Banyan Tree Research Essay

1. Growth and development of Banyan Tree. Banyan Tree Holdings Limited is a leading, international hospitality brand that manages and develops premium resorts, hotels and spas. From a single boutique resort in Phuket in 1994, Banyan Tree has grown into a multi-business operator globally. Listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange since 2006, the group currently consists of 30 hotels and resorts, over 60 spas 80 retail galleries and two golf courses in 27 countries, with aggressive expansion plans for the future. Below shows the milestone of Banyan Tree Resort: Banyan Tree Group garnered some 117 international awards and accolades in 2010, bringing the total number of awards it has received close to 640 since the first Banyan Tree property opened in Phuket in 1994. In 2010, Banyan Tree Phuket and its Spa continue to be recognised by industry experts, having won 14 prestigious awards and accolades The Banyan Tree organization has seen very dynamic and expansive growth in the last few years. Banyan Tree attributes is success as a company to their strong brand recognition, command pricing, and superb management. Revenues increased from $187.3 (million) in 2005 to 335.3 (million) in 2006, which is an increase of 79%. In 2007, Revenue increased another 26% to $429, 859 (million). 2. Success factors of Banyan Tree Banyan Tree Capital has its own dedicated construction, project management and cost management capabilities, enabling it to fulfill the role of a developer and assume full ownership of any projects. * Brand Building Branding has started right from the locations of the Banyan Tree resorts and has been consistent through the designs, the facilities offered, and the ambience created in each of the resorts. In line with the â€Å"romantic escape for couples† theme, Banyan Tree has placed a strong emphasis on the locations as a key element of the brand identity. The company has chosen exotic locations with exclusive access to sun-bathed beaches, exciting environment around and a good transportation infrastructure to connect the resorts to the main destination highlights. * Company Growth and Health The Banyan Tree is a rapidly growing company with lots of investment all across the globe. Their expanding nature, coupled with a positive stock price, solid financial earnings, and continual success at all resort locations, is exceptional in the competitive hotel and resort industry. Not many hotel companies can brag about recent success like the Banyan Tree. * Good Brand communications Banyan Tree promotes their product through mass international media. They invite travel editors and writers who could potentially increase editorial coverage on Banyan Tree to use the service. This can make â€Å"Banyan Tree Experiences† distribute to people by word of mouth and it is more effective. It is also make brand awareness and brand value that generated largely through public relations and global marketing programs. * Being a socially responsible and environmentally sensitive organization Banyan Tree Exercise caution with respect to the environmental impacts of their operations, and taking an active role in the protection and remediation of our global ecosystem. * Creating a good culture By combining the Asian culture and heritage with world-class service and luxury, Banyan Tree has been able to build a brand that has appealed to people across countries in Asia and beyond, and successfully been capitalizing on the pan-Asian sentiment. 3. Marketing Strategies * Collaboration with marketing agencies Banyan Tree Holdings appointed a few key wholesalers in each targeted market and worked closely with them to promote sales. Rather than selling through wholesale and retail agents that catered to the general market, they chose to work only with agents specializing in exclusive luxury holidays targeted at wealthy customers. Global exposure was also achieved through Banyan Tree’s membership in the Small Luxury Hotels and Leading Hotels of the World. Targeting high-end consumers, they represent various independent exclusive hotels and have sales offices in major cities around the world. * Winning awards Banyan Tree resort management believe that to publicize their properties, word of mouth is more important than advertisement. Therefore, one of the marketing strategies they adopting is to win awards. Banyan Tree sought recognition in service, innovation and, more importantly, its environmental efforts. To date, it has won more than 570 awards, with two given last week for its excellence in social and environmental responsibility. * Expanding Brand portfolio Banyan Tree to come out with a brand extension in the form of Angsana Resorts (launched in 2000), targeted towards young families and at different price points – typically 20-30% lower than Banyan Tree resorts themselves. It also operates stand-alone Angsana Spas. These measures not only allow Banyan Tree to increase its awareness in new markets and gain international momentum, but also create a strong platform for a portfolio of sub-brands that can be a source of long-term revenue generation. * Online marketing Banyan Tree sets up company website to conveniently update latest information and offers for customers. In additional, the online website allows customers to do bookings for their holidays. Online bookings rapidly increase over the year and it definitely generated more revenue. 4. Future Challenges * Competition There is only one other resort that is comparable to the Banyan Tree: Amanpulo. Amanpulo is situated on a private island in Palawan. The island boasts white sand, crystal clear water and tropical vegetation. They, too, respond to a leisurely lifestyle for the affluent and rich worldwide. In addition, Amanpulo is just as concerned as we are in building environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing resorts. * Copycats The market is crowded with many entrants running similar branded resorts in the upper-end. Particularly in Asia Pacific, where Banyan Tree has its stronghold and traditional base, new entrants are facing only small barriers-of-entry other than huge capital requirements and availability of good locations. A new entrant can always try to copy the â€Å"romance-intimacy-rejuvenation† theme and replicate the serene locations with beautiful villas providing it at lower prices to gain foothold in the market. * Natural Hazards The Philippines sits astride the typhoon belt, which means it’s prone to be struck by dangerous storms. In addition, the country is known to be home of active volcanoes. Other natural hazards known to occur are landslides, earthquakes and tsunamis. * Environmental Issues Existing issues that the Philippines are dealing with, and trying to combat, are uncontrolled deforestation, soil erosion, air and water pollution, coral reef degradation and increasing pollution of coastal mangrove swamps.