2. Table of Contents
① Problem Statement
② Research Methods Solution Process
③ Secondary Research Background
Information
④ Survey Process
⑤ Perceptual Maps
⑥ Summary of Results
⑦ Analysis and Interpretation
⑧ Path Forward and Conclusions
⑨ References
3. Problem Statement
Who we are: Visit Oakland
Problem statement: How does our target market perceive Oakland hotels
compared to their San Francisco counterparts and are there any improvements
Oakland hotels can make to better compete?
Our motivations: Visit Oakland is funded by hotel tax revenue and so it is in our best
interest to improve the city hotel/tourism industry as a whole.
Success criteria:
• Identifying what hotel characteristics are most important to target market
• Seeing how Oakland hotels are perceived compared to SF hotels
• Identifying actionable suggestions that will help Oakland hotels compete
4. Research Method Solution Process
Define
Problem
Create
Perceptual
Maps
Conduct
Survey
for
Evalua:on
Criteria
Conduct
2nd
Survey
for
Customer
Percep:ons
Look
at
Background
Informa:on
Interpreta:on
of
Perceptual
Maps
Report
Findings
to
Stakeholders
5. Secondary Research Background Information
Why Oakland’s Hotels Matter to Us
• “Leisure travel continues to be the leader in
growth opportunity.” (Oakland Tourism
Statistics, 2013)
• Huge “drive market” from Southern
California to Vancouver (Oakland Tourism
Statistics, 2013)
Numbers Compared to SF:
• 16.6m tourists in 2013
• $9.38b spent by tourists in 2013
*Oakland is geographically bigger than SF!
We generally have warmer weather, and are
closer to Napa, Tahoe and Yosemite. Need to
use this to our advantage.
6. Secondary Research Background Information
Why the family segment?
• Short Answer: They spend a lot of money!
• “Financial experts suggest that the average
family vacation costs between 5-10% of
your total income” (Vacation Kids, 2013)
• Families/leisure travellers spend the most
money at hotels (Oakland Local, 2013)
• Families tend to stay longer at hotels; 62%
of leisure travelers in the U.S. search for
vacation stays of 6 days or longer in the
summer (Sojern, 2013)
• Leisure travel accounts for 57% of travel in
the U.S. (versus business)
• *We hope to enhance the Oakland
perception by creating a more family-
oriented image
7. Survey Process
Survey I: Identify Evaluation Criteria
• Target Market: West Coast Families, Leisure
• Likert Scale Questions
• Price, Amenities, Cleanliness, Comfort and
Customer Experience
Survey II: Hotel
Ratings by Criteria
• Recent Customers
8. Perceptual Map 1: Oakland Hotels’ Quality Score vs. Price
Low
price
($50)
Low
score
(1)
Oakland
High
price
($300)
High
score
(5)
Imperial
Inn
Jack
London
Inn
Bay
Bridge
Inn
Americas
Best
Value
Inn
Motel
6
Coral
Reef
Inn
Rodeway
Inn
Extended
Stay
The
Inn
at
Jack
London
Square
The
Washington
Inn
Clarion
Hotel
Waterfront
Hotel
Best
Western
Plus
Execu:ve
Inn
Suites
Homewood
Suites
by
Hilton
Courtyard
by
MarrioR
Oakland
MarrioR
Hawthorn
Suites
by
Wyndham
Legend
10. Extended
Stay,
Oak
Best
Western
Plus,
Oak
Motel
6,
Oak
Americas
Best
Value
Inn
Oak
Extended
Stay,
SFO
Hilton,
Oak
MarrioR
downtown,
Oak
Hilton,
SFO
MarrioR
City
Center,
Oak
Best
Western
Plus,
SF
Motel
6,
SF
Marriot,
Oyster
Point
MarrioR,
SFO
Americas
Best
Value
Inn
SF
Rich
ameni:es
Basic
ameni:es
Perceptual Map 2: Cleanliness vs. Quality of Amenities
Basic
cleanliness
Extreme
cleanliness
12. Very
comfortable
Very
uncomfortable
Excep:onal
customer
service
Poor
customer
service
MarrioR
downtown,
Oak
MarrioR
City
Center,
Oak
Hilton,
SFO
Best
Western
Plus,
Oak
Marriot
Oyster
Point,
SF
Best
Western
Plus,
SF
Extended
Stay,
Oak
Americas
Best
Value
Inn,
SF
MarrioR,
SFO
Extended
Stay,
SFO
Americas
Best
Value
Inn,
Oak
Motel
6,
Oak
Motel
6,
SF
MarrioR
downtown,
Oak
Perceptual Map 3: Oakland vs. S.F. Comfort and
Customer Service
13. Oakland and SF Amenities
Americas
Best
Value
Inn,
Oak
Best
Western
Plus,
Oak
Extended
Stay
America,
Oak
Homewood
Suites
by
Hilton,
Oak
Oakland
MarrioR
City
Center,
Oak
Courtyard
by
Marriot
Downtown,
Oak
Motel
6,
Oak
Free
Parking
KitcheneRe
Fridge
Microwave
Childcare
On-‐site
Security
Free
Breakfast
Air
Condi:oning
Restaurant
Pool
Room
Service
Fitness
Center
Laundry
Americas
Best
