Task/Question
Case Study
The Lakeview Motel is located on the edge of a small country town located about two hour’s drive from the nearest major city. The town itself has been a popular holiday destination for city residents for many years and recent trends now show that people are, again, starting to choose holidays closer to home.
The motel owners, Mark and Dennis, have run the business together with their wives, for over ten years and now have only a small debt remaining on the business. The plan is to be debt free within two years. The motel’s overheads are relatively low allowing Mark and Dennis to keep prices at a reasonable level. The motel is fortunate to have unique lake views, as it is located on a large lake frontage holding of six hectares. The frontage also has a natural, sandy, weed-free beach area. The land is also on the edge of a farming area which is slowly being converted to vineyards. This is a small motel with only twelve rooms which, although lacking in latest amenities, are spacious and clean.
The motel also has a small but functional restaurant attached, serving basic home-style meals using fresh local ingredients. The motel has been a popular choice over the years for couples and company representatives visiting the area. It has developed a good reputation for “value for money” accommodation and meals. Mark and Dennis are both outgoing and friendly and are well known in the local community. They enjoy meeting people and are always pleased to offer their guests extra advice and information on the area.
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They have now built up a solid core of repeat customers, but these are mainly company representatives travelling through the area. Recent research has shown an increase throughout the year in the number of couples and family groups wanting to get away from the city for short breaks. School holiday periods have shown a significant increase in family groups travelling to the area. The town is now growing steadily with a marked increase of new residents. Many are retired couples buying small properties and young families moving into a new residential development.
Until recently the business had being doing well, but changes had been noticed over the past twelve months. Several of the new families who have moved into the area have started up their own businesses offering bed and breakfast accommodation (B & B’s). There are now six B & B’s in the area. These are located throughout the town and on its outskirts. Two of these are relatively expensive, being self-contained and offering spa and quality facilities. One of these is in the centre of town in a stately old home while the other is on a small farm. The others are hosted B & B’s offering the option of home-cooked meals for breakfast and dinner. These are mainly in homes on large blocks of a hectare or two near the edge of town.
A large motel chain has also opened a new and modern facility in the next town, approximately 25 kilometres around the lake. It has excellent facilities and options in all its 30 rooms. It has a modern restaurant, a swimming pool and spa facilities and is part of a national booking system.
Occupancy at the Lakeview Motel is now only averaging 50% whereas 12 months ago it was 75%. Changes to taxation laws and insurance requirements have also resulted in higher overheads for the business. Mark and Dennis need to develop new strategies and plans in order to remain competitive but they are not sure how to cope with the changes.
Task/Question
Using the information provided in the Case Study and the guidelines set out in your learning materials, prepare an operational plan for the Lakeview Motel.
Remember that the operational plan defines how the motel will operate in practice to implement action and monitoring of the plan.
Your operational plan will describe:
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what the capacity needs are
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how resources will be engaged
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how risks will be dealt with, and
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how the plan will be implementesd and sustained.
There are strong links between the components of the operational plan, and some even overlap. The plan should be a maximum of 1500 words and presented in a business-like format under the following headings:
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Jermaine Byrant
Nicole Johnson
OVER
RATING
YEARS
