Blog #4 Assignment

List of Tourism Related Videos Reviewed:

1. Scottsdale CVB
2. Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation
3. Niagara USA
4. Philippines
5. Sandals Montego Bay Jamaica
6. Celebrity Cruises: Elegant Nights and Days of Discovery
7. Scotland
8. Brussels
9. Disney Dream Cruise-2011
10. Cedar Point
11. Egypt
12. Shanti Ananda Destination Spa and Resort in Maurice
13. Luna Lodge in Costa Rica
14. Welcome to South Carolina
15. Wanaka Transport and Toy Museum in New Zealand
16. SS Great Britain Ship in Bristol
17. Whistler Peak to Peak Skiing in British Columbia, Canada
18. Amsterdam Airport Hotel-Hotel Sheraton


Five Top Videos:

1. Niagara USA- http://www.niagara-usa.com/youtube_video.html
2. Philippines- http://www.tourism.gov.ph/SitePages/VideoContainer.aspx?id=Wow_Philippines
3. Brussels- http://www.visitbelgium.com/
4. Luna Lodge in Costa Rica- http://www.lunalodge.com/index-en.html
5. Welcome to South Carolina- http://www.discoversouthcarolina.com/plan-your-trip/video-gallery.aspx


The Top Video: Luna Lodge in Costa Rica- http://www.lunalodge.com/index-en.html

It was difficult to choose a number one winner out of the top five videos I selected because they all had their own unique aspects that were interesting. However, in the end I chose the Costa Rica Luna Lodge video as the one that I believe is the most likely to proportionately improve tourism spending to the entity featured for several reasons.

First of all, I really liked how their video had a number of brief customer testimonials, which was a feature that none of the other top five videos had. Customer testimonials are a key ingredient in sales if a large ROI is wanted. “If you say you are good, people ignore your self-serving back-patting. When others say you are good...it's credible. This goes to the very heart of why testimonials are so powerful...they give us credibility and believability. When you deliver a good compelling offer that is both credible and believable, your sales and profits will increase” (Reece, 2001). On another note, the customer testimonials are also a great way to add a personal touch to their video.

Another reason I chose the Luna Lodge video is because of the increasing popularity of ecotourism along with sustainability and how that is the main focus of this destination. In fact, “Ecotourism is considered the fastest growing market in the tourism industry, according to the World Tourism Organization with an annual growth rate of 5% worldwide and representing 6% of the world gross domestic product, 11.4% of all consumer spending” (“Defining Eco-Tourism”, n.d.). There is a huge market for this type of tourism right now ever since the buzzword of being “Green” became a focal point in the last few years for many industries and for a majority of people in general. Due to the immense growth and attractiveness of ecotourism, this will cause more interest in Luna Lodge as a destination to visit, intern creating more profit for the lodge. In comparison to the other top five videos, the Brussels video was the only other video to mention a “Green” aspect.

The Luna Lodge video had some other great characteristics, which included calming, relaxing music in the background, a narrator during parts of the video (who is actually the founder of the lodge), and contact information at the end of the video (their website) so that people could find out more information if they are interested. Several of the other top five videos had these features as well, but some were lacking in one area or the other. Additionally, the Luna Lodge video showed people in action enjoying themselves at the lodge. We talked in class a few times about how important it is to actually show people doing an activity and enjoying themselves at a destination because that makes it more convincing. Three of the other top five videos had this aspect too, except for the South Carolina video which was composed of about 95% of still pictures, making it more of a slide show rather than a video.

Today’s world is extremely fast passed and people do not get much time to rest and enjoy life. If people are longing for a relaxing escape, which most are, then it is obvious (after watching the video) that Luna Lodge is the place to go. I believe that is a perfect way to market to people because that will get more business for the destination. All in all, the video was charming, peaceful, unique, showed a variety of activities and amenities that Luna Lodge has to offer, showed the beauty of Costa Rica, showed friendly staff members, and will initiate and improve tourism spending at Luna Lodge.


Sources:
Defining Eco-Tourism. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2009, from The Sustainable Tourism Gateway website: http://www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/etour-define.html

Reece, T. (2000, January 1). Using Testimonials to Increase Sales. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from Site Point website: http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/testimonials-increase-sales/1

Blog #3 Assignment

A Well Managed Resort: The Westin Kierland Resort and Spa


“Management is a process of deciding the best way to use an organization’s resources to produce goods or provide services” (Rue & Byars, 2009). I believe that a well-managed tourism-dependent private sector enterprise is the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa. I actually work there in their coffee shop, Coffee Flats and Sowbowls, and can see how this is true from several angles, as to how busy the hotel is, the attitudes of the managers, and from the perspective of an employee; all of which I truly admire.