Value
Inn,
SF
Best
Western
Plus,
SF
Extended
Stay
America,
SFO
Homewood
Suites
by
Hilton,
SFO
Courtyard
by
MarrioR,
SFO
Courtyard
by
Marriot
Oyster
Point,
SF
Motel
6,
SF
Free
Parking
KitcheneRe
Fridge
Microwave
Childcare
On-‐site
Security
Free
Breakfast
Air
Condi:oning
Restaurant
Pool
Room
Service
Fitness
Center
Laundry
14. Oakland vs. S.F. Hotel Pricing
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Americas
Best
Value
Inn,
Oak
Americas
Best
Value
Inn,
SF
Extended
Stay
America,
Oak
Extended
Stay
America,
SFO
Homewood
Suites
by
Hilton,
Oak
Homewood
Suites
by
Hilton,
SFO
MarrioR
City
Center,
Oak
Courtyard
by
MarrioR,
SFO
Courtyard
by
MarrioR
Downtown,
Oak
Courtyard
by
Marriot
Oyster
Point,
SF
Best
Western
Plus,
Oak
Best
Western
Plus
El
rancho
Inn,
SF
Motel
6,
Oak
Motel
6,
SF
$175
Oakland
Hotels
average
price
$167
SF
Hotels
average
price
15. Summary of Results
• Oakland hotels’ price points range gradually from $75-$280/night
• Both Oakland and SF hotels are perceived as being clean
• SF hotels cluster around the 3.4 cleanliness, whereas Oakland’s are more scattered
• Both Oakland and SF hotels are perceived with having average to high quality amenities
• Average for SF: 3.4 / Average for Oakland: 3.2
• SF has higher quality amenities
• Both Oakland and SF hotels range from good to exceptional customer service
• Average for SF: 3.9 / Average for Oakland: 4.1
• Oakland perceived as having better customer service than SF
• Both Oakland and SF hotels are perceived as being comfortable to very comfortable
• Average for SF: 3.7 / Average for Oakland: 3.9
• Oakland perceived as more comfortable
• Oakland hotels do not offer laundry services, whereas San Francisco’s does
• Oakland hotels have a higher average price point than their SF counterparts
16. Analysis Interpretation of Results
• Generally, Oakland and SF hotels are perceived well
• Hotel price dictates hotel quality rating (higher prices = better experience)
• The higher the perceived amenities quality, the cleaner the hotel
• Based on the cluster of SF hotels, there is a certain level of cleanliness
required for a specific quality of amenities (an average of 3.4 cleanliness
rating correlates with 3.5 amenity quality)
• Exceptional customer service correlated with high visitor comfortability
• San Francisco hotels have more amenities than Oakland’s hotels
• Of the hotel chains found in both SF and Oakland, the SF locations have more
amenities than the latter
• The standard of cleanliness in Oakland isn’t the same across the board
17. Path Forward
After reviewing our findings, these are our recommendations for Oakland hotels:
• Oakland hotels need to add laundry to their list of amenities in order to better serve
their market in the face of SF competition
• Lower priced hotels should work to improve their hotel perceptions by improving
customer service, cleanliness, and improving amenities’ quality
• Bay Bridge Inn, America’s Best Value Inn, Motel 6, Rodeway Inn
• America’s Best Value Inn, and Motel 6 need to improve their standard of cleanliness
• Oakland hotels have higher average price then SF hotels from the same chain.
Flexible pricing, special pricing plan for families are advised.
• Based on Oakland certain hotels’ high level of customer service and cleanliness, we
think they are equipped to take on a greater number of amenities
• Marriot Downtown, Marriott City Center,
• We suggest that hotels that don’t have have these amenities already should add
amenities valued by families: kitchenettes, room service, free breakfast,
restaurants, childcare, and laundry
18. Conclusions
1. Most of Oakland hotels perceived favorably by customers, but there is a room
for improvement in the face of San Francisco competition
2. Oakland hotels should invest in amenities that cater toward families (most importantly
laundry, as it is an amenity not found at any hotel in the city)
2. Overall, in order to improve hotel perceptions, Oakland hotels should add additional
amenities and improve the quality of its amenities.
4. We need to invest in more research in order to better understand Oakland hotel
perceptions and what is required to be able to improve the industry and generate more
revenue.
