Friday, October 30, 2020

Select three major problems faced by either the Elizabethan or Stuart Government. Show how they were tackled. How effective, in each example was the government, in achieving it's aims.

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During the Stuart period in England, it was a time of great change and conflict, largely due to influential members of the governing class. Charles I's rule from 165 was epitomised this perfectly. As a monarch was often influenced by conflicting members of parliament who thought that 'they knew best'. As quoted by historian M.G.R Graves,"the difficulties with the commons were due to a few 'turbulent and ill-affected spirits' who 'mask and disguise their wicked intentions, dangerous to the State'. 'Some few vipers were upsetting the good intentions of the wise and moderate men of that house'." Such vipers were namely members of Parliament like, Earl of Bristol (Buckingham's enemy) who tried to take a seat in parliament, Thomas Wentworth, whose intentions were to promote 'good' government , when in actual fact, he turned out to be one of those little 'niggling backstabbers' who played all friendly but in actual fact just wanted to wriggle money out of parliament. A selfish man whose underlying goals were to get what he could out of parliament and the court for his personal needs and desires. Others included John Pym, Sir John Eliot, Sir Dudley Digges and Denzil Holles. These men were young, determined, uncompromising puritans. Charles was not that successful in oppressing such members of parliament and they continued to cause ongoing conflict throughout his reign.Charles' first parliament met in June 165. The reason for this parliament was substantially due to money issues. But things did not seem to work out from the start for poor Charles. The commons voted a mere £140,000 to Charles. The worst was yet to come because the commons only granted tunnage and poundage (customs duties for one year only) This would prove a major downfall economy wise in the future because Charles saw it fit to levy tunnage and poundage illegally as a way of improving his finances. After all, formerly, tunnage and poundage had been granted for life. Why should it change? He was successful in the fact he still illegally collected tonnage and poundage and receiving his 140,000 but he did not get enough money as he had planned for. Parliament was still uneasy and did not trust Charles as a monarch.


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Cracks also began to emerge further to the tunnage and poundage issue within the first parliament. The commons became extremely concerned to the point where they criticised the government further. Bucking was widely distrusted and suspicion also bubbled over Charles' marriage to a French Roman Catholic Henrietta Maria. Why marry a woman from enemy France? What exactly did Charles think he was playing at? The current war was also being mismanaged;"in any case, if the king was fighting for Protestantism why did he tolerate the English Catholics and send ships to help Louis XIII against the Huguenots?"M.G.R Graves 'England under the Tudors and Stewarts 1485 168If the members of the ruling class did not trust the way Charles was handling things, why should the 'ordinary' people trust him. Without trust, agreements never seem to work and that was exactly the predicament that Charles was in.The second parliament (166) proved to be as unsuccessful as the first. Again Charles called parliament because the treasury was empty. If the first parliament had gone Charles' way then he probably would not have been forced into this position ' he had not gained the glorious victory which might have persuaded the commons to dip deep into their purses'. After all, parliament were metaphorically 'the puppets who held the purse strings'.More influential people of parliament tried their luck against Charles during 166. The Earl of Bristol, Buckingham's great enemy tried to take his seat in parliament. His efforts were of no avail. The lords specifically insisted on Bristol's inclusion. As imagined this would create more conflict , frustration and heartache on the poor Charles. Such heartache continued to throb in the form of Sir John Eliot. His views being extremely bitter and hateful, condemning the Cadiz fiasco in 165. Eliot believed though unjustly believed Buckingham to be responsible for the huge mismanagement of the war. As mentioned in M.G.R Graves' book;"Our honour is ruined, our ships are sunk, our men perished; by the sword, not by enemy but by THOSE WE TRUST"Rightly so in his reasoning, but Eliot continued to say that 'the king's favourite should be impeached. This and several other influential factors caused the King and parliament to rapidly drift apart like driftwood carried out to sea amongst ferocious waves. By trying to do what Charles personally believed was right had turned his people against him. Now more than ever Charles was 'under fire' and his head was due to be 'on the chopping block'. Parliament wanted rid of this unworthy monarch.The third and most important problem faced by Charles during his reign over England was his personal rule from 16 1640. Charles believed that if there was going to be so much conflict then calling parliaments was simply a 'waste of time'. The parliament held onto the purse strings of England but by not holding parliament the commons, lords and such could not voice their views. He could govern the country without those niggling little backstabbers. Again things did not start of well for poor Charles, he found himself at war with France. He had hoped for an Anglo French alliance to free the Palatinate from the Spaniards in 165 but France were at that stage, at war with the Spaniards. His marriage to Henrietta Maria came back to haunt him, causing more conflict. His on views refused to fight fellow protestants. Not a good look for a monarch now is it?!Subsequently Louis XII refused to assist Charles in recovering the Palatinate. In 166 Charles managed to make peace with Spain but by that stage in 'the game' foreign relations rapidly deteriorated. The boiling pot of Europe had begun to heat up, spilling over with fire of fury.But personal parliament for Charles although it seemed a appetising idea at first was so unsuccessful that he had to call parliament again. Again it was for money due to the expensive wars and growing debts.Overall, the Charles' three parliaments, first second and personal rule proved largely unsuccessful and troublesome. When parliament met, it had many grievances to consider, mostly based on financial problems experienced by Charles. Parliament often came out better off but this is not entirely the truth. Charles had inherited his fathers debt and due to James' laid back manner governing the country was extremely difficult. Internal conflicts in the court only added to this problem and were a catalyst of many more problems to follow.167 words total.


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Monday, October 26, 2020

Holiday Inn Crown Plaza Bangkok

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Bangkok is amongst the world's dynamic cities where you can find various features unique forms of tourist attractions like graceful Buddha Temples, shopping malls, food, etc, to entertainment areas and magnificent hotels. And, one hotel that holds a unique feature is the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, conveniently located on colourful Silom Road, next to the river and right in the heart of the shopping, jewellery, business and nightlife districts. Attractions such as Chao Phraya River where they can take a river taxi to the Emerald Buddha and Grand Palace, and Patpong are within easy walking distance. Plus, the new SurasakSkytrain station is only a few steps away. The hotel is approximately 40-0 minutes drive from Don Muang International Airport depending on the day and time and the second stage expressway cuts travelling time between the hotel and the airport to an average of 0 minutes.Starting July, the old name "Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza will be re-named as "Crowne Plaza Bangkok". This strategy is to differentiate the hotel from its competitorsmaking it a "class of its own." The Crowne Plaza is well known worldwide for its reputation of pro-viding exceptional services and unforgettable experience. Its commitment to continually meeting customer's satisfaction has created a high rate of guests' loyalty to the hotel.


