Throughout the following post, the advantages of The Student Hotel will be highlighted in order to differentiate the brand from its competitors and position it on the map. The laddering technique will be used to differentiate the assets The Student Hotel holds to create value for its targeted customers.

When it comes to differentiation, The Student Hotel does so in terms of design and offer of communal spaces and facilities.

Every TSH Location, designed by creative agencies such as KCAP, HVE, staat and Masquespacio and diverse architects, offers uniquely funky and modernly designed hotels. With housing trends going towards sustainable, modern and simplistic ways, TSH enables the guests to feel at ease wherever they go, making it accustomed to everyone.

A main characteristic of The Student Hotel is its vast use of communal spaces such as business or conference rooms, open area and interactive activities such as Bedtalks and entertainment rooms. With those spaces, TSH makes sure to cover all of the guest’s essentials, regardless of the reason for the stay, fulfilling the need for social interaction and closeness.

USP:

The unique design and youthful look are appealing to any visitor of The Student Hotel. Through trendy and vivid colours, TSH is able to attract a wide range of visitors and guests, whether they are residing at the hotel or not.
When it comes to the layout of the hotels, the introduction of various facilities such as conference rooms, gyms and classrooms offer a unique range of activities and attributes that cannot be found anywhere else.

Key Points

Product:

The student hotel stands out from its competition with its new concepts, designs, and services.
The brand provides quasi- dormitory-style accommodation, a multitude of dynamic room rates applied on short and long stays for business and leisure guests. TSH never misses bringing convenience for its guests with its numerous features and amenities, including the bar, restaurant, gym, swimming pool, and common areas. The Student Hotel aims at providing a feeling of home away from home.

• 

Channel of distribution:

TSH is influential in online distribution, precisely when it comes to the main website, built with a durable and appealing appearance for every location. By adapting multi-channel distribution, the potential guest of The Student Hotel can connect through multiple touchpoints by actively using booking engines such as TripAdvisor and booking.com. Moreover, online reputation is maintained and taken care of by creating much content on social media such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Brand image:

The Student Hotel has built a fresh brand image helping that stands out from its competitors within the hospitality industry. Resembling a boutique hotel, THS revolutionized the long-stay accommodation with an abundance of activities backed by bold colours, eye-catching interiors, bringing a vibrant, youthful mood to the establishments.
TSH values networking, friendships and inspires connections and, for this reason, has created a multi-cultural creative centre where guests and outsiders get to gather, share and build long-lasting relationships.

• 

Positioning

To do the positioning map, we chose to focus on one location, The Student Hotel in Amsterdam City, and compare it with other hotels in the region. We chose this location because it is the epicentre of TSH.
The Student Hotel is a long term, and short term stay made to accommodate guests that come for diverse reasons. On top of that, TSH is an expanding chain of hotels that is making its way through Europe. Moreover, we decided to analyse it in terms of Long-term and Short duration stays.

Short-term Stay

• 

Long-term Stay

• 

As we can see in the positioning maps above,The Student Hotel is relatively balanced in the chart. This is because TSH is made to be available to all, ranging from students to business people or even regular tourists. While it is very modern and up-to-date, it is not considered a luxury because again, it is open to anyone.

For students, travellers or business people looking for a place to stay, whether long term or for a couple of nights, The Student Hotel is the best option thanks to its funky communal spaces, stylish designs, and dynamic personnel.

Bibliography

The common area(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.thestudenthotel.com/amsterdam-city/

Book a Creative Meeting Room in Amsterdam City https://www.thestudenthotel.com/amsterdam-city/meetings-and-events/

More Than Just a Hotel https://www.thestudenthotel.com/

The Student main competitors: https://www.owler.com/company/thestudenthotel

Sweets Hotel Amsterdam: 1 Hotel / 28 Bridge Houses SWEETS Hotel – https://sweetshotel.amsterdam/

Official Website: Hotel Casa Amsterdam: Amsterdam East https://hotelcasa.nl/

Not For Tourists Andrea- Laura-Stefanie Eeckhout-Maddie Benson – https://hoteljansen.nl/

Megaclose Student Accommodation Nottingham https://www.megaclose.com/

To define a customer value-driven marketing strategy, an analysis of market segmentation and market positioning is needed. In the following post, segmentation positioning is described and further used to determine the target marketing strategy. Additionally, fictional personas will be designed to help visualize our vision for TSH’s marketing strategy.

