I’ve been attending to the progress of Travelodge in 2007 when they revamped their branding and logo. I was intrigued.
At the same time, they engaged all staff in their journey and started to sell rooms really cheaply just as the credit crunch fuelled recession took hold. And at £19 a room, I snapped them up on occasions.
And they invested in snazzy software to make sure they undercut their rivals:
They began to expand in the depths of recession, they had cash and began snapping up cheaper rivals who had cash flow struggles, turned their offering into an internet only transaction to cut costs and meet with the commodity hungry consumer.
And at the same time, they were reticent to spend too much money refurbishing until the time was right.
And now coming up to the end of 2013, the time is ripe for expansion. They’re refurbishing selective hotels especially in the cities and pushing up prices to match the market. More market share and more profits.
They have over 80 hotels in London and offer good value accommodation. They know their market position, can advertise with pride and are expanding fast to accommodate.
Now is the time to mirror Travelodge.
Fight hard to claim your slice of your pie. Your pie is your market, it’s increasing and you want to claim your market share. You may want to market strongly, promote your business, spend some money on resources and staff capabilities to secure your share of the increasing pie.
Grow fat, (not literally) put some cash aside in reserves for when the next recession kicks in, ‘cos it will, around 2023 is my best estimate. I know because Travelodge are planning that also.
I just wish they’d do something about their breakfast, it’s awful, but then again that doesn’t sell a hotel room, or does it?
