MADISON, WI— As discussions in the hospitality industry regarding a potential downturn continue, the mood is upbeat at the 2008 AmericInn Annual Convention at the Monona Terrace Convention Center here. In fact, the buzz around the convention and its speakers is that a dip in the economy could actually benefit the midscale brand. “Of course the economy is on everyone’s mind these days,” said AmericInn CEO Arnold Angeloni. “Business people are all a bit nervous and consumers overall are worried.” However, he noted that despite current economic conditions and the price of gasoline, people will still continue to travel. Both Angeloni and keynote speaker Peter Yesawich chairman/CEO of Y Partnership told attendees that while Americans will still travel, they will likely trade down when it comes to their accommodations, presenting a unique opportunity for the midscale without F&B segment. “We’re actually well positioned to be one of the few brands that can gain ground in these market conditions,” said Angeloni. “U.S. consumers are staying closer to home and the value of the U.S. dollar is still down.” The U.S. is seeing a greater influx of travelers from Canada, who often drive to vacation spots in the Midwest—good news for AmericInn, which has the majority of its hotels in that region. The economy aside, Angeloni had good news to report to attendees. “The AmericInn brand continued to grow in 2007. We now have 212 properties open, six properties under construction and 18 in the pipeline. This past year we have also signed three multiple unit development agreements with developers who have committed to building a number of new AmericInn properties over a period of years,” he reported. The brand has also entered several new markets including Georgia, Kentucky, California and New Mexico. This year, with the brand foundation solidly in place, the plan is to focus on “key points of differentiation,” according to Angeloni. Those two points for AmericInn are its SoundGuard construction and quality service. “Our new tagline, ‘Welcome to the end of the day,’ reflects exactly who we are as a brand—unpretentious and welcoming…we have a point of difference that is built right in with our solid masonry walls and floors, thick insulation and gaskets around room doors to block out noise from the hallways or the adjacent rooms,” he said. New initiatives for this year include new Internet marketing capabilities for AmericInn that will build upon the brand’s relaunch of its website last year. Angeloni reported that the Internet is particularly important to allow AmericInn to compete more effectively with some of the larger midscale brands. “No longer can anyone question the importance of the Internet on our business and we have made a major investment in this technology to grow market share and increase reservation volume for your properties. The Internet is huge for us because it helps level the playing field with our competitors,” he said. Later this year, AmericInn will also relaunch its brand loyalty program, converting it to a points-based system to better serve its repeat guests and help improve its customer database.
Arnold Angeloni