Segmentation Positioning

geographic	demographic
Located exclusively in modern cities of western Europe The Student Hotel is most likely to attract a lot of European clientele from surrounding countries. However, as they have locations set in cities like Berlin, Amsterdam, Vienna, and Paris which are international tourist destinations they additionally target international consumers. Their  locations tend to have high population density (urban), as well as a high rate of students  and are often perceived as trendy.	The student hotel focuses strongly on attracting students and young professionals (age 18-27). However, they emphasize that everybody who is young-spirited, open-minded, and eager to connect will be feeling right at ease in their hotels. Therefore they target a broad age span. Their advertisements emphasize that they target international guests. But as they are only located in Europe they are more likely to attract more European nationalities.
psychographic	behavioral
People who are adventurous, extroverts, eager to learn and ready to meet new people while conducting their studies or just enjoying a stay in a city are TSH’s objectives. The targeted lifestyle can be described as very relaxed and trendy. As TSH put a big effort into the unique almost hipster design of their hotels it will attract a category of “Urban Hipsters” or more simply put, people appreciating modern design and art. Finally, The Student Hotels price-range will mostly attract the broad middle class.	City trips as a tourist, business trips, and exchange-semesters abroad characterize typical occasions to visit The Student Hotel. Having a large clientele of students using the room-rental-offer for a semester will often be a “once in a lifetime” – experience and therefore results in a light usage rate. In contrast, guests using the hotel room service will often become loyal customers and repeatedly lodge in one of the several hotels. The power of The Student Hotel being a brand allows the guests to experience them in another city and therefore reinforces the customers’ loyalty as well as the growth of their community. TSH tries to focus on first-time users as well as retain regular users, the students who rent a room for several months.

Targeting Marketing Strategy

Due to the fact, that TSH offers two fundamentally different main services (room rental & normal hotel guest experience) with different segmentation, it seems reasonable to design separate offers by targeting several market segments. 

To achieve this most effectively a differentiated marketing strategy is used.

Somewhere to Stay

Focus set on promoting valuable experience for regular hotel guests:

“open-minded, young-spirited people of any age searching for a fun and vibrant place to network, learn and meet up”

• broad age span (18+) – professionals, business people, retired workers, students – open for new experiences – middle class

Somewhere to Stay whilst studying

Focus set on advertising a good experience for students searching for a rental option:

“young, open-minded exchange students in search of a place to live, learn and thrive”

• age span (17-28) – student – open-minded – searching for integrity & community – high social interaction – liking for visual appeal & trendy design

TSH Persona

• 

Bibliography

Airbnb News. (2020). Retrieved 12 May 2020, from https://news.airbnb.com/fr/

Biggest Cities Netherlands. (2020). Retrieved 12 May 2020, from https://www.geonames.org/NL/largest-cities-in-netherlands.html

Duabangsa – we educate. (2020). Retrieved 12 May 2020, from https://duabangsa.com

Groningen: student city. (2020). Retrieved 12 May 2020, from https://groningen.nl/en/study/discover-student-life/groningen-student-city

List of universities in Italy. (2020). Retrieved 12 May 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Italy

Meet the Students – Europe 2025. (2020). Retrieved 12 May 2020, from https://eu2025.wordpress.com/category/meet-the-students/

The Student Hotel | Student accommodation in Amsterdam Centre. (2020). Retrieved 12 May 2020, from https://www.thestudenthotel.com/fr/student/

SWOT Analysis

Strengths	Weaknesses
Marketing tools : operating heavily on social media and world-of-mouth (large student consumer base)       Facilities and buildings’ design : modernistic, trendy, pleasing and dynamic        Culture & concept : connected community,  co-living and co-working space is brand new on the market Web design/graphics : communicate very well the essence and mission of TSH Location : presence in big cities  all over Europe Brand reputation : diversity of clients and behaviours (website -> guest type) TSH membership group : connects people that are interested in sharing common values·  Quality : high quality food and beverages, a comfortable environment with good housekeeping services·        HR : staff are young and spirited	Global presence: limited to Europe        Financial: prices are relatively high  Lack of loyalty programs : to connect different locations altogether (connected community)
Opportunities	Threats
Population growth rate : is approximately 1.1% per year. This means there is a growing potential market. Demographic segmentation : In Europe 66.01% of the population is aged 15-64. Career attitudes : are prevalent and on the rise worldwide. More businesspeople available to cater to. Lifestyle attitudes : illustrate the demand for trendy, sophisticated and fresh concepts. New forms of Technology :  provide means of mass marketing and increase exposure of the brand. Engagement in sustainability : TSH faces less pressure from NGOs, and could form potential alliances to increase notability.	Decline in tourism :  due to the COVID-19 crises Relatively lower disposable income : due to increasing unemployment  Lockdown and quarantine measures impact TSHs in Europe differently Rivalry amongst existing competitors : especially during a financially distressing time.  Lack of buyer’s information availability Threat of substitute products.

SWOT ANALYSIS: Interpretations And Key Points

STRENGTHS 

TSH has received awards for its management, innovation and sustainability. 

