LAS VEGAS Choice Hotels International kicked off its 47th annual conference here at the MGM Grand on April 30, with a welcome celebration that included some of the city s famous dancing showgirls and a performance by Las Vegas legend, Wayne Newton.
After performing a few numbers for the crowd of more than 4,000 franchisees, Newton introduced Charles Ledsinger, president/CEO of Choice, who stated that the company would continue with its three-pronged business strategy announced at its conference in New Orleans this past November. The strategy includes reaching more potential customers, delivering a higher quality of service, and building the company s current brand names.
In addition, in an effort to create more distinction between its brands, Choice launched a new re-imaging program that will update the logos of the company s Quality, Comfort Suites, and Sleep brands. The new images will be incorporated into all elements of the brand s identity, including global marketing, and will hopefully create a more accurate representation of the brands mid-market positionings, said Ledsinger.
EVP/Domestic Hotels, Steven Schultz, presented the new logos to crowd, noting that the images are “clean, crisp and communicative of each brand s attributes.”
However, some franchisees were unhappy with the new re-imaging campaign. They said they were not consulted on the program and do not approve of it. When asked later in the conference, Ledsinger indicated he would try to work with the franchisees to come to an agreement.
Meanwhile, the company also announced its new advertising initiatives, designed by Arnold Worldwide, and gave attendees a sneak peak at its new television ads set to hit a number of cable channels this summer. The ads feature the tag line, “The Power of Being There. Go,” and are designed to dispute the belief that technology is replacing the need to travel.
Wayne Wielgus, svp/marketing for Choice, said that the company s new 30-second ads will be “fully-integrated and multi-branded,” and will feature catchy phrases like “You can t e-mail a handshake” and “You can t fax a smile.” (5/1/01) Diana M. Rodriguez