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With its new brandname, the hotel's management is refocusing its target market. The Crowne Plaza targets niche marketupscale leisure and business travelers, while at the same time maintaining its midscale guests. The Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Bangkok is designed in the modern style with a touch of traditional Thai decor which is suitable for the business and traveller. It has a total 76 guest rooms situated in two towers, Plaza Tower and Crowne Tower. • The Plaza Tower has 85 tastefully decorated guestrooms. Featuring high ceilings including seven suites, 175 king leisure rooms with leisure/work areas. All rooms have individual thermostat control, central air conditioning with bathroom, color TV with 7 channel cable, on command video channels, radio, telephone with IDD facility, mini bar and hair dryer. • The Crowne Tower has 41 well-appointed Superior and Deluxe guest rooms including 17 Executive Suites and 1 Presidential Suite. Furthermore, they also have 1 room specially designed to accommodate wheelchair bound guests. The doors are wider, switches are located lower, railings in the toilet and large spaces to maneuver. All our public areas are wheelchair accessible.The hotel has a wide choice of dining options, which include Window on Silom serving international favourites, Tandoor featuring northern Indian delicacies and Thai Pavilion showcasing the best of Thai cuisine. The Orchid Lounge serves light meals and high tea, and Cheers Pub offers a friendly pub atmosphere. 4-hour Room Service is available.» Thai Pavilion A superb and authentic Thai dining offering deliciously spicy and unique dishes from the exotic Kingdom of Thailand. The Thai Pavilion is open for buffet lunch and a la carte dinner. Enjoy traditional Thai music with dance performances every evening except Sunday. Capacity 10» Window on Silom This smart and relaxing restaurant offers an extensive variety of International and Asian favourites from the a la carte menu with tantalizing breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets being a daily attractions. Capacity 00» Tandoor North Indian restaurant offers the finest selection of North Indian cuisine in town, accompanied by a classical Indian band. Located on the 6th floor and open for both lunch and dinner daily. Capacity 5» Orchid Lounge A comfortable rest stop and an ideal place to meet up with friends situated in the lobby where you can enjoy leisurely afternoon tea, a light snack or a full meal. Capacity 100» Cheers Pub A cozy, convenient meeting place with a friendly pub atmosphere where you can enjoy your favourite cocktail and relax to the sound of live entertainment nightly located on the lobby level of the hotel. Capacity 0Crowne Plaza Bangkok Conference Network provides a professional meeting service, giving the conference organiser unique benefits and services so that the conference can be planned and carried through with ease and confidence. Crowne Plaza Bangkok has highly trained, efficient and friendly conference network coordinators to ensure that all aspects of your event go as intended. State-of-the-art audio-visual equipment such as LCD Projector, Overhead Projector, Slide Projector, Screens, Flip Charts, Whiteboards and Standing, Lapel, Wireless Microphones, together with a fully equipped Business Centre, will accommodate all meeting needs.• The Crystal Ballroom has a total area of 10 square metres / 75 square feet, with a capacity for hosting up to 850 guests for cocktails and 550 for a sit-down dinner. The ballroom, located at the lower level of the hotel, is flexible in its layout and can be separated into three function rooms. This allows organisers to tailor the venue according to their requirements. The Crystal Ballroom has state-of-the-art equipment and ensures a successful conference, seminar, exhibition or meeting.• The Emerald Room accommodates up to 00 guests theatre style and 10 conference style and may also be used for banquets and receptions. The Emerald Room can be divided into three smaller rooms Emerald I, II and III. These rooms can hold 70 to 80 guests each theatre style and from 0 to 0 boardroom or meeting style.Each room features phone, multiple electrical and microphone outlets and individual controls for sound, air conditioning and electricity. A selection of audio-visual equipment is available.• The Topaz Room is a small room situated next to the Emerald Room, and it can accommodate 40 guests in a theatre-style set-up. This room can be separated into two rooms which can be used for small meetings of ten persons.Recreational facilities include fully equipped health club, tennis court, sauna, Jacuzzi, steam bath and massage services, and there is an outdoor swimming pool with childrens pool and sun deck. For business travelers, theres high-tech Business Centre and exclusive Executive Lounge. Additional facilities include free morning newspaper delivered to the room, internet access, iron and ironing board, separate hanging closet and wake-up calls. This hotel is owned and operated by HRH Holdings Ltd. and it is a subsidiary of InterContinental Hotels Group, Inc.With all these incentives and amenities, no one can resist the temptation of staying in this hotel. And, the best reason for choosing this hotel is simply because you'll feel like you chose to stay with someone you know. They not only provide fine facilities but the quality, attention to detail and service that you've come to expect from a "jewel in the crown." Five Force ModelThreat of intense segment rivalrySince the hotel business is much more competitive than an oligopoly. There are many buyers and many sellers. While there are limited numbers of brand names that appear to control the market, the relationship of franchisor to franchisee in hotel is not at all like ownership and the real fact of the market place is many independent owners "renting" franchise brands from franchisors. Thus, no one company exercises control over the market. Most of the hotels are trying to increase their target to specific market segments because in most markets there is more than enough hotel capacity to go around. Another way of saying this is that more hotel rooms were built than there is demand for. Therefore, there is intense competition between hotels resulting in the need for heavy rate reductions to stay competitive. As well as services and amenities are crafted to meet the needs and preferences of particular target markets. So they have to compete with an excellent service in order to get customer from their competitors. And since the public can easily accessible information that covers key competitors' pricing, future sold out dates, group clients, marketing alliances, customer incentive programs, product and service improvements, advertising media placement, marketing collateral materials and news releases is invaluable. So the hotel can effectively manage its competitive position by reviewing this body of information regularly and making the appropriate adjustments. The hotel industry is engrossed in the idea that brand equity and global market share are the instruments of success. 1. Competitive Structure 1) Firm size and concentration. For the hotel business in Thailand there is a high competition. Because there is more supply of hotel room than there is demand for. The total number of hotels only in Bangkok is about 10 hotels which are divided into stars for the total number of 6 hotels. For 4 and 5 stars hotel there are 54 and 1 respectively. This number is excluding other types of hotel and also other substitutes so we can see that there is a high competition in this industry. Total number of hotel in ThailandProvince Rate of Hotel Total stars 4 stars 5 star Bangkok 6 54 1 10Chiang Mai 11 11 1Krabi 5 1 4 1Pattaya 0 17 7 44Phuket 0 60 11 1) Speed at which competitive actions/reactions happen. For hoteliers, the ripple effects of the recent incident mean finding ways to deal with sharply lower occupancy rates and constrained marketing budgets. But identifying what action to take and planning how to rapidly address the changing realities raises a multitude of questions. We believe that hoteliers should adopt, with utmost urgency, a proactive strategy that includes consistent efforts to differentiate from the competition and embrace co-operation, joint marketing initiatives and eDistribution. A proactive strategy will not only soften the impact of the current crisis, but also allow hoteliers gain market share faster and cheaper. It is obvious that hoteliers should continue to utilize all traditional marketing channels at their disposal. But what is not obvious is what hoteliers should do beyond the norm. Since there is a high competition in the hotel industry so each hotel have to provide or set up strategy in order to compete with others. To use any strategy besides service the hotels have to consider other factors such as economic situation, environment, high or low seasoned. But the most important thing for hotel to keeping their customer is to provide an excellent service. ) Extent of innovation in the industry. Whether change is short or long term, operational or strategic, for expansion or for managing scarce resources, a key role of the effective hospitality manager, at any level, should involve facilitating such change and innovation. With ever-increasing customer demands, changing technology and concomitant change in co-workers skills, all organizations in the hospitality industry have a constant need to facilitate such change for the benefit of all their stakeholders. Nowadays, technology is the best ally of hotel. For instance, eDistribution is by far the lowest cost channel of distribution. Used properly it increases occupancy rates, improves the bottom line, opens new markets and attracts more affluent customers in these difficult times. That is, the larger the extent of innovation, the more the profit in the hotel industry.4) Product quality. Pricing is a huge factor in terms of competition among competitors. As of now, there is a strong impact, yet this rivalry will level off; balance itself out and the top companies will continue to compete on a midlevel in the areas of benefits, services, attractiveness and general quality.. Exit Barriers. Since the hotels have high operating cost and they have to invest a lot of money so there is a high exit barrier for the operator. Normally, the hotel investment divides itself naturally into two parts 1. Exterior assets land, building and fixed plant. . Interior assets furniture, fittings, operating equipment and working capital. The purchase of exterior assets provides such a situation. If a hotel fails, they can be sold to cover the initial investment. However, the risk is much higher from interior assets which tend to have low resale value. That is, the hotel has high barriers to exit and it should be concerned that there are many fixed costs in business and it thus runs the business in order to survive.. Demand Demand for the hotel room in each period of the year will vary according to the environment situation for example whether, economics, politics of a particular country, etc. So the rate of hotel room will be very high during the high season and will be lower in the low season. Another condition, which has an impact on the demand for hotel room, is the travelers themselves. For the leisure traveler they are price sensitive, which is opposite to the business traveler. They are not price sensitive but the condition that they consider in traveling is the economic situation and investment in that particular country. On the other hand, demand can also be classified into two levels as followingAt the primary level 1.Basic demand is an existing demand for hotel facilities which can satisfy need. . Displacement demand is a demand arising from the clients of other competitors where their needs are not being fully met.At the secondary level 1. Created demand is a demand which has not existed before. It derives from people who do not normally use a particular area of hotel. So, the attraction of the hotel itself can induce them to do so.. Future demand is a demand which arises due to changes in environment factors or consumer behavior. Determinant of Potential Entrants1. Economics of Scale1. Volume discounts. The size of the hotels may sometimes mean the volume of services that they can offer to their customers. It means that if they can produce in large volume and reduce their costs simultaneously. They can also price lower than the smaller hotels. Moreover, if the new entrants have the strong partnership, they can offer the lower price but better service to customers. . Advertising. If the new entrants use huge budget to advertising, they are creating brand awareness to potential customers while the older hotels do nothing. Consequently, Regardless of flag, location or reputation, hotels are vulnerable for the simple reason that trying a new hotel is a safe form of adventure for a frequent traveler. "Ready for a change of pace" is the death knell of the old stand by hotel. . Experience-Curve Effects1. Experience hospitality process. Although the new entrants may have huge sum of money, decisions about the capitalization of the project are absolutely critical to their survival. There are too many instances where the hotels cannot be viable because they lack of experience and expertise.. Skilled employees and management teams. In hotel management, it is necessary for a hotel to have specialist departments such as personnel, purchasing and management services. The costs will be lower due to effective performance. Therefore, expert management and staff should do their best to achieve a complete resolution to maximize guest repeat patronage.. Brand identity. Very high, brand loyalty will create a large barrier for others to enter into the market. Brand loyalty takes into account quality of service, customer satisfaction, and reputation in the market.4. High Capital requirements. One on the most important factors of investment in hotel is the considerable amount of capital involved and this is the principal factor in any examination of the financial feasibility of a hotel project, subsequent to completion of the market feasibility study.5. Favored Political Status. Regulations regarding entry create a barrier as well; meeting governmental standards in terms of regulation will also create a huge barrier for market entry.Determinants of Substitute Threat1. Buyers face low-switching costs 1. Some opportunity cost. There is opportunity cost in not choosing hotel service. Customers may not have the same services like hotel services and have limited choices. Sometimes, they do not have the same quality in the same price. . Risk-averse buyers. Customers are able to have more security from hotel service because most hotels have the security policy to create customer satisfaction. Apartment service is still not popular relative to hotel service. Therefore, it hardly has any standard to guarantee quality of service apartment.. Price of equivalent alternative. Room rate of apartment is cheaper than of hotel and most are monthly payment. Major zones Room rates of apartment (monthly in baht) stars 4 stars 5 starsCentral 15,000-5,000 0,000-60,000 noneSathorn none none 5,000-85,000North Sukhumvit none 5,000-60,000 noneSouth Sukhumvit none 5,000-65,000 noneOther none 18,000-65,000 none. Substitutes few and dissimilar. Alternatives such as renting condos, taking cruises, and making use of campgrounds create options. Consumer preference would play a large role in making alternative decisions. However, nowadays, daily apartments can substitute hotels almost perfectly. - The best apartment with first-class facilities. - Outstanding choices. You will be in good hands. - Good apartment with rooms at affordable price. Central ZoneThis area can be subdivided into partsNorth of Rama1 Road includes Somkid, Chidlom, Nai Lert .South of Rama1 Road includes Henry Dunant, Rajdamri,Wireless Roads and Ruamrudee.From the above map, most service apartments were located on the central location, thus creating convenience for travelers, especially business travelers.. Few number of service. When compared with number of hotels in the same level, except low segment, Apartments for travelers are fewer. So, the travelers can use service of hotel easier.Number of Apartment in BangkokMajor zones Number of Apartment Total stars 4 stars 5 stars Central 4 0 6Sathorn 0 0 North Sukhumvit 0 1 0 1South Sukhumvit 0 0 Other 0 1 0 1 60Determinants of Buyer Power1. Most purchasers are private individuals. Thus, they have a power to make up their mind to buy service or not. Purpose of buyer is necessary in accessing this "power."Jan 00Country Purpose of Visitof Residence Holiday  Business  Conven-  Official  Others  tion East Asia 46,48 -8. 47,506 +.58 6,01 +8.78 ,760 +16.61 8,11 -4.15Europe 60,7 +.68 1,184 +. 776 +4.76 6 +7.6 ,461 -8.85The Americas 51,677 -5.65 6, +5.58 66 +6.4 65 +6.58 1,44 -.South Asia 0,76 +.7 4,11 +.71 405 +8.6 541 +71.75 1,85 +4.0Oceania ,15 +.1 ,1 +10.6 4 -.8 18 -77. 