FT. LAUDERDALE, FL— With the patriotic sounds of a U.S. Marine Corps marching band from Georgia ringing in their ears, hundreds of supercharged Super 8 owners and managers Thursday night helped the Cendant Corp. economy brand kick off its 2002 international conference here at the Broward County Convention Center. Cheers rose when Bob Weller, group president of Cendant’s hotel division— and nine-year leader within the brand— emerged from a cloud of smoke wearing a racing helmet and gear, reinforcing the convention’s theme: “Setting The Pace.” In the evening general session, Weller delivered the traditional “State of the 8” address at the biannual conference, indicating he would step back— but not away— from the brand to let new president/CEO John Valletta drive the chain into the future. He told attendees the negative trends of the past two years have left the franchisor and franchisee alike, “not only holding on to what’s dear to us in our personal lives but also feeling compelled to be even more cautious and wanting to exercise greater control over our business lives and our futures.” Toward that Weller said the conference would introduce “new people, new leaders, new divisional strategies and new programs” designed to drive business to the brand. However, Weller also touched on another theme expected to echo throughout the conference, one that looked to the past to bring perspective to the future. “We’re reminded that 28 years ago, Super 8 was founded on the core values of hard work, fairness, fairness in dealing with one another, family bonds and keeping our word. Those values should never be dismissed as trivial or old fashioned,” he stressed. Weller also noted the brand has more than doubled its distribution from 956 locations when Cendant (then HFS) acquired the brand in 1993 to 2,100 properties in North America. Helping contribute to the success and growth of the chain was the “pride and strength of its people,” cultivation of brand loyalty via clean rooms and friendly service,” and the “clear market positioning [the franchisees]fought to maintain in the middle to upper-economy segment,” he said, adding that consistency of product and service has been another contribution. Looking out to 2003, Weller said it was apparent the chain has reached “somewhat of a growth plateau, a fact that has led us to a more strategic approach to our franchise sales. Several convergent factors are also in play. The trends in our macro economy, the rapid changes in technology, and the uncertainties that continue to affect travel patterns, resulting in declining occupancies and RevPARs. All these factors have recent effects on our Super 8 franchisees, our hotel group and our entire Cendant travel division,” said Weller, noting franchisees could expect to see a new approach to quality and quality assurance, and the fact that the chain would enforce quality standards “with even greater rigor in the future.” Weller told attendees with each of the initiatives Super 8 was “looking carefully” at the impact on their businesses. “We’re going to work together to avoid programs and policies that don’t work for a majority of our Super 8 [franchisees]. Weller advised attendees to take a page from the U.S Marines and adopt the slogan of “Gung Ho.” “It describes a spirit of cooperation or, loosely translated, ‘work together,’” he said. “We’re operating in difficult times…more than ever we need to be in partnership.” Valletta, the former brand/CEO of Cendant sibling, Travelodge, followed Weller briefly on stage, giving attendees a run down of his career track, which included stints with Prime Hospitality, Radisson, Best Western, La Quinta, Econo Lodge, Motel 6 and Howard Johnson where he started his career at 16 for 95 cents an hour “and all the 25 cents tips I could make.” Valletta told attendees he considers himself “an owner’s president. I know what you go through every day,” and added he would be available support his brand franchisees
