Case Study of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company - Case Study Example This is highlighted by the famous words of its founder: "Never say no when a client asks for something even if it is the moon. You can always try" (Lampton 2003). Thus, "guests remark that they are "pampered," "respected," "treated like royalty," and "incurably spoiled" (Lampton 2003). Recognizing the importance of customer service in extending the Ritz-Carlton experience, the company has been passionate in training their staff and treating them as their strategic partners. The hotel chain makes it a point to make employees absorb the core value in the organization, train them, prepare them to serve the market. What is remarkable is the company's strong adherence to strategic human resource management. Ritz-Carlton's staff irrefutably becomes its competitive advantage (Lampton 2003). Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company's popularity is highly due to its upscale, luxury brand of hotels and resorts with locations in major cities in the United States and other internationally famous destinations such as Montego Bay, Jamaica, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Bali, Hong Kong and Qatar. The hotel company owns 59 hotels in 20 countries 37 of which are hotels while 22 are resorts. The operation of the hotel company began in 1983 with the purchase of the Ritz-Carlton, Boston by William B. Johnson. However, the legacy of the hotel is attributed to the celebrated "king of hoteliers and hotelier to kings," Csar Ritz. The company states that "his philosophy of service and innovations redefined the luxury hotel experience in Europe through his management of The Ritz in Paris and The Carlton in London." The company's quest of providing quality accommodation and service named it one of the best hotels in the world as it consistently reaped awards from prestigious organizations like Forbes, Travel Weekly, Luxury Institute, and Consumer Reports. In 2006, it was awarded the Mobil Five-Star Award and AAA Five Diamond Award (Ritz-Carlton 2007). Serving Ladies and Gentlemen Ritz-Carlton's market segmentation is reflected on its different product offerings. The company irrefutably utilized geographic, psychographic, as well as behavioral factors in designing their product line. In terms of geographic it can be noticed that Ritz-Carlton offers accommodation in four key strategic locations-tourist spots, business districts, metropolitan, and countryside. The company offers luxurious accommodations in scenic tourists' destinations like Bali, Milan, and Barcelona as well as in the business districts of New York, Tokyo, and Dubai International Financial Center. Metropolitan like areas like Seoul and Kula Lumpur as well as the countryside of Florida and Montego Bay are conquered by the pleasure offered by Ritz Carlton (Ritz Carlton 2007). In terms of psychographic and behavioral factors, Ritz-Carlton segments its market by looking at the general and specific interests of its customers. The hotel company divides its target company according to the purpose of their use of facility. Three general classifications are generated: those who stay in the hotel for business purposes;