1,4 +7.70Middle East 1,06 +17.0 , +54.4 7 - 7 -.66 165 -6.4Africa 5,864 +5.4 1,8 +6.84 66 -1.6 5 - 10 -7.71Grand Total 88,508 -.6 78,507 +17.4 8,7 +6.7 ,14 +106.54 15,54 -17.56Source of Data Immigration Bureau, Police Department.Remark Overseas Thai Residents are not includedAs for above table, there are two major groups of customers.1) Leisure travelers (on holiday) This group is more quantity than the other but lower value per unit. In a soft demand environment, the middle market drive-to locations should see profits grow as leisure travelers continue to be cost conscious and seek economical alternatives.) Business travelers. Although there is lower quantity than the former group but this group makes high return to hotel industry in Thailand. Thus, this group has higher bargaining power than the first group. . Lately many corporations set their travel budgets early in the fourth quarter of 00, when there were few encouraging signs of growth. It is unlikely those budgets will be increased until 004.Anyway, these terms are still misleading because they all tend to a certain type of traveler, regardless of the market segment to which they belong. Then, the total hotel market is primarily composed of four segments as following1. Upper segment. Upper-middle segment. Middle segment4. Lower segmentThis classifying including all travelers both domestic and foreign corresponds to any type of hotel regardless of its location and principal types of customer. For instance, a business, traveling for pleasure with his family, may prefer to other segment and may thus be considered differently.. Buyers cannot integrate backward. Though they may have much purchasing power, they do not have the specialization in hotel industry. Consequently, if they want to integrate backward, they have to have much capital and use time to study this area.. Low switching cost. Buyers always change hotel's brand when they want. They may waste only time cost. So, in the hotel industry, hotels try to compete one another to create brand loyalty. It is commonly accepted that consumers change their minds and also their tastes in different period. The hotel must be aware of and responsive to the changing needs of potential consumers and also be aware of changing attitudes and trends within the entire hospitality industry. For example, previously, Holiday Corporation's sole brand was Holiday Inn and Marriott Corporation's sole brand was Marriott Hotel. Nowadays, they offer different brands attempting to satisfy the needs of different market segments.4. Buyer information. There is almost perfect information in hotel market because now buyers can search information anywhere, especially Internet. So, they have time to make up their mind and choose the best choice. A hotel should always improve its service and also its channel to keep contact with its customers.5. Price sensitivity. The business travelers do generally not have price sensitivity. Hence, a hotel is difficult to use price strategy with this customer group. In contrast, price is one of core factors for the leisure travelers to decide whether they buy.6. Product is almost not different. Most hotels in the same level have the similar number of services but not the same quality in the customers' perceived value. Therefore, hotels have to improve their quality all the time.Determinants of Supplier PowerBefore doing hotel operation in each day, every hotel has to prepare for raw materials and materials such as food, kitchenware, glassware, furniture, bathroom amenities, uniform, system etc. to provide best services to customers. If customers perceive good value of services which also come from good raw materials and materials from the hotel, the hotel will get their loyalty. If not, customers will not use its service anymore. To have raw materials and materials, hotels need to contact with suppliers.1. Suppliers have low bargaining power. In most hotels, food buying is the product of a negotiation between chefs and the head of the purchasing department. The chef will demand a particular imported item and the purchaser will offer a cheaper substitute. In addition, distributors say, food buyers often request fees or kickbacks in return for an order. The high-end sector is divided between international and domestically managed hotels. Many large foreign chains are represented in the international market, including Hilton, St. Regis, Marriott, Holiday Inn, Shangri-La, Ritz-Carlton, New Otani and Hyatt. Some of these hotel chains are instituting group purchasing for some products to reduce bargaining power from suppliers.Products and ServicesAudio VisualBeveragesCleaningConsultantsDecorationsDesign Renovations ConstructionEntertainmentFoodFood Service EquipmentFurniture Fixtures and EquipmentGuestroomInsuranceMaintenanceOffice EquipmentUniforms OutsourcingPaper ProductsParkingPhotographyPrintingPromotional MaterialsPurchasingRestaurantSecuritySupply CompaniesTele Communications From above table, they are sample of products and services that supply to hotel industry. That is, hotels can buy from such a company who can offer best products and services. So, these are not influent in terms of income. . Although there are few suppliers who specialize in hotel area in Thailand, which means that this business is likely to have high switching cost, hotels can find international suppliers. Moreover, they can contact with other domestic suppliers who do not specialize in this area but can offer exceptional services and products and create good relationship to hotels. Thus, there are many suppliers of these products and needs; difficulty should not be created when it comes to choosing a supplier. The switching cost is reduced. Except an uncertainty as to the most economic source of energy, after construction is completed, a switch in energy sources is usually not feasible.HOTEL SUPPLIER in ThailandSUPPLIER NAME TYPEFurniture ThaiFurnitureGenius CommunicationSystemGlobal Hotel SupplyKitchenwareI.H.R.SGlasswareN.I.B.HUniformSancoF&BTAIMAF&B. Minimal threats of forward integration by suppliers. Because such operators in the hotel industry are necessary to have specialization and experience definitely, the suppliers are then difficult to do forward integration. The best way that they can do is to be one of good partners in supply chain and to make good relationship with hotels.SWOT AnalysisStrengths1. High brand awareness Hotel chains constitute a classic application of brand strategy. Brands are a quick way for hotels and hotel chains to identify and differentiate themselves in the minds of the customers. A brand symbolizes the essence of the customer's perceptions of hotel chains, its products, and services. The favorable or unfavorable attitudes and perceptions formed by brand influence a customer's hotel preference.InterContinental Hotels Group is a leading global hospitality group, with over ,00 hotels across nearly 100 countries and territories. Every year more than 10 million people find a welcome at one of its lodging brands as followingInterContinental Hotels Group Lodging Brands InterContinental® Hotels and Resorts offer an exceptional service for business and leisure guests seeking a luxury hotel experience. With a worldwide portfolio of 140 hotels in 75 countries on InterContinental Hotels Group have been welcoming frequent international travelers for more than half a century. Crowne Plaza, located in major markets worldwide, is THE Place to Meet. Whether its a group meeting in the hotel, a one-on-one meeting with a colleague or clients, or a getaway with a loved one or friends, Crowne Plaza is the hotel for people who value the energy and positive interactions that take place when people come together. Holiday Inn® hotels, with more than 1,500 Holiday Inn full-service hotels around the world todays Holiday Inn hotel offers 4-hour business services, meeting facilities and the Holiday Inn Meeting Promise TM.. The ability to innovate, a pool of competent potential workers/professionals, the best facilities which offer to the customers and technology development. InterContinental Hotels Group requires a strict adherence to standards that encompasses service, product quality, design, construction and operation - across ALL brands. One way to achieve such high standards relies on the underlying support of training staff. InterContinental Hotels Group provides training for hotel staff, including the management tools necessary to provide hotel staff with additional knowledge of the skills necessary to generate continuous improvement in revenue management, service delivery, and operating skills.. Improving continuously services to better meet the needs of its clients. Holiday Inn Crown Plaza always improves services by both its own policy and InterContinental Hotels Group's policy. That is, the hotel focuses on customer satisfaction first as measuring the quality.4. Anticipating the potential requirements of a traveling businessman, for example, makes a hotel more attractive. Holiday Inn Crown Plaza capitalized on its ideal location and deliberately put in place amenities and facilities to suit the changing needs of the business traveler. There is the Business Centre equipped to provide all business needs. Services include stenography, telex, facsimile, cables, word processor, Internet connection, photocopying, mailing, translation, full secretarial services, courier service and other business-related services. Private conference rooms and offices are also available. There is the Executive Lounge, a private retreat for Crowne Plaza Club floor guests, provides the little extras "Executive Service" like all day complimentary coffee and tea, evening cocktails and canapes, personalised wake up calls with tea, 4-hour butler service, one suit pressing on arrival, as well as a packing and unpacking service. The exclusive Executive Lounge prepares a complimentary continental breakfast, beverages all day with cocktails in the evening, and maintains a library of international newspapers and journals.5. Central location, with easy access to entertainment place, and shopping centers, etc.At its very centre customer's discover the Crowne Plaza Bangkok. Situated on colourful Silom Road, next to the river, customers are right in the heart of the shopping center, jewelery, business and nightlife districts. Plus, the new SurasakSkytrain station is only a few steps away. 7. Competitive room rate but exceptional service. The new streamlined organization, which has in its portfolio leading brands including InterContinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, is underpinned by more efficient use of regional and global resources and a structure that the group expects will drive greater innovation, customer focus and revenues by moving key resources closer to customers, partners and key growth markets.Hotel Rates ComparedCrowne Plaza $ 61Pathumwan Princess $ 65Sofitel Central Plaza$ 71Hilton International $ 7Imperial Queens Park$ 74Evergreen Laurel $ 8Marriott Resort Spa $ 86Dusit Thani$ 7Emporium Suite $ 106Pan Pacific $ 106Conrad $ 10Landmark $ 111Intercontinentalformer Le Royal Meridien $ 11Le Royal Meridien $ 11JW Marriott $ 115Hotel Plaza Athenee $ 118Royal Orchid Sheraton $ 118Banyan Tree $ 15Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit$ 1Shangri-La $ 18Sukhothai $ 167Peninsula $ 171Regent $ 11Grand Hyatt Erawan $ 177. Several discretional facilitiesEach room offers individual climate control, central air conditioning, bathroom with marble fixtures, hairdryer, colour television with CNN, ESPN, Star TV and video channels, radio, minibar, work desk with lamp, direct dial telephone, modem port and voicemail. There are suites, each with a separate living room, and the exclusive Crowne Plaza Club gives business travelers their own particular privacy. One room is specially adapted for disabled guests.Additional facilities include - Free morning newspaper delivered to the room - Internet access - Iron and ironing board - Separate hanging closet - Wake-up calls8. Crystal clear target customer. Starting July, the old name "Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza will be re-named as "Crowne Plaza Bangkok". This strategy is to differentiate the hotel from its competitorsmaking it a "class of its own." With its new brand name, the hotel's management is refocusing its target market. The Crowne Plaza targets niche marketupscale leisure and business travelers, while at the same time maintaining its midscale guests. Thus the Crowne Plaza can focus on our customers groups and accomplish the highest customer's satisfaction. . Support from its franchiser. Marketing teams for each brand develop strategic programs at a local, regional, national, and international level. InterContinental Hotels Group's marketing groups work in conjunction with regional sales force to maximize efficiencies while maintaining focus on strong results. BHR Capital (BHRC) is an exclusive financing service for the franchisees of the InterContinental Hotels Group System. For all hotel financing needs, BHRC can get the most competitive terms and conditions available for qualified owners by coordinating with third-party funding sources and matching the specific funding need with the lender best suited to fill that need. BHRC offers a full complement of financial products to help the investors in our brands maintain superior hotel properties that create guest preference and deliver superior financial returns. These comprehensive financial products are exceptionally competitive10. The list of the world's top 0 hotel chain. The World Wide Web, as an interactive communication medium, is still in its infancy stage. At present it is mostly the larger hotel chains which have begun to explore its potential to develop long-term relationships with customers. The smaller hotel chains are still not doing so, probably because they are lacking in financial and marketing resources, or only want to cater to a more localized or nationalized market. Thus, the Web still has a long way to go in terms of its development as a relationship market tool, which is very much dependent upon customers demands, hotel companies willingness to let their web sites assume a bigger marketing role, and the available technology. However, there seems to be widespread confidence within the hotel industry of the future of the web as a marketing mechanism. For Crowne Plaza, it is the one of InterContinental Hotels and Resorts worldwide which range in the world's top 0 hotel chain as shown in below table. Highest Number of Features ( Top 10% of Hotel Web Sites)Hotel Chain No. of Web FeaturesSheraton Hotels & Resorts 7Hilton Hotels & Resorts 5Best Western International Hyatt Hotels & Resorts 1Marriott International 0Inter-Continental Hotels 0Destination Hotels & Resorts 0Westin Hotels & Resorts 18Days Inn of America 17Rosewood Hotels & Resorts 17Holiday Inn Worldwide 16Rennaissance Hotels & Resorts 16Radian 15Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts 14Weaknesses1. No quiet and scenic surroundings As the hotel is located in downtown, some tourists do not like these surroundings because it is very confusion. The tourists may want to leisure in the place that is peace and beautiful scenery. Therefore, the hotel may loss some customers because of its environment. . Hotel's layout layout strategy is not good in the aspect of Chinese people, especially, the crystal ballroom that is located at the lower level (underground) of the hotel. For Chinese people, they think negative because it looks like go down to the basement. If they would like to have celebration such as weddings ceremony, grand opening ceremony, etc. Chinese people will not go to arrange the auspicious ceremony there. Because most of the Chinese people still believe in Huang Jui or Feng Shui. However, the hotel had an adjustment by used crystal chandelier in order to make the ballroom more elegant. . Medium number of guest rooms The hotel offers 76 luxuriously appointed guest rooms situated in two towers, Plaza and Crowne. Crowne Plaza Club rooms provide the discerning traveler with exclusive accommodation and services for a more luxurious stay. When compared with competitors, the hotel can not achieved in the economies of scale due to limited area. Crowne Plaza cannot expand. Therefore, the operation cost of hotel is higher that competitors.4. Many competitors in the same area. At Silom and Sathorn road, there are several other reputed hotels. That is, Crown Plaza tries to compete these by marketing strategy all the time. SILOM/SATHORNMontien54 Surawong Road SILOM B 00-6000 Tawana Ramada80 Surawongse Road SILOM B 000-600 Pan Pacific5 Rama IV Road Suriyawongse SILOM US$ 10-50 Dusit Thani46 Rama IV Road SILOM US$ 10-60 Swiss Lodge Convent Road SILOM B 75-760 Monarch-Lee Gardens Bangkok188 Silom Road SILOM US$ 5-70 Sukhothai1/ South Sathorn Road SATHORN US$ 15-650 Westin Banyan TreeThai Wah Tower II SATHORN US$ 11-6 Park Suanplu Exclusive Residence Soi Suanplu SATHORN B 800-4500 Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza81 Silom Road SILOM US$ -0 Shangri-La8 Soi Wat Suan Plu RIVERSIDE US$ 15-40 Oriental48 Oriental Avenue RIVERSIDE US$ 10-750 Royal Orchid Sheraton Captain Bush Lane RIVERSIDE US$ 0-165 Opportunities1. Growth in airlines discount, stimulating intra-regional travel and encourage tourist to travel.. 