Week 03 – IT and Competitive Strategy (II)
Online discussion questions – Jan 30
- What are other examples of franchising (like McDonalds or Hilton hotels) that you know of?
- Why would it be difficult for other hotel chains (e.g. Hilton, Marriott) to let hotel property owners or operating companies to hire full-time ByRequest managers with discretionary budget and managerial freedom to provide personalize services?
- Why would it be difficult for other hotel chains to force property owners or operating companies to share customer information?
- What are other examples in which successful companies achieve core competencies using IT?
Week 3 – IT and Competitive Strategies (II) – class slides (UPDATED)
In-class discussion questions for Jan 30
We will discuss these questions in-class on Fri, Jan 30. Do not post comments on this.
- Between ByRequest and other point/mileage programs, which one is more valuable to customers? Why?
- Between ByRequest and other point/mileage programs, which one is more profitable to the brand (or cheaper to execute)? Why?
- How easy or difficult is it for the competitors to imitate Wyndham’s ByRequest Program?
- What is the francising structure in the lodging industry?
- Why does the case mention on Page 4 about “a lack of standardization of IT plagued the lodging industry?”
- How is Wyndham’s IT infrastructure and management different from that of other hotel chains? What are the advantages in Wyndham’s IT infrastructure and management ?
Online discussion questions – Jan 28
- Does the Internet only destroy the profitability of the lodging industry? Is there any way for this industry to improve their profitability using the Internet?
- What is the role of a ByRequest manager at a Wyndham hotel? Why is this role important?
- Can we think of similar personalized service strategy in any other company or other industry?
Reading Brief #3 Wyndham – grading completed
In-class discussion questions for Jan 28
We will discuss these questions in-class on Wed, Jan 28. Do not post comments on this.
- When you’re travelling, how do you choose your hotel to stay? What kind of amenities or perks do you value the most?
- How can Wyndham successfully compete with such giants as Hilton or Marriott and generate sustainable profit streams?
- Where is Wyndham competing? What kind of customers is it targeting?
- At which area did Wyndham choose to excel?
- How does ByRequest work?
- How does IT support this ByRequest initiative?
- What’s the difference between Wyndham ByRequest program and other conventional guest rewards or frequent mileage programs?
Online discussion questions – Jan 26
- What’s your core competency? Do you have something that you can do better than anyone else?
- What is the core competency of a company that you know? Is it valuable and inimitable?
- In an industry you are familiar with, which company is playing in Cost Leadership strategy? Who’s in Differentiation? Who’s in Focused?
In-class discussion questions for Jan 26
We will discuss these questions in-class on Mon, Jan 26. Do not post comments on this.
- When you’re travelling, how do you choose your hotel to stay? What kind of amenities or perks do you value the most?
- What’s your Core Competency? Do you have something that you can do better than anyone else?
- What would be the core competency of Otis? Is it valuable? Is it imitable by competitors?
- How can Wyndham successfully compete with such giants as Hilton or Marriott and generate sustainable profit streams?
- Where is Wyndham competing? What kind of customers is it targeting?
- At which area did Wyndham choose to excel?
Week 3 – Wyndham International Case Brief Guideline
Next week, in reading Wyndham case, focus on the three following points.
- At which area does Wyndham choose to excel and how?
- How does the ByRequest program support this goal?
- How is ByRequest different from other guest-royalty or frequent mileage programs?
It might be hard to understand “Wyndham’s Background” and “The Lodging Industry” section (page 2-5). It’s okay not to include these part in your brief, but be sure to read them before the class.