Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
College of Business Administration and Accountancy
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Management
DISCOVERY SHORES BORACAY RESORT HOTEL MARKETING PLAN
Submitted by:
Farah Antoinette A. Cupang
Emmylou Thea R. Leyson
Celesteah Danielle Unggay
Submitted to:
Prof. Felipe V. Lula Jr.
October 30, 2020
DISCOVERY SHORES BORACAY
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Discovery Shores Boracay is a resort hotel located in Boat station 1 of the island
of Boracay, Aklan. We offer 88 suites, consisting of 65 Junior Suites, 6 one Bedroom
Suites, 12 One Bedroom Suites Premier, 3 Two Bedroom Suites and 2 Bedroom Suites
Premiers. The proposed campaign is the optimization of the search engine ranking and
visibility of the Discovery Shores Boracay’s website. Our proposed improvement of the
hotel’s website and its visibility across other marketing channels is the key strategy in
making the hotel brand to be one of the most searched and recognizable hotel online. We
want Discovery Shores Boracay to create an increased customer value and improved
customer experience by providing major information about the brand on a daily basis.
Competitive industries are out their way to produce effective marketing strategies,
making it more reasonable to target customers who are most likely to be more active
online like Digital Nomads, Business travelers, Retired travelers and especially the
Luxury travelers to want to have first-hand experience of our service within just a click
on our website and other digital marketing channels. The management will need
professional assistance from an SEO agency to manage the visibility and stream of the
online visitors on the company website and an improved social media marketing strategy
to constant development of the contents.
2. COMPANY OVERVIEW
2.1 Description
There are a very few resort hotels in Boracay that offer premium all-suite
accommodations and world-class amenities. The principal factors that affect the
Company’s business are type of services offered, location, room rate, the supply and
demand for hotel rooms, and changes in travel patterns and references.
2.2 Mission
Provide service that is defined by thoughtful gestures and of the highest
standards. In order to make every guest’s stay steeped in modern comforts and
remarkable experiences. All while being able to uplift every locale where we have
properties through our advocacy work and protecting the environment and providing
local communities with invaluable education and employment.
2.3 Vision
Our vision is to go above and beyond. To design campaigns to raise the visibility
of search engines. Meeting the expectations of the customer is a must, but exceeding
them and putting in the extra effort to create a memorable experience in the Discovery
Shores Boracay.
2.4 Background of the Hotel
Discovery Shores is a timeless masterpiece sitting along the white beach of
Boracay. It offers a perfect view of the sunset. With the fine white sand that flows like
silk, the dramatic sunset perfect for romantic scenes and the incomparable pristine waters,
Discovery Shores adds more beauty to this tropical haven.
Online marketing is important in this era of technological advancements and plays
a significant role in driving in more qualified traffic of potential customers and also in
improving a brand’s credibility. However, Discovery Shores Boracay when searched
across online search-engine platforms (e.g. Google) is shown nowhere near the best
results for hotels and accommodations available in Boracay Island. If the potential guests
can't see you on the top page results, then they won't be able to discover the services that
the hotel could offer. As a result, the hotel’s low customer detection across online
platforms would lead to an opportunity cost that would lose potential direct bookings
through on our website especially from international guests. Therefore, it is really
important for the hotel brand to build an active online presence and create more
opportunities through utilizing its company website and social media accounts. Our goal
is to become one of the most searched hotel brands across online search engines and
maintain an active online prescence as our brand progresses in the future. Having
increased visibility within online search engine platforms and social media would help
the hotel have an advantage against competitors. So we will be implementing the SEO to
the hotel, because a lot of people use search engines like Google to find information
about the place they're going to stay or things considering they are paying for it. But we
should not also forget that some of the businesses in hotels keep running and make sure
the hotel can still properly serve the leads and prospects your rankings generate.
2.5 Competitive Advantages
Discovery Shores Boracay maintains their modern and new refurbishment works
to attract potential visitors, promote repeat guests and increase their stay. As visibility in
search engines is becoming a top priority in the travel industry, it is our job to construct
digital traffic for the hotel to gain compliments in other marketing channels. The
management believes that Discovery Shore Boracay can compete with other existing
premium all-suite and world-class hotels, as the hotel also provide luxurious guest rooms
and excellent resort facilities.
