Three Wyndham brands assert relevance

ORLANDO, FL— In the increasingly competitive economy and mid-price tiers, three established Wyndham Hotel Group brands made their best case last month at brand conferences here to assure franchisees and general managers that they were not only still relevant in today’s marketplace, but that they had the “right stuff” to prevail over their rivals. Each of the brands— Howard Johnson, Travelodge and Knights Inn— has taken steps to sharpen its positioning and fine tune its marketing, while tightening quality assurance and ridding its system of substandard properties. Newly appointed Howard Johnson brand senior vp Rui Barros urged franchisees to “re-energize and recommit” to the 80-year-old legacy brand. Riding the lodging industry’s current overall prosperity, Howard Johnson, which straddles the economy and mid-price sectors, has enjoyed recent success, including a particularly successful 2006, with gains in RevPAR growth of 18.4% since 2003. Also in 2006 the brand achieved its first net system growth in 10 years. “Openings during the year increased 22% over 2005,” Barros noted. Growth came through both conversions and new construction. Among new builds, Barros singled out a property in Cooperstown, NY. “Its design is so successful, we’ve purchased the construction plans and are making them available to other owners,” he said. International distribution growth continues to be a plus for Howard Johnson with the brand focusing on Latin America and China, among other markets. Accordingly, the brand provided simultaneous translation of its conference general session into Spanish and Mandarin. Barros added that, going forward, Howard Johnson would stress customer service more strongly than ever. Howard Johnson this year is also upgrading its brand standards for bedding and the bathroom. “Our market research tells us that three areas customers feel especially strongly about are the breakfast, their night’s sleep, and the bathroom shower,” said group director for business development William Bifulco. “We already have an award-winning breakfast product with our Rise ‘n Dine complimentary offering. Regarding the sleep experience, we’ve mandated that new mattresses be installed by Dec. 31. Curved shower rods and new shower heads are also required by June 30.” Timetables, however, are contingent on when a property was last renovated. At its general session, Travelodge unveiled a new marketing plan, which calls for the economy brand to up its marketing to three target audiences: NASCAR fans, bass fishing and professional rodeo riding. “Like Howard Johnson, Travelodge’s performance has improved significantly in the past three years and we want to keep that momentum building. Aligning with these audiences should help us achieve that goal,” said Barros, who heads Travelodge as well. “We’ve begun positioning Travelodge as a lifestyle brand,” noted senior director of marketing Andrew Maguire. “Consumer research tells us our core audience is families traveling on vacation. They’re solidly middle class— typically 40-something adults with teenage children— with a strong price/value orientation. What’s more, we learned they have highly active lifestyles and are drawn to outdoor activities.” Knights Inn used the conference to introduce its new simplified franchise agreement. The streamlined format is intended to appeal to a broader base of potential franchisees, particularly those new to the lodging industry who may be put off by the traditionally lengthy document. “A typical agreement can be quite intimidating to someone new to the process,” said Knights Inn’s brand senior vp, Rajiv Bhatia; the new four-page agreement replaces a 35-page version. “All the essentials are there. We feel the new version will be welcomed by owners. Not only is it a time-saver, but there’ll be cost savings as well since it’ll take an attorney less time to review.” Streamlined too is Knights Inn’s new custom-designed property management system Knight Lite,