Premier Lodge goes on the ad offensive

Premier Lodge has launched the first UK advertising campaign attacking its competitors rather than just promoting its own hotels.

The guerrilla marketing strategy started last week by comparing Posthouse prices unfavourably with Premier Lodge prices. The three-month campaign targets business and leisure travellers and will appear in national newspapers and on the side of National Express coaches. Forthcoming advertisements will compare Premier Lodge's prices with those of Holiday Inn and Courtyard by Marriott.

Premier Lodge brand director Nick Read said: "We have employed a tactic which has been successfully implemented in other industries in the past, such as the budget airline sector, but one which has never been seen in the hotel industry."

Research carried out by consultant RSGB on behalf of Premier Lodge showed that guests often don't know what facilities budget hotels offer.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 19-25 July 2001