The Marketing tools are applied in function of the large and diverse market segmentation, emphasizing their willingness to engage with absolutely anybody, without exclusivity.

TSH’s atmosphere also encourages guests to interact and socialize, fulfilling the basic need for belonging. Their aim is to create the most inspiring space for students and workers. Accordingly, they are able to create and maintain long-term relationships.

HR and staff is essential for an establishment like TSH, one centered on social interactions and communal living. Experienced staff is of great importance when creating key memories. 

WEAKNESSES

TSH is based only in Europe. In order to create a larger presence on the market, it could be beneficial to expand geographically to other continents. 

The prices are relatively high. TSH presents as a luxury-communal living accommodation. Therefore, it may appear exclusive to some extent. 

THREATS

Decline in tourism due to the COVID-19 crisis may cause a recession and inhibit economic growth, decreasing disposable income and increasing unemployment. 

• Fewer people will need business-styled accommodation
• Many won’t be able afford it altogether
• A decrease in total revenue might mean that TSH may find it difficult to cover expenses, repay loans and sustain through this difficult period

TSHs all over the world are affected by lockdown/quarantine measures due to safety precautions. People are restricted to their houses. Operations within the hotel stagnate and no revenue is generated.

Rivalry amongst existing competitors – especially during a financially distressing time. How are competitors adapting during the COVID-19 crisis to engage consumers?

Threat of substitute products – Is a competitor or new business model able to cater TSH consumers in a way better suited and adapted to the COVID-19 crisis?

OPPORTUNITIES

Demographically, In Europe 66.01% of the population is aged 15-64. This gives TSH huge scope for growth as they provide services that can cater to a large range of people of all ages.

SMART GOALS

• Increase observability/communicability on all social media platforms through number of followers, views and likes by more than 50% by September 30^th 2020 (5 months).

• Increase current revenue by 25% in order to facilitate global expansion through the introduction of three hotels out of Europe within the next five years (2025).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Current World Population. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/Europe Demographics.

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/demographics-of-europe/The

Student Hotel. (n.d.). A PLACE FOR THE CURIOUS AND UNFINISHED. Retrieved from https://www.thestudenthotel.com/

(n.d.) Retrieved from https://blogmarketing1819b83.home.blog/2019/05/05/the-holy-cow-swot-analysis/

BrickStreet Marketing (21.02.2019). DEFINING YOUR MARKETING OBJECTIVES. Retrieved from  https://brickstreetmarketing.com/defining-your-marketing-objectives/

THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS TSH FOCUS ON

The student hotel aims to become the world’s largest Complete Connected Community for co-living and co-working. For the marketing researchers in the TSH research team, the focus on the future growth is very crucial in the following insights:

Who is our main competitor?

Will and how will The Student Hotel achieve its goal of becoming the world’s largest Complete Connected Community for co-living and co-working?

TSH & RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

Answering those questions, investigations are needed to be launched in order to let TSH get to know more about their customers and better understand their competitors due to the intense competition and trying to differentiate from the competitors. Therefore, the method of the research techniques needs to be determined for collecting the correct, objective, clear and up to date data that are valuable for the company.

Secondary research according to Church, R. M. (n.d.) is based on already published data and information gathered from other conducted studies. TSH mainly uses secondary research as the datas and materials collected all exist on the searching engines as it is more affordable and easier to obtain. Also, the internal databases collected by TSH through “TSH collab” are very applicable while doing the research. Thus, existing research materials from the hotel and the whole hotel industry would help TSH to have an overview as well.

However, by using the existing materials and the secondary data, TSH needs to be very cautious while making decisions due to the inaccuracy and not up to date. Primary research is needed to gather more direct information from the customers.

When it comes to primary data, it consists of direct information taken from the subject itself. Sources for primary data can be found from secondary data, as this data has been gathered itself from a  primary source. In the case of The Student Hotel, this data can be retrieved from their own statistics and information, or in the form of surveys directly given to and taken by the guests.

TSH & PUBLIC SOURCES

The following chart shows user’s searches for The Student Hotel in the past year:

If we use the platform Google Trends, which analyses the amount of times consumers research certain things on Google, we can first see that interest in the Student Hotel is quite high. ALthough there is a decrease in recent times due to the COVID-19, the search is very consistent throughout the summer.

Above are the results for search of The Student Hotel in blue, in comparison with searches for Airbnb, in red.

