Applying your understanding of the SWOT analysis, write down all of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats you can think of in relation to the ECAS business
Case Study
EC Accommodation Services (ECAS) is a hospitality entity situated in the less scenic part of a resort town
called Swakopmund. The owners, Mr and Mrs Johannes strongly believe that there is a need for lowcost family accommodation in the resort town of Swakopmund. ECAS comprises of huge family-style
furnished rooms but without a television set fitted-in. Although there is plenty of room for future
expansion, the grounds outside are fairly bare (unpaved) without any notable landscaping done except
for coastal sand that covers the whole ground area.
Mrs Johannes stays at the property. She serves breakfast to the guests in their rooms and provides teamaking facilities such as an electric jug and related cutlery. The resort town of Swakopmund has of late
seen some major investments, so much that there are a lot of good restaurants and take-aways in the
area such as Spur, Wimpy and KFC. Besides ECAS being situated not far away from the beach, shops
and other areas of interest, the rooms are priced low. A survey done a year ago showed that ECAS
charges less than half of what similar properties charge and only a fraction of what the big five-star
properties are charging.
ECAS’s major challenge is occupancy which gives Mr and Mrs Johannes sleepless nights. The property
has some regular clients who come every holiday period and it’s been like that for many years. Overall,
the property’s occupancy is roughly ~40% all year round and the Johannes knows from the local tourist
office that the other properties average around ~76% occupancy year-round. ECAS’s lack of occupancy
is quite frustrating to the Johannes given that they invested so much into buying the business. To make
matters worse, tourist cars are seen driving in then around the parking area and drive away.
Currently ECAS does very little advertising in local district guides and the holiday papers, mainly because
Mr and Mrs Johannes really thinks word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising. The owner of ECAS
are members of the local tourist committee, but too busy to go to the meetings as they are always busy
Read through the case study and answer ALL the following:
1. Applying your understanding of the SWOT analysis, write down all of the Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats you can think of in relation to the ECAS business
The SWOT analysis helps firms assess themselves strategically. It gives a clear picture of the firm's strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities.
The firm can use these opportunities by playing on its strengths and dodging the threats. The manager monitors the macro- and micro-environment for this analysis.
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