Hotel & Motel Management - May 5, 2008 - (Page 40)

40 News H&MM May 5, 2008 | HotelMotel.com AAHOA Continued from page 1 those standards. “We continue to engage the franchisors,” said Fred Schwartz, president of AAHOA. “This is not something meant to drive a wedge between the franchisee and the franchisor; this is a process and we want to make sure we have good dialogue with the franchisors.” “We are trying to send a message to the franchise boards on the concerns we have,” added 2007 AAHOA chairman Dilipkumar “Danny” Patel. The AAHOA board of directors spent the past two years revisiting its fair franchising document, updating it and reviewing how franchisors are acting in accordance with it. The board released its newest report to all AAHOA members, as well as the ﬁve franchisors outlined in the report, during its 2008 convention in San Antonio. With 8,700 members who CHRIS SAVAS Delays in construction at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio forced some guests to stay elsewhere. ONLINE EXTRA! To view the full progress report on fair franchising released at the AAHOA convention in San Antonio, visit www. hotelmotel.com/progressreport own more than 22,000 hotels in the United States, AAHOA is growing tremendously and considers itself “the voice of owners” in the hospitality industry. “We control more than 50 percent of the hotel rooms in this industry,” Danny Patel said during his opening remarks at the convention. With strength in numbers, AAHOA lobbies for fair franchising, which the board said is the lifeblood of the association. It spends signiﬁcant amounts of time meeting with franchisors and discussing hot-button franchise contract topics, such as early termination and liquidated damages, window provisions and penalties for underperforming properties. Report details The following major hotel franchisors were examined in the latest progress report: Accor Franchising North America, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Choice Hotels International, La Quinta Franchising and Wyndham Hotel Group. Schwartz said AAHOA will examine other brands’ commitments to the 12 points of fair franchising in the future. “The 12 points aren’t unique for any one company or any ﬁve companies,” said Mukesh J. Mowji, 2006 chairman of the AAHOA board of directors. “The fair franchising standards we have developed are for all companies. What we did, however, was took this report to the franchisors who our members deal with most. Moving forward, will [the other brands] be Attendees grumble about host hotel During the 2008 Asian American Hotel Owners Assn. convention, there was a buzz among many attendees regarding poor experiences at one of the host hotels. Many hoteliers in town for the show were put up at the newly constructed Grand Hyatt San Antonio, which had an opening date of March 19, seven days before the start of the convention. Several hoteliers were heard grumbling about how the property was not complete. According to one brand executive who wished to remain anonymous, upon check-in, his room had no bed, toilet or running water. A representative from the Grand Hyatt San Antonio gave a brief apology before the general session on day two of the convention. Tom Netting, managing director of the Grand Hyatt, issued this statement to HOTEL & MOTEL MANAGEMENT after the convention: “We have had some delays as a result of construction issues and have placed some of our customers in other properties. Meeting planners have been very positive and appreciative of our efforts regarding the way we handled the process. The Grand Hyatt San Antonio is now housing the 2008 NCAA Final Four and is honored to be the host hotel. The property is fully equipped and ready to handle meetings and conventions as we move forward.” —Jason Q. Freed CERAMIC COOK TOPS the Sustainable Design Choice • 1 or 2 Burner Knobs • 2 or 4 Burner Lite-Touch™ Controls • 120 or 240 Volts (208 compatible) and Cost Effective! • Lower Energy Costs • No Maintenance • No Replacement Parts • Quick & Easy Clean-up • 3-year Replacement Warranty Made in U.S.A. - UL/C-UL Approved Visit us at HD Expo • White, Black, or Subtly Textured Black • Round or Beveled Edge • ADA-Compliant Panel addresses issues Booth #8432 Manufacturer of the World’s Finest Cook Tops Clinton, CT 06413 U.S.A. Tel. (860) 664-4906 Fax. (860) 664-4907 CIRCLE NO. 122 www.kenyonappliances.com Interestingly, on the second day of the AAHOA convention, several leaders of hotel brands that franchise a large portion of their propSee AAHOA report | page 42 HYATT HOTELS AND RESORTS Danny Patel [from left] , Fred Schwartz and Mukesh Mowji—all members of the AAHOA board of directors at one time—discuss the release of AAHOA’s fair franchising report. incorporated? Yes.” After sitting down with each of these ﬁve franchisors and discussing the updated 12 points as well as how AAHOA perceives their compliance, Mowji said Accor has been the most receptive and Choice has been the least receptive. According to the document, after reviewing the progress report and meeting with AAHOA executives on numerous occasions, Accor franchise executives agreed to work with AAHOA’s requests and, in late 2007, agreed to “reduce the amount of liquidated damages to equal the average monthly royalty fees multiplied by 24 months, or $75,000, whichever is greater.” When outlining Choice’s progress in adopting the fair franchising recommendations, the report says Choice lacks in several areas. For example, in the underperforming properties category, “Choice’s [Uniform Franchise Offering Circulars] do not contain any written assurances that an underperforming property will be allowed to exit without penalty.” “It is blatant,” Mowji said. “Where they are not conforming, where they are not changing, we tell them that, and where they have made progress, we tell them that.” Mowji was asked about initial reactions from the franchisors that received negative marks. “Were they surprised on their grades?” he said. “I suspect so, because we were pretty harsh.” Tim Shuy, v.p. of fair franchising for Choice, said AAHOA’s opinion on Choice’s compliance is important to them. “We’ve had a long, positive history of strong relationships with AAHOA,” Shuy said. “A large portion of our franchisees are AAHOA members.” Shuy said that while there might be some particulars of franchising contracts that Choice and AAHOA don’t agree on, he thinks the disagreements come down to technical details, and overall relationships remain strong. “You have to look at [contracts] situationally,” Shuy added. “Blanket statements don’t always work as well.” http://HotelMotel.com http://www.hotelmotel.com/progressreport http://www.hotelmotel.com/progressreport http://www.kenyonappliances.com http://www.kenyonappliances.com

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Hotel & Motel Management - May 5, 2008 Contents Pipeline Favors Established Companies 3 Palms Debuts in Upscale Tier Guests Want Reward Options Perspective Legally Speaking Marketing Matters Consultant’s Corner On Finance What Women Want Maintenance Doctor Trends & Stats Special Report: Top Hotel Brokers Design: Tune Into Music Programs Hot Products: PTACs On the Block: Silver Lining in Bleak Hotel Sales Market Events Transactions Supplier News Consumer Insight: The Importance of Creature Comforts When Traveling Ad/Editorial Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - May 5, 2008

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