Basic Marketing Research 7th Edition by Gilbert Churchill,Tom Brown,Tracy Suter

Exercise 3

The management of a popular tourist resort on the West Coast had noticed a decline in the number of tourists and length of stay over the past three years. An overview of industry trends indicated that the overall tourist trade was expanding and growing rapidly. Management decided to conduct a study to determine people's attitudes toward the particular activities that were available at the resort. It wanted to cause the minimum amount of inconvenience to its customers and hence adopted the following plan: A request was deposited in each hotel room of the two major hotels in the resort, indicating the nature of the study and encouraging customers to participate. The customers were requested to report to a separate desk located in the lobby of the hotels. Personal interviews, lasting 20 minutes, were conducted at this desk.
a. What type of sampling method was used
b. Critically evaluate the method used.