Now to get some answers to our question previously stated, a comparison with one of The Student Hotel’s main competitors, Airbnb was done. We can see that research on Airbnb was done drastically more than on The Student Hotel. This may be surprising as the Student Hotel was first introduced in 2006, two years before the creation of the Airbnb concept. Airbnb may be more popular than The Student Hotel due to the fact that it is a concept that was designed to be worldwide from the beginning on, as it consists of renting out your apartment or room as a hotel. This is easier to achieve in many places on the globe, whereas The Student Hotel started out in the Netherlands which grew and is still growing into a worldwide concept. An advantage that the Student Hotel has over Airbnb would be the co-working concept, which has not yet been introduced in Airbnb, still centered around house-sharing and meeting new people. What the Student Hotel needs and is doing right now is expanding, which puts them on the right path to achieve their goal.

One can see in the picture above that the concept is still in majority popular in the Netherlands, where it was founded. Although it indicates so, we can see that it is slowly expanding.

The airbnb introduction. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbnb

The Student hotel introduction. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Student_Hotel

Throughout this text, an analysis of The Student Hotels will be conducted in specific regard to its direct and indirect competitors, current market attractiveness and competitiveness and its competitive strategy. Evidently in the growth period, the hotel must understand its current position in the market notably in comparison to competitors and identify future opportunities and threats. Continuous improvement made to the competitive strategy of the hotel should consequently improve its overall popularity and profitability. 

Direct and indirect Competition

The Student Hotel provides both stylish boutique accommodation for guests in general and extended stay options for students to cater to a large target market. Additionally, the properties present in-house services such as restaurants and bars, conference room bookings and bike rentals. Ultimately, the hotel-chain aims to create a stimulating environment for guests in a luxurious setting and instil a sense of excitement in the global community. 

As TSH is a collection of related location-based businesses around major cities in Europe this analysis specifically targets the property headquarters, located in Amsterdam. 

	Direct Competition	Indirect Competition
Boutique Hotel	Boutique Hotels all over Amsterdam city  Luxury Hotels all over Amsterdam city  CASA: online booking platform providing rentals, meeting and event rooms for students and hotel guests.	Hotels in general Hostels Airbnb House-boat rentals Private Homes Restaurants and Bars in the Area
Student Accommodation	Jansen: provider of short-stay hotels for students, graduates, and young professionals  CASA: online booking platform providing rentals, meeting and event rooms for students and hotel guests.	Rooms offered by Universities Student Housing Corporation Rentals: Airbnb Private Homes Conference Rooms rentals KamersAmsterdam  Several search engines providing rental listings from housing corporations and real estate developers (Karmel.nl, Housing Anywhere, Students for Students, Pararius, Funda, ASVA Student Union)

Looking at their competition with a customer-centered perspective, direct competition can be narrowed down to hotels providing short and long-stay accommodation for students, boutique and luxury hotels.  

Porter Five Force’s Model

Considering the existing broad market, the threat of new entrants is relatively low. Hotel chains have the relative advantage of an already existing brand image.  

Additionally, a restriction of the construction of hotels in specific areas in Amsterdam has been given by the government in 2015 and therefore reduces the chances of new hotels arising in the center of Amsterdam. 

The power of suppliers is relatively low, taking into account their abundance.  

TSH mainly source their food and beverage supplies locally and responsibly and values a close relationship with their suppliers having implemented their own Code of Conduct.

As the concentration of buyers is exceeding the market players,  the buyers are subjected to have a high bargain power. This performs pressure to be able to differentiate from other hotels and have a competitive price. 

Usually, the threat of substitutes is considered relatively low. Reflecting on the current recession in the hospitality industry caused by COVID-19-Pandemie the threat of substitute services rises. Various potential guest will have canceled their reservation and will consider staying at home.

Differentiation Focus as Competitive Strategy

The competitive strategy The Students Hotel chose to apply is the differentiation focus. TSH differentiates itself from youth hotels by raising the standards to a higher quality hotel for students as well as for people who want to stay in a hotel where they can find a studying or work environment prone to creativity and productivity. This hotel focuses its efforts on serving customers who don’t only travel for the purpose of study or work but also share common values and trends such as sustainability.

Red or Blue Ocean?

By raising the standards and reacting to the demand TSH comes across the class leader on the industry. Coming from the idea of a Youth Hostel where travelers stop by to meet other people, The Students Hotel wants to bound the people who meet between their walls to form a community. These are the main steps that have been made from a Youth Hotel to The Students Hotel which leads to this blue ocean strategy: 

The standards have been raised. You won’t step into a cheap and dirty hotel as some of the Youth Hotels you may find in diverse countries. Therefore, the price will rise but so will the quality. 

The purpose of the hotel changes in the way that targeted customers aim to stay in a hotel where a study/work environment is available.  

If you want to connect people you have to focus on their shared values and expectations. An example here would be THS’ focus on sustainability.  