The resort also includes Tourism Trade Convention and Exhibitions in the Asia-
Pacific region such as the China Luxury Travel Mart, ASEAN Tourism Forum, and
Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents International Travel Exhibition. The
resorts' promotion also participates in overseas shows, consumer fairs organized by the
Department of Tourism, which makes Discovery Shores Boracay rise above the
competition.
3. OBJECTIVES/GOALS
● Create opportunities from the online visibility of Discovery Shores Boracay with the use
of online ads and search engine optimization.
● Build a high-quality link profile to have higher rank across search-engines.
● Build an active online presence while utilizing the company’s existing technological
resources.
● Improve the hotel’s direct sales and lessen online travel agencies commission.
4. SITUATION ANALYSIS
4.1 Strength
Discovery Shores Boracay can answer your questions to their website. You can
really say that they have someone assigned to monitor their websites so they can answer
their customers unlike other hotels. And while we’re reading the reviews of the customer
we’ve noticed that they answer it according to the concern of the customer and they
assure that the customer understands why it happened.
They also give legal information to help us understand the reasons for the various
rules, laws and regulations that govern your business will help you take advantage of any
benefits they offer while ensuring you stay in compliance at all times.
4.2 Weakness
Before we came up with this idea we read a lot of reviews on their websites and
this is the common complaint. First, they stated the “NO PETS ALLOWED” in the hotel
but while we're reading the reviews we found out some of their customers in the review
stated that she heard dog noises in one of the rooms in the hotel. Second, the buffet
breakfast in the hotel because it was just like ordinary food that you can buy outside.
Third, the bar replacement cause it seems there bar in the center and other people can
pass or walk by the bar area, and since its bar the guest can smoke there and the people
near in the area can smell the smoke they become a second hand smoker which is bad to
our health and also to the guest in the hotel. And lastly, the treatment of their employees
is not consistent; a lot of complaints about the hotel staff being inattentive like when a
certain guest needs something the guest needs to ask it again twice or thrice to have it.
4.3 Opportunities
The Discovery Shore Boracay receives its resources for their products and
services from the local suppliers located in the Boracay Island, Aklan. This creates more
opportunities not only for the hotel but also for local businesses.
4.4 Threats
The hotel faces very few competitors in Boracay that offer the same standard of
premium all-suite accommodations and world-class amenities which affect the hotels’
fame. These hotels are identified as the Shangri-La Boracay Resort & Spa, The Lind
Boracay and Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay as its major competitors in service,
location, room rate, supply and demand of hotel rooms.
5. STP ANALYSIS
5.1 Market Segmentation
A component of the hotel industry is to apply market segmentation; it allows to
verify the target market and customers with their different behavior with an offer that
matches their needs. Collection of personal data is used to deliver quality service, in
specific purposes to guest reservations, market research and analysis, membership
program subscription, safety and secur
5.1.1 Customer Analysis
Discovery Shores Boracay market comprises 46% local tourist and 54%
foreign travelers which is primarily coming from Korea, China, USA and
Australia. The customer's visitation changes throughout the year depending on the
country’s economy. China being the second largest tourist origin, Boracay Island
has welcomed millions of Chinese visitors especially since the re-opening of
Boracay island resort after a six-month rehabilitation.
Discovery Shores Boracay Customer Types by Country of Residence: 2015 to 2018
2015 2016 2017 2018
Philippines 51% 54% 46% 47%
Korea 8% 9% 7% 7%
China 8% 11% 21% 25%
USA 13% 15% 9% 7%
Australia 5% 2% 3% 2%
Others 15% 9% 14% 12%
Total 100% 100% 100% 100%
5.1.2 Persona Development
The hotel aims to increase the figure of foreign visitors and overseas
Filipino workers. Since the upgrading of the Boracay Island we expect to
welcome more visitors to check in. In order to do so members and employees
under the management should value professional development. Staffs must
continue to undergo service training and team building activities to keep the high-
quality standard of the hotel.