Today’s economy is struggling, causing many businesses to go out of business. Additionally, resorts are especially getting hit by this due to the negative impression of companies going there for meetings or incentive trips as well as families and leisure travelers who are not traveling as often anymore in order to save money. Despite those negatives, though, the Westin Kierland is still going strong. It would be a lie to say that companies have not canceled their meetings with the resort and that the resort has not become less busy, but compared to all of the Westin Kierland’s sister properties in Arizona (any Starwood property, including Sheratons, The W Hotel, The Phoenician, Four Points, and others) it is doing the best out of all of them. During these past three weeks alone, during 90% of the weeks the resort has been 70-99% full. This is definite proof that the resort is being managed well.

Another reason I believe the Westin Kierland is well managed is due to the managers in general. They are all passionate about their jobs, which, according to Mark Grenoble, is crucial in this business. The general manager of the resort is very good at what he does. He is obviously a good businessman by helping keep the resort’s head above the water considering what was said in the previous paragraph. In addition to that, he is good to his employees. For example, at our last two all associate meetings he talked about how hard he is trying to do everything he can to not lay off employees, which he has fortunately been able to do so far. Along with that, he does not act as if he is superior to everyone even though he is the GM; he eats in the employee cafeteria, he stops and talks to employees to see how they are, and he is very approachable. This is the case for a majority of the other managers at the resort as well even though there are always going to be a few intimidating managers. Due to the positive, encouraging attitudes of the managers, it causes employees to be their best, which intern makes for better service to guests.

A third reason I feel as though the Westin Kierland is well managed is because of the way that employees are treated and managed; they are informed about important information, they are well taken care of, and their opinions are heard, making them feel more included in the company. Moreover, every year a Star Voice survey is taken to see how employees feel about their immediate managers and about the resort in general. It asks questions like “How fair is your manager?”, “Would you recommend friends/family to work here?”, “Do you feel like the benefits are good?”, and there is an empty box at the end for comments/suggestions. When the results are in, each manager goes through a process with HR to better themselves in the areas that were lacking. Some things that have come about from the comment/suggestion box are renovated employee locker rooms and a renovated employee cafeteria with another TV and a deli bar. Because of the changes that are made, employees know that their thoughts/concerns are cared about and solved. Another way that employees are treated and managed well is that they are given a holiday party and summer party every that is free to attend with family where they can enjoy food, fun, and prizes. Furthermore, the resort holds the all associate meetings, that was mentioned above, four times a year, where employees are informed about important Westin Kierland issues and a question and answer session takes place with the GM. Also at these meetings, incentive checks are given to people in departments that have met their goals. To ensure that employees give the best service they can, they are put through several intense training classes, such as Voice Training where they learn how to speak properly to guests and 5 Diamond Training where they learn how to give impeccable service to guests so the resort can become a 5 Diamond resort, rather than a 4 Diamond.

Because of all the efforts that the managers put in to keep the resort from going under financially, to be positive and passionate about their jobs, and to make the employees happy, causes the resort to be well managed overall. This makes for happier leisure guests who enjoy their stay as well as satisfied meeting groups who rebook for the next year, intern causing a profitable resort. “You can't get better than this. The Kierland is fabulous. Perfect in every detail. Rooms are spacious and the staff is HIGHLY trained. They host all types of recreation, golf, swimming and have a luxurious property with a really cool restaurant on the green area. Yes, I would stay here again. Highly recommended” (Ramirez, 2009). The Westin Kierland Resort and Spa is a fantastic place to stay at and work at!



Sources:

Grenoble, Mark. Guest Speaker on October 15, 209. President of Enchantment Group.

Ramirez, L. P. (2009, July 20). Westin Kierland Resort and Spa: Traveler Reviews: “My only complaint is that I did not stay longer!” Retrieved October 24, 2009, from Trip Advisor website: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g31350-d258653-r35313794-Westin_Kierland_Resort_and_Spa-Scottsdale_Arizona.html#REVIEWS

Rue, W. L. & Byars L. L. (2009). Management Skills and Application. New York, NY: McGraw Hill/Irwin.

