Lecturer(s):

Rhona Mcluskey

Unit title(s):

Hospitality Industry

Unit code (s):

H1L7 34

Outcomes
assessed:

1&3

Date issued:

Date submitted:

22/04/2015

Date due:

12/05/2015

Word-count:

1229

Student candidate
number:

14011555

Location:

Perth College UHI

Programme:

HNC/D Hospitality Management

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Introduction
1

My name is Rosanna Furnari and I am an HND year 1 student. As part of my course

I am required to write a report about a hospitality business for my Industry class. It
provides information about the type of business and defines its role in the local and
national economy, its target markets, services and policies. Sources of information
include books, websites and personal observations.

Describe type of business, target markets, services

Apex Hotels Ltd is a chained-brand hotel of three and four star hotels, owned by
former accountant Norman Springford and his family. The company is based in
Edinburgh and it operates eight hotels within the United Kingdom situated in London,
Edinburgh and Dundee. The Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa located in Dundee focus
its target market on business people as well as weddings and other special events
like graduation ball. The hotel has 151 rooms, 11 meeting rooms that can
accommodate up to 375 people on a theatre style, private dining rooms and a luxury
Japanese Spa. The hotels attract an array of people from all different backgrounds
and ages.
The role of the business in the local, national and global economy (Use
government statistics/Visit Scotland)
The Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa in Dundee had a good impact on the local economy
of Dundee. In particular, it creates several jobs at the hotel and gives jobs to other
local business by purchasing local goods and services and others related to tourism
such as restaurants, tours, shopping and transportation services. Furthermore, Apex
Hotels has launched a Modern Apprenticeship scheme to attract school or college
leavers from Edinburgh and Dundee to work in the hospitality industry to train
applicants in areas including housekeeping, food and beverage, reception and the
kitchen. The hotel has also a nominated charity, which staff supports through a
number of activities and that is reviewed annually by relevant charity committees.

(VisitScotland 2011)

Organisation Chart

General
Manager

Assistant
Manager

Operational
Manager

Room
Division
Manager

Food &
Beverage
Manager

Assistant
Manager

Head
Housekeep
er

Assistant
Manager

Head Chef

Receptionis
t

Housekeepi
ng Staf

Supervisor

Kitchen
Staf

Waiting/Bar
Staf

Sustainable Practice's
3

Accountant

Maintenanc
e Manager

Maintenanc
e Staf

Apex Hotels has an extensive sustainability policy in place to help it become more
eco-friendly. The company works with suppliers to reduce the amount of packaging
and transport sent to hotels across the group. The team also ensures fair trade tea
and coffee; recycled goods and eco-friendly chemicals are used in all hotels in the
group, while monitoring all utility consumption on a daily basis in order to find new
ways of reducing energy waste.
The firm also has a dedicated policy in place to reduce waste, re-use materials and
improve recycling including dual flush toilets to save water, energy efficient
windows to retain heat, donating old furniture to local charities and recycling obsolete
IT equipment using Shred Fast, in accordance with the WEEE directive. Staff are
encouraged to use public transport and reduce car use, while meetings between
hotel representatives take place via conference calls to reduce Co2 emissions from
travel.
Each hotel is designed to be eco-friendly and has been built using energy saving
materials and techniques, and all are located in city centres in order to reduce
energy wastage. Each premise has energy-saving lifts, automatic dimmers and
temperature control systems in place to further reduce waste.
In addition, the group provides support to other local businesses and the surrounding
environment by promoting walks, wildlife, parks and golf courses, providing
information about public transport and using local and organic produce.
(VisitScotland 2010-2015 )

A recommendation would be implementing the water saving management system

already in place. This could be done by installing a water softener that reduces the
amount of water used for laundry. Using a water softener would allow redirecting the
water used for laundry for other purposes and it could reduce the hotels water
consumption by 30 percent.

Marketing Mix

Product
Place

Luxury Spa Break Package

Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa Dundee
The offer is promoted on the hotel
website as well on various Spa websites
such as www.spabreaks.com and
www.britainsfinest.co.uk

Price

All Year Round

01 Jan 2015 - 01 Jan 2017
From 125 per person
40 per person single occupancy
supplement
100 per person non-spa rate available
The offer is advertised on newspapers
and radio, with flyers and brochures at
the reception of the hotel and with a
direct mailing system that uses the
customer database to contact previous
customers with details of the deal.
- Spa facilities
- Bedrooms
- Restaurant
That the hotel is busy most of the time
proving the product is selling.
To ensure customer satisfaction the
hotel offer includes an overnight
accommodation with breakfast, 3 course
dinner from the fixed price menu,
bathrobes in the bedroom on arrival and
the possibility to choose 2 half hour Yu
Spa treatments from the Spa selection.
Feedback is gathered through customer
comment cards and TripAdvisor.
The Staff involved in this package are:
- Receptionist
- Waiting Staff
- Kitchen Staff
- Housekeeping
- Spa staff

Promotion

Physical Evidence

Process

People

Marketing Activity
The head office have staff designated to Marketing
The potential clients for this offer are:
-

People who would need treatment, rehabilitation or rest, and would

pay for their stay and spa services
Young couples
Families Residents of surrounding towns who would like to escape
from their routine

Describe 2 methods or techniques that the business could use to forecast

demand
Utilising past figures: retrieving past internal arrival data, from groups or events in the
hotel, school or bank holidays, it will allow targeting the market, forecasting demand
and promoting adequate special offers.
Knowledge of local events: It is of vital importance to be aware of the local events
taking place in the surrounding area. This will allow the hotel to place promotional
packages in quieter times.

Bibliography
Apex Hotels (2014) Apex Hotels in Dundee [online]. Available from
<http://www.apexhotels.co.uk/en/hotels/dundee/> [ April 2015]
6

Apex Hotels (2014) Luxury Spa Break Package [online]. Available from
<http://www.apexhotels.co.uk/en/ofers/onsen-spa-break/> [ April 2015]
Graci, S. & Kuehnel, J. (2010) How to Increase your bottom line by going green
[online]. Available from <http://green.hotelscombined.com/Gyh-BestPractices.php> [ April 2015]
Redactive Publishing Limited. (2012) Apex Hotels launches apprenticeship
programme in Scotland [online]. Available from
<http://www.recruiter.co.uk/news/2012/11/apex-hotels-launches-apprenticeshipprogramme-in-scotland/> [ April 2015]
VisitScotland (2010-2015 ) Sustainable Tourism Case Studies [online]. Available
from
<http://www.visitscotland.org/business_support/sustainable_tourism/sustainable_
case_studies/accommodation_providers.aspx> [ April 2015]
VisitScotland (2011) Tourism in Southern Scotland 2011 Edinburgh: VisitScotland.
Available from <http://www.visitscotland.org/pdf/Tourism%20in%20Southern
%20Scotland%202011.pdf> [ April 2015]