5.1.3 Individual Members
● SEO Manager individuals who masters of algorithms behind search engine
results. Also specializes in marketing products or companies.
● Content Marketers who are skilled in creating web content, materials,
reviews,reports and blogs. Marketers should also possess great strategic
marketing skills especially in utilizing and understanding social media
trends.
5.2 Target Market
5.2.1 Business Customers
Introducing Search Engine Optimization to the hotel’s system ideal guest
that can be easily attracted to the new SEO tactics are the following:
● Digital nomads who earn their living by telecommuting rather than
working in a physical office. These types of travelers are the potential
social media advertisers since they are highly mobile.
● Business travelers are often less price sensitive than others; they are
interested in luxury hotels and restaurants that provide personal and
business appropriate environments.
● Luxury travelers usually research their trip, looking for the best hotel who
can offer an excellent itinerary since they value time and experience rather
than money.
● Retired travelers enjoy hotels that are accessible and flexible in
accommodating their special needs.
5.3 Hotel’s Positioning
In the service of the tourists from all around the world, Discovery Shores
Boracay, have always aimed to raise the bar higher to offer its customers the finest in
island hospitality. As one of Boracay Island’s most prestigious resorts in the Philippines
and a favorite of the most discriminating local and international travelers, Discovery
Shores Boracay is committed in bringing honor to the country for their unparalleled
“Service That’s All Heart,” and for their excellent facilities. Discovery Shores Boracay
is a member of the prestigious Preferred Hotels & Resorts Lifestyle Collection, a
selection of hotels that provide responsive service and local dining that articulate culture
and style. Hence, guests are guaranteed an unsurpassed level of quality, service and
luxury.
Discovery Shores is a timeless masterpiece sitting along the white beach of
Boracay. It offers a perfect view of the sunset. With the fine white sand that flows like
silk, the dramatic sunset perfect for romantic scenes and the incomparable pristine waters,
Discovery Shores adds more beauty to this tropical haven.
6. MARKETING STRATEGY
6.1 Products/ Service offered
The plan is improving a more organic traffic- boosting marketing strategy that
creates high-quality content, SEO or search engine optimization to allow the marketing
strategy of the hotel to improve its search engine ranking. Our SEO will greatly improve
the hotel's reputation online. Thus it will assist our brands content to stand out, by doing
so the implementation of SEO in the hotel’s system advertisement and content campaign
easier.
6.2 Price
The increase of inventories and decrease of cash in Discovery Shores boracay is
due to the construction and renovation of rooms and kitchens. The pricing of services
would still remain constant. Although, if SEO marketing strategy increases the direct
sales of the hotel then promotional pricing and other hotel offers is possible.
6.3 Distribution
The first strategy in distributing our SEO is to create short tail detailed
keywords for our hotel in order to publish a content ten times better than other online
promotion of other hotels.
Social media strategy will be used to publish hotel’s content, giving social media
followers an easy task in sharing and distributing content of our hotel. Utilizing social
media as part of a long-term strategy, thus establishing an active presence on social
media platforms improves search visibility.
Third is to improve the search engine ranking of the hotel by using Backlinks.
Link exchange and Link bait will be used to attract other websites to gain backlinks of
our hotel’s website; Link building allows increase in the hotels direct sales and lessens
online travel agencies commission.
6.4 Promotion
Blogging will be used as another online promotion strategy, as more followers
and website traffic can lead to increased profit. Post would contain specific phrases and
keywords and a frequent update means fresh content; which will increase the chances of a
higher search ranking.
Using a Brand ambassador to promote the hotel can help the hotel to be on top,
because influencers can provide the most detailed content about the hotel. In this case, the
influencer works to show your potential customers what it feels like to be a guest,
reviewing everything from room and dining to views, amenities and any local activities.
SEO Agency for content marketing can provide Discovery Shores Boracay
assistance to generate more business from our website. The SEO agency should be expert
in promotional cases and excellent in creating customer value.
7. FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION ON DISCOVERY WORLD CORP’S FINANCIAL
Summary of Financial Information
The following table presents the summary financial information for Discovery World Corporation
From the period January 01 to December 31, 2018
Discovery World Corporations Summary Audited Consolidated Financial Information as at
2018 2017
(One year) (One year)
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income PHP PHP
Revenues 542,973,126 658,153,451
Cost of sales and services 368,087,190 389,620,025
Gross Profit 174,885,936 268,533,426
Operating Expenses 264,794,085 252,169,144
Operating Profit (Loss) (89,908149) 16,364,282
Other Income/Gain/ (Charges) (75,614,720) (19,843,258)
Gain Arising from Business Combination
Income (Loss) Before Income Tax (165,522,869) (3,478,976)
Income Tax Benefit (Expenses) 42,088,869 (3,763,429)
Net Income (Loss) (123,434,000) (7,242,405)
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents 153,536,100 95,418,019
Trade and other receivables 24,836,246 12,366,755
Due from related parties 7,385,237 49,336,241
Inventories 36,950,952 31,828,633
Creditable withholding taxes 5,818,389 8,130,951
Other current assets 125,812,608 85,227,772
Total current assets 354,339,532 282,308,371
Property and equipment 3,178,022,621 2,620,276,100
Investment properties 138,741,248
Net deferred tax assets 80,406,889 30,647,508
Financial assets at fair value through other 248,899,782 263,838,800
comprehensive income (FVOCI)
Goodwill 130,041,512 151,877,118
Other non-current assets 259,782,183 239,004,468
Total non-current assets 4,071,894,235 3,305,643,994
TOTAL ASSETS 4,426,233,767 3,587,952,653
Liabilities and Equity
Trade and other payables 676,320,348 593,317,515
Current Portion of loan Payable 1,062,766,414 1,007,083,332
Due to related parties 144,197,360 147,367,693
Current Portion of finance lease liability 361,040 338,066
Income tax payable 285,033 -
Total current liabilities 1,883,930,195 1,748,106,606
Non-current Liabilities
Loans payable - net of current portion 1,332,346,455 538,750,003
Finance lease liability - net of current portion 158,031 518,126
Net retirement benefit liability 4,855,702 2,808,652
Deferred tax liability 87,005,073 87,005,073
Total non-current liabilities 1,424,365,261 629,081,854
TOTAL 3,308,295,456 2,377,188,460
Capital stock 626,000,000 626,000,000
Additional paid-in capital 353,538,678 353,538,678
Retained earnings 133,666,931 279,291,841
Other equity reserves 4,732,702 (48,066,614)
Stockholders’ Equity 1,117,938,311 1,210,763,905
Non-Controlling Interest - -
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 4,426,233,767 3,587,952,365
Key Indicators
Gross Profit Margin (%) 32% 41%
Net Income (loss) Margin (%) (17%) 2%
Return on Assets (%) (2.79%) (0.20%)
Return on Equity (%) (11.04%) (0.60%)
Current Ratio (%) 18.80% 16.14%
Total Liabilities to Equity (%) 2.96 1.96
Earnings Per Share (Basic) (Php 0.0000) (₱1.20) (₱0.01)
Book Value per Share (Php 0.0000) ₱1.79 ₱1.93
*The Parent Company was incorporated on January 5, 1993
7.1 Revenue
DWC IN 2018 amount ₱235,017,477 and the percentage is 43% while in 2017
amount ₱396,371,586 and the percentage is 60% and this is the changes on the amount
and the percentage ₱161,354,109 and 41%
Total revenues decreased by 18% in 2018 which were derived from 80% rooms
and 20% food, beverage and others. Drastic decrease in revenue is attributable to the
servants earned by DWC from the temporary closure of operations for a six (6) month
period amounting to ₱128.3 million
7.2 Cost of Sales and Services
Movements in this account are as follows:
2018 2017 Change % Change
Cost of sales and services ₱269,424,398 ₱290,185,729 (₱20,760,791) (7%)
Cost of food, beverages and others 98,662,252 99,434,296 (772,044) (1%)
₱368,087,190 ₱389,620,025 (₱21,532,835) (6%)
The degree of cost of sales and services is attributable to the decrease in revenues
of DWC along with its temporary closure, since most of the costs are variables as
incurred. Significant expenses affected are salaries and wages, outside services, supplies
and food and beverages.
