4. Implications and conclusions
Based on a combination of the UK budget hotel survey conducted by Deloitte & Touche and our own research we have concluded that budget hotels can be segmented into two broad categories, business users and leisure/tourism users. Marketing communications should be directed toward both of these segments. The degree to which resources should be committed should not necessarily follow in the same ratio as business to leisure/tourism us- ers. This will depend on the degree to which we could reach each segment and the degree to which they are likely to respond to the message presented to them. This is probably a matter of trial and error and/or the subject of a great deal of additional research.
Almost half of the respondents of our own research indicated that they rely on the Internet when searching for budget hotels. This cannot be ignored; infomediaries, travel and accommodation directories, and targeted search engines such as Google (49.2% or searches), Yahoo (23.8% of searches), MSN (9.6% of searches), AOL (6.3% of searches) [Nielsen Net Ratings, 2006] should all be considered as viable media candidates.
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.
4. Implications and conclusions
Based on a combination of the UK budget hotel survey conducted by Deloitte & Touche and our own research we have concluded that budget hotels can be segmented into two broad categories, business users and leisure/tourism users. Marketing communications should be directed toward both of these segments. The degree to which resources should be committed should not necessarily follow in the same ratio as business to leisure/tourism us- ers. This will depend on the degree to which we could reach each segment and the degree to which they are likely to respond to the message presented to them. This is probably a matter of trial and error and/or the subject of a great deal of additional research.
Almost half of the respondents of our own research indicated that they rely on the Internet when searching for budget hotels. This cannot be ignored; infomediaries, travel and accommodation directories, and targeted search engines such as Google (49.2% or searches), Yahoo (23.8% of searches), MSN (9.6% of searches), AOL (6.3% of searches) [Nielsen Net Ratings, 2006] should all be considered as viable media candidates.
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.
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
