Hotel & Motel Management - December 27, 2007 - (Page 64) Differentiate Continued from page 56 “Design has gone mainstream,” Edmundson said. “We built our product around design.” With Cambria Suites, the Choice team knew it was attacking an already existing market, but believed it could bring something new to the table. “When we looked at select service and upscale, there were essentially two brands— Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn. Even though they’ve made updates, they can’t go back and change the physical appearance of hotel,” Edmundson said. “We were able to start with a clean slate.” On top of opening its first four properties, 2007 was a strong year for Cambria Suites to execute deals for hotels in many other cities across the United States, and it also has interest from developers in Canada. Edmundson said his brand broke ground on 14 properties in 2007, and the pipeline continues to grow. Through September of 2007, Cambria had executed a total of 57 deals. Marriott International’s 2007 launch of its newest brand, Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott, gives the parent company a new target audience as well. For this brand, Marriott teamed with children’s television icon Nickelodeon to build leisure resorts with waterparks to attract family vacationers. How did Marriott know 2007 was the right time to launch Nick? “We did a lot of research in the leisure market,” said Dennis Nau, v.p. of brand operations. “When you look at opportunities in the market, as we did with leisure, that will always supersede peaks and valleys [in the industry].” Nau recognized 2007’s industry upswing as a motivator for many new launches. “If you look at the industry overall, lots The lobby of Cambria Suites Green Bay [Wis.], which opened in October. of opportunities have presented themselves. Whether they have long-term sustainability will be determined,” he said. Marriott and Nickelodeon hope that by providing a high entertainment value, they can continue to attract families year after year. “It’s an entertainment venue that just happens to have guestrooms,” Nau said. The first Nickelodeon resort is scheduled to break ground in the first quarter of 2008, and Nau hopes to have the first property CHOICE HOTELS http://AmericasBestValueInn.com/SPIN http://AmericasBestValueInn.com/SPIN http://AmericasBestValueInn.com http://AmericasBestValueInn.com
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