VANCOUVER, BC? Executive Inn Group (EIG), based here, has plans to develop a significant presence in the United States by 2003, increasing its number of properties from 10 to 250. EIG anticipates the majority of its growth over the next three years will be ?within major U.S. cities or feeder cities,? said Salim Sayani, president/CEO of EIG. Presently, all existing 10 properties are franchised, with two in the U. S. (Washington State) and eight in Canada. EIG?s overall portfolio currently consists of four limited service Executive Inn Express Hotels, three mid-tier Executive Inn Hotels & Suites and three upper-tier Executive Plaza Hotels. EIG is a public company that trades on the new CanadianVenture Exchange, which is an amalgamation of the Vancouver Stock Exchange and the Alberta Stock Exchange. The hotel property real estate and development company Executive Inn Hotels & Suites, from which EIG was spun off, is still a privately held, family-owned company. EIG has been developing and building hotels for the last 15 years, however it has only been branding and franchising for approximately a year-and-a- half. And while the company plans on international expansion, it will be ?slightly after a significant presence is established within the United States that expansion will be considered for Europe and South America,? Sayani said. How will those three brands grow in such great volume over such a short period of time? The brands will grow through a 19.1% investment in the HARS Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of VIP International Corp., which is a reservation support and services company for 3,800 independent hotels and car rental companies. The investment is what the company calls an equity infusion through which funding comes from a combination of the issuance of new shares with the cash component coming from merchant banks. According to a spokesman for EIG, ?there is a syndicate of investors supplying EIG with $2 million worth of shares which EIG is then spending via investing the proceeds in HARS.? Currently 75% of shares are owned by Sayani, 15% are outstanding and 10% were offered to the syndicate of banks. A public offering will take place for EIG once the company can build up its profitability. ?It?s not something that?s going to happen in the immediate future but it will happen,? said the spokesman. Through HARS, EIG will have its own toll-free telephone number through which ?all services a regular franchisor would provide will be sold by VIP with Executive Inns, to new and existing customers alike,? said Sayani. EIG will also become the exclusive brand that is marketed to VIP clients. Sayani added that through this investment there will be an opportunity for EIG to create a car rental brand as well. In addition, EIG is rolling out a loyalty program called Immediate Rewards. And immediate it is. Each property has a terminal at the front desk in which a guest can swipe their own member card and receive a printout of available points that they can redeem at that time or that they can save for a later date. Sayani, who is age 27, has been working in the industry for 12 years in positions including but not limited to: bellman, driver, front desk clerk and bartender. Sayani also has a unique perspective on franchising and likes to call the franchise/ franchisee relationship an affiliation. Affiliates of EIG receive a suggested standards manual but, according to Sayani, ?how you attain the quality level is up to you.? He said he believes in being liberal rather than heavy-handed on standards.
