6.0 Swot

6.1 Strengths:

-location: Situated in Brisbane’s CBD, the Hilton enjoys a prime location, which places it within easy walking distance to the train station, main shopping area, entertainment and cultural centre.

-large customer base: Due to its establishment in 1986 (Professional Travel Guide, 2009), the Hilton has a large customer base, which does not only include prior visitors of the Hilton Brisbane, but also those who choose to use the Hilton chain globally

-business facilities: Resulting from continual renovations, the Hilton has state-of-the-art business facilities, which include modern executive suites as well as the 24-hour business centre, which offers services such as faxing and teleconferencing (ASIATravelTips.com, 2004; Hilton Hotel Corporations, 2009)

6.2 Weaknesses:

-outdated general facilities: While the Hilton’s facilities underwent 2 refurbishments in the last 5 years, these renovations only extended to business facilities, resulting in complaints from leisure customers about outdated accommodation & recreational facilities (ASIATravelTips.com, 2004; Trip Advisor, 2009).

-high staff turnover and low quality customer service: Due to fluctuating occupancy between seasons, the Hilton Brisbane experiences high staff turnover, which affects its training cost as well as service quality (Chapman & Lovell, 2006).

-lack of internet presence: The Hilton Brisbane is lacking in online presence, as it does not have its own website. This lack may limit the Hilton’s ability for market growth as previously mentioned studies have shown that the internet greatly affects buying habits.

6.3 Opportunities:

-domestic tourism: As the Hilton Brisbane is not targeting the domestic market yet, there is an opportunity for expansion into this market segment. Such an incentive would help increase their market presence, as domestic tourism contributes to 65% of Australian tourism and has grown by 7% between 2006 & 2007 (Australian Government, 2008).

6.4 Threats:

-competition: The Hilton Brisbane faces a vide variety of competitors ranging from established competitors, such as the Sofitel and the Marriot, as well as new alternative accommodations, like Quest apartments.

-economic crisis: The current economic crisis has the potential to further deter international and domestic travelers from coming to Brisbane and staying at luxury hotels, such as the Hilton Brisbane, due to a lack funds.

7.0 Strategic Human Resource Management

The Hilton Brisbane has been faced with several issues in the last couple of years with regards to Human Resources. While Hilton has managed to recruit sufficient staff to meet their demands, they’ve suffered under high staff turnover (Chapman & Lovell, 2006). This high turnover is the result of great fluctuations in seasonal occupancy and lack of retention strategies. During the peak season, Hilton increases its hiring to meet the demands, however come off season, they find it difficult to sustain these employee numbers due to lack of business.

In addition, the lack in quality of service poses a problem to the Hilton’s reputation & occupancy rates. On travel websites such as tripadvisor.com, several customers have mentioned that the service, particularly front desk service, was less than acceptable given the Hilton’s reputation (Trip Advisor, 2009). This can be attributed to the high staff turnover, as most Hilton Brisbane staff do not have the experience or additional training, needed to deliver extraordinary service.

Despite these issues, customers reviews indicated that Hilton management is competent. To ensure their competitive advantage over strong competition, management must now take responsibility and implement measures to improve training and retention to ensure the satisfaction of their customers.