“But we have a greater purpose – to use our spaces and our operations to inspire our customers to go and consciously change their behaviour for the better.“

Bibliography

HVS. (10.06.2019). Amsterdam Hotel Market – Rate Growth paves the way, retrieved April 22, 2020, from https://www.hvs.com/article/8554-amsterdam-hotel-market-rate-growth-paves-the-way 

The Student Hotel. (n.g.) Impact Report 17/18. Retrieved April 22, 2020, from https://cdn.thestudenthotel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TSH_ImpactReport_2019_05_FINAL.pdf?_ga=2.251210883.468731310.1587386237-788723522.1582216904&_gac=1.58595032.1584486759.Cj0KCQjw6sHzBRCbARIsAF8FMpWmR8RKcVVgD77l6H763RBq5Swm8_pECqLt5dTogk71jh9eqsls_qgaAj8UEALw_wcB 

Melnick, V. (2020). Why Blue Ocean is actually the safe route. Retrieved 21 April 2020, from https://lloydmelnick.com/2016/03/30/why-blue-ocean-is-actually-the-safe-route/ 

Porter Analysis. (15.06.2017). Porter’s Five Forces Model of Hospitality Industry. Retrieved April 22, 2020, from https://www.porteranalysis.com/porters-five-forces-model-of-hotel-industry/ 

Strategy as Trade-Offs, Discipline, and Focus | Principles of Management. (2020). Retrieved 21 April 2020, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/principlesmanagement/chapter/5-4-strategy-as-trade-offs-discipline-and-focus/  

How TSH has exploited Macro-environmental changes, to react and influence it’s activities.

TSH was founded relatively recently, in the year 2006, hence below are a few examples of instances in which the company may have exploited macroenvironmental changes and adapted itself accordingly to them.

Demographic trends within the last 10 years have advanced with regards to educational characteristics and population diversity. It is important to notice that TSH has taken this into account by integrating these values into their concept by focusing on work and community. They have additionally employed generational marketing in segmenting people by lifestyle or life stage instead of age (Millennials and Generation Z).

Economically, the growth of the middle class and increasing purchasing power & spending patterns of Millennials today also contributes to a large segment of their consumer market. They have designed their product through awareness of increasing affordability and to appeal and satisfy this growing demand for variety & trendy, refreshing concepts.

TSH also aims to eventually be ‘completely circular’, this strategy supports the rising demand for environmentaly sustainable living.

Furthermore, digital transformation or ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’ has been the most dramatic force in changing the marketplace today, and played a predominant role in TSH’s strategical marketing through platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, twitter and TripAdvisor and more.

TSH & GENERATION Z

In the foreseeable future, TSH will most likely face demographic changes. In hand with Millennials, they will find the strong presence of the Generation Z. The TSH will need to understand this new generation and adapt itself to new needs and trends by making sure their infrastructures are up to date and compatible with the Generation Z’ expectations.

Generation Z, first generation of true digital natives, was born hand in hand with technology, hence it is important to manifest constant innovation. TSH could, for example, create an app allowing the customers to book, check-in, pay bills or order via the software.  It is very crucial to take into account these new trends, considering that this new generation will play a very important role in the future; in fact, in 2026, they will become the largest consumer population:

Moreover, as Gen Z are very familiar with technological tools and always online, it will be very important for TSH to focus on their advertisement technics in order to provide a strong and active digital image. TSH should advertise through YouTube and Instagram; as they are the most used platforms by Generation Z, adapt to create small videos, and ensure website layout is compatible with phone displays.

Finally, in the next few years, there will be more educated people looking for a place to work. Gen Z value experiences and interactions in communal settings. Therefore, TSH should focus on their common shared areas and make sure it is responding to Gen Z’s expectations.

TSH & THE COVID-19

As Silvio Brusaferro mentioned, president of ISS, once the countdown of the cases affected by the coronavirus drop down, people will still feel at risk. Life will not be same anymore for some time. Virginia Messina, WTTC’s managing director, estimates that once the virus is under control, it could take up to 10 months for the tourism sector to recover.

The Student Hotel is at the moment taking special measures in order to face the situation. On one hand, they are following every rule mandated by authorities, such as all planned meetings, events or caterings are cancelled or postponed or bars, restaurants and gyms are closed until further notice. On the other hand, the TSH has increased its daily cleaning paying extra attention in disinfecting touch points and has implemented a policy for safe social distancing.

