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Matthew Hostetler, chief development officer at Red Roof, has been operating outside his wheelhouse for about 18 years now. In this installment of Asian Hospitality's Leadership Series, he explains how he does it all with a smile on his face. Hostetler was at the Hunter Hotel Conference in March in Atlanta when he took time to talk about his history in the hotel business along with the current status of Red Roof. Topics also included AAHOA's 12 Points of Fair Franchising, the company's preparations for possible economic headwinds this year and the success of Red Roof's newest brand. Same job, different industry In 2002, Hostetler was recruited by Cendant Hotel Group, which is now Wyndham Hotel Group, to conduct franchise sales under Phil Hugh, who was at that time senior vice president for franchise sales. That was when he stepped out of his comfort zone. "I said yes to an opportunity that was way, in sales was not outside of my wheelhouse, but outside of my industry," Hostetler said. "I was in transportation for 15 years before that. So yeah, that definitely outside the wheelhouse." In 2014, he joined Red Roof as the senior vice president of development, again working under Hugh. In 2020, when Hugh left the company, Hostetler became chief development officer. Now he's settled into the job. "I love the hotel business. I love hospitality. I love the people in this business, how they are so entrepreneurial," Hostetler said. But there's also so people oriented as well. That's what attracts talent so much right? Hospitality. Everyone has a smile on their face most of the time."

HIHOTELS BY HOSPITALITY International, a leader in franchising of conversion and new-build hotels for economy lodging, has opened four properties including Scottish Inns in Austin, Forest Hill and Hankamer, Texas and a Passport Inn in Paradise, Pennsylvania. These properties are owned by Dinesh Patel, Anu Investment Corp., Priteshkumar "Pat" Bhakta and Saraswati Group, Inc., respectively. The Scottish Inns & Suites in Austin is a former Rodeway Inn and is owned by Dinesh Patel. The 35-room hotel is located in downtown Austin just off Interstate 35 and East Highway 290. It is near the 6th St. Entertainment District and the University of Texas campus, and is near the Austin Zoo and Austin Convention Center, hihotels said in a statement. The Scottish Inns hotel in Forest Hill, Texas, a 46-room new construction, is owned by Anu Investment Corp. The property is located along Mansfield Highway, just a half mile from I-20 and 10 miles from downtown Fort Worth.

JUST OVER ONE year ago, Marriott International severed its support for AAHOA over the association's 12 Points of Fair Franchising and support for franchise reform legislation in New Jersey. At AAHOA's 35th Annual Convention & Trade Show this year in Orlando, Marriott came back, albeit with its status remaining unclear. Also, AAHOA made alterations to the 12 Points aimed at providing more protection for members in the event of the franchiser's acquisition by another company. Also at AAHOACON24, Miraj Patel became the youngest chairman in the history of the association, Pinal Patel became its new secretary and immediate Past Chairman Bharat Patel and AAHOA President & CEO Laura Lee Blake spoke on how the history of the association led to its success.

HIHOTELS BY HOSPITALITY International, a franchiser of conversion and new-build economy hotels, recently expanded its communication suite to enhance dialogue with its franchisees, supporting hotel owners through multi-channel engagement. The company maintains open channels at all levels, including direct access to the CEO, hihotels said in a statement. "At hihotels, the strength of our brands is rooted in the voices of our franchisees and the relationships we build," said Chris Guimbellot, hihotels' president and CEO. "We are small enough to listen, yet large enough to deliver-enabling us to focus on individual properties and provide unparalleled industry support." The expanded communication suite includes: Advisory council: Launched in 2023, this forum meets quarterly and includes franchisees, a vendor and the hihotels director, allowing franchisees to help shape hihotels' hihub: Introduced in December 2023, this digital platform facilitates continuous communication between franchisees and the hihotels team, offering educational resources to enhance hotel operations. WhatsApp group: Rolled out in the first quarter of 2024, the real-time messaging platform enables franchisees to contribute to system-wide improvements and build relationships with other franchisees and the hihotels corporate team. Newsletters: INNside Track, a quarterly newsletter, keeps franchisees informed on industry and marketing trends, company updates, events and networking opportunities. It is complemented by "An Update from Guimbellot," which highlights challenges, opportunities and new programs. Each communication includes Guimbellot's phone number and encourages franchisees to reach out with questions, concerns, ideas and feedback. Assurance & marketing program: This initiative has directors who help service properties and provide owners with ongoing sales, marketing and operations support. Regional conferences: Hihotels conducts smaller, regional conferences to nurture pe

