A REPORT ON THE MARKETING PLAN OF

“THE MERO RESORT”

In Rupa Lake

Submitted By:
Arbin Aryal
Pokhara University School of Business
MBA, 3rd Trimester

Submitted to:
Balaram Bhattirai
Pokhara University
School of Business
Dhungapatan 12, Lekhanath, Pokhara

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for

the degree of Masters of Business Administration

February 2011
 1. Executive Summary

The following is a Marketing Plan for “THE MERO RESORT”; THE MERO
RESORT will offer customers 20 two-bedroom units 20 single-bedrooms, 5
deluxe room, fully-equipped kitchens, front-desk service, laundry facilities
and stone fireplaces. It will offer a common-area outdoor hot tub etc this
document outlines the recommended promotional plan for the Resort
during the 2011/2012 financial year. The plan sets out the following
objectives:

 Further establish and increase the Resort’s branding and recognition

within the industry as a high quality accommodation and
caravanning destination.
 Targeting activity based and special markets – particularly groups.
The mission of the resort is to become a leading and best choice resort of
the visitors to pokhara even Nepal. With more than 2 years of hospitality
experience, The Mero Resort brings forth this plan to increase sales while
still maintaining its high standards to quality health conscious and
selected resort of the foreigner through better customer service.

To achieve our ambitious sales goals, we must devote most of our energy
on the best targeted Market. We have decided that market will include the
following:
 Foreigner & domestic visitors
 Corporate business personnel
 High-class meeting and seminar hall in the naturally bounded
location
Our competitive advantage will be based on three factors, having the
most naturally and peace and pollution free environment, Have our own
transportation service facility to the visitors from resort to different place.
This marketing plan illustrates our market segments and the strategies we
are employing to get customers and create a solid revenue stream. We
are not just any hotel or resort. Our unique focus is in development of
tourism industry and help in nation development. The natural beauty of
Rupa Lake gives us an advantage over our competitors by giving
customers a new place to enjoy and relax. This fills a real need of not just
traditional hotels motels and resorts but expands our reach to people who
would normally not spend at list one night yet outside the home. So we
focus on the slogan “Feel like your Home”.
1.1 Mission

Protect, preserve and enhance Rupa Lake and the surrounding watershed
areas. Ensure that the Lake continues to be maintained as a scenic
natural resource that can be fully utilized by resorts and surrounding
communities. Work in conjunction with the state to improve the lake’s
water quality through TMR sponsored programs and collaboration with
stakeholders and surrounding constituencies. Utilize outreach programs to
educate the public and increase the visibility and utilization of the lake.
Provide quality hospitality services to our guests in a comprehensive and
cost competitive manner, providing the finest accommodations in pokhara
valley.

1.2 Vision

Our vision is to provide people with a brief escape of fun, entertainment

and relax over the course of their stay in The Mero Resort. We do this by
providing them with timely interactive package of excitement trekking
gaming etc. visitors can get fully information about the culture society and
any other information they need.

1.3 Marketing objective

 To continue to communicate our strategic objectives to our target

markets effectively.
 Reach Occupancy ratio by 100%.
  Promote Rupa Lake and tourism.
 Generate over Rs 400,000 net profit per month.
 To provide a positive hotel experience to all our guests.
 To accomplish our growth targets within the given time and budget.
 Expand our markets and identify new markets for our product and
services.

2. Company Summary
THE MERO RESORT is at Rupa Lake in Lekhanath a municipality of Kaski
District in the Gandaki Zone of northern-central Nepal. Rupa Lake is the
third biggest lake of Pokhara valley. It supports a number of floral and
faunal species. A total of 36 species of water birds have been recorded in
the lake which represents about 19 percent of the total 193 wetland-
dependent birds found in Nepal. The lake is under pressure from diverse
anthropogenic factors. Waterbirds of Rupa Lake face a number of threats
including trapping/hunting, fish farming using nets, habitat destruction by
soil erosion, sedimentation and agricultural conversion, human
disturbance, water pollution and eutrophication.
Rupa Lake is situated in Kaski district of Nepal at an elevation of 600 m
above sea level. Rupa Lake is the third biggest lake of Pokhara valley. It is
elongated north to south and the main inflow of water is from Talbesi
stream, whereas Dhovan khola is the feeder stream with its outlet Tal
khola at Sistani ghat, joining the Seti Gandaki. The lake area is 115 ha and
its total watershed area is 30 sq km. The watershed area in the eastern
portion is covered with mixed forest of Chilaune (Schima wallichii) and
Katus (Castanopsis indica) and hill slope to the west is covered partially
with vegetation and cultivated land. The northern slopes are privately
owned terraced land for agriculture crops, and some floating aquatic
vegetation, grasses and rice fields are found in the lake shoreline.