'Safe haven' markets capturing displaced leisure ad conference demand Regional leisure travelers come to Thailand for one reason that is to shopping. Bangkok now has a good reputation for shopping from luxury goods at the Emporium to exotic handicrafts at the Weekend market. It remains to be seen how competitive Thailand will be for the leisure traveler in the international competition and whether marketing the country's natural resources and natural beauty will be an effective way to bring those travelers to Thailand. . Increased domestic and intra-regional travelThailand Tourism MarketMonthly International Arrivals 000 001Source Tourism Authority Thailand4. Government support of faltering tourism industries. A new governmental campaign called Be My Guest was launched this November in London and is aimed at promoting Thailand as a value for money destination for 00 and 00. The Prime Minister will appear in the Be My Guest television ads, encouraging foreigners to come to Thailand under the Be My Guest program. The pitch in the new campaign is for visitors to enjoy Thailand's unique hospitality and friendliness.5. Weakened currencies against the US dollar, encourages international inbound and domestic tourism6. High barrier to entry Hotel entry barriers, which include economies of scale, infrastructure, and product differentiation, are significant particularly for those who will venture in deluxe or first class operations.Economies of scale force a new entrant to come in at relatively large scale and risk strong reaction from existing firms. Consequently, requiring substantial start-up costs and with the appreciation of land and high construction costs. Moreover, an entrant would need high start-up costs from advertising, image building to offset leverage of existing prominent hotels. Training and development costs, necessary for quality hospitality services, are also considerable. Finally, hotel differentiation exists in the industry. Established hotel have brand identification and customer loyalties, which stem from past reputation and customer service.Threats1. Further weakening of the world economies.In addition to the general slowdown in Europe and North American, certain sectors have been hard hit, including IT and telecom. Business travelers to Thailand from these sectors are off significantly. There is as well as a noticeable decline in the number of bankers or others in financial business. The lack of bankers suggests a falling off in investment interest by members of the international financial community.. Lower American visitors demandHow American travelers are responding to unprecedented challenge and change economic recession and 11 September have had a major impact on American travel. Business travel will decline more than 4% this year. Leisure travel will be up just %. Total travel expenditures, which declined nearly 6% in 001, will not recover until 004. That is, American travelers have altered their behavior and traditional travel patterns. Americans went back to the basics. They are travelling more domestically and closer to home. They are travelling more by car and less by air. They are travelling with family members and visiting heritage, cultural, and outdoor recreation sites more often. They are booking later and they are spending less. The impact of these changing patterns has been uneven.. Further contraction of already weakened Asian economies Economic EnvironmentSource Consensus Economics From graph, the growth rate especially in Western Europe and North America, reduces. Those are major target customer of most hotels in Thailand4. Fall in consumer and business sentiment during war and SARS Growing alarm about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is having a far-reaching impact on Thailands travel and tourism industry and is likely to deprive the country of tens of billions of baht in lost revenue. The epidemic is now seen as affecting the travel industry more than the war in Iraq, which has also taken business away from airlines, hotels and tour operators. Fear of the virus has nearly wiped out all outbound tour bookings from Thailand between now and June, while inbound tourist numbers have dwindled by 0 percent in the first quarter. Updated data gathered by the industry showed that 5 percent of outbound trip bookings up to June had been cancelled. And inbound tourists dropped by 0 percent in the first quarter due mainly to the war in Iraq and the SARS outbreak. The majority of cancelled flights were made by American, Middle Eastern and Asian tourists, especially Japanese. If the situation does not improve, expect another drop of 0 percent or more in the second quarter As a result, hotel occupancy was now expected to be down 0-0 percent from the same period last year. Just last week the industry had been talking of a 10-15 percent decline. 5. In ASEAN country have high competition to persuade travellers and investors to their own country. 6. Some government policy.There has been a widely reported perception among investors and business people in the foreign financial media that Thailand's Government has been less than friendly to foreign investors and that the current government's has shifted policy away from foreign investment to encouraging populist policies such as the 0 baht medical system and the one million baht per village scheme. This perception might also have been a contributing cause for the fall off in bankers staying in his and other five-star hotels. 8. A terrorist attack on the global economy and could be expected to put the South East Asian recovery on hold caused a major crisis in the airline, insurance and tourist industry.Tourism is a major contributor to the economies of many developing/low currency and developed countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Thailand is one of Asias premier tourist destinations. So, how much of this was due to the terrorist attack, and how much to unrelated factors such as corporate malevolence. The global terrorist movement was moving to base itself in South East Asia, as the Middle East, Europe and North America started to become too hot. With majority Muslim populations in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and even Southern Thailand, it was not that hard to blend into the crowd. It was also accepted practice that greasing palms of officials in those countries may cause them to look the other. South East Asia may well just have lost its brand as a safe tourist destination. In an increasingly unsafe world, tourists may opt just to stay home. The tourism industry is key to the economic prospects of South East Asia. Foreign exchange. The spin off to retail, airline, and many other spin off industries is also significant. All in all, industrial and consumer growth, tourism industry in South East Asia slowdown in economic growth. VERTICAL INTEGRATION AT CROWNE PLAZABefore we analyze the extent of vertical integration at the hotel it is important that we understand as to what do we mean by VERTICAL INTEGRATION .Vertical integration - IT is the extent to which an organization "owns" the network of which it is part. This consists of opening or purchasing a supplier to one's business Backward vertical integration or purchasing an organization that is a customer to one's business Forward vertical integration. The act of integration is counted as a type of diversification, since it involves acquisition of a new business or it involves combination of two or more components of the marketing channel. There are many ways of utilizing backward integration. E.g. a restaurant or hotel gets into the bakery, linen, or produce an equipment. Forward integration is not common in hospitality. E.g. a hotel purchasing a travel agency or reservation system. Often, firms that want to pursue integration strategies do not have adequate funds or expertise. Common options include;• Joint venture is the combining of resources with another company for mutual benefit.• Strategic alliance occurs when a smaller company, generally with expertise, time, and little money, joins with a larger company with money or available credit, business background or know how.• Franchising is the licensing of others to operate a business using the firm's operating system and brand name.• Management contracts include a variety of agreements between those that have the expertise and reputation for successfully operating a particular type of business and those that own the business. • Acquisitions are basically the outright purchase of another business that may continue to operate under its own name.• Mergers occur when two or more firms are combined to create one firm.Objectives of vertical integration Benefits of Vertical IntegrationVertical integration can have a significant impact on a businesses performance. There are so many advantages in several aspects.Costs Vertical integration can help a company reducing the cost by avoiding transportation cost, vulnerability of increases in raw materials costs, the transaction costs associated with dealing with vendors or retailers and capturing upstream or downstream profit margins. Moreover, a company can greater control costs and supply components through Product innovation The highly integrated businesses the more innovative product will be. In both mature and growing markets, high levels of integration correspond to high rates of new product introduction. The same pattern holds regardless of whether technology is changing or whether the business has a small market share or a strong competitive position.Risk Reduction A company can reduce risk by product portfolio diversification and faster entry and payback of inputs so a company does not have to worry about lacking of raw materials or lateness of suppliers.Differentiation & flexibility Vertical integration provides more opportunities to differentiate by means of increased control over inputs. It means that companies have more alternative to choose inputs in term of both variety and quality. Economies of Scale Because of large production quantities, the firm can benefit from economies of scaleDrawbacks of Vertical IntegrationAlthough vertical integration has many attractive advantages, there are also some disadvantages that companies should consider.Costs To do vertical integration needs a huge budget for fixed cost and specialized management at multiple levels of systems. Moreover, this will require radically different skill and capabilities. So companies have to hire specialists to run these parts.RelationshipThe addition of the new activity by vertical integration places the firm in competition with another player with which it needs to cooperate. The firm then may be viewed as a competitor rather than a partner. In addition, integrated firms must deal with transfer price dilemma which can create serious morale and other internal problemsFlexibility & product variety Vertical integration results in fixed sources of supplied and less flexibility in accommodation due to previous upstream or downstream investments. Furthermore, if significant in-house development is required, vertical integration will decrease ability to increase product variety.Effects of vertical integrationQuality Because firms can select raw materials by themselves, they have higher potential control of quality of products. Speed & Response timeFirms can control producing time more efficiently due to producing their raw materials by their own manufacture. Moreover, they will be free from transporting time limited.DependabilityFirms tend to more independent from supply chain. They do not have to care about supplier power which has ability to increase price or less productivity.FlexibilityThere are pros and con of vertical integration in flexibility. Firms have more flexibility in term of variety and differentiation but less flexibility in term of investment and accommodation as mentioned aboveCostFirms maybe have increasing cost of investment in short term but they will gain more overall benefits according to less cost such as overhead cost, transportation cost and taxes by reducing risk in long run.Vertical integration strategyWhen a firm decides to do a vertical integration it needs to formulate a strategy for this purpose .The strategy needs to focus on three main points which are 1. The direction of expansion - The firm needs to make a decision as to which direction will it focus to do its vertical integration whether it will go for a backward or a forward integration or both .This decision is important as the firm has to identify the link in the value chain, to which if the firm applies its vertical integration will benefit it the most .The direction of expansion is a very difficult one to decide as the manager of the firm would like to be close to the customer with forward integration and as well as save up on cost with the help of backward integration. . The extent of expansion - After its decision on the direction of expansion the firm also needs to decide in its vertical integration strategy as to what extent will it expand in that direction. This decision mainly focuses on the firms decision as to whether it would like to a total integration that is do everything in upstream/downstream or be specific in choosing the activities that It would like to do and also as this stage of decision the firm has to choose one of the methods of vertical integration mentioned above to achieve its integration plan. . The balance among the stages - After the above two decisions when the firm is in the process of doing a vertical integration it needs to focus and maintain a balance among different stages of vertical integration. This is a very crucial decision process and very tempting one too for the mangers as they realize the benefits of integration they want to go in to a complete integration and since the firm is new in the business it needs to be very careful and strike a balance between its core business and the one's its implementing in to its vertical integration .Forward integration at the hotel-The crowne plaza uses a similar forward integration to other hotels in the group through the internet. The crowne plaza uses its web sites such as www.ighplc.com and www.crowneplaza.com to get in direct touch with the customer in order to eliminate the travel agents during the choosing and booking process. Through the use of internet the hotel has a direct one to one interaction with its guests and gives them information as well as flexibility in choosing the dates, rooms & packages being offered by the hotel and at what prices. The internet booking process is fast, flexible and moreover less tedious and cumbersome when compared with the traditional booking process. With this forward integration it is beneficial to the guests in the way that they save money on calling up the travel agents and other additional costs for the hotels if they go through the middle men. This is all the benefits that the guests receive from forward integration what's in it for the hotel? The hotel has even larger benefits involved with the forward integration as the guests directly book with the hotel it saves the hotel on the margins it has to pay the travel agents and third party web sites this increases the contribution margin per guest and profitability of the hotel as a whole.The effect of forward integration can be better explained with the help of the table below. Backward integration at the hotelThe crowne plaza hotel currently has two major backward integration initiatives going with the help of its sister hotels of holiday inn.They are doing the backward integration with the help of other hotel group members because doing this individually can ask for huge amount of resources as well as it would help the over all initiative of the group to cater the guests with the same quality all around the world .Wine processing The wine processing the newest venture which the crowne plaza has entered in to . Right now the objective of the hotel is to import the grapes from France, Australia and use local Thai varieties to process the wine in Thailand so as to serve its guests high quality of wine at lower cost. Besides the high quality and lower cost the purpose of the initiative is to minimize the import duties it pays for the alcohol import. As the analysis of threats reveals that in the future the hotel has to work at higher cost and the same revenue due to competition this way of lowering cost is very significant and important for the hotels long run. There is also the benefit from the economies of scale which it will get from processing for all the group hotels in Thailand. Brochure printing This backward integration has been a part of crowne plaza for a long time now. The hotel in association with other group members does its own printing of brochures and other printing because the first impression it creates in the guests' mind is through the print material about the hotel. The hotel purchases the best quality paper and printing ink to make its brochures as it wants to maintain its quality and also compete with the other hotels brochures the management took the decision that it should take this part in its own hand. The designing too now is done by hired employees of the group. The concern here more on the quality than the cost but since there is always the bulk printing of the other group members and cost divided it automatically becomes very cost effective for the hotel. The printing factory is located in Bangkok and there is no big transportation cost incurred by the hotel. RECOMMENDATONThe growing yet competitive global economy necessitates businesses to continuously seek ways to execute more efficiently while delivering products or services to customer expectations of quality and timeliness. Hotels delivering services matching or exceeding customer expectation will be more likely to survive.1. The hotel should curb customer wait times at the airport. Communications and employee training were two factors to the process that would likely improve the process. Significant improvement was noted in operator courtesy and friendliness and decreased wait time. Allowing time to analyze processes within an operation can yield rapid improvements often without major financial expenditure. For example, many travelers can make up their mind to pick service or not.. Over the past year, the Hotel has been growing between 6 to 10 percent of revenue. The management is going to renovate the hotel to keep up with Hotel's competitors and reposition the property for the upscale market for leisure and business, therefore, keeping with hotel's steady growth. However, when the management focuses on upscale market, it means that the hotel will lose other customer group and some revenues. In the hotel business, there are high fixed costs such as employee salaries; then, the management should manage carefully.. The Hotel should have the strong relationship with travel agents. Tour operators, incoming operators and travel agency groups can play a very important role as coordinators and packagers of various destination-focused travel services. These entities have a great deal of experience developing and selling packaged travel. So, they are the major channel where the Hotel can communicate with customers. 4. Coordination as partnership is the right strategy in these difficult times. There has never been a better time to work together. The Hotel can develop joint product offerings and marketing with other travel players, such as air & hotel city packages, car & hotel (Avis and Ramada), rail &hotel, theater &hotel, etc. BibliographyBob Stein, Marketing in Action for hotels-motel-restaurants, Ahrens Publishing company, Inc., 171Robert D. Reid, Hospitality Marketing Management, nd edition, Van Notrand Reinhdd, 18Roger Doswell and Paul R. Gamble, Marketing & Planning / Hotels & Tourism Projects, Barrie & Jenkins Ltd., 17Tom Powers, Introduction to Management in the Hospitality Industry, 5th edition, John Wiley & sons, Inc., 15Willian S. Gray and Salvatore C. Liguori, Hotel and Motel management and operations, rd edition, Regents / Prentice Hall Prentice Hall, Inc., 14www.crowneplazabangkok.comwww.passionasia.comwww.thailandrooms.netwww.bangkok.thailandtoday.comwww.hotelpricechecker.comwww.bangkokhoteltravel.com Please note that this sample paper on Holiday Inn Crown Plaza Bangkok is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Holiday Inn Crown Plaza Bangkok, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Holiday Inn Crown Plaza Bangkok will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.


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Friday, October 23, 2020

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF FINANCIAL REPORTS

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I have examined the Profit and Loss Statements and Balance Sheets for the two-year period of 00 to 004. The following report will evaluate the firm's profitability, financial stability and aspects of management efficiency as measured by various financial ratios. Comparisons will be made where possible, both within the organisation and with the current industry averages. Recommendations will also be suggested for the areas in need of concern. FINANCIAL STABILITYThe current ratio measures the business's financial health, indicating if the business would be able to meet its current obligations by measuring if there are enough assets to cover the liabilities. For 00 and 004, the business's current ratio was 1.11, 0.1 respectively, both times above the industry average. However, although the current ratios for the two years were above the industry average, the common rule of thumb is 1. For 004, the ratio was below 11, and can therefore the current assets of the business would not be sufficient enough to pay current liabilities. This situation seems to have been brought about by the use of short-term funds to purchase a long-term asset the land and buildings. Such a practise is not desirable and could result in long-term problems for Mr Lee. The equity ratio measures the percentage of funds provided by owner. For 00, the funds provided from internal sources (the owner, i.e., Mr Robert Lee) were 4.44%. This figure indicates that Mr Lee was 4.6% above the industry average. The other funds must be debt funds that come from outside sources (liabilities). During 004, the equity ratio dropped to 40%, 1% below the industry average. It is a good time to borrow due to low interest rates and tax-deductible interest. Buy cheap ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF FINANCIAL REPORTS term paper


EARNING CAPACITYThe gross profit ratio measures the profit per dollar of sales. In the year 00, Robert Lee Enterprises produced 40.8% cents in every dollar of sales as gross profit. During the year 004, this figure dropped by .10% to 40.8% although the industry average dropped by %. Mr Lee will have to ensure that this figure does not decline in the following year, as this will signify a loss and will not even produce a return for the owner. This figure can be increased by improved sales and reducing the cost of goods sold. If the gross profit ratio continues to decline over a considerable period, Mr Lee should be highly concerned. To ensure that this is not the case, a price increase should be considered, or an advertising campaign to increase the sales. The net profit ratio measures the net profit per dollar of sales. For the year 00, the net profit was 8.85%, which was below the industry average of % by 0.15%. For the year 004, the net profit was 10.8%, 1.8% above the industry average for that year. It was also an increase of 1.8% on the year before compared to industry averages which remained the same. For the following year, pricing practices, selling techniques and expense control will have to be monitored closely. Other ways to improve this ratio is to increase revenue through prices or advertising, or decrease costs in any way possible, perhaps even to the extent of reducing staff.The rate of return on Owner's Equity for Robert Lee Enterprises was well above the industry averages for both 00 and 004. The rate of return on owner's equity measures the return on investment provided by the owners. In 00, the rate of return on owner's equity was 17.6%, with an increase of .16% to 1.85% for the year 004. This is an exceptional figure considering it is over 4% above the industry average and improved by % for the following year, whilst industry averages dropped by 1% to 1% for the year 004. As a result, this is proving to be a very good investment for the owner with return higher than bank interest rates and the share market. MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESSThe turnover of accounts receivable ratio indicates how quickly customers are paying the business. The greater the number of times the accounts receivable turn over throughout the year, the shorter the time between sales and cash collection. For 00, the inventory turned over 4.5 times, compared with the industry average of 6 times, 1.4 times below. For 004 however, the turnover increased to 6.1 times, 0. above the industry average of 5. times. The business's turnover of accounts receivable therefore resulted in an increase of 1.48% compared with a drop of 0.1% times in the industry. There has been an improvement from 4. to 5.8 times per year, i.e. an improvement from 84 days to 6 days turnover. As this is still slightly over a normal 60-day credit period, it is obvious that the implementation of credit or collection policies is not quite efficient enough and needs further action. Management has done well to reduce the turnover of Accounts Receivable, but must still monitor and continue to improve this area. The turnover of inventories ratio indicates how often a business' inventory turns over during the course of the year. In 00, the turnover of inventories was .07 times, below the industry average of .5 times. In 004, this figure increased to .5 times, although still below the industry average of . times. Between 00 and 004 there was a slight increase of 0., however compared to the industries average increased of 0.40 times, this is not significant enough. The change in ratio shows an improvement from .07 to .5 times per year, i.e. an improvement from 176 days to 104 days. This indicates that the overall level of the business activity has improved. Inventory is being used or sold more efficiently. A slow rate of turnover can lead to losses due to deterioration of inventory or the need to sell at a lower margin in order to move inventory. RECOMMENDATIONSAfter analysing the 00 and 004 Profit and Loss Statements and Balance Sheets for the two-year period, it appears that the business is moving in the right direction, but not without problems and dangers. Attention must be given to halting the trend in the indicators of the businesses short-term financial stability. Further increase in sales activity is necessary, in particular cash sales so that the business is able to generate better cash flow and turnover of inventories. The most important aspect that Mr Lee should investigate is increasing the current ratio, otherwise the business will have to obtain finance from outside sources or liquidate some non-current assets. The credit policy of Robert Lee Enterprises should also be investigated in order to strengthen the procedures currently in place. The turnover of accounts receivable and cash flow and to minimise bad debts should also be a priority. To enhance future performance, Robert Lee Enterprises should consider expanding their distributive area, either expanding to cover a larger area in Queensland or look at inter-state selling. The sales team should consider a mail-out of the brochures to cover more area in a smaller amount of time. This would reduce the deterioration on the vehicles and allow more time to be spent on taking orders. Follow-up calls and weekly/fortnightly mail outs would have to make, but this will save time that would otherwise be spent on travelling, depreciation on vehicles and general expenses such as fuel. A web-site may be another way of reaching a larger market. It is evident that Mr Lee is a very intelligent businessman. The sales figure for 00 was $5000, and this increased in 1-year to $70000. This $00,000 increase however, was not followed through to the net profit. Mr Lee has purchased motor vehicles (the account increased by $0000), as well as Buildings and Land (totalling $10,000). In the beginning of 004, there was an extraordinary expense, fire damage, but this $18000 can be expected to appear the following year, as an insurance claim should have been claimed, and the insurance company should cover the fire damage. The management of Robert Lee Enterprises has done well with improvements in most areas although it still has some challenging tasks ahead of it.


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Monday, October 19, 2020

Cost/Benefit

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AbstractThis paper presents a cost-benefit analysis approach devised to conduct project evaluation in conditions of limited analyst time, research budget and data availability. The emphasis is on discarding economically viable from unviable projects rather than on arriving at a precise return figure. The paper starts by setting out the theoretical background regarding the identification and measurement of project benefits. It then presents a practical approach to measure such benefits in projects involving the expansion of passenger capacity and, subsequently, those aimed at expanding aircraft capacity. Projects for the freight market and the estimation of airport costs are both treated separately. Keywords airports, cost-benefit analysis, infrastructure, transportJEL codes D61, H4, H54, R41


