Our research also indicated that the following publications are read on a regular basis by some respondents: The Irish Independent, The Irish Times, The Financial Times, The Sunday Business Post. These are suitable print media through which to communicate to both business and leisure travellers.
A lesser component of the customer mix is corporate agreements accounting for 6% of UK budget hotel business [Deloitte, 2004]. We feel that a direct sales force approach target- ing corporate accounts especially in the industries that have heavily based field sales force may be appropriate. For example Pharmaceutical and Insurance companies. These contracts would need to be negotiated heavily on price/volume usage by an experience corporate sales force. This could possibly be outsourced.
The attributes that we have identified, through our research, to be most important to customers of budget hotels are price, cleanliness, and convenience of location. Accommodation units should certainly base our appeal on these attributes. In particular we recommend a variable room rate, dependent on day of week, of between €26 and €75; this is the level of pricing that most of our respondents seek to pay. Hotels should also endeavour to promote a high level of cleanliness and choose strategic locations that have tangible and communicable benefits to potential customers.