Expedia and companies like it have one of the greatest competitive advantages in the hospitality industry. Their website joins airline companies with car rental companies and hotels. This makes a world of difference in traveling because everything can be done in one place. One can book a flight through American Airlines and rent a car through Enterprise with only a few simple clicks. Often times Expedia offers discounts …show more content…
Intangibility, and variability are the two which are most easily overcome. Making the product or service tangible is the only way to fight intangibility. The sales person can go the extra mile and bring the product to the customer. Like the book states, the sales person can bring the service to life. This can be done by taking a photo album of the venue, and food or cake samples to the bride and groom before the day of the wedding. Doing so allows the two parties to work out any issues before the day of the event. Variability is the second concern when it comes to service marketing. Consistency is the main goal in providing a service because no one will become a lifelong customer if the product or service is different each visit. This can be resolved if each employee is held to the same standard each day they come into work regardless of what baggage they bring in with them. Communicating the principles during the training process and continuously holding employees accountable for their work is …show more content…
Inseparability is challenging because the customer is just as involved as the employee. The employees are the only controllable variable in this equation because it is harder to control customers than employees. Like the textbook says, the employees understand how to work the television checkout system but not all the customers do. This gives the employees a perfect opportunity to provide outstanding service to customers who are unable to operate the system. However, this also requires the managers of the hotel to only hire the best of the best to deliver exceptional service. The second characteristic that poses complications is perishability and the fact that, “services cannot be stored” (Kotler 38). If a hotel fails to book twenty of its rooms one night, they will never be able to sell those rooms on that day ever again. Because of this, hotels have begun charging customers a fee for not showing up for their reservation and will strategically overbook on certain nights to avoid losing profits. This is the best way to avoid loses because not many people will pay money for a room they do not plan on using. Perishability also affects restaurants who serve food on a buffet. Some of the foods left on a buffet can be used in other recipes or reused the next day, but some of the uneaten food must be thrown away and is a direct hit on food costs. For example, at