Orchid Ecotel: Leveraging Green Hoteling as Core Competency Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Vithal Kamat (CMD, Kamat Hotels India Ltd) is a second-generation entrepreneur, who took Kamat Hotels brand to new heights. A small chain of restaurants has been transformed into a full-service hospitality group under his leadership. Kamat Hotels (India) Ltd has five major verticals from five-star luxury hotel (Orchid Ecotel) restaurants in the economy (namely Kamat restaurants) that serve different customer segments. Kamat had ambitious plans to expand each vertical use of alternative growth strategies. However, the recent economic downturn has caused a sharp decrease due to the drop in average occupancy and room-competitive tariff rates offered by other hotels. In such a violent situation, Kamat plan to use the core competencies of the hotel "Ecotel", that is an environmentally friendly hotel to go for corporate branding and leverage its position in the market. The case illustrates the problems faced by Kamat to enhance core competence "Orchid" to its other verticals. Orchid was performed better than the industry average by 2008. However, in 2009, the performance drops dramatically, in part because of the economic downturn. This prompted the members of the Board of Directors to decide to extend the core competence of environmentally sustainable hotel in other verticals. However, this decision had to be considered in the light of its impact on the "Orchid", and other verticals. What are the problems to be faced in expanding core competencies "ecoteling other verticals? There were many side issues that must be addressed strategically and tactically, in order to maintain a balance between the expansion of core competencies vertically on brand extensions as such." Hide
by Ram Deshmukh, Atanu Adhikari Source: Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation 19 pages. Publication Date: October 26, 2011. Prod. #: W11394-PDF-ENG