Industry and Market Analysis
Q. What is the spoken Language in Louisiana?
A. Mainly English with Some French and Créole is still spoken.
This benefits our business as a majority of our employees speak English and our resort is based in the English language. We would not have to ensure that every one of our employees can speak another language.
Q. What are the National Parks found in the state of Louisiana?
A. The National Parks are Atchafalaya, Cane River Créole, El Camino Real De Los Trejo, Jean Lafitte, and Poverty Point.
This affects our business because guests who wouldn't normally stay at our resort would stay because it is close to the National Parks. It is another "attraction" for our guests to enjoy.
Q. What are the military instillations in Shreveport and the state of Louisiana?
A. Louisiana has the following military bases: Barksdale Air Force Base, Camp Beauregard, Fort Polk, Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, and NSA New Orleans.
Having this many military basses benefits us because friends and family would have a place to stay while visiting their loved ones stationed at a military base. This also benefits us when the base lodging is full and military members need a place to stay.
Q. What does the ‘Sportsman’s Paradise’ mean?
A. Sportsman's Paradise is the state nickname for Louisiana.
This benefits us because people coming to the state looking for those activities need some place to stay and relax while being surrounded by all the activities.
Q. What is the Area/ population of Shreveport and the state of Louisiana?
A. Shreveport has a population of 199, 317 people, while the state of Louisiana has a population of 4.65 million people.
The population of Shreveport makes the need for us to recruit outside help, from other parts of the state to outside of the state, to staff our resort and affects how much of the local population will be staying at our resort
Q. What are the residents that live in Louisiana called?
A. Residents are called Louisianans or Louisianans.
What the residents of Louisiana are called doesn't affect the Hotel Totoro at all.
Q. Name the Major Industries/ Agriculture in Louisiana?
A. Crude oil refineries, natural gas plants, petrochemical, soybeans, cotton, sugarcane, rice and seafood.
This affects our business by bringing out of state workers and businesses that are coming for work to stay at our resort until they settle. This also offers conference opportunities for our resort.
Q. What are Parishes and what are the Parishes surrounding the Shreveport area?
A. A parish is what other states call counties. Caddo Parish is where Shreveport is located and nearby is Bossier Parish and De Soto Parish.
This affects our business by how we describe our area, how we put our information on handouts, how we give directions to our current and future guests.
Q. What states border Louisiana?
A. Louisiana is bordered by Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi.
This affects us by the number by our out of town guests staying in our resort from these states, travelers traveling through Louisiana to these states, and the type of business coming from these states into Louisiana.
Q. What are the bordering bodies of water (rivers, oceans) around Louisiana?
A. Bordering body of water is the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River is used to transport goods.
This affects our business by what products we can receive and the guests who would stay with us who run those ships. The Gulf of Mexico has an impact on our weather system.
Q. What are the three largest cities in Louisiana?
A. The three largest cities are New Orleans, Shreveport, and Baton Rouge.
Being the second largest city is a big attraction since some people do not want to visit New Orleans during busy times of the year. We would also have guests stopping into Shreveport on their way to New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Being a large city has a draw of entertainment, culture, food and beverage, and festivals.
Q. What does the economy in the state of Louisiana look like?
A. Tourism and Culture are the major businesses in the economy of Louisiana.
These two bring in the most money for the state. This affects our business because our resort is another draw for tourism, because some of our guests will be coming into town for our resort and attractions.
Q. What does transportation in Shreveport look like?
A. Public transportation in Shreveport is the bus system and lift vans on the road ways. Guests can take taxis and greyhound buses to also get around.
This affects our business by how much parking is needed, how we work with guests for transportation, and how much funding is needed for transportation in our budgets.
Q. What are the area attractions in Shreveport?
A. Casinos, gardens, the American Rose Center, parks and zoos, Sciport, and water parks are just a few of the areas attractions.
This affects our business by what our guests can do while staying with us. Guests will be looking for a place to stay while they are going to these places.
Q. What are the shopping options in Shreveport and Louisiana?
A. Shreveport has many places for guests to shop: Louisiana Boardwalk Outlet, Pierre Bossier Mall, Line Avenue Shopping, Mall Saint Vincent.
This is another draw and set of attractions for our guests. Guests have places to shop while they stay with us and have less of a need for our resort to have such places to shop at on property.
Q. What does the Film Industry in Shreveport and Louisiana look like?
A. The film industry is large in Shreveport. The climate allows for year round filming. It is also in a convenient location for many major cities to use as a site. It is the 3rd largest film industry in the United States and is known as the Hollywood South.
This has a huge effect on who is staying in our resort. Film crews and movie stars would have a place to stay; guests who are in town to see places that are in town have a place to stay. The resort could also have a chance to be a location in a film. This brings in guests and money into the resort.
Q. What are the sports in Shreveport and the state of Louisiana?
A. There are a couple of sports teams in the area; the New Orleans Saints, the Shreveport Bossier Mavericks, Louisiana Icegators, and the New Orleans Jesters soccer.
How does it affect your business?
Out of town sports fans, outside opposing teams, in town guests, all need a place to stay before, during, and after major sporting events.
Q. What are the top five Employers in Shreveport?
A. The top five employers are: Barksdale Air Force Base, Caddo Public Schools, State of Louisiana, University Health, and the Willis-Knighton Health System are the top five employers.
This affects our business by the amount of guests that stay at our resort because of business with these businesses. Also the amount of conferences we host at our resort.
Q. What are the festivals in Shreveport and the state of Louisiana?
A. The Highland Jazz and Blues Festival, Mardi Gras, Battle of Gumbo Gladiators, Louisiana Redbud Festival, Holiday in Dixie and Mudbug Madness Festival are just a few of the festivals in the area.
This affects the amount of guests at our resort and the activities that our guests can do while staying with us. This affects our marketing and draw to future guests.
Q. What Colleges and Universities are in Shreveport (60 mile radius)?
A: Louisiana State University, Northwestern State University, Louisiana Tech University, Southern University are in the Shreveport area.
Parents, future students, vendors and guests of these schools need a place to stay while visiting these schools. Also the out of town sports teams also need a place to stay. This affects our occupancy and how much business we get from the colleges and universities