Taking advantage of an economy that might prompt more business travelers to trade down on accommodations, Holiday Inn is going after road warriors with a $10 million campaign touting free high-speed Internet and other perks.
A series of 30-second spots, via Fallon, Minneapolis, underscores the point with a vignette in a classroom where the instructor—actor Philip Baker Hall, aka, the library cop from Seinfeld—teaches the nuances of the hospitality industry to his dim-bulb students.
When he asks the class what they want to look for on the Internet, they answer that they'd like to find water-surfing squirrels and old boyfriends. He corrects them all explaining that free high-speed Internet—an amenity that most upscale hotels charge for—is what road warriors can find at a mid tier brand.
In another spot, Nascar driver Jeff Burton guest lectures the class and ties in the teamwork he gets from his pit crew with the support business travelers enjoy from the brand's free Internet access and meeting space. Then one student asks why Burton doesn't have a mullet.
In another commercial, a student asks Cal Ripken Jr. what will he get if he consistently stays at Holiday Inn. The Hall of Famer answers: MLB merchandise and tickets. But the students persist in asking the Iron Man if they can get nicknames too, like Mrs. Ripken Jr. and Snake Eyes.
The ads also tout the Intercontinental Hotel Group unit's loyalty program, Priority Club Rewards, which offers 2,000 points with two-night stays at Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. Eight nights accumulated during the summer earns a $40 credit that can be redeemed on MLB.com for merchandise or game tickets. The series also mentions that the points also can be redeemed for stays at competing hotels.
"We welcome the opportunity that there might be some trade down, but we're as concerned about the overall economy as the upscale hoteliers are," said Wayne Hamilton, brand marketing director for Holiday Inn Americas. "That's what led us to be more hard-hitting and direct about what we can offer business travelers and about our great loyalty program."
The effort will run into 2009 and the budget could increase as more elements are added, said Hamilton. Measured media spend last year was $16 million for the "Look Again" campaign, which started positioning the hotel with a heritage for leisure travel as a business destination.
The effort comes as mid tier hotels with food and beverage service have yet to see travelers trading down in droves from upscale brands like Courtyard by Marriott, Hilton Gardens and Hyatt Place. Occupancy for mid tiers during the first quarter fell 4.1% and revenue per available room was flat at $44.60 versus the comparable year-ago period, per Smith Travel Research, Hendersonville, Tenn.
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