Research Outline

2. Some guests recently complained that our hotel did not have wireless internet. The sales department also reported that some customers did go to us because of wireless internet access. Thus, it is possible that offering wireless internet access might increase our sales. However, the concern is how much the demand is and whether the sales increase will be large enough to cover the wireless internet service and generate profit. Thus, the marketing department decided to conduct a research on this issue. The purpose of the research is, therefore, to learn about the customer's wireless internet demand; and the research objectives are: (1) What effect will the addition of wireless internet service have on customer satisfaction? and (2) How much will the addition of wireless internet service affect room sales?

Survey method will be used to collect data. Target population is previous, current, and prospective customers. To increase the number of representatives of the population, samples will be randomly drawn from the customer list in our computer system and the list of prospective customers from a marketing company. Because of our limited budget and time, the sample size will be 500 individuals. Mail survey will be used to collect data. Two weeks after the first surveys are mailed, a second batch of surveys will be sent to the individuals who do not respond.

The research will be conducted by in-house research team because of our limited budget. The approximate cost is $10,000, with $2,000 for the preparation of the questionnaire, $5,000 for printing and collection of survey data ($10 each), and $3,000 for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the results.

The project is expected to be completed in three months. We expect to accurately assess customer needs in balance with profitability for this issue.