Marketing strategy for culinary art course of citysmart hotel management company

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This internship was successful due to the cooperation and support coming from a
number of people, by which have allowed me to gain much more than what the educational
aspect of the program could have offered.
First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to Citysmart Hotel Management for
enabling me to complete this report on “Marketing Strategy for Culinary Art course of
Citysmart Hotel Management Company”.
I wish to acknowledge my company supervisor, Ms. Shania Bui, the manager of
Marketing Department and the entire Marketing team for enthusiastically sharing with me
their experiences. I am grateful to them for all of the support and guidance that they have
provided me throughout the entire internship.
I also wish to extend my gratitude toward my academic supervisors, Mr. Nguyen
Hoang, Mr. La Tien Dung, and Prof. Corinne Montoya, for assisting me with tremendous
opportunities and necessary resources required during the internship.
Lastly, I would like to give my warmest thanks to all who helped me in anyway during
my internship.

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SUMMARY
This report of mine is called “Marketing strategy for Culinary Art course of Citysmart
Hotel Management Company”, and its purpose is to contribute my ideas to the improvement
of marketing strategies in the Citysmart Hotel Management, based on the experiences that I
have acquired during the internship.
The report will be divided into 3 different chapters. In the first chapter, I will give a
brief introduction about Citysmart Hotel Management company. The next chapter will be a
detailed description regarding the tasks that I have accomplished during my internship. And,
the final chapter will be about the evaluation of my own career achievements, alongside with

the working experience that I have gained during the internship.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT........................................................................................................1
SUMMARY................................................................................................................................2
I. COMPANY BACKGROUND.............................................................................................4
II. COMPANY LOGO...............................................................................................................4
III. COMPANY INTRODUCTION......................................................................................4
1. Business Type.............................................................................................................4
2. Company Mission.......................................................................................................4
3. Company Vision.........................................................................................................5
4. Human Resources.......................................................................................................5
5. Company Products......................................................................................................5
6. Company goals and strategies....................................................................................7
IV.

COMPANY ANALYSIS..................................................................................................9

V. SWOT ANALYSIS.............................................................................................................14
1. Strengths...................................................................................................................14
2. Weaknesses...............................................................................................................14
3. Opportunities............................................................................................................14
4. Threats......................................................................................................................14
VI. DESCRIPTION OF THE TASKS GIVEN DURING THE PERIOD OF THE
INTERNSHIP..........................................................................................................................17

1. Market segment........................................................................................................17
2. Market research........................................................................................................20
3. Direct marketing.......................................................................................................22
4. Event marketing........................................................................................................23
VII. SOME RECOMMENDATION OF SOLUTIONS TO INCREASE MARKETING
OF CHM COMPANY.............................................................................................................30
1. New type of content on social media solution..........................................................30
2. Human Resources solution.......................................................................................32
3. Compensation and benefits.......................................................................................33
4. Infrastructure and technology solutions...................................................................33
VIII. EVALUATION ON THE REPORT.............................................................................34
1. Achievements of the reports.....................................................................................34
2. Difficulties encountered on the process of completing the internship.....................34
3. Experience gained during the period of internship and solutions to overcome
difficulties.....................................................................................................................35
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................36

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I. COMPANY BACKGROUND
Citysmart Hotel Management (CHM) Company
Business name

Citysmart Education Company

Tax number

105608469

Address

Golden Westlake Building, 151 Thuy Khe Street, Tay Ho District,
Hanoi

General Director

Thomas Chan

Phone

024 3728 6161

Email



Website

www.CHM.edu.vn

II. COMPANY LOGO

III. COMPANY INTRODUCTION
1. Business Type
Citysmart Hotel Management (CHM) is an international company under of the
ownership of Citysmart Group. It was founded in 2012 by Thomas Chan, who is now the
General Director. He is the owner of CitySmart Corporation, of which includes other systems:

Study abroad consultant, Project Consultant, International Kindergarten, CHM International
School. CitySmart Group has more than 15 years of operation in Vietnam.
2. Company Mission
CHM provides an elite educational experience that offers internationally recognized
qualifications, combining with theoretical and practical training career-focusing programs.
They prepare our students with the necessary skills to become future leaders within the aspect
of global Hospitality and Culinary Arts Industry. CHM’s mission is to increase the quality of
human resources, and to supply graduates, who already possess the required skills, with
opportunities to FasTrack their hospitality careers.

