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Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 39
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Say Goodbye To The UFOC; Dunfey Brothers To Be Honored; The Plaza Hotel
Reopens After a $400 Million Renovation; Independent Franchise
Associations Form a Coalition
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By Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC
April 2008

1.  Say Goodbye To The UFOC
After June 30, 2008, the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular will be replaced by the new Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).  The UFOC was a disclosure document created by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in the mid 1970s because of the scams and rip-offs perpertrated by many franchise companies.  The new and improved FDD disclosure requirements are mandatory on all franchise regulating states after July 1, 2008.

2.  Dunfey Brothers (Jack, Bob & Gerry) To Be Honored
The University of New Hampshire will grant them the 2008 Hoteliers of the Year award.  In the mid 1970s when Aetna Life acquired the Dunfey Family Hotel Corporation, I was hired by Jack Dunfey for a year-long consulting assignment.   At the time, Dunfey was ITT Sheraton�s largest franchisee and I was the product line manager for hotels on the ITT staff.  The Dunfey�s are unique in their concern for guests, employees, the environment, socially-responsible positions and fulfillment of America�s promise.  Over a fifty-year period, the Dunfeys went from operating a clam stand in Hampton, N.H. to a hotel giant that operated the Parker House in Boston, the Berskshire Place in New York, the Biltmore Plaza in Providence, the Royal Orleans in New Orleans and the Omni Hotels Corporation.  Hats off to the wonderful Dunfey family.

3.  The Plaza Hotel Reopens After A $400 Million Renovation
Hopefully, these renovations will restore it to its original grandeur when it opened on October 1, 1907.  The Plaza Hotel was designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, who was already well known for the Dakota Apartments, one of the first luxury apartment buildings in New York.  The Plaza had 800 rooms, 500 bathrooms, large private suites, 10 elevators, a two-story ballroom and the Palm Court with a Tiffany leaded glass-domed ceiling.  On this same site, an earlier Plaza Hotel opened in 1890 with 400 rooms but was demolished 17 years later for the 18 story current Plaza Hotel.

The New York Landmarks Preservation Commission recently recommended the approval of a waiver that will allow 39,000 square feet of commercial space.  It gave permission to make changes to the exterior of the building including adding a new entrance for the stores.   The commission also bestowed landmark status on eight of the hotel�s famous public rooms, adjacent corridors and vestibules, including murals, chandeliers and decorative metalwork.  The rooms include the Palm Court, the setting for a scene from the movie, �The Great Gatsby�, the Terrace Room, where Marilyn Monroe�s dress strap once slipped off her shoulder during an interview; the Oak Bar, where Cary Grant�s character was kidnapped in Alfred Hitchcock�s �North by Northwest�; Walter Matthau in �Plaza Suite� and Barbra Streisand in �The Way We Were� used the Plaza as a stage set.  The Plaza in 1930 was the backdrop in a scene for �No Limit�, the first talking picture filmed on location in New York City.  Its star was the famous �It Girl� Clara Bow.

Unfortunately, the Persian Room, a legendary nightclub at the Plaza, which presented the most talented live performers will not be reopened.  It opened on April 1, 1934, four months after the repeal of Prohibition, in the southern half of the Fifth Avenue Urban with murals by Lillian Gaertner Palmedo.  Until it closed in 1975, the Persian Room featured such stars as Liberace, Carol Channing, Burl Ives, Eddy Duchin, Kitty Carlisle, the Mills Brothers, Bob Fosse, Victor Borge, Marge and Gower Champion, Eddie Fisher, Xavier Cugat, the McGuire Sisters, Dinah Shore, Vic Damone, Bob Hope, Robert Goulet, Frankie Laine, Ethel Merman, Eartha Kitt, Henny Youngman and Hildegarde, among others.

4.  Independent Franchisee Associations Form a Coalition
A handful of associations representing franchisees from some of the nation�s largest franchise systems have formed the Coalition of Franchise Associations.

The coalition will focus on government affairs at the state and federal levels, along with education and training, leadership development and collective purchasing opportunities.  The leaders hope they will be able to provide better services by combining their efforts.  �Franchisee groups have long been mandating similar issues, which range from navigating government mandates to negotiating meeting venue contracts,� said CFA Chairman Frank Capaldo, who heads the National Franchisee Association, which represents Burger King owners.

The board of directors of the coalition includes the founding members of the organization, including leaders from: the Brown Board Owners Association (MBE), the Dunkin� Donuts Independent Franchise Owners Inc., Independent Hardee�s Franchisee Association, International Pizza Hut Franchise Holders Association, Meineke Dealers Association, National Association of Buffalo Wings Franchisees, National Coalition of Associations of 7-Eleven Franchisees and the National Franchisee Association of Subway Franchisees.

�The organization generously provides members vast opportunities to interact with, teach to and learn from their peers,� said Steve Ellerhorst, CFA�s vice chairman and executive director of the Hardee�s franchise association.

