev, C, & Chintagunta, P 201, What’ts in a Brand Name? Assessing the Impact of
Re-branding in the Hospitality Industry’, Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 52, 6, pp. 865-878, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, Viewed 17 April 2016.
Appendixes
Rebranding Questionnaire
How well do you feel about the name Amatara Resort and Wellness?
Do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of the new brand?
What sectors do you believe the resort is trying to attract?
How do you rate the staff hospitality?
How would you rate the problems the price paid?
How would you rate the resort ability to provide a relaxing atmosphere?