U.S. HOTEL DEVELOPERS have a new choice of brands now. InterContinental Hotels Group is now signing franchise agreements stateside for its Vignette Collection, previously focused on development in Asia with its first properties in Australia and Thailand. The Vignette Collection is part of IHG's luxury and lifestyle portfolio that includes more than 400 hotels and 100,000 rooms. Hotel owners and operators in the U.S. are invited to attend an online symposium on franchising with the brand on Dec. 7. "Vignette Collection gives owners and guests an inspiring new choice and, while each hotel in the collection will maintain its unique story and guest experience, guests will also enjoy the assurance of a consistent and high-quality experience backed by IHG," said Julienne Smith, IHG's senior vice president of development for the Americas. "There is outstanding potential in the Americas region for this brand, specifically in urban and resort locations, with Vignette Collection offering high value and flexibility for hotel owners."

BEST WESTERN HOTELS & Resorts is the most recent large hotel company to meet with AAHOA leaders over the association's 12 Points of Fair Franchising. The two parties discussed their ongoing relationship and the needs of the industry. Members of the Best Western team included Larry Cuculic, president and CEO; John Kelly, board chairman; Danny Lafayette, board vice-chairman; Phil Payne, board secretary-treasurer; and board directors Mike Merchant, Ishwar Naran, Viral "Victor" Patel and Stephen Wahrlich, according to AAHOA. Best Western has a portfolio of 19 brands, and approximately 4,500 hotels across all chain scale segments, and it joins G6 Hospitality, parent company for the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands, in reviewing the 12 points. "Best Western Hotels & Resorts has been a longtime partner of AAHOA - a span of time that includes more than three decades - and we always welcome the opportunity to continue the dialogue for the betterment and prosperity of the entire industry," said Nishant "Neal" Patel, AAHOA chairman. "Our recent meeting underscores how open communication, collaboration, and partnership are key to maintaining a fruitful relationship that benefits both organizations and, ultimately, the industry as a whole."

AAHOA IS CONTINUING its advocacy efforts with new meetings with members of Congress. On Sept. 27, representatives from the association met with Sen. John Hickenlooper, Democrat from Colorado, in Washington at his Capitol Hill office. Hickenlooper, who sits on both the Small Business Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee, met with AAHOA to discuss Small Business Administration loan limit increases as well as fairness and transparency in the franchise industry, according to AAHOA. In Hickenlooper's home state of Colorado, 39.5 percent of all hotels in the state are owned by AAHOA members, comprising 520 hotels and 55,861 rooms, according to a recent study for AAHOA by Oxford Economics. Those hotels provide $5 billion in wages and other compensation, along with approximately 54,490 direct jobs and 101,000 total impact jobs in the state. They provide $8.5 billion in contribution to the state's GDP, and $2.3 billion in federal, state and local taxes along with $201 million in total lodging taxes.

THE U.S. HOTEL construction pipeline grew 9 percent by both projects and rooms year-over-year, according to the latest U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics. It stood at 5,545 projects with 658,207 rooms at the close of the first quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, the hotel construction pipeline in the top 25 markets in the U.S. also registered year-over-year growth in the first quarter. Dallas had a record 184 projects with 21,810 rooms at the close of the first quarter, followed by Atlanta with 144 projects containing 18,242 rooms, Los Angeles tally stood at 118 projects with 19,066 rooms, Phoenix with 117 projects with 16,100 rooms and Nashville had 115 projects containing 15, 354 rooms, LE report revealed. In another report, LE analysts also detailed the leading franchise companies and their brands in the construction pipeline at the close of the first quarter. Marriott International tops the charts with 1,499 projects containing 181,377 rooms, followed closely by Hilton Worldwide, with a record-high count of 1,436 projects with 161,359 rooms, and then InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 809 projects containing 80,679 rooms. Combined, these three franchise companies comprise 68 percent of the projects in the total U.S. pipeline, LE said.