The authors gratefully acknowledge comments by M. Hansen (Institute of Transportation Studies, U.C. Berkeley), by M. Turró, P. Boeuf and A. Lynch from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and by participants at the EIB internal seminar on cost-benefit analysis of airport infrastructure investment. The views presented in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the EIB or institutions to whom the authors are affiliated.1. Introduction The main issues in the economic evaluation of airport projects are common to all cost-benefit analysis of major transport investments. The basic comparison of social benefits and costs and the criteria and procedures to avoid errors and biases are not significantly different the definition of the base case; the identification and measurement of relevant effects; the use of appropriate parameter values; and the prevention of double or triple counting (see for example Adler, 187; Mackie and Preston, 18; Boardman et al, 16; and Gramlich, 10)Airport investments are centers of thriving retailing activity, and projects with a sound financial performance might not be considered as good from a broader economic perspective. This paper is concerned with the cost-benefit analysis of airport infrastructure. The principle underlying the paper is that airport investments are to be assessed as transport infrastructure improvements aimed at addressing a demand for transportation. The analysis should therefore focus on the impact of the investment on the generalized cost of travel for the users and on the costs of supplying the transportation service, including both airport and airline costs.The methodology proposed in this paper is aimed to help the practical application of cost-benefit analysis for a project analyst facing limited availability of data and a short period of time for issuing an opinion, a situation faced by many analysts in government and international agencies. Also, the political context within which project appraisal is carried out in practice and the uncertainties it is subject to (see Turró, 1) can make a quick, low cost assessment valuable. The emphasis is placed in the consistency of decision criteria across projects as to whether a given project is a "good" or "bad" investment, rather than on the detailed accuracy of the estimates of project returns.The approach must be workable, meaning both that it must be pragmatic about data availability, and that it must be consistent with the limited resources usually available for project appraisal. When the full appraisal option is not possible (a full cost-benefit analysis with surveys of local conditions) the approach to be followed has to rely on data readily available from the majority of airport operators. There are significant differences in data availability across promoters of airport projects, and the methodology should be sufficiently flexible to allow application across projects in order to ensure consistency of decision making. This paper does not deal with safety, security or environmental impacts, and it is conceived for "incremental projects". Strategic projects with broader objectives like "social and economic cohesion" or "national competitiveness" with controversial indirect effects are not suitable for conventional cost-benefit analysis and are prone to overestimating net social benefits (see for example Phang, 00; van Exel et al, 00) The paper does not pretend to measure strategic investments based on the presumed impact of the investment on the regional economy. Evaluating airport investments in terms of maximizing regional development would require a comparison of the regional impact of airport investment with investment in other sectors, such as manufacturing, education or health. In any case, it should be noted that the economic return of the project provides, in most cases, a good indication of the project's impact on the regional economy. This is because the willingness to pay for travel reflects the gross economic benefit generated by the trip. Revenues from non-aviation activities - mainly retailing, but also land rental for other industrial activities, should not be counted as economic benefits resulting from the airport investment . However, estimating such revenues is necessary in the appraisal process to estimate the financial return of the project and to gauge the necessary adjustments to aeronautical charges in the airport following project implementation.Sections and provide the theoretical basis for the appraisal framework subsequently proposed. Section is concerned with the theory of economic evaluation of airport projects, and section with the theory for the measurement of the various benefits. Sections 4 to 7 are concerned with the practical application of the framework. Section 4 and 5 address appraisal of landside and airside investments, respectively. Section 6 deals with the special case of freight transport. Section 7 addresses the estimation of airport operating costs. Finally, section 8 draws some concluding remarks about the approach presented.. The economic evaluation of airport projectsThe economic rationale of public investment decisions concerning whether a project should be implemented, or which projects should be selected subject to a given budget constraint, requires identifying and measuring the benefits and costs during the life of the project and calculating the net present value of this flow of net benefits.An essential element in evaluating the economic benefits of a project is the definition of the alternative to the project, the "without project" scenario. There are two elements in this respect. Firstly, what would happen to existing infrastructure. In the case of repair projects, which involve bringing existing infrastructure back into normal operative conditions, the "without project" scenario would be that no further investments are made and that the airport will progressively degrade into inoperability. If the project consists of capacity expansion, then the "without project" scenario should include all necessary investments to maintain operative the existing level of capacity.The second element is the institutional constraints present in the market. These may involve government, airport or airline policies which would place additional conditions on the definition of the "with project" and "without project" scenarios. For example, faced with runway constraints, an airline dominating an airport may not want to increase aircraft size and may prefer to let yields rise instead. There may also be environmental constraints, as when there is a cap on aircraft movements below the notional capacity of a runway. These constraints are very much project-specific, and the project analyst must incorporate them into the evaluation exercise accordingly, by making ad hoc adjustments to the scenarios..1. Economic benefits of airport infrastructureThe economic benefits derived from investment in airport infrastructure cannot be identified with the revenues obtained by the airport authority and retailing firms with commercial operations in the airports. Airport infrastructure devoted to meet transportation demand can be divided into landside and airside. Normally, airside involves infrastructure beyond security check points, where only passengers or authorised personnel can access. Landside involves infrastructure before that. For the purposes of this paper, airside is taken to mean infrastructure to process aircraft; whereas landside would involve infrastructure to process passengers or cargo. This latter division is more meaningful in the current context, as it draws the line by type of economic impact, as will be seen further down in the paper.Airside projects are geared to increase the capacity of the airport to handle aircraft movements. Projects involve new runways or the widening or lengthening of existing ones; taxiways to increase the capacity of existing runways; apron space to expand aircraft parking capacity; or aircraft traffic control at the airport or in the airport's vicinity. Landside projects aim at expanding the airport's capacity to handle passenger and freight. Projects could involve expanding capacity of cargo or passenger terminals; improving access to terminals through parking facilities or rail stations; and enhancing product quality through increased use of jetways to access aircraft. Projects can involve any combination of these items or, ultimately, the construction of entirely new airports.The sources of benefits of investing in landside capacity are threefold. Firstly, the avoidance of traffic being diverted to alternative travel arrangements that impose additional generalised cost of transportation to the passenger or freight customer. Secondly, by relieving congestion in terminals, passenger or freight process - or throughput - time is reduced, hence contributing further to a decrease in the generalised cost of travel. And thirdly, in the case of investing on contact stands (i.e. those equipped with jetways) in passenger terminals, comfort to passengers is increased by avoiding bus trips or walks to and from remote aircraft stands.Investment on the airside will produce two potential benefits. First, enhanced airside capacity will enable an increase in the frequency of departure and range of routes from the airport. This will yield the benefit of reducing the frequency delay, as well as potentially the trip duration, both of which contributing to a reduction in the generalised cost of transport. Second, airside investments may speed the processing time for aircraft, reducing operating costs to airlines.The benefits derived from airside and landside projects can be summarized into four categories first, reductions in travel, access and waiting time; secondly, improvements in service reliability and predictability; thirdly, reduction in operating costs; and finally, increases in traffic.Regarding reduction in travel, access and waiting time, infrastructure investments may lead to faster or more frequent services, or to alleviate congestion, or to generate some network effects. The final effects translate into lower generalized cost of travel. When capacity is not enough to match demand at a given level of prices, it may happen that investment in additional capacity would not alleviate congestion, but accommodate latent demand for that particular airport, which was previously served at a less convenient alternative. This is the concept of scarcity (Starkie, 188; Nash and Samson, 1) useful to account for the important fact of ex ante matching of supply and demand through administrative procedures. Scarcity applies to transport infrastructure with non-random entry and where the different operators have access to the system through a coordinated scheme. Theoretically, demand cannot exceed capacity. Unattended demand at given prices is reflected in scarcity. Nevertheless, with tight schedules, system overloads due to flight delays generate congestion as the required rescheduling to accommodate the delayed flights impose changes in departing or arrival times for other flights. Scarcity is possible without congestion when the airport authority is not charging a market clearing price for the available slots and the number of slots give enough slack to accommodate timing problems without system overloads.Investment in transport infrastructure can improve service reliability and predictability and this is converted in lower generalised costs for travellers or lower operating costs for firms using air transport services.Other projects allow the introduction of more efficient technologies or facilitate a better use of those in use, resulting in a reduction in operating costs (lower cost per seat associated with more efficient aircrafts, handling equipment, etc.)Finally, the reduction in costs for passengers and firms could lead to an increase in traffic. This is what it is known as induced traffic, with two basic types deviated and generated.The agents directly affected by these economic benefits are the following airport users, airlines, firms operating at the airport or providing services to the airport, airport authority and taxpayers. Other agents can be affected indirectly through substitutive and complementary cross effects in secondary markets. The importance of these effects in terms of the economic evaluation of the project depends heavily on the existence of distortions in the economy and the magnitude of the cross effects . .. Net Present Value (NPV) of the investmentThe NPV of an investment in transport infrastructure can be expressed as (1) whereI investment costs T project life∆CSt change in consumer surplus in year t∆PSt change in producer surplus in year ti discount rateThe change in consumer surplus can be estimated with "the rule of a half" () wheregt0 generalized cost in year t without the investment gt1 generalized cost in year t with the investment qt0 airport users in year t without the investment qt1 airport users in year t with the investment p price per trip inclusive of airport charges, airline ticket, access and egress money costs@ value of total trip time (flying, access, egress and waiting) The change in producer surplus (for any of the affected producers) is equal to ()where and denote total variable costs without the project and with the project.Changes in producer surplus require estimating incremental revenues and costs for the airport authority, for airlines and other companies directly affected by the project. The degree of market power in the airline industry and other economic activities directly affected by the project will determine who is the final beneficiary of the cost saving or the increase in frequency or service reliability.When markets are competitive, producer surplus remains unchanged. Passengers and consumers served by companies benefiting from the cost reduction will increase their surpluses through lower prices and higher levels of service. However, this is not always the case with the airport authority which enjoys some market power by being the only provider of aeronautical services within a given area. Such an operator, once the project has been implemented, has to set prices above avoidable costs to recover the investment.There are two ways of approaching the economic appraisal exercise the social surplus approach, and the resource use or resource cost approach. The social surplus approach consists of the direct calculation of changes in consumer and producer surpluses. This requires identifying changes in prices, costs and revenues with and without the new airport infrastructure. The alternative approach to estimating the economic benefit of the project consists in looking at the changes in real resources, ignoring transfers. Even in the case of positive airport authority surplus it is possible to concentrate in resource costs as shown below. So, instead of looking at the changes in social surplus, we focus measurement in real resource costs changes ignoring revenues from existing traffic. In this approach one should take especial care when changes in quality occur, and with the treatment of taxes and incremental revenue in generated traffic.When markets are competitive and incremental revenues equal incremental costs for airlines and other firms, it is possible to measure the benefits of generated traffic by measuring the savings in resource costs. In the case of taxes, this shortcut is also feasible as long as there is a general indirect taxation in the rest of the economy. The net increase in tax paid to the government could be too insignificant to justify further effort (Abelson and Hensher, 001).The resource cost approach does not account for quality changes (e.g. comfort) and additional measurement should be made to avoid the understatement of user benefits when significant quality changes are part of the project. The measurement of benefits and costs requires estimating airport demand for the project life. Let us assume that the base demand level is known and equal to q0 and the annual growth rate is /. The annual airport demand for airport, assuming no changes in generalised costs is (4)It is worth noting that Qt is the number of users willing to pay, at the existing price, for the use of the airport in year t, and qt0 and qt1 in () and () are the equilibrium quantities in year t without and with the investment. We assume that the evaluating agency knows the annual demand growth and needs to work out the equilibrium quantities to estimate the change in social surplus (or resource cost). . Identification of benefits from airport infrastructure investment.1 Benefits without rationingAssuming that the market is competitive and leaving aside the measurement of service reliability and predictability, the economic benefit of the investment can be determined through the reduction in resource costs. Let us consider a project in airport infrastructure which implies a reduction in total trip time (@1- @0), and assume that prices do not change. Figure 1. Users benefits Figure 1 represents the stylized case of this type of investment, in landside infrastructure, which eventually leads to higher capacity. Generalized costs and willingness to pay for airport services are measured in the vertical axis and the demand per unit of time (e.g. hour, peak period, day or year) in the horizontal axis. Initial capacity allows attending a maximum of qa users per period of time at a constant generalized cost equal to g0. The average generalized cost function C shows that once the critical level qa is reached, a new increase in traffic is only possible, within existing capacity, at a higher average cost. Initially the airport demand in a particular period of time has an imperfect substitute (another less convenient flight, airport or mode of transport) available at a generalized cost of g1, higher than g0) nevertheless, as demand is D0, all the users willing to pay g0 will be attended. Demand growth is expected to be equal to / and according to (4) the level of demand in the following period is Qt. Depending on which cost (go or g1) applies, Qt would be fully attended at the project airport (Qt=qd), or partially at this airport (Qt=qb) with some deviated traffic to second best alternatives (qc-qb) and some deterred traffic (qd-qc). The situation with the project is characterized in the figure with the possibility of maintaining go as the generalized cost when demand has shifted to Dt, Qt =qd. The situation without the project is also with a level de demand equal to Dt, but with an equilibrium demand quantity of qb qd. Once the equilibrium level of demand with and without the project has been determined, we can proceed to evaluate the economic benefit of the investment project.Three categories of benefits can be identified in figure 1 (i) Benefits to existing users (qb)(ii) Benefits from avoided diversion costs (qc-qb)(iii) Benefits from generated traffic (qd-qc)Benefits to current users are equal to (g1-g0)qb, because the maximum number of the airport users (qb) is now determined by the outside alternative with lower cost than the airport equilibrium with demand D0.Benefits from avoided diversion costs are equal to (g1-g0)(qc-qb). Passengers in the segment qc-qb will deviate to less preferred alternatives. The diversion could be in time, when passengers are forced to change to less convenient departure times, or in mode when the passenger has to use an alternative airport or mode of transport .User benefits from generated traffic are equal to 0.5(g1-g0)(qd-qc). Contemplated from the perspective of forecasted future demand Qt, this benefit can equivalently be interpreted as deterred traffic avoided thanks to the investment. It is important to notice that additional benefits (taxes and revenues above incremental costs) could be associated with deviated and generated traffic. The previous analysis ignores two important facts firstly, the existence of administrative rationing and different generalized cost for existing and deviated travelers; and secondly, the possibility of insufficient capacity to meet demand during the project lifetime.. Benefits with rationingIn figure 1 it was assumed that the number of airport users in equilibrium was determined by the intersection of the average generalized cost function and the generalized cost (g1) of an imperfect substitute (another less convenient flight, airport or mode of transport) and hence the generalized cost at the base case was identical for existing and deviated users. This is not usually the case when capacity rationing applies. Figure shows the standard case of different generalized costs for existing and diverted users. The situation with the project is identical to figure 1, but the situation without the project is quite different qb is now determined through slot allocation and hence the generalized cost of existing traffic has to be lower (g') than the second best alternative. This way, the generalized cost of deviated traffic is higher (or equal in an extreme case) than the generalized cost of existing traffic. Scarcity without the project results in some deviated traffic to second best alternatives (qc-qb) and some deterred traffic (qd-qc). The comparison with and without the project leads to the following benefitsBenefits to current users are equal to (g'- g0)qb, strictly lower than without administrative rationing. Benefits from avoided diversion costs are equal to (qc-qb) (g1-g0), which are strictly higher than those reflected in figure 1 as (qc-qb) is now strictly higher . User benefits from generated traffic are similar.The comparison between the situations reflected in figures 1 and also shows the interesting possibility of improving the results without implementing the project when congestion is above the optimal level. A Pareto improvement results without the project through a rationing of capacity. Another insight from the comparison of figures 1 and is that the benefits of the airport infrastructure project appear to be substantially higher in figure 1 than in figure , highlighting the importance of a clear definition of the base case. Figure . User benefits with administrative rationing of capacity. Capacity constraintDuring the lifetime of the project it might occur that demand in some year t is above the baseline identified in figure 1 with a generalized cost equal to g0. This is a quite realistic case during a typical project life of 15 or 0 years.Figure illustrates a situation during the project life, in which demand Qt cannot be met at a constant cost g0 but at a higher cost, due to the presence of congestion. This could happen because of indivisibilities in airport investment. It may be optimal not to invest in additional capacity during some years, and hence the case represented in figure is compatible with the assumption of perfect information on demand. Figure . User benefits with administrative rationing and congestionIn this case, benefits from capacity expansion are lower than those described in figure 1. The reduction in the generalized cost of using the airport is now lower and so is the generated traffic. The generalized cost for existing traffic remains at g'. Benefits come from diversion costs avoided, equal to (g1-g')(qe-qb). No deterred traffic exists in this case. Project benefits are definitely lower when supply and demand conditions are similar to those represented in figure lower demand at equilibrium and smaller cost reduction.The graphical analysis shows the user benefits we have to measure to work out whether the investment is socially profitable time savings for existing passengers, diversion cost avoided and the consumer surplus of generated travel.We have assumed that the economic effects of the investment were limited to user time savings and therefore leaving the producer surpluses of airport authority, airlines and other firms constant. Investment in airport infrastructure can change operating costs and revenue of airport authority, airlines and other firms, so we need to generalize the previous graphical analysis based in the resource cost approach to the case of a positive airport authority surplus. For simplicity, we keep the assumption that cost reduction accruing to airlines will finally benefit consumers through lower prices.Without rationing, from () and (), and disaggregating existing and generated traffic, the change in social surplus with the project in year t is equal to (5)Given that , and rearranging (5), social surplus can be expressed as (6)Following (6) the benefit of the project for current users is equal to total time cost savings. In the case of generated passengers, only half of that amount should be accounted for, plus the average of ex ante and ex post airport charge per trip. Time diversion cost savings are treated in (6) as existing traffic (conditions in figure 1) and the full difference in trip time applies .With rationing, condition (6) has to be modified to account for possible differences in time savings between existing and diverted traffic, as happens to be the case in figures and . The conditions prevailing in figure requires to calculate the first term of (6) twice, one for existing traffic and another for deviated traffic. With figure () the calculus is straightforward as the same time saving apply for all traffic and no deterred traffic exists..4 Additional considerations for airside investmentsAn increase in airport capacity in terms of the aircraft movements it can handle has three effects. Firstly, it enables an increase in the potential passenger and freight capacity. Secondly, it makes it possible to increase flight frequency, benefiting all passengers traveling through the airport. These benefits result from the greater choice of departure time, and consist of reductions in the "frequency delay", which is the difference between the passengers' preferred departure time and the nearest departure time available. Thirdly, for a given amount of traffic as frequency increases there can be a change in the average size of aircrafts using the airport. This has implications for airline operating costs because larger aircraft are, to a certain extent, cheaper to operate on a per seat basis than smaller aircraft . Figure 4. Benefits from airside investmentIndivisibilities in airport expansions imply that runway capacity cannot increase linearly with traffic. As a runway handles more passengers, it will eventually have to handle larger aircraft. When a new runway is built, two effects may bring about reductions in average aircraft size. Firstly, airlines would tend to compete for time sensitive business travelers by increasing flight frequency, which will tend to take place with smaller aircraft. Secondly, new airlines will enter the airport, developing new routes, also normally with smaller aircraft.Should a new runway not be built, airlines will be forced to operate with bigger aircraft in order to accommodate growing traffic. Hence, the decision to invest in a new runway will have to consider the possible trade off between, on the one hand, reduced frequency delay at a higher cost per seat if the runway is built and, on the other hand, keeping frequency delay constant at a lower cost per seat if the runway is not built.This trade-off is illustrated in Figure 4. The left-hand vertical axis measures currency units and the right hand-side vertical axis the inverse of average aircraft size (AS). The horizontal axis measures departure frequency. The marginal frequency delay schedule (FD) denotes the inverse relationship between departure frequency and generalized cost. An increase in the value of time would shift the schedule upwards.The marginal airport costs schedule (Ca) denotes constant returns to scale. The marginal total cost schedule (C) includes both airport and aircraft costs. With respect to the right hand side vertical axis, C reflects the inverse relationship between departure frequency and aircraft size and, with respect to the left hand side vertical axis C reflects the direct relationship between departure frequency and unit cost per seat. When total traffic grows, for a given level of frequency, aircraft size will have to increase, reducing marginal cost per seat, rotating the C curve downwards, clockwise .In the example illustrated in figure 4, runway 1 has a capacity for aircraft movements of f1. Building a second runway would enable an increase in frequency to f. At f1 the cost imposed on the passenger by the frequency delay is fd1, higher than marginal operating costs of c1. Airlines hence have an incentive to increase frequency at the expense of aircraft size, as passenger willingness to pay for en extra frequency is higher than the marginal cost associated with reducing aircraft size. Equilibrium would be reached at point b, where frequency is f' and where fd' is equal to c'.The benefits of building a new runway, enabling an increase in departure frequency, will be equal to the area abd. Moreover, the passing of time will bring about two effects traffic grows, shifting the C schedule downwards; and the value of time increases with growing income, shifting the FD schedule upwards. These two effects would expand the area abd from all of its three corners, meaning that the benefit of building a new runway increases with time. The economic returns from investing on a new runway are determined by the present value of the future stream of benefits as determined by the area abd in each year, and by the present value of the capital investment required for the new runway. Until point b exceeds the capacity of runway , there will be no benefit from building a third runway.4. Applied measurement of benefits from investment in airport landside4.1 Expansion of landside capacityAirport infrastructure usage experiences marked peaks and troughs, which follow time of day, day of the week and month of the year patterns. Figure 5 provides an indication of the degree of variability of capacity requirements placed on airport infrastructure throughout the year. It displays the Flow Distribution Curve (FDC) for a hypothetical typical airport. The FDC ranks all 8,760 hours of the year by passenger throughput. Figure 5. Flow Distribution Curve for a hypothetical airportThis pattern of demand means that the terminal is underused for a significant portion of time. In principle, terminal capacity could be increased - and a more economically efficient operation could be achieved - by flattening the FDC, for instance through pricing policy. Airport charges should differ between peak and off-peak periods either through a differentiated pricing system or by a market-driven slot allocation. In practice, almost always a flat charge is applied, increasing the peaks in demand above efficient levels .Terminals are designed to be able to process a target hourly throughput with a given level of service. The objective is to strike a balance between the need to address traffic peaks, and the need to minimize unused capacity during throughput troughs. This implies that the terminal needs to supply a level of service that is acceptable "most of the time".There is not a single criterion to set the hourly throughput target for terminal design. Some alternatives include· the Standard Busy Rate, taken to be the thirtieth busiest hour;· the fortieth busiest hour;· the 5% Busy Hour Rate, defined as the throughput level which the 5% of passengers traveling during the busiest hours find as a minimum throughput level in the terminal (see Figure 1, where the area under the FDC and left of the doted line corresponds to 5% of total traffic); and· measures of the type "busiest hour in the second busiest month".At the target level of throughput, a standard of service is defined. The Airports Council International (ACI) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have defined a scale of service standards, in terms of space available per occupant at various locations in the terminal. These standards are shown on Table 1. Trespassing the minimum limits imposed by level E would take the terminal to level F, considered as "system breakdown". It is important to underline that the actual capacity of the terminal in terms of passenger throughput per hour is determined by the maximum capacity of the "weakest point" along the passenger processing chain. So, an otherwise A-level terminal with C-level hold room standards, can only be expected to be able to handle the amount of passenger throughput under C-level terminal standards, with a minimum C-level service quality standard. Table 1. ACI / IATA Level of service space standard (m/pax) A B C D ECheck-in queue area 1.8 1.6 1.4 1. 