5.  Quote of the Month
�Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.�
                                                          Mark Twain



 

Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC operates his hotel consulting office as a sole practitioner specializing in franchising issues, asset management and litigation support services.  If you need help with a hotel franchising problem such as encroachment/impact, termination/liquidated damages or litigation support, call Stanley at 917-628-8549 or email [email protected]

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Contact:

Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC
917-628-8549
[email protected]

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Also See: Nobody Asked Me, But No. 38 / Super 8 Owners Form an Independent Franchise Association; Why Is There a Bible in Every Hotel Room? / Stanley Turkel / March 2008
Nobody Asked Me, But No. 37 / Remember the Savoy Plaza Hotel?; Is Economic Disaster Imminent; Cuba at the Crossroads / Stanley Turkel / February 2008
Nobody Asked Me, But No. 36 / What the Advertisements for the Largest Hotel Franchise Companies Never Mention - Also Measuring Hotel Brand Value / Stanley Turkel / January 2008
Nobody Asked Me, But No. 35 / Casino Expansion Has Transformed America, Exercise Awareness / Stanley Turkel / December 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 34 / IHG�s Great Idea, Sound-Proofing Hotels, Best Western Enters the Upper Midscale Segment, How to Convert Confusion Into Order,  Sign at a Tarrytown, NY Inn, 1798 / November 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 33 / 1957 Murder at the Park Sheraton Hotel; How Much Does A Franchise Really Cost?A Marriage Made in Heaven?; A Good Night�s Sleep at the Benjamin Hotel / Stanley Turkel / October 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 31 - Rhode Island Improves Franchise Rules, What�s Up With Canada? Conversion of a Jail Into a Hotel, The Richest (and Poorest) Places in the U.S. / Stanley Turkel / September 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 31 - Blackstone's Acquisition of Hilton, The Art of Groveling, The Origin of Franchising / Stanley Turkel / August 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But�. No. 30 / Impertinent Questions In Search of Pertinent Answers: Carbon monoxide detectors, exterior-corridor properties / Stanley Turkel / July 2007
How American-Owned Can You Get?, ISHC's CapEx 2007 Report, The Bowery Hotel / Stanley Turkel / June 2007
Hotel Franchising and State Laws, Is Immigration Important? Save the Biltmore, The Good Old Days, Quote of the Month / Stanley Turkel / May 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But - No. 27 / Hotel Franchise Agreements: Mediation, Arbitration or Litigation? / Stanley Turkel / April 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But - No. 26 / Energy Usage and Potential Savings; Great Art in Hotels; Lifestyle Hotels; The Minimum Wage Issue; Quote of the Month / Stanley Turkel / March 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But - No. 25 / Guestroom Design & Amenities, Get a Human, Best Luxury Hotels in the U.S., Turnpike, The Pineapple as Symbol of Hospitality, Fair Franchising / Stanley Turkel / February 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But - No. 24 / Loose Cannon, Fair Franchising, Manhattan Hotel Profits, Hotels of the Future, Interesting Miscellany, Quote of the Month / Stanley Turkel / January 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But - No. 23 / Biting The Hand That Feeds You?, By The Numbers, Shortage of Hotel Rooms, There is No Free Lunch, Iron Laws of Business Travel, Happy New Year / Stanley Turkel / January 2007
Nobody Asked Me, But - No. 22 / Smart Elevators, Tony Marshall�s Memorial, Women in the Hospitality Industry / Stanley Turkel / December 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 21 / The Drake Hotel in New York, Fair Franchising is Not an Oxymoron, By the Numbers, Another Secret Underground Shelter, Passing of Anthony G. Marshall / Stanley Turkel / December 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 20 / Turnabout Is Fairplay, Secret Underground Shelter, By the Numbers, Genuine Fair Franchising/ Stanley Turkel / November 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 19 / International Society of Hospitality Consultants, Great Miami Hotels, Reduce Carbon Monoxide Emissions, Turn Gray Into Gold / Stanley Turkel / November 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 18 / John Q. Hammons, Save the Belleview Biltmore, Chinese Tourism, CFLs, Ernie Byfield, Guestroom Entertainment in 1905 / Stanley Turkel / October 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 17 - AAHOA's 12 Points of Fair Franchising, Protected Territories, / Stanley Turkel / September 2006
The Newest Independent (and Oldest Partially Independent) Franchise Association in the Hotel Industry / Stanley Turkel / September 2006
In Hotel Franchising, Reality Trumps Wishful Thinking / Stanley Turkel / August 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 14; Impact Studies, Stretching Segments, Short-Stay Rentals, Smoke-free Marriotts, Franchising in China, Save the Belleview Biltmore Hotel / August 2006
The U.S. Population Age 65 and Over is Expected to Double in the Next 25 Years; What Does this Mean for the Hotel Industry? / Stanley Turkel / July 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 12; Portman, Women Homeowners, Minimum Wage, Tipping, Brooklyn Bridge, Chinese Tourism, Impact Studies / Stanley Turkel / July 2006
Do Hotel Franchisees Need Independent Franchise Associations? / Stanley Turkel / June 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 10 / Chinese Tourists, Gasoline Prices and Alternatives, GLBT Segment, Travel Agents, FAC's, Manhattan's Record Breaking Year, Impertinent Questions / Stanley Turkel / June 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 9 / Blang, Bathtubs, Best Green, Arbitration, Best Western, AAHOA, State Franchising Laws, VFR / Stanley Turkel / May 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 8; Bathtubs, Smokefree Hotels, Maps, Saving Water, Nevada Revenues, H.P. Rama, Ritz-Carlton, Statler Service Code, Mother�s Day / Stanley Turkel / April 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But�.No. 7 / Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC / March 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / February 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / January 2006
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / December 2005
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / November 2005
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / October 2005
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / September 2005
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