Blog #1 Assignment

Five SWOT Analyses:
Good:
1) Disneyland
a) Strengths-bright, cheerful, and colorful, music and video clips that automatically play, the language can be changed to an option of nine other languages, merchandise for sale, map of the parks, virtual tour of the hotels, it lists the entertainment schedule of the park, contact information, shows driving directions from different freeways and airports, gives a lot of tips and information about the park and its history
b) Weaknesses-the site is a little overwhelming with all of the different things that are on the site to search through (I honestly could not find anymore weaknesses about the website)
c) Opportunities-My Disneyland, the three Disney hotels nearby, can buy park tickets and print them at home, can book a room at one of the Disney hotels, special offers are available, shows the park hours along with a calendar that shows the hours for several months, great weather in Anaheim, advertises for events that can be held at Disneyland (i.e. weddings and meetings), there is a guidebook of the park that can be downloaded for people with disabilities, it talks about the ways of transportation available to get to the park
d) Threats-other amusement parks in California, the bad economy, people selling their old or unused Disney land tickets on e-bay for a cheaper or more expensive price

2) The W Hotel Scottsdale
a.) Strengths-shows the weather and the time in Scottsdale, shows great pictures of the hotel, merchandise for sale, there is an option to change the site into six other languages, it describes, in detail, each type of room they offer, talks about all the different features of the hotel, it explains all the standard amenities of the rooms
b.) Weaknesses-they are facing foreclosure, it was easy to navigate away from the specific Scottsdale site (made it confusing), spa appointments cannot be booked online and their prices are not shown for different spa treatments
c.) Opportunities-allows people to book a room online, they are offering better prices right now, they have several restaurants/bars that can be eaten at by guests or non guests, they hold many events there to bring more business, they advertise that you can follow them on Twitter or be their friend on Facebook, there is a section about how meetings can be held there
d.) Threats-other resorts in Scottsdale, the bad economy, other restaurants and bars/nightclubs in the area

3) The Official Site of the Eiffel Tower
a.) Strengths-there are seven other language options to change the site to, can buy merchandise online, informative map, there is a link to their restaurants’ site where reservations can be made online, great pictures, loaded with information/facts and figures about the tower, gives detailed information about room rentals which can be used for conferences, seminars, etc., can download a visitor’s guidebook, plenty of contact information available, there is a section made for children to explore
b.) Weaknesses-it does not translate the euros price to dollars, not all computers can view the 3D Eiffel Tower virtual tour, there are too many things that need to be downloaded in order to view (it makes things complicated and time consuming)
c.) Opportunities-says that people in wheel chairs can go to the firs and second floors, shows the hours of operation, new technologies are being created to help preserve the tower
d.) Threats-people in wheel chairs can only go the first and second floors, other popular site seeing attractions in Paris, the weather (wind)

4) Royal Caribbean International
a.) Strengths-many great pictures of the ships, rooms, destinations, and activities available, gives a brief description of what clothes to pack for the different destinations, can take a virtual tour of the room types and different ships available, very helpful to new cruisers (it takes a survey before a person enters the site to see if they are new to cruising, if they have been on a cruise before, but not with Royal Caribbean, or if they have sailed with them before), there is a glossary of ship terms, there is a FAQ section, explains how they are doing their best to be “Green”, can change the language of the site to Spanish, it lists the required travel documentation needed
b.) Weaknesses-the only language that the site can be changed to is Spanish, there is an overwhelming amount of things to look through, the site can be changed to someone looking at it from a different country, but the language does not change
c.) Opportunities-it shows the social networks that they are connected with (including, Facebook, Twitter, flicker, blogs, and more), can book a cruise online, there is a number for their certified vacation planners (internationally), My Cruises, special offers are available, it is handicap accessible, offers discounted rates to senior citizens, police and firemen, and people in the military, advertises for meetings and incentives
d.) Threats-other cruise lines, the bad economy, the Swine flu, people’s fear of
boats/ships, drowning, and the water

BAD:
5) Tennessee Tourist Office
a.) Strengths-there is a link to the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, there are links to fourteen Tennessee cities to get further information, there is plenty of contact information, the language of the site can be changed to French, there is a link to go to another site to book hotel rooms
b.) Weaknesses-no pictures, it is obviously low quality work, the only other language option is French, the picture of the map does not show up on the site, the only color on the page is a golden yellow background, nothing on the site talks about Tennessee (i.e. no attraction information, Tennessee history, etc.)
c.) Opportunities-guides people to better sites, there is a Google search engine at the bottom of the page if a person cannot find what they are looking for at the site, there is an icon at the bottom of the page that says “Add a link, information” (when clicked on, an e-mail becomes available to ask a question or to inform the site owner about a good link to add to the site)
d.) Threats-the site is not eye catching so people will look for a second, leave, and go to a different site, it leaves out many of the other Tennessee cities, there are other Google Tennessee tourism adds on the page that will make people leave their site


Most Likely to Improve Tourism Spending:
It is a magical place where dreams come true. It is a place where there are worlds of the future, fantasy, and adventure, there are princesses and characters that roam about, and it is a place where kids can be kids and adults can behave like kids. What is this dreamland? It is Disneyland, of course. I believe that out of those five websites Disneyland is the most likely to proportionately improve tourism spending to the entity featured.

Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955 and had one million visitors that year (“Disneyland Park”, 2009). Ever since then the number of attendees each year has risen with few valleys that have always gone back up to new peaks (“Disneyland Park”, 2009). In 2008 there were 14.29 million visitors to Disneyland (Disneyland Park”, 2009). That number has dropped a little from the previous year because of the economy, so the attendance for 2009 will likely be lower as well. However, as proof from previous years, whenever there is a drop in attendance, there is eventually a new peak amount of visitors that outnumbers the years before that. With the large amount of visitors, there is going to be an economic effect. $3.5 billion in economic revenue was generated in the first ten years of Disneyland being open (Cain, 2005). Along with its growth of visitors each year has come the development that would not be there today if it were not for Disneyland. It “has spurred decades of development in Anaheim, including a second theme park, hotels, and a convention center. It’s unlikely Anaheim would have baseball and hockey teams today if it weren’t for Disney” (Cain, 2005). Throughout the years, Disneyland and the area around it have continued to grow, causing more spending to be done at not just Disneyland, but also in Anaheim. From that evidence, it can be predicted that more creating and spending will be happening in the future.

Additionally, I believe that Disneyland’s website will produce the most tourism spending because of all that it has to offer. Not only can people purchase tickets for the park, but they can also book a stay at one of the three Disneyland hotels or go to a site from the list of several dozen nearby hotels and book a room. Furthermore, their site links to different transportation sites and there is merchandise for sale on the site. Those will both increase the tourist’s spending because it gives them more options of things to spend their money on. Moreover, there are numerous different discounted offers available. For example, for all of 2009, people have been allowed to go to Disneyland for free on their birthday. However, not very many people, if any, would want to go to Disneyland alone, so they will likely bring along one or more other people, which intern increases their spending amount because they may not have even gone to Disneyland if it was not their friend’s or relative’s birthday. Finally, allowing weddings, events, conferences, advertising their restaurants and shops, and having links to other Disney places, such as their other parks and hotels around the world and their cruise line will also improve the tourism spending for their entity because it will intrigue people’s interest. Tourism spending will improve for Disneyland due to several things; their continued growth, their near infinite amount of things to purchase on their website, and simply because they are Disney.

Sources:
-Cain, S. (2005). Looking Back at the 50 Years of Disneyland Effect. Retrieved September 4, 2009, from The Free Library Web site: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Looking+back+at+50+years+of+the+Disneyland+effect:+Disney+has+spurred...-a0132193280
-Disneyland Park (Anaheim). (2009). Retrieved September 4, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_Park_(Anaheim)
-Disneyland Resort. Retrieved September 3, 2009, from Disneyland Resort Web site: http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/home/home?name=HomePage
-Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Retrieved September 4, 2009, from Royal Caribbean International Web site: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/
-The Official Site of the Eiffel Tower. Retrieved September 4, 2009, from La Tour Eiffel Web site: http://www.tour-eiffel.com/teiffel/uk/
-Tourist Office/Tourist Board in United States, Area of Tennessee. Retrieved September 4, 2009, from Tennessee Tourist Web site: http://www.tourist-office.org/united-states/tourist-office-tennessee.htm
-W Scottsdale. (2009). Retrieved September 3, 2009, from W Hotels Worldwide Web site: http://specialoffers.starwoodhotels.com/W_Scottsdale/so.htm?EM=GOOGLEMAP_SOP_WH_1736_AZ

List of Tourism Related Websites Reviewed:
-Denver CVB
-Continental Airlines
-Southwest Airlines
-Tennessee Tourist Office
-Budget Rental Cars
-Hertz Rental Cars
-Disneyland
-European Tourist Office
-China National Tourist Office
-Virtual Library Museums Pages
-The W Hotel in Scottsdale
-Royal Caribbean International
-Radisson Hotel Key West
-Expedia
-Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide
-Niagara Falls New York State Park
-The Official Site of the Eiffel Tower
-Cannon River Winery- in Minnesota

About Me

My name is Amanda Gow and I am 21 years old. I am a senior this year, probably like most of the rest of the class, and I cannot wait to graduate! I started out college wanting to become a pharmacist, but quickly realized that science was not my thing, so I switched my major to Tourism Development and Management. I chose this major because I enjoy traveling, but I still have no idea about what I want to do for my career. I have already traveled inside and outside of the country quite a bit, but I am hoping to get a career that will enable me to travel on a more regular basis to different places. I currently work at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in their coffee shop. It is fun experiencing tourism and meeting people from all over the world by working at a nice resort! A few random things about me are that I am obsessed with chocolate, animals, summertime, the 1950’s, and murder mystery (scary, cheesy, slasher) movies and books.