Holiday Inn

http://www.for68.com/new/2006%5C7%5Cwu934223497161760025504-0.htm

In the 1960s a family vacation in the United States usually meant loading the kids into the station
wagon and driving off down the highway toward a tourist destination. And when weary vacationers
needed to rest for the night,  they often looked for the familiar green signs with “Holiday Inn”
written in script and a colorful star for emphasis. All across the United States this sign welcomed
travelers to Holliday Inn hotels with promises of duality, komfort and value.

By 1968 Holiday Inn was so well known in the United States that it began opening franchises in
Europe. In 1973 the company opened its first Asian hotel in Japan and in 1984 it became the first
U.S.-based hotel to open for business in China. For 25 years Holiday Inn enjoyed great success in
the European and Asian markets opening 600 hotels and earning a reputation as upscale,
professional and well run.

In the United States, Holiday Inn pursues a strategy that segment the market into different types
of travelers and created a unique type of lodging for each group. Under names like Holiday Inn
Express, Holiday Inn Select, Sunspree Resorts and Crowne Plaza, the company offers different
accommodations and amenities at different prices to suit the diverse needs of business and leisure
travelers.

Travelers regardless of where they are from or where they are going share many of the same desires,
fears and expectations when they are traveling. They may not speak the same language or live the
same lives while at home but when they're on the road, all travelers are miles away from home and
out of their personal comfort zones in different and often unfamiliar surroundings and  subject to
the same hassles and hardships. Therefore Holiday Inn focuses on delivering a consistent product
around the world. This way whether the hotel is in South Korea, India, Buenos Aires  or Izrael,
travelers know that they will always receive a comfortable room at a fair price.

In addition, the strategy of segmenting the market by types of travelers that proved so successful
in the United States also works abroad but in a different way. Segmentation in the hotel industry
is a relatively new concept in Europe and in Asia it is virtually nonexistent. This is largely
because in many of the developing nations of Asia travel has only recently become an option for the
majority of people. As a result, not every type of Holiday Inn hotel will be successful in every
country. The company must know each market very well before it decides which type of hotel to open.
Does the area draw mainly tourists or business travelers? How long do visitors usually stay? Do
people from surrounding areas travel often? What types of accommodations do competitors offer in
the area? By knowing the answers to questions like these, Holiday Inn is able to decide which type
of hotel will best serve the needs of travelers to the area.

Nonetheless, Holiday Inn's promotion strategy is decidedly global, regardless of which markets it
enters. Although the ad copy is translated when necessary, even the visual format is the same from
country to country. Of course, cultural differences must be accommodated from time to time. For
example, travelers in Britain preferred an ad that focused on a friendly doorman, whereas U.S. and
German travelers preferred a more sentimental ad showing a businesswoman receiving a fax of a
drawing from her child.


One remark:

Holiday Inn found that the four features most important to business travelers are
 1. free High Speed Internet,
 2. comfortable in- room work spaces,
 3. full-service meeting facilities
 4. and a robust loyalty program.



Task:


 1. Which important points – areas, questions – were decided in the situation when Holiday Inn
entered and expanded at Czech, Slovak, Hungarian and Austrian Market?
 2. Why are hotels belonging to Holiday Inn in these four countries situated as they are and exit
under the brand they do?
 3. Why there are no other Holiday Inn Brands (as i tis described in U.S. segmentation in the text
above) in these 4 countries?
 4. Which segmentation kriteria were or are considered in these 4 countries? Are they adopted for
individua country? If yes, how and why?


http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/home