However, gross profit margin is not aligned with the decrease in revenues since
fixed expenses are still being paid by DWC regardless of operations.
Additional property and equipment was acquired during the year which caused
the increase in depreciation and amortization amounting to ₱12. 1 million.
Communication, light and water also increased because of the fuel cost used for the
generator set due to the fluctuations in power supply in Boracay.
7.3 Operating Expenses
Movements in this account are as follows
2018 2017 Change %Change
Administrative expenses ₱254,832,734 ₱247,240,138 ₱7,592,596 3%
Selling and marketing expenses 28,529,263 29,606,486 (1,077,223) (1%)
₱283,361,997 ₱276,846,624 ₱6,513,373 2%
Since, Boracay was temporarily closed for operations, expenses increased by 2%.
This is due to administrative expenses that DWC still incurred during its closure.
Increase in salaries and wages was also observed due to annual increase of
employees’ salaries. Also, there is an increase in the shifting of employees due to the
increased demand for work force caused by increase in revenues.
Expenses variable to revenues also decreased such as management fees,
commissions, credit and charges and outside services.
7.4 Consolidated Statements of Financial Positions as of December 31, 2018 vs
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as of December 31, 2017.
7.4.1 Cash
Due to Boracay Island’s closure for six months in 2018, the Group has
incurred losses from operations but still managed to generate ₱14. 5 million cash
from operating activities.
7.4.2 Trade and Other Receivables
The increase in trade and other receivables is mainly attributable to the
increase in credit card receivables due to accumulated credit card transactions
covering the year-end holidays. The DWC amount of increase is ₱9,977,140.
7.4.3 Income Taxes
The current tax expenses of the DWC including MCIT is ₱1,617,434. In 2018,
DWC ceased its operations pursuant to Executive Order No.53 or the Boracay
rehabilitation, resulting in NOLCO and related deferred tax amounting to ₱112.5 million
and ₱33.6 million, respectively.
7.4.4 Trade and Other Payables Significant purchases to suppliers were also
made during the year along with the opening of Signature Suites, Unreleased checks
pertaining to the purchase amounted to ₱35.2 million.
7.4.5 Loans payable
This account consists of:
2018 2017
Short-term borrowings ₱874,500,00 ₱900,000,000
Long -term loans 1,520,612,869 645,833,335
₱2,395,112,869 ₱1,545,833,335
The Group obtained loans for working capital and finance the on-going
construction of Signature Suites in Boracay.
8. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
The creation of search engine optimization as an effective marketing strategy will serve
an improvement in the overall performance of the hotel. The brands visibility in the search
engine creates opportunities in the growing digital travel and hospitality sector. The main
objection of this project is to form the Discovery Shore Boracay as the number website to appear
in the search engine whenever the keyword “boraca” “hotel in Boracay” is searched. In order to
achieve this outcome, improvement of the hotel’s brand reputation online is the key.
8.1 Objective- Growth
Improving the overall search engine optimization of Discovery Shores Boracay’s
website will take up to three months starting from the first month of the year up until
April before the peak season of the Boracay Island. Acquiring a SEO agency to assist the
optimization is the first step in the process.
● Analyzing and identifying the specific phrases and keywords in a span of
one months starting as early as January. At the same time the link
campaign of the hotel’s website starts at this month of the year.
● Improving the websites coding, site speed, linking hierarchy and removing
bad outbound links as early as the month of February of the year.
● Optimizing the websites content, designing the page structure and creating
social media, text links and image tags until the month of April
8.2 Marketing Objectives- Growth
The Hotel will continue optimization of social media and the brand awareness
especially during the peak seasons and the following months.
● A Brand Ambassador will be introduced all over the hotel’s social media
and website to represent the brand and increase the connection of the
company through its guests.
● A monthly video uploads in the Discovery Shores Boracay YouTube
channel.
● Evaluation and Analysis of the implemented SEO throughout the process.
Ensure that the Discovery Shores Boracay’s website and related articles
reaches number one on the search engine results.
● Maintaining an increase of positive reviews from third-party agencies
regarding the service of the hotel.
8.3 Key success factors:
● Search engine optimization strategy as the one of the main strategies
used in the marketing of Discovery Shores Boracay.
● Develop an ongoing website content strategy by supporting the hotel’s
primary pages with thor layers of supporting content pages. Displaying a
rich content which is highly specific in phrases help visitors of the site
understand their options.
● Implementing Blog strategy in every new article publication counts as a
new fresh indexed content on our website. Focusing not only on the
promotional side but also on the trends in which potential guests can be
easily attracted. Furthermore, blogs create more web traffic.
● Project management approach helps manage the hotel’s activities while
handling problems effectively, with the right amount of communication
and documentation of the project positive outcomes is possible.
● Using Agile methodology in used keeping track of the SEO changes like
changes and updates, solving conflicts and shortening the gap between
competitors. By implementing the agile principle the Discovery Shores
Boracay can overcome the biggest SEO challenges; the hotel can quickly
adapt to the changes resulting in a SEO team who are faster in responding
and delivering better results.
● Undertake a review of results in six months’ time every change in the
marketing strategy a company must always review for a learning
opportunity. Through this review process taking notes to underlying
problems and achievements creates a better understanding on what is
working and what is not.
9. EVALUATION METRICS AND CONTROL
In order to measure the success of the proposed SEO marketing strategy, the team will be
using the following metrics in tracking the progress.
● Return on investment will be used to calculate the net profit from the campaign,
by using ROI the management can easily determine whether or not the hotel got
to generate revenue on implementing the campaign.
● Following the calculation of the RIO the hotel’s management will be tracking the
revenues in order to gather data on sales. This metric can easily determine
whether direct sales of the hotel had increased or decreased while implementing
the SEO.
● Website Traffic Analysis the management team who are focused on the SEO of
the hotel will be tracking what day or month the traffic generates more, they will
also take notes on detailed progress on the popularity of the hotel’s website, also
including whether the visitors of the hotel’s website and other marketing channels
are using mobile devices or desktop devices and what is the average time does the
visitors spent on browsing the website. Monitoring the behavior of the visitors can
help our SEO management team to improve the current content of our website.
● Social media metrics, our SEO team will track the return of impressions
regarding our advertising of the hotel. Will be focusing on what post has gained a
lot of attention to our visitors, how many likes and dislikes, shares and comments
generated on our post. Furthermore, answering the questions of the visitors on our
website will still be one of our top priorities, by doing so visitors on our website
would always feel connected and feel valued.
10. APPENDIX
The Company Discovery World Corporation doing business under the names of
Discovery Shores Boracay, Platitos Resto-Bar, Sands Lounge, Indigo Rest-Bar and Sunken Pool
Bar makes trade magazines that are transmitted in the Air-Pacific region as well as worldwide.
The company accepts online hotel reservations through its websites:
Discovery Shores Boracay- www.discoveryshoresboracay.com
Club Paradise Palawan- www.clubparadisepalawan.com
My Discovery Elite (for members)- www.mydiscovery.ph
10.1 Promotional tie-ups with Tourism-Related Companies
The resort collaborates with tourism-related companies for certain packages with
certain airlines that are included in the accommodation of Discovery Shores Boracay and
airline tickets. Additionally, Discovery Shores Boracay has tied-up with the local and
foreign agencies offering travel packages.
10.2 Corporate Governance
The company remains focused on ensuring the adoption system and practices of
good corporate governance in enhancing value for its shareholders. In compliance with
the initiative of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the corporation
submitted its corporate governance manual to SEC. However, the Company already
created various Board-level committees. Composed of:
● Executive Committee
● Audit Committee
● Compensation and Remuneration Committee
● Risk Oversight Committee
The board establishes the major goals, policies and objectives of the Company, as
well as the means to monitor and evaluate the performance of the management. The
board also ensures that adequate internal control mechanisms are implemented and
properly complied in all levels (DWC SEC17-A, 2018).
