Budget Motels supporting regional Australia By Mandy Clarke, Editor
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For over 40 years the Budget Motel Chain has continued to be a leading brand, providing excellence in accommodation for a diverse market. It is widely known and well respected for offering good, clean comfortable accommodation at affordable rates for cost-conscious travellers throughout Australia and New Zealand. Budget member properties can be found in the smallest country towns through to the larger regional cities, but they all deliver a unique balance of attractive aesthetics, good service and moderate pricing. Budget Motels encompasses four brands: the well-known Budget Motels, Orbit Inns, Paragon Hotels and Budget Motels Gold. Chris Fozard is Budget Motels’ Operations Manager. He brings years of customer service and community organisation experience to his role and of course a love of hospitality. He warmly welcomes interest from all accommodation providers, eager to expand the Budget family. Below he points out the brand’s unique points of difference and what benefits members can expect to receive:
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We own and operate our own channel manager, which is included with membership.
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A simple fee structure ensuring equality for all members.
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A Direct Deposit System (DDS) again for use by properties which use our channel manager. This DDS system has replaced the older, more expensive VCC system and can dramatically
AccomNews - Winter 2022
And of course, the ability to install signage of one of Australia’s most famous motel icons, the Budget Motels black and gold ‘B’.
About the Budget Motel Chain’s team... Chris talked to AccomNews, he attests to the strength and spirit of the team at Budget Motel Chain. He said: “The team consists of our dedicated head office staff members but also our board of directors, who are themselves moteliers with vast experience and backgrounds. Their decisions and leadership have helped direct not only the future of the Budget Motel Chain, but the industry as well. Chris Fozard is Budget Motels’ Operations Manager.
reduce the merchant fees properties pay. •
A book now button. Although there are a lot of book now buttons available, our one is designed specifically for our channel manager, making the booking process simple and secure.
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In-house IT support for members who use our channel manager.
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Access to bookings via our corporate contracts.
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An ever-growing list of preferred suppliers.
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Advocacy and support for our members.
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Keeping up to date with regular newsletters containing the latest industry news.
Why is it so important to be part of a team? “It is now more important than ever to band together,” he said. “In the current ‘post-COVID’ climate, the OTAs are again trying to control not only the online booking market, but also how you promote your property as well as what you charge. We as an industry need to work closer with the regional accommodation providers of Australia, to push back against these massive overseas companies trying to control our outback towns and country areas and take some of the dominance away from them.
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Access to our relief managers.
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An invitation to our closed, members only, Facebook group. Have a question or comment, ask our members for their suggestions.
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“Now in our 44th year, we continue to be supported by some of the accommodation sector’s leading organisations, focusing on providing the best levels of service and knowledge to our members and stakeholders.”
Annual conferences and AGMs in beautiful locations.
“Not only for our members, but for all property owners across Australia, especially the ones that feel they are just “a small fish in a big pond”. “This could be partly achieved by educating the public about the percentages that OTAs charge and the amount of money that they are taking offshore, without paying the same business taxes
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that every other company pays.” Chris is convinced that the way forward is to show a united front. He said: “One challenge the industry faces is the decision to operate independently. We all understand that a strong, united front will empower us to make changes that will benefit the entire industry and therefore individual operators, but what we also see is that with time, this united front will increase brand value and operators booking revenue. “Some accommodation providers are willing to push the boundaries in terms of what they can achieve and change, but provide little motivation for innovation in the industry. If accommodation providers stop operating autonomously and begin to collaborate, we could see several (almost) immediate benefits to industry providers.”
Such as? “OTAs no longer commanding price parity, dictating promotions, guest relocations and OTA commission based on location. “Pushing technological providers to innovate and bring convenience to their day-to-day operations. “Making decisions not on ‘gut feeling’ but instead based on predictive analysis and support from the industry. “Influencing the government and other decision-making agencies to ensure a growth in our industry. “Being better equipped for change and collaboration with other industries to create ‘win-win’ situations.” Finally, Chris added: “Budget Motels is driving towards a point where we can deliver such benefits to all accommodation providers and will continue to work to promote the ‘mum and dad’ operators in our regional towns and cities. “Make contact with us today and benefit from being part of one of the country’s biggest accommodation families!”
