Feature: Budget Hotels
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other brands are often cheaper when customers have their negotiated leveraged rates,” says Trevor Elswood, managing director BSI. One anecdote flying round the industry is of a corporate putting more than 90 per cent of its business through budget chains because they thought it was the best rate. The company then changed its policy to reflect the real price paid and now only puts about three per cent of its business through the budget chains. “The majority of business travellers would rather get better value, pay a bit more and get some extra facilities as long as it is within their cap,” says Nigel Turner, Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s director of programme management, UK & Ireland. He adds that the corporates themselves are concerned about duty of care and want to see some basic facilities such as phones in rooms, 24-hour reception and hot food. Turner also says that both Premier Inn and Travelodge are becoming more aware of the business travel market and working harder to provide organisations with easy access to inventory and other corporate elements such as loyalty schemes. Last July Premier Inn signed a distribution agreement with Amadeus while more recently the company has grouped together the services it offers business travellers under the Premier Business tag. Included within Premier Business are elements such as account management, a UK corporate desk and call- centre and improved management information. The company also launched a mobile application earlier this year and will release a mobile- enabled version of its website in the near future. Premier Inn’s head of marketing, Steven Conway, says, “We are now becoming a really well known brand in the marketplace and challenging the way in which the market has
traditionally been structured. Every single hotel has an onsite restaurant and we offer a great 'all you can eat' breakfast and all the things that business travellers want.” He adds that in response to the scrutiny of
costs the company has also introduced a £22 meal deal offering a three-course dinner plus a drink and breakfast to help secure more business and help companies manage costs. Other companies have taken similar strides to
“Premier Inn and Travelodge are becoming more aware of the business travel market and working to provide companies with easier access to inventory”
woo the business market. Jurys Inn recently relaunched its loyalty scheme making it easier to use and introduced a tiered system of benefits with early check-in and free wifi access for regular and higher-value customers. “We have seen a significant uptake since the relaunch in September with a 90 per cent increase in members,” says Gill Harris, sales and marketing director for Jurys Inn. The company has also increased the number of booking channels it offers, adding a mobile website last year and more recently an application for iPhone users. While Harris has been pleased with the pick-up in the market and the reaction from some large corporates once
they see what Jurys Inn has to offer, she is also mindful that it is an ongoing education process. “If people have not stayed with us before we
have to build the awareness. And for those travel managers that knew the hotels six years ago, we have to educate them as to how the brand has evolved and moved on and our significant investment,” says Harris. Newer entrants such as CitizenM and Bloc will
have an even bigger job educating travellers as to what their brand means and offers. CitizenM’s chief marketing officer Robin Chadha believes the company, which currently has three hotels in operation, is breaking the mould.
Pictured, clockwise from above: the Days Hotel Chester; Premier Inn; Holiday Inn Express
“We don’t benchmark against the budget hotels because the product is a bit of a paradox. We do have luxuries; sometimes we have less service but it’s affordable. If someone asks why they should stay with CitizenM rather than a three or four-star hotel, I say it’s about lifestyle –
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ONES TO WATCH
Bloc Hotel, Birmingham, is selling itself on a ‘penthouse proposition, pavement price’ message and was scheduled to open as the magazine went to press. The property will offer in-room wifi as well as flatscreen televisions and has drawn on science from a Scandinavian sleep institute to create the right temperature and atmosphere. Prices per room per night start at £55. London and Manchester are on the shortlist for new locations. Sleeperz, meanwhile, adopts another urban design concept with the first hotel opening in Cardiff more than two years ago and a second scheduled for Newcastle in November. New hotels are also planned for Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool. The company also has a deal with Network Rail to develop and operate properties on land adjacent to stations. The Cardiff property was shortlisted for an RIBA award (Royal Institute of British Architects).
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