|
There were ten "Town Hall"
meetings that covered the country from Vancouver to
Moncton with a total of nearly 300 licensees and
general managers in attendance. The interactive
format of the meetings allowed for open dialogue,
which was enjoyed by all in attendance.
"It was an extremely useful
meeting," said Fareeda Tejpar, co-owner of the
Econo Lodge Motel Village (CN610) and the Econo
Lodge Banff Trail (CN659), both of Calgary,
Alberta. "The team effort proved that they wish to
grow with us and the encouragement and assistance
in helping us succeed is appreciated. It was an
excellent, effective meeting, and I thank Gary and
his team for taking the time to see us."
Strategic Growth: As
Canada's leading hotel chain, with more than 250
properties, representing seven brands across the
country, Choice Canada's plan is to achieve
continued growth in a responsible and strategic
manner. In 2001, the company will focus on further
developing all of its brands with an emphasis on
two: Econo Lodge will drive conversion
opportunities and the Sleep brand will be targeted
as the new construction vehicle.
Operational Services:
Several new initiatives have been launched to
further enhance operational services at Choice
Canada. An in-house purchasing manager was recently
introduced and continues to implement enhanced
design services, contacts and new programs for
licensees. As well, an innovative Preventative
Maintenance Program has been put in place to help
licensees strategically plan and budget for capital
improvements. Furthermore, the operations team will
now be assisting with enhancing the sales and
marketing efforts at the property
level.Sales: A four-pronged approach to
drive business into hotels from local, regional,
national and international sources is the 2001
strategy being developed by the sales team, headed
up by Katrina Sagan. Choice Canada will continue to
work closely with its U.S and global counterparts
to maximize sales potential. In response to
discussions at the Town Hall meetings, sales
efforts will also be focused on assisting
properties at the local level to help licensees and
general managers further enhance their own sales
initiatives.
Marketing: The
marketing team, led by David Beers, is currently
hard at work gathering input from licensees and
customers to determine a reward component to Choice
Canada's existing guest recognition program,
Choice Club. Based on discussions at Town
Hall meetings, there will also be an increased
focus on regional marketing, including proposed
increased contributions from Choice Canada to the
regional marketing funds. CHC will continue to
leverage its relationship with Choice Hotels
International, Inc. to ensure the biggest bang for
Canadian media dollars. Finally, an enhanced
website is planned for launch this
summer.
Communication:
"Communication is definitely the key element of our
new strategic plan and to that end we plan to
involve our licensees on an on-going basis,"
emphasized Decatur. Plans for a continued two-way
communication stream include, regular Town Hall
Meetings, frequent newsletters, updated contact
lists and an increased number of training
programs.
Choice Hotels Canada
Inc. is the leading hotel chain in the country
with more than 250 properties representing seven
brands from coast to coast, including Comfort,
Quality, Clarion, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway
and MainStay Suites. Choice Canada is part of
Choice Hotels International, which has 5,000
properties across North America, Europe, Asia, the
Caribbean and Australia. Further information about
Choice Canada and its locations can be accessed at
www.choicehotels.ca.
|
"Our
strategic vision has been a work in progress," said
Decatur. He continued, "After formulating the
initial plan, we took it on the road in an
interactive forum where we received valuable input
from our licensees. We have since amended the plan
to include much of this input and now we are moving
full steam ahead!"