For the following case titled "Sleepless Nights at Holiday Inn" (published in Business Week and adapted here):
a. Identify the problem
b. Develop a theoretical framework
c. Develop at least four hypotheses
Sleepless Nights At Holiday Inn
Just a few years ago, Tom Oliver, the Chief Executive of Holiday Hospitality Corp., was struggling to differentiate among the variety of facilities offered to clients under the Holiday flagship-the Holiday Inn Select designed for business travelers, the Holiday Inn Express used by penny pinchers, and the Crowne Plaza Hotels, the luxunious hotels meant for the big spenders. Oliver felt that revenues could be quadrupled if only clients could differentiate among these.
Keen on developing a viable strategy for Holiday Hospitality, which suffered from brand confusion, Tom Oliver conducted a customer survey of those who had used each type of facility, and found the following. The consumers didn't have a clue as to the differences among the three different types. Many complained that the buildings were old and not properly maintained, and the quality ratings of service and other factors were also poor. Furthermore, when word spread that one of the contemplated strategies of Oliver was a name change to differentiate the three facilities, irate franchises balked. Their mixed messages did not help consumers to understand the differences, either.
Oliver thought that he first needed to understand how the different classifications would be important to the several classes of clients, and then he could market the heck out of them and greatly enhance the revenues. Simultaneously, he recognized that unless the franchise owners fully cooperated with him in all his plans, mere face lifting and improvement of customer service would not bring added revenues.