sudania gordon
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RIU Hotels and ResortsHotel RIU Ocho Rios
Marketing Plan PaperSudania Sherone Gordon
Company Description: About Hotel RIU Ocho Rios
Founded by the RIU family in 1953 in Mallorca, Spain, RIU Hotels and Resorts
started out as a small holiday firm and are still owned by the family’s third generation.
The company’s specialty is holiday resorts and 70% of the establishments offer all-
inclusive RIU service. RIU Hotels and Resorts now have more than 100 hotels in 19
countries and employs and provides jobs for a total of 28,000 people and welcomes just
about 4 million guests a year. Currently, it is the 30th largest hotel chain in the world, one
of the Caribbean’s most popular and the third largest in Spain, where it originated. In
November 1953, the first hotel was opened name the San Francisco Hotel. It was a small
80 bed establishment located in Mallorca, Spain; the first of many for the future
international hotel chain. The first international hotel was opened on November 1991 in
the Dominican Republic. That same year, they partnered with TUI (Touristik Union
International) and now each owning 50% of the RIU line of hotels. In 2010, the expanded
their brand to other countries including Mexico, the, Jamaica, Aruba, the Bahamas, Cape
Verde, Costa Rica, Morocco, and Tunisia.
In Jamaica, they have five different properties in three different cities all offering
different service. In Negril, Jamaica they have the RIU Palace Tropical Bay and the Hotel
RIU Negril. In Montego Bay, Jamaica they have the RIU Palace Jamaica and the Hotel
RIU Montego Bay. The property I will be focusing on is Hotel RIU Ocho Rios located in
Mammee Bay, Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Hotel RIU Ocho Rios is a 5STAR 2014 recipient of the “AAA Three Diamond
Award”, adult only 24 hours all-inclusive resort that is actually two hotels combined to
make a total of 856 rooms. The average daily rate (ADR) for this property is
approximately $250 to $300 per night. The first hotel is dedicated to traditional guest
rooms and the second just holds the deluxe suites. The traditional guest rooms come with
the regular amenities for the RIU including mini-bar and liquor dispenser. Whereas the
deluxe rooms include a bathroom with hydro-massage bathtub, shower cabin, bidet,
living room area, concierge service from each of the six restaurants and a la carte from
each of the seven bars on property. The six restaurants are all themed from Italian to
Asian cuisine.
This property does not offer amenities but instead focuses on the services
provided. This is because it is an all-inclusive resort; there are no supporting products,
just facilitating products. These services include an entertainment program: daytime
entertainment for children ages 4 to 12 and strictly adult entertainment, shows/live music,
Renova Spa with massages and a beauty salon, free gym, sauna and whirlpool baths,
fresh water swimming pool, a Jacuzzi, solarium terrace, gym, and sauna. The sports
services included are windsurfing, sailing, kayaking, snorkeling, table tennis, diving,
golfing and volleyball. For an extra charge the hotel provides billiards and scuba diving
school and scuba diving. Among the entertainment and sports services, horseback riding
and trips to shopping mall excursions are also available.
Hotel RIU Ocho Rios also caters for weddings and the renewal of vows. They
have four (4) wedding packages: FREE, Classic Royal and Caprice. At an additional cost
they can decorate the Bride and Groom’s room with roses, sparkling wine or champagne,
run a hot bubble bath depending on which package the couple chooses. The additional
packages are called: Paradise Honeymoon Package for $130 USD, Chocolate Kisses
Honeymoon Package for $175 USD and Lovers Paradise Honeymoon Package for $250.
These weddings can take place at either one of the two locations provided: (1) the gazebo
by the lagoon or (2) the beach gazebo, both of which holds up to 120 persons. For the
cooperate/business travelers, the RIU hotel is a proud member of the MICE (meetings,
incentives, conferences, events/exhibitions) industry. They provide five (5) different
types and sizes meeting spaces, including a grand ballroom. These meeting spaces range
from 785.8 square feet to 5164.4 square feet. The brochure attached will inform you on
the specifics of each meeting space.
Psychographic Market Segmentation: VALS
The two most appealing segments to the VALS system for Hotel RIU Ocho Rios are (1)
Experiencers and (2) Innovators.
By looking at the company’s website and the time of people they are attracting I
would say those two listed above are a perfect fit. The experiencers are always looking
for something spontaneous to do and enjoy the joy of participating in exciting, fun leisure
The Experiencers Want everything Are first in and first out of trend
adoption Go against the current mainstream Are up on the latest fashions Love physical activity (are
sensation seeking) See themselves as very sociable Believe that friends are extremely
important Are spontaneous Have a heightened sense of visual
stimulation.
