More than 400 nights were spent in Hilton hotels and there were also stays in four-star boutiques, but a distinct lack of budget hotels. The London Evening Standard ran the story, which was also sent to London Assembly members. Days later, the Met said it was reviewing its hotel policy.
HOW I SEE IT - JIM HAWKER, CO-FOUNDER, THREEPIPE
A simple and effective press office story for which Travelodge has become well known. I watch this brand to see what it will do next. Over the years, it has delivered some creative stunts to raise its profile at key calendar times.
It has now moved this on to reinforce the value message in innovative ways that strike a chord with the general public, who are actively looking for a fair and honest price. Our appetite for digging into the finances of publicly funded organisations continues apace and this was always going to be a good story.
Could Travelodge have done more with this? Yes, of course. I can imagine all sorts of photo opportunities, but you have to remind yourself that the group is keen to work with the Met Police, so you can understand why it took it only as far as it did - HIT.
