Choice Hotels Success Continues in Recruiting
SILVER SPRING, MD, March 13, 2007. Worldwide lodging franchisor Choice Hotels International today announced that domestic hotel franchise agreements with minority and non-lodging entrepreneurs increased 25 percent over 2005, with Choice's emerging markets team adding 35 new franchisees in 2006. These new franchisees, who are African American, Hispanic, Native American, and non-traditional hoteliers, all have majority ownership of a Choice brand hotel.
"We are very excited about the tremendous progress we made in attracting diverse franchisees to the Choice family," said Brian Parker, vice president, emerging markets and new business development. "We will continue to conduct extensive outreach efforts to these underrepresented populations in the lodging community. Our goal is to introduce them to the concept of hotel investing and raise awareness about Choice Hotels and our brands as a potentially strong investment vehicle. We are very proud of our progress in this area, which we feel compares very favorably to other companies in the industry."
The emerging markets team executed franchise agreements for nine of Choice's ten brands, and the mix was balanced with 55 percent of its contracts for new construction hotels and 45 percent for conversion hotels. Deals were executed nationwide in 14 sates: Texas, California, New York, Maryland, Illinois, Mississippi, Colorado, Tennessee, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Connecticut.
A key component in raising awareness among minority and non-traditional hoteliers was Choice's launch of its emerging markets Web site dedicated exclusively to these populations, a first for a hotel company. The site, which can be accessed at www.choicehotelsfranchise.com/emerging_markets, provides potential franchisees with a wealth of information about hotel investments and Choice Hotels family of brands. The emerging markets team also hosted a series of well-attended seminars throughout the country that served to increase knowledge about Choice Hotels and its brands among African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans.
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