Being rich in natural beauty, Rupa is still waiting for many visitors to
whom she could reveal her inner beauty. People around the globe come
to Pokhara and visit many places as they are already revealed and
popular among them. Only 15 km far from Pokhara, Rupa is a place which
still needs to be explored. She is not in people’s target and visiting list like
Fewa Lake. To promote Rupa and its natural beauty and to encourage
visitors to visit again & again there is no place to stay not even for one
night. Focusing on this we plan to open a resort named “THE MERO
RESORT”.

The Mero Resort is a place for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors

for holidays or vacations. It attempts to provide for most of a vacationer's
wants while remaining on the premises, such as food,
drink, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping. It provides an array of
amenities and typically includes entertainment and recreational activities.
Travelers’ checking into Pokhara’s Resorts can enjoy complete peace of
mind within safe holiday surroundings, allowing them to simply relax with
the myriad of in-resort facilities and activities matched only by the warm.
And after a day of fascinating nature and cultural tours in pokhara great
outdoors, guests can always look forward to returning ‘home’ to the
modern comforts and convenience of their resort accommodation for a
good night’s rest, before starting their next exciting day.

Goal of “THE MERO RESORT”

The Goal of THE MERO RESORT is:
 Provide satisfying experiences for guest
 Aid in skill development
 Increase guest health and well- being
 Encourage social interaction among guest

Company ownership
The company is fully partnership involvement of 6 friend or co
workers. It is private organization although there is an
organizational structure that is:

Board of Directors

 Chairman of the Board

 Member
 Member
 Member
 General Manager
 Accountant
 Human resource manager
 Line/Floor manager
 Customer relationship manager

3. Products

THE MERO RESORT will offer customer’s 20 two-bedroom units’ 20 single-

bedrooms, 5 Suite rooms’ the resort will have a Multi-cuisine restaurant
with 50 covers, and a bar with 30 covers. The hotel and staff will be at
their best services to their customers, fully-equipped kitchens, front-desk
service, laundry facilities and stone fireplaces. “THE MERO RESORT” will
offer a common-area outdoor hot tub as well as the following services on-
site:

 Food store
 Books store
 Clothing shop
 Para gliding
 Bird view
 Boating & Self-fishing
  Trekking (Rupa-Begnas)
 Unlimited WI-FI access
 Children park
 Water kingdom
 Indoor Games facilities
 Railways & Airways ticketing
 Round the clock pick & drop service

4. Market Analysis Summary

Situation Analysis
A situation analysis details the context for the marketing efforts. For this
we will take a close look at the internal and external factors that will
influence our marketing strategy, this is called a SWOT analysis. A SWOT
analysis combines the external and internal analysis to summarize your
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Strength is an asset or a resource that can be used to improve a
community’s competitive position, such as a natural attraction, historic
buildings, or a strong retail base.
Weakness is just the opposite, a resource or capability that may cause
your community to have a less competitive position, which can adversely
affect tourism. For instance, empty commercial space or unattractive
vacant buildings are categorized as weaknesses.
Opportunities are developed from a tourist destination’s strengths, or
set of positive circumstances, and can include tourist overflow from a
nearby metropolitan city or the opportunity for special events within your
community. Threats are viewed as problems that focus on your
weaknesses and which can create a potentially negative situation.
Depressed commercial activity or a competing tourist destination’s
growing summer music festival is examples of threats. You need to look
for opportunities that play to your strengths. You also need to decide what
to do about threats to your business and how you can overcome
important weaknesses.

Example:
 Strength: A destination with amazing natural assets;
 Weakness: Hiking paths are in disrepair; creek is dry during summer
months;
 Opportunities: Initiate a volunteer tourism program where visitors
can help build and maintain trails.

Threats: Target market also views another town with more dollars to
have similar assets.
SWOT analysis might help you identify the most promising customers to
target. You might decide to look at ways of integrating adventure tourism
or volunteer tourism into your marketing programs and use pod casts on
the Internet to reach customers. And you might start to investigate ways
of raising additional investment to overcome your financial weakness.