DESPITE THE CHALLENGES of 2020, hihotels by Hospitality International added 18 properties throughout the U.S. Most are conversions owned by Asian American hoteliers. The five hihotels brands include Red Carpet Inn, Scottish Inns, Master Hosts Inns, Downtowner Inns and Passport Inn. Hospitality International said the brands' franchising model includes customized support, advanced technology and overall value. "Last June, we announced a new branding identity for the company that expanded franchisee services and development opportunities and refocused our goal of becoming the best choice for economy hotel franchising. The response has been tremendous and we look forward to building on this great momentum in 2021," said Chris Guimbellot, hihotels president and CEO.

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC did not slow Magnuson Hotels' growth as it added 80 franchise agreements for its Independent Collection in the U.S. and United Kingdom in 2021. The company said its business model and focus on local markets and dynamic pricing helped it weather the storm. Magnuson is expecting continued strong performance in 2022 for the Independent Collection, which is made up of independent hotels receiving support from Magnuson. Occupancy for the collection rose 31.3 percent and RevPAR rose 43.5 percent over 2019 levels during 2021, according to a statement from the company. At the same time, according to data from STR, U.S. total occupancy for 2021 dropped 12.6 percent, ADR dropped 4.8 percent and RevPAR went down 16.8 percent. "The pandemic has seen a shift in hotel source markets, with corporate travel and international travel as we've known it removed from hotels' options. Our teams have instead looked domestically and locally at those businesses which are key to success and solid, long-term business," said Thomas Magnuson, the company's CEO. "Local government, medical, public safety, energy, transportation, construction, government, long-term corporate. The business market is now driven by essential business travel-the must-take trips, those small and medium-sized enterprises which have been getting in their cars and hitting the road."

FRANCHISEE RESILIENCE AND determination was the focus of Choice Hotels International's 66th annual convention in Las Vegas last week. In keeping with that theme, in a press conference at the convention, corporate leadership for Choice said they are working with AAHOA on ways to implement the association's recently updated 12 Points of Fair Franchising. More than 5,200 people attended the conference, including FRANCHISEes and their families. Other news from the event includes the announcement of a new program to promote women ownership of hotels and the hiring of two new FRANCHISE development directors. "GO" was the theme of the convention, in recognition of the struggles Choice's FRANCHISEes have faced over the past three years of pandemic and economic downturn. The company overcame those challenges, driving new business, advocating for government aid and reducing operating costs for FRANCHISEes, said Patrick Pacious, Choice's president and CEO. It also surpassed 2019 system-wide performance levels.

Recently, Larry Cuculic, president and CEO of BWH Hotel Group, sat down with Asian Hospitality to share his insights into the status of the Best Western Hotel brand and the industry as a whole. A video of the entire interview, the first in Asian Hospitality's "Leadership Series," is now available on the magazine's website. Subjects included the labor crisis, attracting new franchisees and the state of the economy. Below are excerpts from the interview along with additional information on the subjects discussed, including franchise relations, the labor crisis and changes the company has seen since his appointment to the top role. franchise relations One of the biggest issues Cuculic discusses in the interview is maintaining positive relations with Best Western franchisees. He emphasized the need for openness and transparency. "We disclose all of our contract terms throughout the negotiation. I tell our people, I believe in karma," Cuculic said in the Leadership Series interview. "Karma doesn't forget a name or an address. If you treat someone who's thinking about coming into your brand reasonably fairly, and then when they sign a contract, you drive revenue to them, that's a win-win relationship. That's what we want. If you don't have that win-win relationship, they're going to leave and your reputation is that you don't support your hoteliers or believe in that relationship, which then hinders development." Cuculic said his training at West Point Military Academy and law school at Notre Dame University instilled in him an innate sense of fairness. Also, due to its structure, the company has to involve its members in every decision. "I'm the president, CEO of Best Western, I cannot design a governance change," Cuculic said. "The members vote on all those changes. Our board of directors approves our contracts."

Kimberly Midkiff is now director of franchise development and the assurance and marketing program for hihotels by Hospitality International. Prior to that, she was the vice president of development for Sonesta and Red Lion Hotels Corp. Previously, Midkiff was director of sales and operations for JDH Developers, a hospitality real estate firm, according to company. Based in Lakemont, Georgia, she will be responsible for the growth of hihotels' Scottish Inns, Red Carpet Inn, Master Hosts Inns, Downtowner Inns and Passport Inn brands in the Southeast. According to the company, she will provide sales and marketing support and training to franchisees in the area as part of the Assurance & Marketing Program.