Within the next 18 months, TSH should continue to promote its brand while staying present on social media. People might not be able to travel but they still have access to the internet. TSH, as a connected community, should show their concern about the topic while updating and communicating to the guests the actions taken. TSH should also continue to behave the way it does nowadays once the virus is under control. This will help the guests to slowly go back to normal without a rushing matter. It is probable that restaurants, hotels or gyms will need to put in place some measures, such as a security distance of at least one meter between their employees and customers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Manifest. (02.07.2019). YouTube Gaining Popularity With Generation Z as Demand for Video Content Rises, Facebook’s Popularity Declining. Retrieved April 5, 2020, from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/youtube-gaining-popularity-with-generation-z-as-demand-for-video-content-rises-facebooks-popularity-declining-300878987.html

UP-TSH-Admin. (2020, February 28). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.thestudenthotel.com/about/

Mapping the 50 most relevant sustainability startups. (2020, February 24). Retrieved from https://travelandmobility.tech/mapping-the-50-sustainability-startups-in-travel-mobility-tech/

Business Insider. (n.d.). Generation Z : LATEST CHARACTERISTICS, RESEARCH, AND FACTS. Retrieved April 5, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/generation-z?IR=T

The Student Hotel (@thestudenthotel) • Instagram photos and videos. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/thestudenthotel/?hl=en

Marketing to Millennials. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.csdesignworks.com/blog/2015/04/marketing-to-millennials

Eine neue Generation ist auf dem Vormarsch: die Gen Z. (05.10.2018) Retrieved April 5, 2020, from https://www.jbcm,de/2018/10/05/wie-die-user-bewegtbild-konsumieren-wollen-2/

ATS.(05.04.2020). Encore fragile, la décrue a commencé en Italie. Retrieved April 04, 2020, from https://m.tdg.ch/articles/12464158

The Student Hotel. (n.g). STAY SAFE: TSH CORONAVIRUS UPDATE. Retrieved April 04, 2020, from https://www.thestudenthotel.com/coronavirus/

Court Williams. (02.07.2019). Generation Z: What Do They Want from their Hotel Stay Experience? Retrieved April 5, 2020, from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4094050.html

Joan Faus (17.03.2020). This is how coronavirus could affect the travel and tourism industry. Retrived April 04, 2020, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/world-travel-coronavirus-covid19-jobs-pandemic-tourism-aviation/

Roser, M., & Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2016, August 31). Global Education. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/global-education

By combining student accomodations and hotel rooms, The Student Hotel mainly provides services for the students and The customers. Marketing their goods and services is always a good way of attracting new customers and gaining a higher reputation. However, services, which differ from products, are always harder to define, which leads one to face the problem of intangibility.

Intangibility:

As TSH is a Hotel which provides services, it is regarded as Intangible. Before booking and checking in at the hotel, customers are unable to evaluate the quality of the service. This is an issue with hotels in general: perhaps people are a bit shy or scared to try out something new. TSH is a quite unique and untraditional hotel type so it is very likely that customers may be reluctant to purchase the service. As it is not something physical, one cannot “test it out” and will not know beforehand if it is worth it.

Inseparability:

As TSH is a hotel, services inside this hotel are always provided and consumed at the same time and place. The “goods” you purchase are basically the service which the establishment or company provides. Therefore, both the provider and the customer would affect the service outcome.

The Student Hotel is providing high quality food and beverages, a comfortable environment with good housekeeping services, which would lead to a guaranteed comfortable stay for the travellers. However, in some situations, if for example an employee in the lobby lounge or the front desk would be impolite or were to argue with a customer, it would lead to customer dissatisfaction. This would then lead to a negative outcome of the customer’s experience.

Variability:

When it comes to the hospitality industry, it is very difficult to standardise the quality. Unexpected things can happen which impacts the final result of the experience or outcome. Mistakes are made, and these are inevitable. Staff scheduling also impacts the hotel industry as some may be more at ease with certain tasks or aspects of the job. Say for example if a coming workday is going to be very busy, some staff may not cope properly with the pressure (less experienced for example) and that will influence the quality of the service offered.

Perishability:

As services in TSH cannot be stored for later use, this would impact the demand of the customer. When high or peak seasons come, so do travellers from around the world. The demand for rooms will be high during that time and service may be limited. Therefore, customers would like to find a substitute which may be a competitive hotel, as we cannot store the services provided for these specific customers for later use. The services offered are to be consumed on the spot, and may not be delayed. This would lead to a direct result of losing customers.

Another influencing factor is the customer dissatisfaction. If a customer is not satisfied with the service provided, or did not enjoy his or her stay, not much can be done about that as the service has expired and cannot be exchanged or refunded. As a result, it becomes a challenge for TSH as we cannot make up for shortcomings.

Intangibility：

In order to face the challenge of intangibility, The Student Hotel makes sure to be very transparent with its potential customers. This is in regards to social media platforms and the official website. The official website is very clear with alot of descriptions about the services, hotel layout and general information about the hotel itself. They make sure to clearly express and show to the world their mentality and concept, in order to familiarize their potential guests with their concept. They are also very active on social media such as instagram where they post about the hotels themselves as well as the activities organised.

