Ritz-Carlton SWOT Analysis

The company uses SWOT analysis to adjust to new information.

"We look at where we want to be versus where we are today--and where we see the trends on the horizon. Then we frame the key success factors. Then we ask for input with the SWOT process. It's a very defined process because it's our opinion that if you can't define it, you can't control it, you can't measure it, and you can't improve it."

The input of frontline staff--the people who check guests in, serve food, and occasionally present scented candles--into the SWOT process is crucial. Their insights are loaded into a global database so leaders can identify macro-level themes, market specifics, individual functions, and even corporate blind spots. As a result, the ladies and gentlemen, as all the employees of the Ritz-Carlton are called, feel integrally involved in the business.

Strategic Competitiveness

Being competitive in the hospitality industry requires strategy beyond expectation. Knowing your customers and their needs above other hotels takes a lot of time and effort.

During a Q & A with Simon Cooper, Chief Operating Officer and President of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.


GMJ: You've got a lot of competition in the luxury market, and they're all gunning for the Ritz-Carlton. What's your strategy?

Cooper: No matter how outstanding your ladies and gentlemen are, you've got to start with the right product and the right location. In a global portfolio of hotels, the entry stakes are having hotels in the right locations, then having the right product when guests get there. And it takes the right people. You start with where in Moscow your hotel is located, for example, then you animate it to create and absolutely outstanding memory.