The Innovators• Are always taking in information
(antennas up)• Are confident enough to experiment• Make the highest number of financial
transactions• Are skeptical about advertising• Have international exposure• Are future oriented• Are self-directed consumers• Are most receptive to new ideas and
technologies• Enjoy the challenge of problem solving• Have the widest variety of interests and
activities.
activity. The hotel/resort appeals to having a great vacation with family/friends. The
innovators are very well versed internationally. Not a lot of hotels and resorts offer the
services the Hotel RIU Ocho Rios offers and that grabs the attention of the innovators. I
also believe that this hotel/resort appeals to the innovators because of the ADR of the
property because they are usually big spenders.
As a marketing director, to target the selected segments I would utilize the sales
promotional mix which includes advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, personal
selling and public relation/sponsorship. Utilizing the entire promotional mix, for the
experiencers, I would use commercials and billboards. To go along with that, I would
offer a “Spend 5 Nights Get 1 Night Free” as an added bonus for the non-deluxe guests
and for the deluxe guests I would reimburse them for the money they spent participating
in one of their selected offsite excursions. For the innovators, teaming up with a popular
bank and offering discounts if they signup for said banks credit/debit card also seems like
a great idea. In addition, direct emails through companies that the audience might work
for. I would team up with the company and have them use vacationing at the Hotel RIU
Ocho Rios as an incentive upon completion of a business assignment. Another idea
would be during the check in process at the hotel, if the guests don’t have the company’s
application, RIU Hotels & Resorts, on their cellphone or tablets, if they do decide to
download it they get a special set-up in their room with RIU stamped merchandise with
an Ocho Rios Jamaican flair to take home with them. Lastly, being known for a crazy
good night life, I would work with popular sound systems and party hosts on the island to
promote their party as well as they promote the hotel. This would be perfect for the
experiencers as well. Sound systems are a group of disc jocks, music selectors, who
perform at different parties and functions all across the island. In Jamaica, Sound
Systems are very popular and just because of their name and their level of high quality
service, people will always lean towards whichever party location they are performing.
This is a great idea for the experiencers as they have a heightened sense of visual
stimulation.
Proposed Loyalty Program for All Customers and Incentives for the Top 20% of
Customers
Upon check-in the guests are automatically enrolled in the loyalty program and
given a loyalty card with their first initial and last name embedded. Depending on the
location of the property where the loyalty card is given, the theming changed in name and
not value. For example, if the guests signed up in one of the branches in the United States
then their loyalty program will be called Soaring Eagles and for the branches in Jamaica,
they loyalty program will be called Cool Runnings. Upon redemption of the card, 3
points are awarded immediately. If they don’t have the app and download it at the check-
in station they are awarded 5 points. For their first night in their home country they are
awarded 15 points and for the first visit at an international property they are awarded 20
points. For any visit after their first at their home country 10 points are awarded and for
international properties, 15 points are awarded. For either local or international properties
3 points are given when booking a standard room and 5 points are given for booking a
deluxe room. If they stay longer than 5 days, 9 points are granted. The loyalty program is
designed like a pyramid. Just as the theming of the loyalty program name is named, so
are the three levels of the pyramid. The incentives would be the same thing across all
properties. The pyramid for the US branches (Soaring Eagles) would be named:
The top level: Home Of The Brave (3000 points)
The middle level: Land Of The Free (1500 Points)
The bottom level: Stripes & Stars (500 points)
Cool Runnings, the Jamaica branches would go as follows: The top level: Bobsled Time (3000 points) Guests are rewarded with 1-day
free spa, private excursions, and if they are staying more than 7 nights they
get 2 nights free.
The middle level: Feel The Rhyme (1500 Points) Guests are rewarded with
double the points, upgraded room, 15% discount and an in room masseuse
for 1 night.
The bottom level: Feel The Rhythm (500 points) Guests receive a 10%
discount and a mini merchandise souvenir set
The top 20% of the clientele, namely the top level Bobsled Time guests are the most
important and therefor deserve a little bit more. To add to their list of incentives, we
would offer to them different discounts during specific times of the year for a free 3
of a 5 night stay at any RIU Hotels and Resorts worldwide.
Brochure for the Hotel RIU Ocho Rios and Marketing Flyer
The brochures for the resorts under the RIU are on the next pages. I found
the brochure directly off the hotel website and selected specific pages to convey my
marketing strategy. The brochure in its entirety had information about all
properties island wide and was unnecessary since the marketing plan was specific
to one location. Information about the Hotel RIU Ocho Rios is attached in the
brochure as well. The flyer for the created loyalty program, Cool Runnings is
attached after the brochure.