Inseparability: 

The Student Hotel aims to create a very vibrant, open atmosphere. In order to achieve this, it is important to hire and schedule the right staff. The staff working there seems to be young and spirited which is essential for customer contact. This is essential for this kind of establishment which centered its ethics and goals on social interactions and communal living. If you look at reviews online, you will see that the employees are mainly happy and motivated. TSH is a place where young staff can grow and gain experience. As the hotel chain is expanding and is already quite big, it is very likely that staff is trained properly and that they have certain guidelines and principles to follow.

Variability:

When it comes to variability, The Student Hotel in its concept itself is quite consistent. The elements and services provides in each location are very similar, assuring the consumers that in whichever Student Hotel they stay at, they will be able to identify that it is from this company. In terms of the service performance one cannot guarantee consistency unless the staff is trained perfectly in accordance with each task. Check ups are to be insured, regular trainings to be done. As the company is fairly big and well-organised, such elements are sure to be well-respected, although as stated before, mistakes happen.

Perishability: 

As we cannot store the service, TSH can use dynamic resource management tools, which means dynamically managing the resources by knowing the peak of the demand. If more staff is needed, perhaps they hire more people during the busy season. Moreover, pricing strategy and dynamic booking is also a tool to face the perishability problem. Adapting the room price as the demand increases. With regards to sold-out times, not much can be done about that other than recommending other properties either belonging to the chain or not.

Is The Student Hotel doing well ?

We do believe the company is doing well. The concept itself is genius, as people nowadays, especially younger ones who travel a lot, want to stay at places where they feel welcome and at home. From the design of the interior to the services provided, TSH depicts a very attractive offer to guests seeking to socialise and discover something new. It has received awards for its management, innovation and sustainability and is growing on the market. The concept began in the Netherlands and is now expanding to numerous other European countries such as Spain, France, Italy and many others.

BIBLIOGRAPHY APA

The Student Hotel France. (n.d.).Retrieved from https://flyandgo.fr/ville-hotel-villes-universitaires-the-student-hotel

STH’s Job Platform (n.d.).Retrieved from https://thestudenthotel.recruitee.com/

Working at TSH. (n.d.).Retrieved from https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Overview/Working-at-The-Student-Hotel-EI_IE1076013.11,28.htm?countryRedirect=true

The Student Hotel (@thestudenthotel) Instagram photos and videos. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/thestudenthotel/

Frame Awards.(n.d.). Retrieved from https://frameawards.com/winners/609191-the-student-hotel

The Student Hotel Florence. (n.d.).Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.cl/pin/772648879800217260/

Booking with a discounted room rate.(n.d.).Retrieved from https://travel-dealz.eu/coupon/student-hotel/

The Marketing Mix of TSH

Product  The Student Hotel offers hotel rooms, short-stay rooms, hotel-style student accommodation, and conference rooms. Loads of facilities and services such as a gym, a swimming pool, a bar and restaurant, a laundry room and rooms to meet up and “chill” are provided and contribute to building a complete connected community. Resembling a boutique hotel, TSH goes with bold color and eye-catching interior design, trying to bring a youth-full and vibrant mood.	Acceptability  TSH exceeds the customer’s expectation in the way that a totally new system is proposed to the students and their way of studying out of school and for school. The hotel offers to the Students facilities which are very similar to a library or a university but in a very chilled and homey environment.
Price  They range from upscale pricing for student accommodation and competitive pricing for hotel rooms.	Affordability  The prices for student accommodation are not affordable for the middle class. They are an approach to contemporary luxury communal living arrangements and therefore rather exclusive.
Distribution Channels TSH is very strong in online distribution. They built a strong and appealing website for all their locations, actively use booking engines such as TripAdvisor and booking.com. Further, they take care of their online reputation and create a lot of content for social media.	Accessibility  The customers can get the services of The Students Hotel at the click of a finger. The only thing they have to do is to give their credit card details.
Promotion   Their major distribution channels are online, as they are very active and invested on their websites and Social Media as well as booking websites such as booking.com.	Awareness  TSH is put in focus mainly by Social Media and the Student Hotel ambassadors.

The main difference between the 4Ps and the 4As is that they are portraying the seller (4P) and the buyer’s point of view (4A). The 4Ps are mainly focused on what is important to make the company wealthy, where the 4As are designed to give the keys to what is necessary to satisfy costumers. Indeed the 4As are more precise and maybe more deep in the meaning that they are more focused on people than on profit.

The Team

Jana Fischer is our publishing/design manager. She has been working very hard on how to attract the eye of the students who access our website and as for The Students Hotel, to make us stand out from the competition. Indeed, presentation is one of the most important aspects of marketing and has to be creative, trendy and visually appealing.

