Westin Arlington Gateway
Situational Analysis of Westin Arlington Gateway
The customers that patronize the Westin Arlington Gateway cannot be easily stereotyped or generalized, even though this is an expensive hotel. Typically the guests at the hotel include: a) the business traveler in his mid-fifties; b) the science instructor visiting the National Science Foundation nearby; c) the family visiting Washington D.C. (and the famous sites) with two children; and d) and the recent college graduate applying for an internship at the Smithsonian. For the recent graduate, Arlington is ranked #1 for the Best Places for Recent Grads to Find Jobs, according to the Arlington Economic Development website. Arlington is also ranked #6 among the top 10 healthiest cities, and this appeals to the person or family that care about clean air, public transportation and efficient services.
As for the family with two children (who also have a gentle dog that the family idolizes) who came to the Westin hotel because the hotel's website offered a dog-friendly "oasis of calm," so this family took the hotel up on it. They brought their dog, and even though they forgot to ask the concierge about the "Heavenly Dog Bed" the marketing literature offered, there was a knock on their hotel room door and a housekeeping staffer brought the bed and a pair of bowls for the dogs. Everything else seemed to be perfect except one showerhead leaked, and "the toilet screeched like a banshee when flushed" and they were situated in a room directly across from a loud construction site (Kyrstal, 2010).
Customer Issues / Complaints
Clearly not everyone that stays at the Westin Arlington Gateway is fully satisfied, nor are everyone's needs fulfilled. The "Guest Reviews" reveal problems and negative issues. On March 10, of this year a customer vowed never to come back. The room he was in smelled of stale cigarette smoke. The handle on the shower came off in his hand. The hallways smelled of chlorine, and after notifying the front desk, "nothing was ever done."
Another guest (March 12, 2016) also complained of cigarette smoke, in rooms and on the elevator. After complaints, "The staff didn't seem to care and offered nothing in return for the inconvenience." A guest on March 6, 2016, said the "service was mediocre," the check in process was "slow" (a long line of guests waiting to check in were not assisted), and the water in the shower "was tepid rather than hot." On January 28, 2016, a guest claimed he was overcharged for his room (he found out when he got his credit card statement). On January 13 a guest complained that the ice machine was not working, the room was noisy, and dirty clothes from another guest were found under the bed. Also, no utensils were delivered with the room service food.
On January 12, there was no soap in the room and the restaurant and bar was "badly understaffed," a guest wrote. A lot of noise kept guests awake when pipes were knocking. On August 3 another problem with the restaurant was raised; a party of 12 waited over an hour for their food and one meal that was supposed to be with shrimp had no shrimp. On June 18, 2015, a guest mentioned noisy pipes again. And the air conditioning did not cool off the room. (Guest Reviews).
Company: There are approximately 200 Westin Hotels and Resorts, and the company overall has a good reputation. The "Well-Being Movement" is a very positive marketing tool but judging from some of the complaints from customers Westin has some work to do to improve services.
As to company ownership, a Chinese consortium is "challenging Marriott International's $12 billion takeover of Starwood Hotels, operator of upscale hotel brands including Westin" (Gara, 2016). That consortium is offering $76 a share for Starwood, but Marriott is due a $400 million breakup fee if Starwood accepts the Chinese offer (Gara, p. 6).
Competition: A number of hotels are located in the Ballston region of Arlington. The traveler has a wide choice in terms of price and location. The Econo Lodge Metro (for the budget traveler) is a few blocks from the Westin (from $135 a night; free parking; no pets). The Hilton Hotel Arlington & Towers starts at $218 a night, is about 6 blocks from the Westin, has 209 rooms, and is next to the Ballston Metro Station (no pets allowed). The Comfort Inn (from $225 a night) has 126 rooms (no pets; free parking) and is right on the busy Memorial Parkway leading into Washington, D.C. (10 blocks from the Westin). The Holiday Inn at Ballston (from $299; no pets; parking $14 per night) offers 221 rooms and is the closest competitor to the Westin. And the Westin Arlington Gateway has 336 rooms (pet friendly; $26 per night for parking) and starts at $324 per night (HotelGuides.com).
Collaborators: The Westin Arlington Gateway collaborates with vendors like the...
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