Produce a basic marketing plan for a hospitality organisation to meet marketing objectives

Case Study

Scenario

Title: Travelodge admits price alone cannot boost loyalty as it launches premium rooms

Travelodge is launching premium economy rooms or ‘SuperRooms’ throughout the UK as it looks to push its services to professionals.

The rooms include more modern ‘residential’ décor in shades of taupe and beige. More seating is available, along with more USB charging points, more choice of lighting, a full length mirror, ironing board and hairdryer. The rooms also include a Lavazza ‘A Modo Mio’ fresh capsule coffee machine for workers on the go.

“Our new ‘SuperRooms’ adds an extra choice for customers who are spending more time working in the room, are staying longer or who just value that little bit more comfort,” says Peter Gowers, Travelodge’s chief executive.

The SuperRooms will be available in five locations from today (15 May) and by autumn there will be 1,000 of the premium rooms, predominantly in central London, followed by Heathrow, Gatwick and then other regional areas.

Travelodge’s sales and marketing director, Karen Broughton, says the move has come from customer demand, as she likens it to EasyJet’s move into the premium market a few years back.

“Our story is very similar to EasyJet’s story. At the start people were almost embarrassed about travelling with EasyJet or it was frowned upon. But on the back of the credit crunch it became quite cool to see who gets the best deal and it is the same for Travelodge,” Broughton tells Marketing Week.

“People are becoming much savvier with their money now and they want more choice with what they do with it.”

Broughton believes the new offer means Travelodge will get a trickle down from those staying in five-star hotels as their business customers’ priorities change.

The premium rooms will be advertised through digital, including programmatic and social, as well as being communicated to current customers through direct marketing.

Although the more premium rooms do not have enough scale for a TV ad of their own yet, Broughton says the company’s focus on business through its current Travelodge campaign will coincide with the changes.

v Produce a basic marketing plan for a hospitality organisation to meet marketing objectives

v Produce a detailed, coherent, evidence-based marketing plan that applies the marketing mix to meet marketing objectives for a hospitality organisation.

v Design a strategic marketing plan that tactically applies the use of the 7Ps and includes measures for monitoring and evaluation to achieve overall marketing objectives.

Travelodge admits price alone cannot boost loyalty as it launches premium rooms