Shoney’s Inns Chain To Become Guesthouse Inns & Suites

HENDERSONVILLE, TN— ShoLodge said it intends to convert the name of the Shoneys Inns chain to GuestHouse International Inns & Suites, following the acquisition earlier this month of GuestHouse International Franchise Systems, the franchisor of the brand. There are currently 73 properties in operation, 12 properties under development, and 27 license agreements in various stages of completion. ShoLodge CEO Leon Moore said, “After careful consideration of the merits of the two hotel brands, we have concluded that there are several important advantages in converting the Shoneys Inns brand to GuestHouse Inns and Suites. We believe that the name change to GuestHouse Inns and Suites provides the opportunity for a greater presence in the marketplace and thereby better establishes the identity of our properties in the minds of customers. The name GuestHouse suggests a warm hospitality that should be well received. We expect to begin converting the 30 hotels that we own or manage as soon as practical, and the franchisees that own the other properties will convert soon after. All new franchising will be done under the GuestHouse name.” He added, “The name change recommendation was presented to the Shoneys Inn Franchise Owners Council and received overwhelming support. All Council members committed to convert their Shoneys Inns to the GuestHouse name, which will be the only change. ShoLodge currently is the franchisor of 70 Shoneys Inns, providing training, marketing, sales and operational support to franchisees.” As previously reported in HOTEL BUSINESS®, ShoLodge bought the GuestHouse International portfolio from a spin-off consortium of Suburban Lodge franchisees who started their own company following the merger of InTown Suites Management, Inc. and Suburban Lodges of America. The new franchisee group had arranged to purchase GuestHouse from InTown, closing the deal in escrow until the merger with privately held InTown also closed. Following approval April 29 by SLA shareholders, Suburban Lodges and its own subsidiaries became wholly owned subsidiaries of InTown Suites, giving it SLA’s two brand portfolios— Suburban Lodge and GuestHouse International, representing 127 and 73 properties, respectively. The SLA piece included 65 corporate-owned Suburban Lodges, which InTown retained and will reflagged to its brand, and the 62 franchised properties which sold for a “multimillion-dollar” figure to the franchisee group.