JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 109 ALTERNATIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR LOW SEASON PERIOD AT COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT BALI SEMINYAK RESORT Ni Putu Lusiana Pratiwi1, Made Sudiarta2 123Tourism Business Management, Politeknik Negeri Bali 1lusianapratiwi.lp@gmail.com, 2madeernawati@pnb.ac.id, 3sudiartamade@yahoo.co.id ABSTRACT This study was conducted to identify the company's prioritized strategy in raising hotel revenue during low season. The research method use disacombined qualitative and quantitative method. The key respondents are 6 employees including managers in the Sales and Marketing Department. The data analysis techniques used are Internal Factor Analysis Summary (IFAS) and External Factor Analysis Summary (EFAS), Internal-External (IE) Matrix, and SW OT Analysis. The results of IFAS matrix showed that the main strength of the hotel is the service especially in the restaurant and Spa; the down side is not having a direct access to the beach. The EFAS matrix highlights good communication facilities particularly speedy internet that could reach the basement; the threat is many competitors offer cheaper room rates. The result soft the IE Matrix Assessment place the company in the position of Growth Cell (Concentration through Vertical Integration). SW OT analysis has resulted in 8 alternative marketing strategies. It is expected the study results could assist in developing the hotel positioning, and for potential guests to know about Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort. Keywords: marketing strategy, low season, IE Matrix, SW OT analysis INTRODUCTION Sales and Marketing Departments in hotels are required to realize the objectives of the company to be able to sell rooms and the other hotel products to achieve the targeted revenue by meeting the needs of the customers before stay, during stay, until return to their home country. The high level of competition makes sales and marketing department needs to find strategies to keep the hotel survive; besides providing quality services that enables the hotel to compete with other hotels (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons; 2006; Tjiptono, & Diana, 2005). This is a challenge for the Sales and Marketing Department in a hotel, villas and other types of accommodation; as the department significantly affects the levels of hotel occupancy. To be able to reach the target sales as planned, management needs to develop an effective marketing strategy. In the case of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort to be able to reach the target sales at low season period currently receives high priority. Based on this background, the author was interested in conducting are JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 110 search with title: "Alternative Marketing Strategies for Low Season Period at Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort". The purpose of this research to find out the marketing strategy to increase the revenue at Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort during low season. Marketing according to Kotler (in Nurowiyah, 2016, p.13) marketing is a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain all they need and want by creating, offering, and freely exchange the products and services of value to other people’. While according to Swastha and Irawan (2005, p.4), marketing is the overall system of activities aimed at the business plan, determine prices, promote, and distribute goods and services that can satisfy the need so both to the existing buyer or potential buyer’. The adopted definition of marketing identifies the marketing aspects, which is an important element that will determine the level of success of accompany in realizing customers’ satisfaction following the targets that had been planned previously. Kotler (2011) classifies the marketing mix-4 Ps being composed of Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. W hilst, the definition of Marketing Strategy is a system of total business activities designed to plan, determine price, promote and distribute the goods and services which can satisfy the wishes of the consumers or the potential consumers (Thamrin, 2012). Marketing is a unit in a company which creates value for customers and builds strong relationships with customers, and finally to capture value from customers in return (Suryadana,2015). METHODOLOGY This research took place in the Sales and Marketing Department of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort, which is located at Jl. Camplung Tanduk No. 103 SP, Dyhana Pura, North Kuta, Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia. Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort is one of Marriott’s 5 stars hotel properties. The object of this research is related to the marketing strategies of the Sales and Marketing Department at Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort. The variable identification for this research is the marketing mix and the external factors of the company. The type of data used in this research is quantitative and qualitative data. The sources of data used in this research are primary and secondary data. Method of selecting key informants for this research is a purposive sampling method (Sugiono, 2015, Creswell, 2007). The data was collected through interviews and questionnaire survey using 6 respondents who are all people in the marketing department. The first step is JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 111 interviewing the respondents to identify the influencing Internal and External Factors that will be used for the IFAS and EFAS Matrix. The data analysis technique used in this study are Internal Factor Analysis Summary (IFAS) and External Factor Analysis Summary (EFAS), the final score from this analysis is obtained from the weighting and rating. The next step is to determine the position of the Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort in the Internal-External Matrix (IE Matrix) (Rangkuti, 2018). The next analysis is SW OT Analysis which is used for determining the alternative strategies. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION a. Internal and External Factor Analysis The first step for this analysis is to interview 6 respondents in the Sales and Marketing Department. The Internal Factor consists of Strengths and W eaknesses; whilst, the External Factor consists of Opportunity and Threat. Internal Factor analysis is used to identify strengths and weaknesses. The strengths and weaknesses of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort are evaluated using 4Ps approach that consists of 4 factors including: product, price, place, and promotion. The results are presented inTable 1. Table 1.Internal Factors of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort No Category INTERNAL FACTORS 1 Product Hotel has complete facilities One of hotels that has beach space in Seminyak beach Hotel has a good Restaurant and Spa in Seminyak Hotel has thematic coffee break and fun meeting 2 Price Five stars hotel that provide affordable price 3 Place One of business hotel that located at heart of Seminyak Nearby shopping center, beach, night club and outside restaurant 4 Promotion Variety of special promotions and offers JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 112 External Factor analysis is used to identify the opportunity and threat. The opportunity and threat of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort is evaluated by external factor approach that consists of the competitive environment, politic & legacy, economic, technology, social & cultural environment, and natural environment. The interview results are presented in Table 2. Table 2. External Factors of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort No Category EXTERNAL FACTORS 1 Competitive Environment There are many competitors which offer lower price The existence of competitors around Seminyak 2 Politic & Legacy Level of safety in Bali relatively conducive 3 Economic The inflation rate relatively stable 4 Technology Extensive internet network Modern application and electronic devices upgraded 5 Social & Culture Environment The attractive of local culture(Balinese culture) 6 Natural Environment The natural environment around the hotel is well maintained and sustainable b. Internal Factors Analysis Summary (IFAS) The next analysis is to define the total weight and rating(score) of each indicator to obtain the total weight and rating of IFAS-value; the results are presented in Table 3. JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 113 Table 3.Internal Factors Analysis Summary (IFAS) No Strength W eight Rating Score 1 Hotel has a good Restaurant and Spa in Seminyak 0.13 3.50 0.52 2 Hotel has thematic coffee break and fun meeting 0.13 3.50 0.52 3 Five stars hotel that provide affordable price 0.13 3.50 0.48 4 One of business hotel that located at heart of Seminyak 0.12 3.50 0.48 5 Nearby shopping centre, beach, night club and Outside restaurant 0.14 3.50 0.52 6 Variety of special promotions and offers 0.11 3.33 0.38 Total 0.77 2.90 W eakness 7 Hotel has complete facilities 0.13 2.33 0.33 8 One of hotels that has beach space in Seminyak beach 0.11 2.33 0.25 Total 0.23 0.58 Total W eight x Rating for Internal Factor 1.00 3.21 c. External Factors Analysis Summary(EFAS) The next analysis determines the total weight and rating value (score) of each indicator to obtain the total weight and rating of EFAS-value; the results are presented inTable 4. JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 114 Table 4. External Factors Analysis Summary (EFAS) No Opportunity W eight Rating Score 1 Level of safety in Bali relatively conducive 0.14 3.33 0.47 2 The inflation of rate relatively stable 0.10 2.67 0.27 3 Extensive internet network 0.15 3.33 0.50 4 Modern application and electronic devices upgraded 0.15 3.33 0.50 5 The attraction of local culture (Balinese Culture) 0.12 3.33 0.40 6 Natural environment around hotel are well maintained and sustainable 0.14 3.50 0.49 Total 0.80 2.62 Threat 7 There are many competitors which offer lower price 0.10 2.17 0.22 8 The existence of competitors around Seminyak area Has similar products 0.10 2.17 0.22 Total 0.20 0.44 Total W eight x Rating for External Factor 1.00 3.06 d. The Position of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort in IE Matrix After analyzing the internal and external environments, the next step undertaken is to place the values of IFAS and EFAS scores into IE Matrix. In the calculation, it is shown that the value of the IFAS score is 3.21; whilst, the value of EFAS score is 3.06. The position of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort on the IE Matrix is ‘Growth Cell I’ (Concentration through Vertical Integration), which can be seen in Figure 1. JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 115 Figure1:IE Matrix of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort e. SW OT (Strength, W eakness, Opportunity and Threat) Analysis After analyzing the position of the strategy on the Internal-External (IE) matrix and knowing the marketing strategy of the hotel; the next step taken is creating the appropriate marketing strategy to be applied for Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort by using a SW OT Matrix. In the SW OT Matrix, all factors of strength, weakness, opportunity and threat were matched with the purpose of getting alternative marketing strategies for Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort. There are 4 groups of alternative strategies in the SW OT Matrix, which include: SOS strategy (Strengths Opportunities), ST Strategy (Strength Threats), WO Strategy (W eaknesses Opportunities), W T Strategy (W eakness Threats). The 4 group strategies can be seen in Table 5. Based on Table 5, it can be explained in more detail as follows: 1. Strength-Opportunity (SO) Strategy Based on the factors of strength and opportunity that are owned by Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort, 3 alternative strategies are extracted in the SO, these are: JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 116 a. Boost Restaurant and Spa market through Social Media One of the alternative strategy for low season period is promote the Restaurant and Spamarket. b. Barter Promotion The second alternative is we can create a barter promotion with sister company or the other famous restaurant, however they shall have minimum same followers on their social media. Table5. SWOT Matrix SW OT Analysis Matrix Strengths (S) W eaknesses (W ) IFAS EFAS 1. Hotel has a good Restaurant and Spain Seminyak 2. Hotel has the matic coffee break and fun meeting 3. Five stars hotel that provide affordable price 4. One of business hotel that located at heart of Seminyak 5. Nearby shopping center, beach, night club and Outside restaurant. 