Target Markets
The concept of target markets is one of the most basic, yet most
important aspects of marketing. There is no such thing as the “general
public.” It is unrealistic to think that you can attract everyone. Defining
your target market helps you decide where to commit resources and what
kinds of promotional methods and messages to use. Define your target
market(s) specifically in terms of:
 Demographics: age, income, marital status, employment status.
 Psychographics: reads magazines, attends sporting or cultural
events, and dines out once a month, member of a frequent flyer
club.
 Residence: where does your market live?
 Social group: affluent couples without children, affluent families with
one or more kids, young families with one or more children, singles.
 Activities: what do they want to do, include vacation versus
business travellers, visiting friends and family versus strictly
vacation travel, as well as specific activities such as visiting cultural
sites, resort visits, and golf?
 Motives or benefits: what are people trying to get out of their trip,
what are they looking for?
  Past experience: have the people in your market visited your area
before (i.e., repeat visitors) or are they first time visitors?
 Planning frame: how far in advance do people in your market plan
their trips; one week, one month, or are they spontaneous?

Target Market Strategy

Our primary targets continue to be professional visitors to the region from

Market Analysis

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Potential Growt
CAGR
Customers h

1,00 1,07 1,14 1,22 1,31

Travel 7% 7.09%
0 1 7 8 5

1,20 1,29 1,40 1,51 1,63

IT Industry 8% 8.01%
0 6 0 2 3

1,50 1,64 1,79 1,97 2,15

Automotive 10% 9.51%
0 3 9 0 7

3,70 4,01 4,34 4,71 5,10

Total 8.38% 8.38%
0 0 6 0 5

the following industries, where annual corporate contracts can be entered

into:

• Travel trade
• IT industry
• Automotive
Local firms will be targeted for day use of conference facilities, room
nights for visiting executives and long stay professional guests.

Branding

The Mero Resort has three star brands facilities within the 'Exclusive
Business Hotels of the World' group. The Mero Resorts properties are
renowned for their convenient and strategic locations within major
cities throughout the country. Also synonymous with the brand are the
high level of personal service guests receive, and the extensive range of
comprehensive business facilities available in luxurious settings.

Strategy Pyramids

Our marketing strategy is to focus customers' attention on the high

quality of the services we offer. Within this strategy are three main points
aimed at different market segments. We will provide:

• The Best Business facilities

• Personalized Services
• Luxurious Amenities

Marketing Mix Analysis

Product
The product mix of the Mero resort is varied and unique and can
essentially accommodate for a range of holiday styles and market
segments, including cabin market, caravanners and campers, consisting
of mostly couples, families or budget travellers. The accommodation
options include unpowered tent sites which are uniquely beachfront,
spacious powered sites, in suite powered sites, backpacker style lodgings,
20 double bedroom with deluxe cabins, 20 single bedroom spa with cabins
and 5dilux suits with storey cabins. The facilities available at the Mero
Resort are typical of a modern caravan park, including camp kitchens,
resort stylist swimming pool, dump point, car wash area, modern
amenities, fully equipped laundry, games room for the children, Austral,
free wireless internet and a playground great fishing spots, cafes,
restaurants, shops, tennis courts, a skateboard park, a cycle way and a
library. The resort is positioned just 15 kilo meters from pokhara eastern
division airport.

Price
Cabin accommodation is the key market segment for the resort and
marketing initiatives recommended below reflect this. Pricing for the
resort has been adopted to match the quality of the product and service
offered at the resort. Over the years, the market is maturing and repeat
business on weekends is a regular occurrence.

Pricing strategy has been consistent with the differentiation objective, to

provide added value for a reasonable rate as opposed to discounting and
de valuing our products and services.

Room rates quoted are net of tax and service, are per night, per room
with continental breakfast included:

• Single - 2500
• Double - 3500
• Deluxe suite - 4500 (maximum occupancy 3 persons).

Conference room rates are net of tax and service, quoted per day use with
tea and coffee breaks (2) included:

• The Lakeview Boardroom – 15000;

• The Lakeview Conference Hall - 18000
• The Lakeview Ballroom - 25000
Place (Distribution)
The resort is located on absolute beachfront in the North west Coast of
Rupa Lake, and is marketed through a wide range of marketing channels;
including; printed magazines, web and online media, word of mouth, local
marketing, promotions and industry events.