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3. Company Vision
Their vision is to become the leader in hospitality education in Vietnam. Their highly
qualified, experienced and dedicated team of lecturers, chefs, and supporting staffs are
committed to ensure the success of all students. Their superb facilities enable them to provide
the highest-quality education in an environment that facilitates learning. They have created
not only the most hands-on educational experience in Vietnam, but through our talented and
dedicated staffs, a tight-knit community has been widely facilitated which is determined to
support students as they reach their highest potential.
4. Human Resources
Currently, the company has nearly 40 employees, the average age is from 21 to 40 years old.
- General Director: operates and manages all activities of the company.
- General Manager: obtains profit contribution by managing staff; establishes and
accomplishes business objectives.
- The company has 6 departments:
1. Human Resources: evaluates, coordinates, and recruits employees in the company.

2. Sales and Marketing Department: manages sales and marketing.
3. Accounting: oversees the company's facilities, provides capital for production,
calculates the company's finances and pays salaries to all employees.
4. Technology: administers information technology, engineering and design models,
and production process proposal.
5. Lecturer: teaches and guides in Hospitality Management and Culinary Art’s students.
6. Student Services: supports students.

5. Company Products
CHM has only two main products which are known as “Hospitality Management” and
“Culinary Art” courses. Both have short-term courses and long-term courses from 6 months to
2,5 years.

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

Hotel Management:
•

CTH 2 Certificate in
Hospitality Practice

•
•

Provide students with specialized knowledges about Restaurant – Hotel

and other main functions in a hotel
Provide certificate for the completion of the course
Help students to develop practical skills for future career

•
Provide certificate specialized in many aspects of tourism, restaurant, and
hotel
•
BTEC 3 Certificate in Complement the career training program with academic subjects
Hospitality
•
Provide interesting studying program for college students that have decided
on the field of their careers in the future
•
Provide conditions for students to pursue higher education
•
•
•
BTEC 4, 5
Higher
Nationals in
Hospitality
Management

•

•
•

•

•

Provide interesting, engaging and challenging learning experiences in
Hotel Management with specialized knowledge and practical experience
Provide skills and knowledge about Hotel Management to necessarily
achieve good results in the environment of global customer service
Give authority to students through topics about management, leadership,
creativity and start-up to maximize the chance of a secured career
Create opportunities to students to work and develop in the hotel major,
or to study further to have honor degree on Hotel Management or other
related majors
Create opportunities for students to develop skills, techniques, and
personal features necessary for the career
Help students to understand about the background of hotel services in
both local and global areas; while provide students with a permanent
view on the global development in the international career path
Help students to achieve certificate and degree globally-recognized after
finishing the course
Create career promotional opportunities relating to Hotel Management
for the student, with the purpose of being internationally recognized

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•

Help students to achieve advantages in competition and learn how to
face with the discrepancies and changes of hotel service major under the

fluctuating conditions.
Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills in each specific
sphere of career
Provide opportunities for students to develop their career in Hotel
Management, or continue to study to earn a master’s degree in Hotel
Management or in any relevant field
Students will earn knowledge and update contact information in order to
ensure their chance of securing a career after graduation
Understand about the differences in cultures and prepare for career in
managing hotel services major
Maximize studying potential of students by learning with case-study,
consulting practical project, researching on business organizations
related to recently-opened hotel services, and designing effective
marketing strategies

•
•
BSc
(Hons) Internation
al Hospitality
Management

•
•
•



Culinary Arts:

CTH Level 2 Award in
Culinary Skills

CTH Level 3 Certificate
in Professional Cookery

•
•
•

Provide students with necessary skills in professional cookery
Enhance personal skills and increase chances of finding a job
Support personal skills and increase chances of finding a job

•
•
•

Provide students with necessary skills to work in professional cookery
Develop cooking skills
Enhance the ability to combine various skills to accomplish different
dishes
Develop the ability to assess the quality of any dish
Develop time-management skills, food health and security, and
personal hygiene as a professional cook must have

•
•

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•

•

•
Pearson BTEC Level 4
and 5 Higher Nationals
in Culinary Arts
Management

•

•
•

•
•

Provide interesting, engaging and challenging learning experiences in
the course of Culinary Arts with specialized knowledge and practice
experience
Provide skills and knowledge about Culinary Arts to necessarily
achieve good results in the environment of global restaurant and hotel
services
Give authority to students through topics about management,
leadership, creativity and start-up to maximize the chance of a secured

career
Create opportunities to students to work and develop in the cookery
major, or to study further to have honor degree in Culinary Arts or
other related majors
Create opportunities for students to develop skills, techniques, and
personal features necessary for the career
Help students to understand about the background of culinary arts in
both local and global areas; while provide students with a permanent
view on the global development in the international career path
Help students to achieve certificate and degree globally-recognized
after finishing the course
Create career promotional opportunities relating to Culinary Arts for
the student, with the purpose of being internationally recognized

6. Company goals and strategies
 Goals:
-

CHM is now scouting more areas for their expansions in other cities (Nha Trang, Phu

Quoc…)
The company is determined to be one of the top brands in hospitality education in
Vietnam, be able to compete with both domestic and foreign company.
 Future strategies:
-

- Invest more branches in national because it could help more students are excited
about CHM have a chance to enroll the course.
- Improve the quality also the facility of the CHM to bring the best experience for
customers.

- Diversity the range of products, provides more course for customer to choose.
- Increases partner commitment to a common vision.

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IV. COMPANY ANALYSIS
1. Market environment analysis
 Macro environment:
Economic:
The economic situation has a great effect on the purchasing power and the shopping
habit of people that invest on education. The economic factors include: development rate,
inflation, economic downturn, income, consumer price index, …
According to World Bank, over the past 25 years, Vietnam has enjoyed a strong
economic growth with remarkable development records. The economy of Vietnam continued
to strengthen in 2016, with an estimated GDP growth rate of 6.7 percent. Vietnam’s economic
activity moderated in the first half of 2016, with GDP expanding by 5.5 percent, compared to
6.3 percent over the same period in 2016. This slow-down is considered as a result of serve
drought-affecting agricultural production and slower industrial growth. Vietnam has also
posted its international economic integration as it has signed a number of free trade
agreements, including with the Eurasian Economic Union, the European Union, South Korea,
and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. While global integration has advanced well with Vietnam
embedding itself in global value chains, the benefits are constrained by the absence of

linkages with domestic firms.
•

The income of Vietnamese people is also increasing, with the largest group has the
increase up to $500-$1000/month. Besides, the total house hold consumption rate of
Vietnamese are considers the highest in the South East Asia for about 70% per month.
• Ecological:
Vietnam is highly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters, posing significant
risk to develop gains and further progress. Already, Vietnam is experiencing rising
temperatures and sea levels, stronger storms, floods, and droughts.
• Social:
Human factors play an important role in the market. They include: genders, population,
density, ethnics, religions, careers, education standards, etc. The Vietnamese population is
better educated and today has a higher life expectancy than most countries with similar per
capita income. However, the poverty agenda still vulnerable, living close to the poverty line
(one third of population - equivalent to about 30 million people - fall into the ‘poor’ or ‘near
poor’’ groups). The poor and extreme poor are concentrated among ethnic minority groups.
While representing only 15 percent of the population, half of the nation’s poor belong to
ethnic minorities. Furthermore, these groups are highly vulnerable to shocks from climate
change, natural disasters, as weak as economic and health shocks.
According to a draft national urban development program-me proposed by the Ministry
of Construction, Vietnam is expected to achieve an urbanization rate of 38% with 870 urban
areas by 2016. This is expected to increase to 45% with nearly 940 areas by 2020.
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Political:
This factor consists of the policies, regulation, and the procedure of the Government.

Vietnam is one of those countries with stable political foundation. This is considered as an
advantage for the domestic companies, since they can attract many foreign investors to the
market. In addition to that, the Government of Vietnam has showed determination for
reforms. Vietnam’s 2011 - 2020 Socio-Economic Development Strategy (SEDS) gives
attention to structural reforms, environment sustainability, social equity and emerging issues
of macroeconomic stability.
Despite of the control over retailing, this sector has now been more liberalized under the
conditions of Vietnam’s membership under WTO law and other trade agreements.
Nevertheless, any given change in the regulation and policies of the government with regard
to the retail sector will bring both opportunities and challenges to retailers. Here are a few
examples of some policies Vietnam has participated in that related to retailing.
WTO membership:
Foreign investors been allowed to own 49% of capital in joint ventures since 2008. In
early, fully foreign-owned companies could also be established and were allowed to operate in
the market independently, Vietnam will allow foreign retailer to set up businesses with 100%
foreign capital from January 2015. With their rich experience, abundant capital and structured
modern operating methods, international retail group have gained increasing popularity in the
market and brought on intense competitor for the domestic retailers, pressuring the latter to
modernize in order to content with the new players.
Other regional Free Trade Agreement (FTAs):
Vietnam has participated in a number of FTAs such as the ASEAN - China Free Trade
Agreement, ASEAN - Korea Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN - Japan Comprehensive
Economic Partners, ASEAN - Australia - New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, and Vietnam Japan Economic Partner Agreement, which may impact the Vietnam retail market due to tariff
commitments. For example, when companies are allowed to take advantages of lower or zero
tariff rates, this arrangement allows companies to manufacture goods in Vietnam and to export
them to neighboring countries where manufacturing cost would have been higher.
• Technological:
Long gone are the days when Vietnam was an underdeveloped country with limited
access to Internet and little technology developments. The technology of Vietnam has been
growing especially fast lately and has shown sign of stopping.

In 2016, the Internet users of Vietnam are estimated at about 36,140,967, which is 39%
ahead of Thailand and just behind China. Vietnamese are spending far more than ever before
on entertainment, high-tech consumer goods, and health and beauty products, also education.
These trends, among others, follow the major societal and economic transformations that have
taken place in Vietnam in the last 10 years.
•

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Population:
The Vietnamese population of approximately 90 million is the main driver of growth in
the retail market. 70% of the population is currently aged between 15 and 64 years, and this is
projected to continue to increase. This will spur the demand for greater choice in products,
brands, and product categories.
Younger population will also provide more opportunities for the retail sector because
young people tend to spend more money on education as they care very much about careerchoice developments.
a. Micro environment:
• Company and customer:
The main customer of CHM is the population that lives in the North and South of
Vietnam. Mainly, those, mostly students and adults, who have great passions with Hospitality
and Culinary Arts. And now, the number of customers in this group has been increasing
drastically.
According to the research of CHM’s Marketing Department as I have collected, we have
the customer structure of CHM as:
+ 55% customers with high income (> 20,000,000 VND/month)
+ 28% customers with stable income (10,000,000 VND/month - 20,000,000
VND/month)

+ 17% customers with middle income (< 10,000,000 VND/month)
The target customer of CHM is concerned about course quality, fee, duration, job
opportunities after graduation. The Vietnamese consumer is prudent, preferring to save rather
spend. However, in education, parents are willing to pay a lot of money for children to go to
school. In recent years, more and more international schools have been operating such as Vin
school, TH school, RMIT… The total expenditure on Vietnamese education accounts for 47%
of total household expenditures. It can be said that the Vietnamese spend money almost
limitless on education because many Vietnamese people believe that education is the key to
help them and their families to solve the difficulties of the economy.
Vietnamese parents, especially old generations, still prefer to invest for their children to
study in traditional university in Vietnam. However, with the increasing incomes and living
standards, they have become more concerned about the school which can provide modern
facilities, adequate teaching and learning facilities, quality teachers at the request of
international organizations provide educational programs and above all the knowledge, skills
as well as output qualification.
• Partner:
The rapid development of the global hospitality industry has led to the growing demand
for professional hotels and tourism managements. In order to be guaranteed with a good job
right after graduation, students studying at CHM are not only equipped with theoretical and
practical knowledge at the school, but also received paid internship at the hotel system, both
•

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in internationally and domestically. As a result, it is not only easy for students to get a job
right where they are from, but also to receive many invitations from other major hotels. CHM
is constantly developing its network of career partners to provide the best job opportunities

for all of our students.
Partnership:

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Competitors:
In recent years, the hospitality industry is growing at a fast pace and offers many career
opportunities. The foreign investors investing in Vietnam's tourism industry has developed
rapidly in the past decade and has the potential and prospects to go further. In line with the
growth of the tourism industry, operators in the hospitality industry, including travel industry,
hotel restaurants, catering services, are recruiting youngster resources. Hence, a lot of
vocational schools are established. Hereunder are a few notable competitors with CHM:
•

Huong nghiep A Au: is a vocational school and established in 2011. They have 12
branches and school in nationwide from Northern to Southern of Vietnam. They have
Hospitality such as Front Office course, Food and Beverage course and housekeeping course
and Culinary Arts such as Asian course, Baking course, European
course, Bartender course and many short term and long-term
course suits students.

Nestspace: is a vocational school and established in 2010.
They have 7 branches in many big cities in Vietnam such as Ho
Chi Minh, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Hanoi… Netspace only has
culinary art training course with many diversity cuisine such as: European cuisine,
Vietnamese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine,
Vegetarian cuisine, Baking course, Bartender course…

Pegasus: is an International College which established in
2011, as a part of Kinder World Education Group. They only
have 2 campus in Hanoi and Danang. Pegasus provides 2 main
course is hospitality management and culinary arts. They only
have short term course under 6 months.

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V. SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT ANALYSIS OF CHM
1. Strengths
- CHM are accredited by Pearson Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding organization.
They provide International Qualification with competitive price.
- CHM’s programs are taught by a team of experienced international lecturers who
bring with them a wealth of industrial experiences from across the globe.
- CHM has state-of-the-art hospitality teaching facilities with seven multimedia
classrooms, two hotel practical rooms and six different training kitchens.
- CHM hotel partnerships facilitate paid internship opportunities in famous 4 and 5star hotels, resorts, serviced apartments and casinos, both in Hanoi and globally.
- CHM is unique in the way that it guarantees job placement in 5 stars hotel for our
students after graduation.
2. Weaknesses
- With high quality teachings, advanced facilities, and professional qualifications, the
fee of studying at CHM will be quite high. Therefore, the main customers of CHM are usually
those who have medium or high income.
- CHM has only 2 branches located in Hanoi and Nha Trang city. And so, lots of
students in other cities have found it very difficult to enroll into either of the two branches.

- CHM does not have a dormitory for students, thus many of them are concerned about
renting a house or apartment near the company as the course fee of accommodation is
increasingly higher.
3. Opportunities
- Tourism and Hospitality industry is increasing in its own potentials. Many hotels and
restaurants are opening recently.
- Hanoi and Nha Trang are famous tourist cities in Vietnam.
- Not many companies have training programs in the professional cookery.
- People living standard is much higher, and parents want to support their children in
education by providing all the necessary and available resources to help them advancing on
the labor market.
4. Threats
- CHM has strong competitors in the same market such as Huong nghiep A Au,
Netspace, Pegasus… These companies have been trading for a long time, and they also have
many branches in Vietnam. It is very difficult to compete with these rivals, as they are already
famous in many cities.
- The needs of hotel recruiter are changing constantly. The requirements to improve
the quality of student are increasing also. Therefore, CHM must focus on the curriculum in
teaching students.

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 SO: The company can take advantage of the sources of capital to focus on the
research and development of new courses. Thanks to the higher living standards as well as
parents are always available to support their children in education in recent years, the
company receives more opportunities and finds it easier to reach out to everyone. The
development of hospitality industry is also the factor that attracts potential customers.

 ST: Although many big competitors are entering Hospitality and Culinary Art
training and causing increasing pressure, CHM can still totally compete with these rivals as
they are capable of coming up with appropriate strategies as well as innovative measures for
themselves to adapt the rising needs of customer and the growth of the industry. Moreover,
CHM is the only company provides international certificate and diploma accredited by
Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality. Today, the majority of new students comes from
the recommendation of old students of CHM. Thus, the company needs to keep in touch with
those students as well as to maintain the student services for new students.
 WT: The challenge lies in the threat of occupying the market of big competitors as
the numbers of hotel and restaurant are increasing. This forces the company to adopt new
business strategies in order to develop all of its potential, strength and growth within the
service system.
 WO: CHM can organize the trainings for employees in the company, especially for
the student service department and sales department to enhance their levels of expertise as
well as to acquire more knowledge in service, teaching, short-term trainings abroad for
lecturers and managers. CHM should also consider expanding its branches to other cities such
as Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang… and building up dormitories for students of each branch.

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Conclusion of SWOT analysis in CHM
S

-

SWOT

-

O

-

Hospitality is increasing.
Hanoi and Nha Trang are
famous tourist cities.
Do not have a lot of
competitors.
People living standard is
higher.

T

-

Despite of less
competitor, the
competitors are strong.
The needs of the hotel
recruiter are changing
constantly.

W
Provide international
certificate in Hospitality
industry.
International lecturers

with lots of experience.
Partnership with 5-star
hotel.
Guarantee job placement
for students after
graduation.

-

Course fee is high.
Do not have dormitory for
students.
Lack a sufficient number
of branches.

SO
- Parents are available to
support their children in
education.
- Higher living standard
help the company to
penetrate customers
easier.
- The needs of hospitality
are increasing as well as
the growth of its.

WO
- Expand more branches in
other tourist cities.

- Train lecturers and senior
staffs to bring the best
service.
- Build up dormitory for
students.

ST
- Provide international
certificate as well as
accredited by
confederation of tourism
and hospitality.
- Adapt to the needs of
customer and the growth
of the industry.

WT
- More and more
competitors provide the
same courses with more
competitive prices.

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VI. DESCRIPTION OF THE TASKS GIVEN DURING THE PERIOD OF THE
INTERNSHIP
In order to improve the efficiency of marketing, we did a prior research on the market

including the area and demography (gender, age, career choice, household income,
consumer’s preference and investment on education).
1. Market segment
Participants mainly involve construction side investors or supervisors.
Questionnaire and interview are implemented to collect data through direct
communication with CHM’s customers.
 Advantages:
+ Low costs of data collection.
+ Highly reliable:
+ Convenience in data collection from far location through email, fax or phone
interview.
+ Highly level of accuracy in analyzing data.
+ Validity for a small - medium group of participants.
 Disadvantages:
+
+

Interviews need to guarantee a sufficient number of interviewees.
The interviewees can hesitate to give honest answers about their business.

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QUESTIONNAIRE
PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Full name:………………………………………………………………………………………
Gender:…………………………………………………………………………………………
Address: .......................................................... .................................................. ........................

Phone number:.............................................. ...................................................... ......................
Email (if any): ............................................ ......................................................... ......................

General Customer Information:
Question 1: Would you please tell us your age?
A. 18 to 30 years
B. From 30 to 40 years old
C. Over 40 years old
Question 2: What is your current industry?
A. Student
C. Government employees
B. Business
D. Other
Question 3: What is your or your parents monthly income?
A. Under 5 million
C. Between 10 and 15 million
B. Between 5 and 10 million
D. 15 million or more

Questionnaire about the company and the hospitality industry :
Question 4: Are you interested in Hotel management and Culinary arts?
A. Yes
B. No
Question 5: Which one do you prefer?
A. Hotel Management
B. Culinary Arts
Question 6: Which is the most important factor lead to your decision when you register a
course?
A. Fee
C. Quality

B. Career after graduation
D. Facility

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After collecting and evaluating the results from the questionnaires and the interviews that
we conducted at some locations, here are the final results:
16 - 30

30 - 40

> 40

Age
7% 2%

Student

Employees

Current
6% industry

Other

11%

91%

Hotel Management

83%

Culinary Arts

Course prefer

Under 5 million
5 to 10 million
10 to 15 milliton
Over 15 millionMonthly income

4%

8%

38%

62%

56%

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32%

20

Fee

Quality

29%

Facility

Factor

Career after graduation

29%

Yes

No

Interesting industry
33%

67%
18%

24%

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According to the outcome, it can be seen that the target customer of CHM is those from
16 to 30 years of age, most of them are high school students, or passionate adults toward hotel
management and culinary art. With such ratio in the age of these target customers, their
average income is above 10 million, and has a great priority in spending on education.
Through some surveys, the rate of unemployment of college students after graduation in
Vietnam is quite high. As a result, though they are interested, these target customers worry
about having a job after graduation, alongside with their concerns over the course fee and the
quality of teaching.
As can be seen, the course Hotel Management is being chosen more than Culinary Arts,
due to the fact that Vietnamese people believe working in a kitchen will demand more
workloads, which can lead to sleep deprivation. Especially, according to the investigation, the
number of college students enrolling in the Hotel Management course in CHM is much higher
compared to the Culinary Arts course as many of them chose Hotel Management over
Culinary Arts because of the mentioned concerns.
2. Market research
 Situation:
CHM has gone into operation since 2012 with its only facility located in Hanoi for those
who are interested in following the Hospitality major. Under the survey, this major is having a
tremendous growth in touristic cities like Da Nang, Nha Trang, Ha Long, Ho Chi Minh… as
more hotels and resorts are being invested into Vietnam recently. And so, CHM has decided to
open another branch in Nha Trang starting in July 2018.
To create the most suitable course for customers in the South, especially in Nha Trang,
CHM has decided on doing a market research for human resource in 3 to 5 stars hotels,
through methods of calling to the HR office, or searching on hiring websites like Hoteljob.vn.

Waiter

Chef

Housekeeping

Human Resources of Hospitality industry in Nha Trang

Receptionist

12%

38%
23%

27%

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From the graph, as can be seen, the most hired position in a hotel is reception, following
by housekeeping and other positions in the kitchen, and lastly is table services in the
restaurant. From investigation, the reason for such insufficiency is because most of the hired
employees are not professionally trained for their positions. Moreover, to this major, the
problem of high pressure and discipline also makes employees to quit their jobs shortly after a
period of time. Therefore, to train a person about Hospitality, CHM needs to adjust their
teaching methods to make the course becomes more suitable in accordance with the social
circumstances.
Job requirement
125

100
75
50
25
0
Communicate in English Technical skills

Appearence

Withstand pressure

Hard working

Listening

According to the Ministry of Tourism, Hotel – Restaurant – Culinary Art are trending
majors that have hugely contributed to the economy of Vietnam. Specifically, in 2013, the
revenue of these 3 majors has reached 20.000 billion dong, and is estimated to reach 19-20
billion dollars in 2020, which would create 3 million jobs.
However, there are 90% of college students, with a degree in either hotel management
or culinary art in Vietnam, still looking for a job. One reason is that the majority of the
training program are not practical and underdeveloped comparing to the advancement of the
world. Companies have found out that college students after graduation still lack necessary
skills to work, especially language skill – an important factor to tourism. From 3 stars hotel to
higher ones, especially to positions in reception and restaurant services, this is an essential
demand, following by the importance of physical appearances. And many big hotels would
even require their employees to be able to speak Chinese, French, or Russian.
Furthermore, in every opening position, hotels want those who are specialized in a
certain field like reception or housekeeping or staff members in the kitchen. Therefore, CHM
has changed its short-term courses specialized in a specific field in the Nha Trang branch in

order to train the college students in the Southern part of Vietnam with more suitable
approaches.
• Preparation:
- Print flyer, Brochure, survey, folder, paper bag, bracelets.
- Contact High Schools in Nha Trang.
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- Research the competitors in Nha Trang (their courses duration, fee, facility…)
 Implementation:
After market research in Nha Trang, team marketing visited the high schools to promote
CHM’s programs and collected data from final year students, also building up relationship
with schools in Nha Trang.
With the permission of the headmaster, marketing team has joined every course to give
advices and guidance to the students for their upcoming interviews on career choice, and also
to give an introduction about CHM. After that, marketing team also did some researches on
their competitors with CHM in Nha Trang, and has found out that Huong Nghiep A Au and
Netspace are the two biggest competitors of CHM.
 Evaluation:
Advantage:
Raises awareness to target customers, in which it would include having partnership with
many high schools in order to connect with the 12th grade students through career workshops
and conferences.
- Researches on the environment, circumstances and needs of the area surrounding
Nha Trang to adjust the product.
- Understanding the operation of its competitors for the purpose of adjusting marketing
plans to be more appropriate for the CHM’s branch in Nha Trang.
• Disadvantage:

- The location of the branch is quite far from the center of Nha Trang city, which is not
convenient for transportation.
- The spending preferences of people in Nha Trang is also different as they do not
invest too much on education. And so, they also do not aim for their children to study at
majors that would require a high cost of tuition or any other external fee.
- Its competitors already have a long-standing brand positioning in Nha Trang.
•

3. Direct marketing
 Situation:
Direct marketing occurs when businesses address customers through a multitude of
channels, including mail, e-mail, phone, and in person. Direct marketing messages involve a
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specific “call to action,” such as “Call this toll-free-number” or “Click this link to subscribe.”
The results of such campaigns are immediately measurable, as a business can track how many
customers have responded through a message’s call to action.
With the initial market research and its following results, CHM has directed its aims
toward customers residing in high living standard cities near Hanoi such as Bac Ninh, Hai
Duong, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh… These cities have been highly industrialized in the field of
hotel in recent years.
 Implementation:
Team marketing and sales visited the high schools to promote CHM’s programs and
collected data from final year students, also building up relationship with schools in these
cities.
With the approval of the headmaster, marketing team has joined every class to give
advices and to answer interview questions of the student regarding their future career choices

as they are being introduced to CHM.
- Provides flyer, brochure, and survey to students.
- Promotes 2 majors: Hotel Management and Culinary Arts at CHM.
 Evaluation:
Advantages:
- Raises awareness about CHM as many students have looked for information through
Facebook and CHM website after the event of direct marketing at their schools.
- Collects more information for telemarketing team.
- Becomes partners with many high schools.
- Can deliver detailed information on our products, services and prices unlike other
forms of advertising.
• Disadvantages:
- Using leafleting or paper-heavy can be bad for the environment. Moreover, printing
leafleting, or brochure costs a lot of money.
- Direct marketing response rates tend to be around 1-3%. When I reach a consumer,
who isn’t interested in our products of services, it wastes money and they are likely to find it
irritating.
4. Event marketing
 Situation:
•

Event marketing is a promotional strategy that involves face-to-face contact between
companies and their customers at special events like concerts, fairs, and sporting events.
Brands use event marketing entertainment (like shows, contests, or parties) to reach
consumers through direct hand-to-hand sampling or interactive displays. The practice works
because it engages consumers while they’re in a willing, participatory position.
According to a 2012 study by the Event Marketing Institute:
• 58% of event marketing participants purchased the marketed product after the event
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