6. Variety of special promotions and offers. 1. Hotel has complete facilities 2. One of hotels that has beach space in Seminyak beach Opportunities (O) S-O Strategy W-O Strategy JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 117 1. Level of safety in Bali Relatively conducive 2. The inflation of rate relatively stable 3. Extensive internet network 4. Modern application and electronic devices upgraded 5. The attraction of local Culture (Balinese Culture) 6. Natural environment around hotel are well maintained and sustainable 1. Boost Restaurant and Spa market through Social Media 2. Barter promotions 1. Expanding Marriott Wholesale Program to minor agent 2. Provide live Balinese attraction and live music on Beach space Threats (T) S-T Strategy W-T Strategy 1. There are many competitors which offer lower price 2. The existence of competitors around Seminyak area has similar products 1. Provide a dynamic rate and several discount for direct booking to anticipate the competitors 2. Invite celebrity or influencer to stay in order to increase the booking 1. Reproduce the charge able sun bed/ bean bag for the outside guest 2. Renovate the meeting venue with photo spot design 2. Strength-Threat (ST) Strategy The Strength-Threat (ST) Strategy uses the strengths that exists to overcome the threats that is owned by Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort, the alternative strategy in this ST, such as: a. Provide a dynamicrate and several discount for direct booking to anticipate the competitors. In anticipation to competition, especially with the tariff wars among the 5- star hotel sin Seminyak, Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort must have a dynamicrate to attract potential guests. JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 118 b. Invite celebrity or influencer to stay on complimentary. By doing this strategy will increase the followers of social media, and the influencer will give a good feedback or review by mentioned our brand. 3. W eakness-Opportunity (W O) Strategy This strategy is an effort to minimize weaknesses and take advantage of opportunities, there are 2 alternative strategies that can be implemented by Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort from the W O strategy, such as: a. Expanding Marriott W hole sale Program The travel agent might join to Marriott W hole sale Program to get some information in regards of availability, roomrate. b. Provide live Balinese attraction and live music Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort doesn’t have a private beach access, however the hotel has beach space in Seminyak beach area. By providing Balinese attraction and live music the outside guest can enjoy the entertainment. 4. W eakness-Threat (W T) Strategy This strategy is an effort to minimize weaknesses and avoid threats, there are 2 alternative strategies that can be implemented by the Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort from the W T strategy such as: a. Reproduce the charge able sun bed/ bean bag for the outside guest The outside guest that who want to enjoy the sun set in Seminyak area by renting facilities. They also can buy a cocktail or mocktail latthe hotel beach space. b. Renovate the meeting venue Renovate the meeting venue to be more interesting to held a meeting in Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort. Beside the hotel has at hematic coffee break and fun meeting, the place also really comfortable and the photo spot will be a plus value for hotel. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION Based on the previous description, there are some suggestions for the management of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort regarding weaknesses JASTH – Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality Vol. 2, No. 2, Year 2019 119 and threats that existing order to make improvements in the future, so that management can improve its performance. The suggestions that can be given are as follows: First, Courtyardby Marriott Bali Seminyak Resorts hould provide live Balinese attraction and live music on beach space, this suggestion will give good impact to the guests, they will be more comfortable to enjoy the sunset, and the outside guests will be interested to rent the sun bed or bean bag in order to get fabulous performance from local community. Second, Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort should invite artist or influencer to stay in order to increase the booking, it would become hotel recommendation to their family, friend, community or even their followers when they will go to Bali, due to the artist or influencer will promote our property and also give good feedback to the viewers during their stay. BIBLIOGRAPHY Creswell, J. W . 2007. Research design qualitative: Quantitative, and mix method Approach. California, US: Sage Publications, Inc. Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons. 2006. Service management: Operation, Strategy, Information Technology. New York: McGraw Hill. Kotler, Philip. 2011. Manajemen Pemasaran di Indonesia. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama Nurowiyah, Titis Roehatun. 2016. Strategi Pemasaran Pada Bayth Kaboki Hotel Sebagai Hotel Keluarga Tanpa Alkohol di Bali: Badung Rangkuti, Freddy. 2016. Analisis SWOT Teknik Membedah Kasus Bisnis. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama Rangkuti, Freddy. 2018. 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