Motel - Hunting Lodge Business Plan

The primary sales and marketing strategy for the Lowland Heights Roadhouse includes these factors:

• To offer a motel, restaurant and RV Park facility that will appeal to the vacationer or hunter.
• To provide unmatched customer service to our guests.
• To concentrate our marketing in the greater Greenhorn Valley area.

5.1 Competitive Edge

The Lowland Heights Roadhouse sets itself apart from similar competition in the following ways.

• Location: Having a motel, restaurant, bar, and RV Park all at one facility is a huge plus, because guests never have to leave.
• Our rooms: Each room is individually decorated with a country setting that is tasteful and comfortable. You feel as if you have stepped back in time.
• Customer service: Customer service is our number one priority. The Lowland Heights Roadhouse will treat each guest as if they are family.

Another significant advantage for the Lowland Heights Roadhouse is its location. Being located in the Greenhorn Valley area, the Roadhouse is uniquely positioned, centrally located to hunting areas, a national  park, and historical places.

5.2 Marketing Strategy

Our marketing strategy is based on becoming a destination for vacationers and hunters who are looking for truly beautiful and unique lodgings. With the greater Greenhorn Valley area our main target market the Lowland Heights Roadhouse will use several different approaches to advertise our facility. We will use the Yellow Pages to advertise, as well as develop a Web page that will show our Lodge with our motel, restaurant, bar and RV Park. On Route 173 we will have an eye catching sign that will alert potential drop-ins of our existence. The Roadhouse is confident that it will not take long, with word-of-mouth recommendations from past customers, to build up to full capacity.

With the right exposure, we believe that an un-tapped market of vacationers and hunters can be enticed to Greenhorn Valley and the Lowland Heights Roadhouse. Membership in WorldRes.com (an international Web catalog for lodging) will put us in front of millions of computer screens on a daily basis.

The WorldRes partner network allows real-time reservations on today’s most popular websites, including AOL, Yahoo!, and Lycos. In addition, WorldRes has developed exclusive relationships with destination and special activity websites and call centers. WorldRes provides a free connection to the SABRE travel agent system, providing access to over 100,000 agents worldwide, as well as to users of Travelocity, one of the most popular online travel sites.

All of this visibility is free, with the exception of a five to ten percent transaction fee for any booking made directly via the service and online; much less expensive, yet more comprehensive than traditional advertising. However, not all lodging patrons are computer savvy. Therefore, we will be placing seasonal specific advertisements in regional newspapers and major city magazines.

5.3 Sales Strategy

The Lowland Heights Roadhouse will rent its rooms directly to repeat customers, as well as via traditional travel agents and through the Internet. All reservations will be handled by Tory or Gisli. Repeat customers will have the privilege of priority reservations during the high season. As mentioned above, we will also list the Lowland Heights Roadhouse on www.worldres.com, which will make it available to millions of international tourists.

5.3.1 Sales Forecast

The sales forecast table is broken down into two main revenue streams: Reservations and Drop-ins. The sales forecast for the upcoming year is based on a 10% growth rate for direct sales. The Lowland Heights Roadhouse has 10 rooms to offer its guests at a rate of $44 – $89 per night. We expect the number of rooms occupied to increase as the year progresses. In spite of the economic unpredictability we are experiencing, these projections appear attainable and take the increasing base into consideration. Growth rates for the years 2005 and 2006 are based on percentage increases as follows:

• Reservations: 10% growth rate per year.
• Drop-ins: 10% growth rate per year.