Question

Mini Case Study – Sales and Marketing at the Edgewater Hotel Seattle Set on the Pier 67 in the Seattle Central Waterfront, the Edgewater is one of the most iconic properties in all of the Pacific Northwest. The hotel first opened as a temporary building, meant to attract visitors for the 1962 World's Fair. Today has built a rich history to match its ideal location and luxurious furnishings, but there’s a growing debate among the Sales & Marketing team about the direction of its market positioning. Bob Peckenpaugh, General Manger of the property, needs your help in deciding on their strategy A History of Rock ‘n Roll The Edgewater became famous both inside and outside of Seattle for hosting some of the biggest names in music. During the height of the “British Invasion” of America, the Beatles helped put the Edgewater on the map. A few months after the Beatles famous set on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Beatles spent the third stop on their first tour of America at the (then named) Edgewater Inn. Seattle hotel owners were afraid of riots and damage from a visit, so Don Wright, then Manager of the property took them in as he knew they would get a lot of attention for the Edgewater Inn. He was right.

1. Who do you think are the customers of Edgewater today? Does that align with the product?

2. What approach option do you think that Bob should take? Why is that the right approach or why are the other options the wrong approach?

Answer 1

1. In my opinion, music enthusiasts or people who appreciate arts and culture especially music are the customers of Edgewater today. This is because the hotel has gained popularity by hosting the Beatles and also had been an iconic building for the visitors. People who crave for cultural shows and artforms especially in music industry have been quite regular visitors in the hotel. This does not align with the product since the Edgewater is a big hotel and the occupancy rate has to be higher in order to earn revenues. If only music lovers come to the hotel, then the hotel won't be able to earn much revenue and will suffer losses as well.

2. In my opinion, Bob should promote Edgewater as a premier hotel with world class facilities and excellent customer services which is there to serve its customers and delight them. By promoting and marketing Edgewater as a premier hotel, the target market of the hotel increases and more number of people would be interested to become guests, thereby increasing hotel footfall and resulting in increase in revenue.