Lake Superior Lodge

LAKE SUPERIOR LODGE

ENTREPENEURSHIP

SERGIO SERNANI

036-972-156

SIB-560

ANDREA THOMPSON

JULY 18, 2016

Report outline of a Business Case Analysis

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The case “Lake Superior Lodge: it’s not always about location, location, location”    talks about a motel that was built in the 1960s and had been operated by Bill and Beth, this case talks about how the motel hasn’t turn out any profits in the past 9 years, the motel doesn’t have any amenities other than the beautiful view it offers. However there are other motels and hotels surrounding lake superior lodge with more amenities which make it even harder for them to succeed.  In mid- January 2013, Beth Leland who owns Lake Superior Lodge and its recently hired manager Mark, were meeting to determine an effective advertising and marketing plan to turn things around in the motel. The owner, who was born and raised in Duluth, Michigan, bought Lake Superior Lodge mainly due to its location. But the location didn’t seem enough anymore, they were looking into renovating the hotel to be able to offer more amenities but it seemed very expensive, the most conservative estimate to update the motel was $175,000 and that is not a logical investment option for them.

The problem with the hotel is that it has a pretty old 70s décor, it has no cable, and no room service. It does not have many options for all kind of clientele, is mostly older couples that just want to escape from the city and relax enjoying a majestic view. In addition,  the motel isn’t very family friendly because it only offers one double bedroom, which makes it harder for the hotel to target other types of markets such as younger people. A decision must be taken whether to make the motel succeed or to close it before having to file for the 10th year of loses.

1. TABLE OF CONTENTS - Introduction

The Main issue in the case “Lake Superior Lodge “ is that the motel has posted the ninth consecutive loss in several years, now the owner and the manager are looking forward a way to improve their sales and make revenues or they will be in the need of selling the motel before the tenth loss.

Define the Problem[pic 1]/Opportunity

The motel has been experiencing consecutive losses and hard to keep up due to their lack of amenities. When people travel, they look for places that offers different types of amenities depending on the plans. The fact that Lake Superior Lodge doesn’t offer a swimming pool, cable or a family friendly environment extremely affects the sales because  the only people that are being targeted by their strategy are older couples who want to enjoy the view and get away from the city and technology. However, the problem can be solved but it will need a big money investment to be able to improve the motel operations in order to attract more and different people to make profits instead of losses.

Using a full sentence, state what the main issue of the case is, such as:

The main Issue of the case is related to capital and direct competition, the owners don’t have enough capital to upgrade the motel; even the cheapest option is very expensive for them. Also, they cannot have better amenities without invest in renovations. In addition, the competition that surrounds the motel offers better things than what the Lake Superior Lodge is offering and that is the main reason why they are getting the clientele instead of Lake Superior Lodge.

3. Identify the Organization’s current mission, goals and strategies.-

MISSION- Since the business was relatively small, there was no official mission statement for the motel, instead they preferred to use a slogan “ we’d love to have you stay with us” and “tranquility with a view is our best amenity” (Maamoun,3)

GOALS (OBJECTIVES) The Goal of Leland and Willie was to be able to create marketing plan to improve the visits of the hotel and make some profits to do the necessary renovations and be able to compete with direct competitors around them.

        STRATEGIES-

CORPORATE STRATEGY

 Renewal: The corporate strategy is renewal because the motel is not doing well, it isn’t making any profits so there are plans on implementing a marketing strategy and doing some changes to the motel (renovations) in order to gain customer and increase the profits of the motel.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

Differentiation strategy- Lake Superior Lodge had a Differentiation strategy because they offered a million dollar view at a reasonable price. They knew their strength was only the view and that’s what the people that stayed there were going for, people wanted to enjoy the view this place offered. The main travelers that the motel targeted were usually older couples as the motel was not family friendly and had only one double bedroom.

1. SWOT Analysis