FRANCHISING
253 | Franchising Report Part 1 – Power Struggle: New hotelier organization lobbies for franchisee protection
FRANCHISING
Fair franchising. It’s a phrase that’s been used countless times in negotiations with brands, at industry conferences and among associations formed to ensure a balance of power between franchisers and franchisees.
As the hotel industry in the U.S. celebrates nearly a decade of growth, leaner times are ahead, say forecasters. Owner operators are cutting as many expenses as they can but seem to be swimming upstream as costs are claiming more and more of their bottom lines.
Among the biggest expenses are franchisee fees, which are growing at a faster pace than room revenue.
Episode 253 of Lodging Leaders is the first in a series that’s exploring the issues brewing in the franchise industry.
To launch the series, Judy Maxwell, co-host of Lodging Leaders, attended Fair Franchising Initiative, a new organization formed to address hotel franchisees’ concerns with the current state of franchising.
Maxwell also interviewed a hotelier leading a petition drive to get AAHOA back to the discussion table with Choice Hotels International.
Featured are Prakash Shah and Anil Patel, president and chairman, respectively, of Fair Franchising Initiative; Keith Miller, principal of Franchisee Advocacy Consulting; and Sagar Shah, a next-generation hotelier who is leading the franchisee petition drive.
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FRANCHISING
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317 | Together Again: U.S. hotel industry begins to see return of small meetings
Ginny Morrison of Evanston, Illinois, is a 33-year veteran of Spire Hospitality, a hotel management company with a portfolio that spans coast-to-coast. As vice president of sales and marketing, Morrison saw the coronavirus pandemic decimate the meetings business. More than a year later, she’s witnessing a comeback as small-meeting planners are actively booking events for the last half of 2021 and beyond. As public health agencies expand COVID-19 vaccination programs across the U.S. and states ease up on public-gathering restrictions designed to keep the virus at bay, the hotel industry is seeing small meetings begin a comeback. In Episode 317, Long Live Lodging covers the state of the small-meetings sector and how hotels can grab their share of the meetings business during and post-pandemic. This report is part of our ongoing coverage about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the hospitality industry.
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316 | Pandemic Trailblazer: Hunter Hotel Investment Conference leads lodging industry’s 2021 event circuit
The Hunter Hotel Investment Conference will be the industry’s first large event to be held during the coronavirus pandemic. The Atlanta event will be a hybrid format of in-person and virtual access, also an industry first. Lee Hunter, chairman of the conference, knows the level of expectation is high among other conference planners as well as industry professionals eager to network after more than a yearlong hiatus. Episode 316 of Lodging Leaders podcast features Hunter as he tells what it takes to re-launch the industry’s conference circuit amid the COVID-19 outbreak.