Our Marketing Director, Nadia is taking the lead of the team, she helps everybody coordinate their thoughts. However, people in the group are very responsible and work well together it is really easy to interact and understand each other’s needs.

Xiao-Tu is making the main researches on the concurrence that our hotel can face, researches about the segmentation and the other main marketing mix strategy. She is our Research manager. 

Our sales manager, Nahla has a very good connection with people and knows how to best interact, listen and discuss our ideas. Her open-mindedness and happy attitude is a big plus when we have to discuss and transmit our work to external people. 

Bringing ideas together is never an easy task. However, Svedika and Noura our content managers like to think together, in order to write a coherent document about all the ideas the entire team could brainstorm together.

Mission

What is our business? Who is the customer? What do consumers value? What should our business be? What is our purpose?

The Student’s Hotel mission is market-oriented. In fact, their main goal is to satisfy basic customer’s needs. More precisely, their mission is to create the best space for students to find their purpose and be inspired to change the world. In order to do so, the TSH offers not only modernistic, aesthetic rooms and shared communal facilities; they also put emphasis on creating a stimulating environment and dynamic global community. TSH analysed and discovered that a major factor, being the atmosphere, inspires encounters that we have as a society. At The Student Hotel anyone with a student spirit (curious, open, free, adventurous – can thrive) is welcome; as they mentioned “May the student in you never die”. Their goal is to bring different communities altogether in one building, to eventually create a connected community within the TSH facilities’ walls. Thus, encouraging the customers to keep the student in them alive for as long as possible while combining living with leisure and work facilities. 

Strategic Business Units

The Business strategy is at chain level for a multi-unit hotel brand like TSH. Today TSH is present in 13 locations around Europe. They plan to launch more in Bologna, Delft, Madrid, Berlin, Lisbon and Rome and eventually have 41 properties in European cities by 2021.

Strategic Business Units (SBU): Brand & Product level TSH

• TSH is a collection of related location-based businesses around Europe that can be planned for separately. Eg. TSH in Florence, the hotel is based around a 20,000 square meter historic palazzo located in the heart of the city, hence strategic decisions in operations, finance, marketing and more will be drastically different to TSH based in Spain.
• Points in common between hotels may be flexible co-working spaces, chill out lounges, libraries, gyms, restaurants, bikes. Some points that may differentiate them are swimming pools, architecture, laundry stations and meeting rooms.
• Each one has its own set of competitors despite having carved a niche in the hotel industry. Geographically speaking all TSHs have seen emergence of several trendy & communal student/working accommodations nearby. Examples of such would be concepts like WOW, or Ecomama in Amsterdam City)
• FELIX HILLEN is Managing Director of TSH in Amsterdam City and responsible for strategic planning and performances.

Ansoff Matrix

BIBLIOGRAPHY APA

The Student Hotel acquires the Carlyle Group’s 85% stake in student accommodation properties (NL). (2016, November 15). Retrieved from http://europe-re.com/the-student-hotel-acquires-the-carlyle-group-s-85-stake-in-student-accommodation-properties-nl/63017

The Student Hotel. (n.d.). A PLACE FOR THE CURIOUS AND UNFINISHED. Retrieved from https://www.thestudenthotel.com/

The Student Hotel (@thestudenthotel) Instagram photos and videos. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/thestudenthotel/

Philip Kotler & Gary Armstrong (2018). Principles of Marketing. Pearson Education.

The Student Hotel. (n.d.). COMPLETE CONNECTED COMMUNITY. Retrieved from https://www.thestudenthotel.com/

Merging student residences, hotel accommodation, and luxury collective living, the Student Hotel has brought a new concept of hybrid hospitality to the market.

Founded in 2006, by Charlie McGregor, TSH started out as a commonly shared facility for students in the heart of Amsterdam. By replicating an accommodation model from the UK, and improving said bit by bit, the student accommodation started to develop into a much bigger concept.

Today the Student Hotel is combining student accommodations, hotel rooms, shared living spaces, restaurants, bars, fitness centers, conference rooms and much more. It currently consists of nine venues. Additionally, eight hotels are to be constructed right now and they aspire to have built 41 venues by the end of 2021.

Their mission 2021 is, to become the world’s largest Complete Connected Community for co-living and co-working. Aiming to create the “best space”, where students can find their purpose and change the world, they try to construct a stimulating environment and an exciting global community.

The Student Hotel is a place where anyone with a student spirit – curious, open, free, adventurous – can thrive.

References: https://www.thestudenthotel.com/de/ https://studenthotel.prezly.com/hot-tub-meets-hot-desks-as-germanys-first-the-student-hotel-tsh-opens-in-dresden# https://www.youtubecom/watch?v=Lu7tapAOGR4