Promotion
The marketing plan is coordinated each year and is separated into major
sections including; print media, memberships, online and web media, park
essentials, promotions, design and printing. Most of the marketing
initiatives chosen for advertising are already targeting the caravanning,
accommodation and camping markets through information on
destinations, travel and accommodation. The resort is positioned in all
promotions as ‘absolute quality and absolute beachfront’.

Target Audience

The Mero Resort has many accommodation options and facilities available
which attracts a range of target markets and holiday styles. Cabin
accommodation is the key market segment by far, but the resort also has
many secondary markets segments to follow can be defined below:

Accommodation Type
 Cabins – 4.5 star cabins with an ensuite, spa bath, BBQ, TV, DVD
along with numerous other conveniences.
 Lodgings – budget on-site motel style accommodation preferred by
large groups, backpackers, transient workers and budget minded
travellers.
 Caravans – requiring powered or ensuite site.
 Recreational vehicles – range from the smaller camper vans to the
larger motor home looking for powered or ensuite sites.
 Camping –powered or camping site.
 Holiday vans – caravans with a fixed annex that are left
permanently on-site on caravan parks for families to enjoy as an
alternative to a holiday house.

Demographic Group
 Family group seeking their annual holiday
 Short break by regional customers (weekend getaway).
 Backpackers both national and international.
 DINKS (double income no kids) – High disposable income couples
seeking unique quality experiences.
 Transient workers
 Grey Nomads and the travelling public

Action Programs
The following table represents the recommended marketing initiatives to
be implemented for “The Mero Resort” during the 2011/2012 financial
year. A budget of $57k should be spend on marketing the resort, due to
the new facilities and accommodation becoming available in this Resort.

Messaging

It is critical to the success of the “The Mero Resort” to make sure that the
Resort is kept up to the highest level in order to keep the high quality
branding that Resorts properties are known for. Our messaging will reflect
this high standard that we want to be associated with. We need to print
brochures with high quality photographs as well as on high quality paper.
It will be important to spend a little bit extra on marketing materials to
ensure that they keep our "high quality" message in front of our
customers.
 Start End Manag Departme
PR Budget
Date Date er nt

Public relations
2/1/201 1/1/20
functions to Rs 2000 Nina PR
1 12
schedule

Evaluate
3/1/201 1/1/20
sponsorship Rs 3000 Nina PR
1 12
requests

Establish list of
4/1/201 1/1/20
sponsorship Rs 6,000 Nina PR
1 12
events/companies

Rs
Total PR Budget
11,000

Advertising

The following table shows our primary advertising milestones.

Milestones
Start End Departme
Advertising Budget Manager
date Date nt

Contract media 1/1/201 1/1/201 Rs

Shanti Marketing
space 1 1 20,000
 Ad agency
1/1/201 1/1/201 Rs Ramindr
liasonon print Marketing
1 1 11,000 a
ad material

Dispatch/monit
5/1/201 1/1/201
or campaign Rs 2,000 Sandesh Marketing
1 1
results

Total Rs
Budget
Advertising 33,000

Public Relations
The following table shows our primary PR milestones.

Direct Marketing

Our direct marketing will be handled by our PR agency. We will buy select
targeted list of corporate companies and send them information about
Riverview Hotel. We know that we are no experts in direct marketing so it
will be important that our PR agency handles every aspect of direct
marketing for us.

Milestones

Start End Manag Departme

Direct Marketing Budget
Date Date er nt

Direct mail lists

3/1/20
to 1/1/2011 Rs 6,000 Nina Marketing
12
purchase/prepare

Ad agency liaison
3/1/20
on direct mail 1/1/2011 Rs 7,000 Nina Marketing
12
material

Total Direct Rs
Marketing Budget 13,000
Implementation Schedule

New marketing campaign efforts will be focused from may through out the
yearly, aimed at the launch of the redesigned website. We will continue to
track the results of this campaign for the remainder of the year.

Milestones

Start End Manag Departme

Web Development Budget
Date Date er nt

Homepage Re- 1/1/201 1/15/20 Rs

Rubi Marketing
design 1 12 10,000

1/1/201 1/15/20 Rs
Printable Brochures Rubi Marketing
1 12 20,000

1/1/201 1/15/20 Rs
Online reservations Rubi Marketing
1 12 60,000

Total Web Rs
Budget
Development 90,000

Rs
Totals
1800,000