1.0Wait/circulate area .7 . 1. 1.5 1.0Hold room 1.4 1. 1.0 0.8 0.6Bag claim area .0 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.Gov. inspection services 1.4 1. 1.0 0.8 0.6Difference to C 5% 18% 0% -18% -6% Excluding luggage conveyor belt. Source ACI / IATA.The extent to which passenger diversion takes each of its possible forms- diversion in time or in mode is very much case dependent. It varies according to the shape of the FDC at the airport, passenger profile in terms of trip purpose, alternative transport means available, and the scheduling practices of airlines operating at the airport. Estimating diversion at an airport with precision can potentially be a complex process. In many cases the analyst does not have the required information readily available, and assembling it would require significant analysis costs.A workable alternative would be for the analyst to use a set of generic rules that can be adjusted to each particular project. A general rule of thumb followed in the industry is that a C-level terminal will start experiencing significant traveller diversion when traffic exceeds design annual throughput capacity by about a third. As shown in Table 1, this roughly coincides with the average difference in space requirements between service level C and the lower limit of service level E. In view of this, it would be possible to take ACI/IATA service standard criterion as a proxy index of spare capacity before diversion takes place. It could be assumed that all forecasted potential throughput exceeding such a threshold would experience diversion. The percentage assumed for A-level terminals would be higher (some 50-60%) and for E-level designs lower (say, some 5%).Diversion can be measured in equivalent time terms, and its cost calculated using published value of time estimates. One approach would be to take an average diversion time for all diverted passengers. It can be further assumed that all diversion would be equally resource consuming, and hence should be treated equally. The average time could be set at two hours for both diversion in time and in mode. Regarding diversion in time, peak periods in airport activity extend for 1 to hours. It is reasonable to assume that in cases of scarcity, where rationing is necessary, flight schedules would have to be displaced by 1 to hours, the average being around hours. As for diversion in mode, two hours drive is deemed a reasonable additional access or egress time to an alternative airport, or longer travelling time if the trip is carried out on an alternative transport mode. If, for a particular project, circumstances dictate that such assumptions are unreasonable, the analyst can adjust them accordingly.This diverted traffic is equal to qc-qb in Figure . The two hours worth of passenger time corresponds to g1-g0 in the vertical axis. This corresponds to the difference in generalised cost with respect to the best alternative available to diverted traffic, whether to an alternative transport mode or airport (diversion in mode) or to an alternative, less preferred, departure time from the same airport (diversion in time).Only when for a specific project circumstances suggest that the overall cost of diversion would be significantly different for time or mode diversion, and when a reasonably accurate estimate could be formulated as to what proportions would each diversion take, would there be a case for treating them differently. The typical case would be when the alternative mode of transport poses a very large time penalty on the passenger, such as in islands. There the two-hour rule must be substituted by the time the passenger must invest in traveling on the alternative mode. If this is far too high, such as remote oceanic islands, then the assumed diversion in time per passenger could be increased.In estimating future traffic, the analyst will start with existing traffic levels - the only hard evidence regarding demand available to the analyst - and, as mentioned in Section ., it is very important to define very clearly what the situation of this existing traffic is regarding generalized cost. Throughput projections will normally have to be made for 0 to 5 years, and to do this the analyst must follow long-term air traffic projections, normally supplied in the form of average yearly growth rates. The critical issue when applying such growth rates to existing traffic is determining any possible changes in the generalized cost of travel to existing airport users after the project is implemented. If there are significant changes, then generated traffic might be significant and particular attention must be placed to its estimation.Normally, new capacity will be opened before scarcity or congestion becomes serious. If so, existing traffic at the time of project appraisal will be experiencing a generalized cost of or close to g0 in Figure . In this case, throughput on each subsequent year after project implementation can be estimated using long-term air traffic projections. These projections can be taken to include traffic that in the absence of the project would have been deviated or deterred. For ease of calculation, when estimating the welfare loss resulting from the "without project" scenario, both types of traffic can be treated equivalently and estimated jointly, as the resulting error will be small compared to the uncertainties regarding long-term traffic, anyway. It should be noted that this does not mean that the estimation excludes generated traffic, but only that both deviated and generated are taken to be included in the long-term traffic growth estimate.However, if at the time of the appraisal the airport is operating with significant rationing, then existing traffic would be experiencing a generalized cost akin to g' in Figure . If so, applying the long-term traffic growth to the years immediately following the opening of the additional capacity could result in a substantial underestimate, as the sudden decline in generalized cost of users will bring about significant generated traffic. The same applies to a situation without rationing but where the project still produces a lower generalized cost relative to that of existing traffic. An example is when the project attracts new services by no-frill airlines.In these cases, generated and deviated should not be estimated jointly. The proposed method to calculate generated traffic would be to, firstly, estimate the difference in generalized cost between existing traffic and future traffic at the margin (that is, g1-g0 or g'-g0, depending on conditions at the airport, in Figure ), and then applying an elasticity of about1, common in aviation. 4. Improvement of landside qualityTwo key variables in determining the quality experienced by the passenger on a terminal are congestion in the terminal, and the quality of access facilities to aircraft, as defined primarily through the availability of jetways.Congested terminals experience longer queues and more disruption to the flow of passengers within the building. Hence, whereas terminals can handle more traffic than they are designed for until they reach ACI/IATA level F, on the process, time delays are experienced. This corresponds to g'-g0 in Figure , which is the additional passenger throughput time resulting from congestion, multiplied by average passenger value of time. In the absence of detailed congestion data, one approach for ensuring comparability across projects in project appraisal would be to set a single cost per passenger for all projects. A reasonable approximation to actual time penalty would be a cost per passenger of, say, 15 minutes worth of passenger time.Some passenger terminal projects have as a central objective an improvement in the quality of service offered to the passenger via increasing the proportion of contact stands relative to remote stands. Such investments involve significant costs and do not increase terminal capacity. Benefits of the investment consist entirely of increased comfort to passengers.There is no readily available evidence on the academic literature on passenger willingness to pay for contact stands. In the absence of studies, the analyst can make a judgmental estimate and apply it consistently across projects. A suggested approach is to take a value of EUR 5-10 for tourist traffic, and double that for business traffic.Contact and remote stands also differ in the type of operating costs involved. Contact stands require bus shuttling, while contact stands normally require aircraft towing vehicles, as well as maintenance, lighting and heating of jetways. These costs are similar in magnitude and any difference should have only a marginal impact on estimated project returns. Hence, for simplicity during appraisal, it could be assumed that the difference in costs between remote and contact stands consist only of infrastructure construction costs.In order to keep the project appraisal as simple as possible, it is suggested that the comfort benefit provided by contact stands is only included explicitly on the appraisal exercise when the project at hand is highly geared towards increasing comfort. When projects involving new terminals do not significantly alter the proportion of contact stands in the airport, the project can be considered as a capacity expansion using the same production technology. If such proportion increases significantly, then there is also a quality enhancement element on the project, involving an upward shift on the airport's cost curve. The inclusion of comfort benefits in the appraisal exercise is a means to register the rationale behind such a shift.5. Applied measurement of benefits from investment in airport airsideSome projects may yield a disproportionate increase in airside (i.e. aircraft movement) capacity relative to the increase in landside (i.e. passenger or freight throughput) capacity. Airside capacity is determined by runways, taxiways and apron space. As with terminals, the actual hourly capacity of an airport's airside infrastructure is determined by the capacity of the weakest of these three levels. The exception being a possible partial substitutability between taxiways and apron space, in that the latter can handle "virtual queues" until taxiways are decongested. Investment aimed at alleviating an airside bottleneck could trigger large increases in the ability of the airport to handle aircraft movements.Improvements in departure frequency can be valued in terms of changes in frequency delay. Whereas studies explicitly using frequency delay are rare, the most widely quoted estimates of a delay function is that by Douglas and Miller (174), as followsFd = (F-.456)whereFd frequency delayF departure frequencyDouglas and Miller (174) acknowledge that the actual delay is affected by scheduling practices, not picked in the formula. However, they underline that the value of the formula does not reside in estimating absolute values of delay, but rather in estimating changes in delay, and that for this latter purpose chances of estimation bias are lower. Changes in delay are governed by the estimated elasticity of0.456.Changes in average frequency delay can be computed by referring to the average departure frequency per route in the airport, a figure that should be readily available for most airport operators, including those with poor data resources. The extent to which frequency delay changes over time will depend on how fast departure frequency increases. As a rule for a simplified type of project appraisal, it can be assumed that if movement capacity increases in line with passenger capacity, average aircraft size should remain the same. Frequency should then increase in line with traffic. In practice there could be more than proportionate increases in frequency during the first few years following project implementation, as airlines rush to secure runway slots. The rule reflects a long-run equilibrium.If the increase in aircraft movement capacity were to be lesser than the increase in passenger capacity, then aircraft size would increase in the long run. Changes in aircraft size would bring about changes in operating costs, as larger aircraft are cheaper to operate on a per seat basis than smaller aircraft. The average cost per seat per trip for a mid-size aircraft, such as the Airbus A-0 is € 51. Aircraft cost per seat is related to aircraft size by an elasticity in the region of0.5. The impact of a change in average aircraft size on operating costs could be made by applying the0.5 elasticity to cost per seat values based on the € 51 benchmark figure.An additional element to take into account regarding investments on the airside is the impact that changes in aircraft operating procedures have on costs. To the extent that there is a significant change in airline operating costs as a result of the project, these should be included as a welfare change. Changes in aircraft operating costs could result from various sources, including changes in approach traffic patterns, ground taxiing requirements and turnaround times allowed by the new facilities. Each project will have different impacts on these factors. A common denominator for these factors can be to convert them into time savings and then translating them into a total cost figure through data on costs per aircraft block-hour. A workable way of including these factors into the project appraisal exercise would then be(i) considering only situations where the project will produce significant changes in aircraft operating costs; and(ii) using an average figure for cost per block-hour which can be easily adjustable in situations where the aircraft operations differ significantly from the average.The suggested approach is to use the A-0 benchmark mentioned above. The aircraft's cost per block-hour is estimated at EUR ,50. Adjustments for airports with a significantly different aircraft profile such as in projects on regional airports would be made following the0.5 elasticity of operating costs with respect to aircraft size already mentioned.As in all other aspects of the practical framework here proposed, the analyst should be aware of institutional constraints facing the airport and its users which may condition the "with project" and "without project" scenarios. In the case of airside investments, one key concern is the extent to which it is realistic to expect an increase in aircraft size. In highly competitive markets, particularly in competition between hubs, airlines may demand more runways as a way to compete on frequency. To the extent that one airline is constrained in terms of number of runways and other competitors are not, forcing that one airline only to increase aircraft size may distort competition in the airline market. Moreover, the airline may go on to develop a second hub in another alternative airport instead of increasing aircraft size. So, in the case of a project consisting of building a new runway, the analyst may adjust its "without project" scenario by capping the extent to which the airline would increase the size of its aircraft below what would be technically feasible.6. The treatment of airfreightThe European air freight market is very competitive. Operators compete on price and quality, normally with very narrow operating margins. Freight is less speed demanding and more flexible regarding traveling times than passengers. Also, aviation carries goods with a relatively high value to weight ratio, where transport costs are a relatively low proportion of the final price of the good. These characteristics encourage competition in two ways First, it widens the catchment area of the various freight terminals relative to passenger catchment areas. Second, it enables more inter-modal competition than in the passenger sector.Hence, demand is little dependent on a single project, as capacity constraints in one network node can be overcome relatively easily by channeling freight flows through other nodes. Under these circumstances, the benefits of the project would stem from the lower operating costs resulting from it. Given that an independent operator can take the price as given, such benefits would be the gain in producer surplus resulting from the project, that is, the financial internal rate of return.In cases where demand is largely dependent on the project, as in a remote island, then the project could bring about significant savings in diversion costs. An estimate of such costs should then be made, and treated in an analogous manner to diversion costs for passengers.These considerations apply to both landside and airside projects. In the case of landside projects, issues are the same as for the passenger sector terminal capacity determines potential throughput. However, regarding airside projects, the aircraft size versus frequency of departure trade-off does not normally apply. Freighter flights can normally operate at off-peak times, so that runway slot availability is normally a non-issue, and hence there are no benefits of increasing the number of runways. Instead, the critical issue is the technical characteristics of the runway, as this determines whether large freighter aircraft can operate from the airport. When there is no sufficient belly-hold space on passenger aircraft and alternative means of transport are very expensive, large freighter aircraft reduce significantly the costs of carrying freight. In such cases, investments to upgrade a runway to accommodate such aircraft could be justified economically.7. Airport operating costsAirport costs can be grouped into landside costs and airside costs. Landside costs are those incurred by processing passengers and cargo through terminals. Airside costs are those attributable to processing aircraft through aprons, taxiways and runways. Both airside and landside operations are infrastructure-intensive, creating significant fixed costs that give rise to cost economies.However, conceptually, the relationship between throughput and unit cost could be disaggregated into three potential sources of cost economies· Economies of density arising from increasing throughput through the existing infrastructure;· Economies of scale arising from increasing throughput by increasing infrastructure capacity, while keeping throughput density constant.· Economies of scope arising from combining different types of output through the existing infrastructure, while keeping density constant. As in airlines, output segmentation could consist of passenger and freight.A priori, economies of density should be expected in airports, taking place both on the airside and on the landside. This is because both types of infrastructure have large fixed cost components.It is not clear whether there can be economies of scale as defined above. On the one hand, there should be economies through more intensive use of centralized functions such as administration. On the other, it is reasonable to assume that airports will expand by exploiting the next best available location, so that the cost of each successive piece of infrastructure is higher than the preceding one.Unilateral expansion of either the landside or airside capacity while keeping the other constant can be expected to have distinctive impacts on unit costs. A landside expansion while keeping airside constant can create cost economies by increasing density on the airside. Such a project might have to be accompanied by an increase in the average size of the aircraft operating from the airport. However, a unilateral expansion on the airside can create cost diseconomies by reducing airside throughput density. The rationale for such a project would be to enable an increase in the flight frequency for a given amount of passenger throughput.The main source for scope economies would be an increase in airside throughput density. It is not possible to judge a priori the impact on unit costs of a unilateral expansion of, say, a freight terminal, requiring significant airside expansion.Hence, in principle there should be two types of projects that could result in cost economies, both of them relying on density increases. Firstly, an expansion on the landside (through expanded passenger or freight terminal capacity) leading to a higher density on the airside; secondly, an expansion on the airside (through expanded apron, or new or extended runways) leading to higher density on the landside.It is not possible to say whether a proportional increase in airside and landside capacity would generate cost economies. As for a unilateral increase in airside capacity, not resulting in increased density on the landside, it will invariably result in higher costs.Airport cost studies have so far centred on producing benchmarks for cost efficiency. There is no parallel to the research effort found in the airline literature modelling production functions and identifying sources of cost economies. Airport benchmarking studies normally relate unit cost to throughput via an all-embracing concept of "economies of scale", sufficient for comparing efficiency across airports. Their definition of scale does not correspond to the definition adopted in this paper, and says little about airport production functions.However, a number of studies produce some evidence as to the shape of the production function. Doganis et al (15) finds strong economies of scale until about m WLU, constant or slightly declining thereafter. Salazar (1) sheds further light for larger airports, finding constant average costs in the range .5-1.5m passengers/year, but increasing thereafter. Findings by Murillo-Melchor (1) are compatible the preceding two studies. It finds decreasing average costs for small airports, constant or increasing average costs for larger airports.The project analyst will have cost information of two sorts capital investment costs and operating costs. When calculating project returns these costs must be accounted at the time they are incurred. Normally data on current and projected costs is available from the project promoter. However, sometimes future operating cost estimates may not be available or may be unreliable. When this is the case, the analyst must make its own estimates of operating costs.One way of proceeding is to use data on similar projects and to estimate a relationship between unit operating costs, that is operating cost per unit of throughput (i.e. per WLU), and airport capacity utilization. Costs can then be calculated as a function of throughput.When estimating such a relationship, it must be borne in mind that unit costs will increase when a new piece of infrastructure is opened, and then decrease progressively towards long-term unit operating costs when the infrastructure is fully utilized. This pattern reflects the density economies that characterize infrastructure operations. As a rule of thumb, it is proposed that, after a new terminal is opened, unit costs increase in relative terms by half the relative increase in capacity. So, for example, a new terminal that expands airport throughput capacity by 50% would result in an initial increase in unit costs of some 5%. Subsequently, as throughput increases, unit costs would tend towards broadly the same level as before the expansion.Such a rule will imply constant long-run returns to scale. In practice, future operating costs will depend on the following two additional factors, both of which are airport-specific· the degree of spare capacity with which the airport operator tends to operate on average; and· the extent to which each additional investment is made more expensive by the circumstances surrounding the airport, including physical, institutional and traffic realities.The analyst can adjust the constant returns to scale assumption according to project circumstances. Should additional infrastructure capacity come at a significantly increasing marginal cost, an appropriate cost surcharge could be included in the appraisal exercise.8. ConclusionsConducting a thorough cost benefit analysis of airport investment projects can be a very resource consuming exercise. An accurate estimation of the returns from an investment can require carrying out surveys of local demand conditions and the formulation of detailed hypotheses about the future evolution of traffic and airline operations. Nonetheless, it should be noted, even a full appraisal exercise will render the evaluation subject to significant uncertainties. Sometimes, project analysts do not need to have precise estimates of the expected returns of a project and instead need to find out simply whether the project is "good" or "bad", whether the project should go ahead or not, or indeed whether it is a borderline case that merits a closer look. For arriving at these types of conclusions, conducting a full economic evaluation might itself be not economically justified. Instead, the emphasis should be placed on comparability across projects with widely differing data availability, in order to ensure consistency in decision-making, rather than on the accuracy of the results.This paper has proposed one possible way (indeed, not the only one) in which such a "back of an envelope" answer can be provided. This is done by drawing on rules of thumb generally accepted in the aviation industry, and applying them to the standard cost-benefit analysis framework.The approach is itself flexible and requires judgment by the analyst, as assumptions can be altered for a specific project when there is a good case for doing so. We believe that, whereas the approach makes a large degree of generalizations and would not substitute a full cost benefit analysis where necessary and feasible, it still has a role to play among applied economists. It is useful in conditions of very limited analyst time, research budget, available information, and where quick decisions must be made for a large number of projects, a condition which many professionals face in practice.


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