ATLANTA— Microtel Inns & Suites has several new hires and promotions in its franchise services and operations department, including two new regional operations managers, Jaynie Boothe and Linda Farrell. The appointments were made to augment the brand’s franchise support and provide expedited management of new projects through the pre-construction, groundbreaking and opening phases, Microtel said. Boothe was formerly owner of Brady Ellis Boothe (BEB), an Austin, TX-based hotel sales and marketing company. In other experience, she has worked for the Comfort Suites, Clarion and Quality Inn brands. Farrell was most recently general manager of the Microtel Inn & Suites in Sulphur, LA, a position she has held since 1999. Tyrone Shannon was appointed franchise services manager. Shannon was most recently general manager of the Holiday Inn & Suites Express Emory Center in Atlanta. In other experience, he has worked as operations manager for Hotel Equities (Sivica Hospitality), and held positions with Holiday Inn, Marriott, Radisson, Ritz-Carlton and Westin. In related news, there were several promotions within the department including: Yvette Colbert to manager of franchise services, communications and graphic design; Kathy Gottlob to director of FF&E/capital planning; and Dana Lodridge to manager of franchise services/administration and marketing co-op support. Additionally, Stephanie Newell was promoted to director of field operations, new hotel openings; and Nathan Stacks was named director of field operations, open hotel support. The franchise services and operations department, under the direction of Neil Morris, vp, provides franchisees with on-site assistance for all their operational and training needs. Microtel, a chain of all new-constructed, interior-corridor economy hotels, executed over 100 new license agreements during 2006. Its pipeline closed the year with a backlog of 164 executed franchise agreements and an additional 70 approved in-house applications pending execution, according to Roy E. Flora, COO of US Franchise Systems, Inc. (USFS), parent company of the brand. At year-end, there were 271 Microtel hotels open worldwide and 31 under construction.
