TRAVELODGE 'S STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Strategic Management for Travelodge



Strategic Management for Travelodge

Introduction

The central objective of strategic management is to investigate why some organizations succeed while others fail. Three major factors determine the success of a company:

1) The industry in which it is located. 

2) The country or countries where it is located

3) Your own resources, capabilities and strategies.

The national context is important because in many industries the market has become a global space, where companies from different countries compete on equal terms throughout the world. In these global markets for some firms is very easy to get success because they are located in countries that have competitive advantage in certain industries.

Background of Hospitality and Tourism in UK

In 19th century, in London, trend of developing luxurious hotel started. Savoy was built in 1898 to serve the rich and elite customers. This hotel was unique and famous. It was one of the first hotels to en-suite bathroom to every room. So many and various large hotels were built that era was called Grand Period of Hotels (Taylor & Thompson 2003, Pp. 132-147). Modern changes were introduced in the hotels. Electricity, bathrooms and telephone in each room were introduced. 20th century saw many changes and advances in the hospitality industry. Casual dining became famous.

The perception of rich and elite customers faded for restaurants. White Castle, TGI Fridays, Chilis dominated the restaurant scenes. During the two world wars, hotel construction increased. Many landowning families could not afford to maintain houses in London; therefore, they preferred staying in hotels. Mass tourism encouraged hotel industry. Number of foreign visitors increased, especially Americans. Hotel construction rate fell in the quarter century after World War II (Mudambi & Ricketts, 1998, Pp. 66-81). The London Hilton on Park Lane was the most notable hotel of that time. Number of visitors also increased due to advances in air travel. Hotel Development Incentive scheme was used to meet the increasing demands of hotels. This made hotels became over in capacity. Construction fell down by the recession in early 1990s and the reduction in international travel caused by the Gulf war. In 1980s trend of small boutique style hotels began. In mid 1990s modern hotels were opened. Country house styles, Victorian houses, ultra-trendy styles were introduced. Some great ceremonial buildings were converted into hotels. First five star of London was built, Marriott County Hall Hotel beside River Thames.

London five star hotels are small as compared with international standards. High salaries and lower death rate allowed the retirement years to be enjoyed more. Hospitality industry remained strong after the events of Gulf War and September 11th. By the end of 2006, environment friendly hotels took a boom as a marketing tool. Branded hotels like Travelodge started emerging. Purpose built hotels started emerging in 2007 for the Olympic Games in east London (Cappelli, 1999, Pp. 44-57).

However, for this study one of the leading hotels in UK i.e. Travelodge has been chosen for analyzing the strategic overview of the ...