1. New CEO of Choice Misses an Opportunity-

In a recent article (October 3, 2008 on Hotel Interactive) Stephen Joyce, the new Choice Hotels CEO, said he is looking to breathe new life and energy into the company. He plans to launch some new brands, heighten the company’s emphasis on business travelers and better differentiate existing ones. It’s a move he’s quite passionate about, and which he feels he’ll be able to do with the full support of the franchise community. However, nowhere in the interview does Mr. Joyce make any reference to the subjects that are of the greatest importance to Choice franchisees: guaranteed areas of protection, termination and liquidated damages, encroachment and impact studies, windows of penalty- free exit opportunities choice of venue, etc.

Since Choice Hotels International franchises 5570 hotels, wouldn’t you think that a major part of his responsibilities should be to create a fair franchising environment? My recent rating of Choice’s compliance with AAHOA’s 12 Points of Fair Franchising gave Choice a next-to-last finish:

      % Compliance Budgetel  93.0 
Vantage 93.0 
Accor  57.6 
Wyndham 50.3 
La Quinta 47.3 
Choice 40.9 
Carlson 34.3

At 40.9%, Choice is failing its franchisees badly. How is it that Mr. Joyce believes that he can expect the full support of the franchise community?

2. Lost and Forgotten Hotels- The Marguery Hotel and Apartments at 270 Park Avenue in Manhattan (between 47th and 48th Streets was approached through a 60 foot high Italian arch that served as a carriage entrance. The 250-room hotel was built in 1917 and was considered the city’s largest and most expensively decorated apartment house. By the 1940s, Time, Inc. had an option on the property to replace with a new headquarters building. Years later, at an oral history session at Columbia University, Andew Hieskell, the company’s former chairman, said, “Instead of this being the fancy hotel we thought it was, it was heavily populated by ladies of the night and gambling outfits.” The company sold its options. In 1955, Union Carbide bought the old Marguery and built its own headquarter skyscraper on the site. The last of the hotel was demolished in 1957.

3. The Ultimate Bionic Man- On October 13, 2008, my left hip joint was replaced with a plastic and titanium implant. I spent seven days in the hospital and 2 weeks in a rehabilitation center. With outpatient physical therapy twice a week. I am healing slowly and steadily. Since I had great success six years ago recovering from a right hip joint replacement, I am expecting the same results this time.

4. Little Known Hotel Facilities in New York- There are thirty-plus university and private clubs in New York which provide guest rooms, food and beverage outlets, meeting rooms and recreation facilities. One of the oldest and largest is the Harvard Club of New York which opened in 1894 on West 44 Street. After multiple expansions, it now contains 75 guest rooms, 18 meeting rooms, a library, a state-of-the- art fitness center, 7 squash courts, Harvard Hall, a 300 seat restaurant and the Grill Room and bar. It has 11,000 members. I know about this wonderful institution because for 12 months in 2004/2005, I served as acting General Manager and Chief Operating Officer.

My responsibilities included oversight and supervision of the Club’s operation; creation of short and long-term objectives; supervision of the business plan, annual budget and forecasts; interviewing, hiring developing and supervising department heads; maintaining an appropriate relationship with the Union delegates; monitoring the operating performance, cost controls, capital expenditures, physical condition and cleanliness; reviewing, inspecting and evaluating the Club’s a) food and beverage department, equipment and facilities and b) athletic and fitness facilities c) back-of-the house areas including kitchens, housekeeping, laundry, engineering and maintenance.

5. Quote of the Month

“ I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad and ill-nourished. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Second Inaugural Address | January 20, 1937

Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC operates his hotel consulting office as a sole practitioner specializing in franchising issues, asset management and litigation support services. Turkel’s clients are hotel owners and franchisees, investors and lending institutions. Turkel serves on the Board of Advisors and lectures at the NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. He is a member of the prestigious International Society of Hospitality Consultants. His provocative articles on various hotels subjects have been published in the Cornell Quarterly, Lodging Hospitality, Hotel Interactive, Hotel Online, AAHOA Lodging Business, etc. If you need help in negotiating a franchise agreement or with a problem such as encroachment/impact, termination/liquidated damages or litigation support, call Stanley at 917-628-8549 or email [email protected].

Stanley MHS, ISHC Turkel
+1 917 628 8549
Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC