Challenges And Opportunities Of Singapore

Opportunities:

Tourism:

Singapore is becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations. This is due to its high-tech infrastructure and quick development. When Tourism starts to amplify in a country the industry that gains the most from it is the Hotel & Tourism industry. Raffles can make the most of this opportunity. Tourism benefits not only the hotels but also the local community

Increasing Income and Better lifestyle:

As the global economy grows the income of the people increases, which leads to an improved lifestyle. When the people are earning more they will spend more lavishly. They tend to spend on travelling and tourism and personal hobbies. This indirectly leads to increased revenues for hotel chains.

Exhibitions and trade shows:

Singapore is a financial centre and it has a lot of businessmen travelling there for work. It is also an International hub for Trade shows and business exhibitions. This serves as a great revenue opportunity for the hotel industry. These trade shows and conventions are usually held at hotels. Hence this is where businessmen prefer to stay. Hotels such as Raffles can make the most of such opportunities.

Creating a completely unique customer experience:

Raffles is a colonial-style luxury hotel in Singapore but it first started as a privately owned beach house. This is what sets it apart from the rest of its competitors. Raffles hotel also has a shopping arcade with 40 boutiques. Such a heritage and uniqueness is what sets it apart from the rest of the hotel chains. This is a major advantage when it comes to attracting customers.

Challenges:

Slowing workforce growth:

Singapore’s hotel industry workforce grew at an annual growth rate of 4.3% between 2009 and 2014. But going forward however, the workforce growth of Singapore is expected to decline, with total workforce growth falling to about 1-2% growth per year till 2020. Post-2020, it will likely decline even more to 1% per year. This manpower crunch will only worsen as more hotel rooms become available, with approximately 13,300 rooms coming on board from 2015 to 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate of 3.5%4. The industry must therefore ramp up its efforts with greater urgency towards a lean manpower model.

Greater difficulty in attracting and retaining Singaporean talent:

The aspirations of Singapore’s workforce continue to grow and evolve, so much so that by 2030, two-thirds of locals will be expected to hold Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET) jobs. On the other hand, 35% of the supply of jobs in the hotel industry belongs to that of Leadership, Managerial and Executive roles. Hotels must thus consider how to provide careers that will be aligned to the changing expectations and aspirations of the workforce.

Evolving consumer needs:

Consumer travel behaviour has changed due to the pervasiveness of digital and social media platforms, easy internet accessibility and the rise of millennial travellers. Consumers today are more tech-savvy, researched and connected. As a result, they have higher expectations. Now more than ever, hotels must provide speedy and customer-centric services and evolve their overall service delivery

Competition:

Singapore is one of the most popular and upcoming tourist destinations in the world. It’s a high-tech state that’s growing every day. All the large hotel chains such as Marriott, Marina Bay Sands, Intercontinental, and St. Regis all have established hotels in Singapore. Raffles has to compete with all of them. All these are Giants in the hospitality industry. Hotels have to keep adapting to new trends in order to gain customers. After Airing was founded, hotels face even stiffer competition. Airbnb gives customers a stay at a cheaper rate, and often includes several hotel like features. Airbnb even provides a kitchen which isn’t the case with hotels.