NASHVILLE— Guesthouse International owners/franchisees were able to discuss business strategies face-to-face last week at its 2004 Franchise Owners Conference held at the Guesthouse International Inn & Suites Music Valley here. The two-day event was well attended, and was the first such gathering in more than 18 months since ShoLodge purchased Guesthouse in mid-2002. Foremost on the minds of owners in attendance was Guesthouse’s distribution growth strategy, as they are eager to take the budding chain to the next level. When asked, most franchisees said the number one priority for 2004 and 2005 should be unit growth, to allow the chain to increase its brand awareness and consumer following. Currently, Guesthouse is stepping off of its major conversion strategy, which saw all but about 20 Shoney’s hotels converted to the Guesthouse chain, helping boost its presence. Jim Grout, president, Guesthouse International, assured owners/franchisees that there are plans on the boards for such growth. “Our chain is stronger than it was one year ago. We have weeded out all of the properties in this combined system that didn’t belong, and as a result the quality of the chain is better, so we can now move forward with growth,” said Grout. Last fall Grout replaced former president John Buttoph, who had played a key role in growing the brand’s presence through parent company ShoLodge. Even with the Shoney’s conversions, Guesthouse offers a fairly sporadic geographic presence. Executives said the company will look to “fill in the voids” initially targeting new properties in areas where the chain offers little or no presence. Markets in the Southeastern U.S. will be a primary focus as there are few locations in that region, while Guesthouse’s strong unit distribution on the West Coast lends to fewer opportunities in that area. A franchise owners council meeting held in conjunction with the owner’s conference spawned three recommendations for chain improvement including: a frequent guest program, installing high-speed Internet access in all guestrooms and developing a signature point of difference that will set the chain apart. The group meets every three months. Former recommendations that resulted in changes included queries for training, which led to new general manager and housekeeping training programs. “We asked you what you wanted over a year ago and we delivered,” said Bennett Greenberg, vp of franchise operations, Guesthouse also took the initiative in making improvements to its accounting department and created a new standards operating manual, with standards written in “down to earth” terms. Strides were also made on the technology front, with enhancements to its CRS completed and new online distribution agreements signed. Laurie Estes, director of accounts at InnLink, Guesthouse’s reservations center, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of ShoLodge, walked franchisees and owners through the additional flexibility now available for revenue management. For example, instead of five separate tiers for rates in the CMS, there are now 26 rate tiers owners can use to revenue manage their business. Franchisees were also updated on new contracts InnLink and WorldRes inked at the end of 2003 with multiple online distributor websites, which is expected to give the growing chain better placement on such sites. The brand’s website received revisions of its own, making the booking process easier and faster, noted executives.