IN MARCH, THE U.S. celebrated the achievements and history of women as part of Women's History Month. In recognition of the month, some hotel companies introduced or continued programs aimed at increasing women's role in the industry. In line with the Women's History Month theme this year "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories," Choice Hotels International kicked off its "HERtels at Choice Development Seminar" with nearly 40 franchise owners, general managers, and hotel associates in attendance. At the same time, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' "Women Own the Room" initiative has signed over 30 hotels across the U.S. and Canada in the first year of its launch. Also, California hotelier and philanthropist Sunil "Sunny" Tolani issued a special message for the month. HERtels by Choice Choice Hotels took the recently held Hunter Hotel Conference in Atlanta as a launch pad for its inaugural HERtels seminar. The event was held next door to the Marriott Marquis Atlanta, Hunter's venue, and is an enhancement of Choice's HERtels program that was launched in 2021. "While industry-wide parity is improving, with more female investors, directors, and leaders in hospitality than ever before, women entrepreneurs still face significant economic and societal barriers when it comes to hotel ownership and development. As an industry, we owe it to the next generation of hoteliers to change this statistic," said John Lancaster, vice president for emerging markets, franchise development and owner relationships, Choice Hotels International. "This initiative and the invaluable resources it provides is a natural extension of our industry-leading emerging markets program and our enduring commitment to helping growth-minded entrepreneurs further their unique ownership journey."

MORE ASSOCIATIONS ARE joining the American Hotel & Lodging Association in protesting the National Labor Relations Board's recently issued final ruling on the definition of joint-employer status. The ruling essentially broadens the definition to any "entity that has an employment relationship with the employees," and AAHOA, AHLA and the other associations say it could damage the current franchise business model. NLRB's new standard, issued last week, defines a joint employer to be any company that shares or codetermines one or more essential terms and conditions of employment. Those include: Wages, benefits, and other compensation. Hours of work and scheduling. The assignment of duties to be performed. The supervision of the performance of duties. Work rules and directions governing the manner, means, and methods of the performance of duties and the grounds for discipline. The tenure of employment, including hiring and discharge. Working conditions related to the safety and health of employees.

Eight new Hihotels by Hospitality International properties recently opened in five states: three in Texas, two in Pennsylvania, and one each in New York, Vancouver, and Ohio. The company provides franchising options across its five brands including Scottish Inns, Red Carpet Inn, Master Hosts Inns, Downtowner Inns, and Passport Inn. In Texas, the three properties include Scottish Inns - Eastex Freeway North in Houston, owned by 59 Little York, Inc. under Sandip Sindha's leadership; Scottish Inns in Decatur owned by Sunlight Partnership LLC led by Leena Patel; and Scottish Inns & Suites in Shenandoah/Woodland owned by Anjali Hospitality LLC under Mahesh Patel's guidance, Hihotels said. In Pennsylvania, two hotels have opened: Scottish Inns in Middletown, owned by Sky Hotels LLC led by Rajan Vesuwala; and Red Carpet Inn & Suites in Philadelphia, owned by Vrisha Lodging LLC led by Kiran Patel.

In town to promote Asia's Next Top Model, the latest adaptation of the 38-year-old's successful franchise, we had a chance to get up close and personal with the California-born celebrity - without getting starstruck. And here's how we did it.

The IPL Is a Indian Premier League, a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was Started by the Board of Control for Cricketch in India (BCCI). It currently contested by 10 teams (franchises) consisting of players from different countries. It was started after an altercation between the BCCI and the Indian Cricket League. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) launched the Indian Premier League (IPL) on September 15, 2007.

Welwet Woods Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. is a professionally managed travel services company, branching across major cities in India. Primarily based in Bangalore, the company boasts of having a strong presence of network of agencies and franchises, to serve best for its clients, globally.

Jobs Abroad, Work Abroad, International Jobs Online - Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc. was formerly known as Hilton Hotels Corporation is an American multinational hospitality company. It franchises and manages hotels. The company was founded by Conrad Hilton in 1919 and now the corporation is now led by Christopher J. Nassetta. Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia.