What are the strategies behind the Six Continents and Holiday Inn current business model? In what ways are they trying to improve competitive advantage?

Holiday Inn founded the market for average-price, average-quality motel rooms. But in the 1970s the chain ran into trouble because it failed to see that the market was fragmenting, creating the need for different kinds of products, ranging from luxurious resort features to basic, no-frills accommodation. Holiday Inn was left stuck in the middle, with its undifferentiated product and average costs. In the 1980s the company fought back by differentiating to offer a range of products, from the inexpensive Hampton Inns chain to the luxury Crowne Plazas. These moves were successful and led to a temporary advantage, but by the late 1990s, Holiday Inn was again in decline. By 2000, Holiday Inn was taken over and incorporated as Six Continents Hotels chain. Holiday Inn plans to have a room to meet the need of every segment of the lodging market anywhere in the world.