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Hotel Group; Other Appointments Made to Improve Franchisee and Company Value |
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PARSIPPANY, N.J. (April 16, 2004) � Cendant Corporation�s Hotel Group
today announced senior staff appointments as part of an initiative to deliver
enhanced services to its franchisees and commit more high-level resources
to international development.
Anthony Berger was named chief operating officer, Doug Patterson was named executive vice president of international franchise operations, Keith Pierce was named group president and Birgit Gentile was named senior vice president of franchise administration. The four executives, along with the other members of the Hotel Group�s Senior Leadership Team, report to Steven A. Rudnitsky, chairman and chief executive officer. In conjunction with those appointments, the Hotel Group announced new responsibilities for Bob Weller, group president, and Milton C. Anderson, senior vice president of human resources. Weller now will oversee the Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn and Villager brands, reporting to Berger. Anderson, who reports to Rudnitsky, gained responsibility for the Hospitality Training Services department. Also, the Hotel Group announced the consolidation of all distribution, channel management and reservations functions under Paula Drum, who was named vice president, revenue management and reservations sales, reporting to Peter Strebel, senior vice president of sales and marketing. She had served as vice president, hotel strategy, since August 2002. �These appointments reinforce our overarching objective to define a
more effective organization and improve franchisee and company value creation
by delivering enhanced levels of service,� Rudnitsky said. �Concurrently,
we are committing more high-level executive resources to accelerate our
expansion outside of North America.�
Patterson, who had served as executive vice president and chief operating officer since October 2001, will lead the Hotel Group�s international expansion initiatives outside North America. �Doug will provide focused, high-level attention on international hotel development, which we have made a priority,� Rudnitsky said. �Our expansion abroad is a strategic imperative that will expand our customer base, broaden awareness of our lodging brands and leverage our resources.� Pierce had served as president of Cendant�s Wingate Inn brand since February 2000 and additionally as president of its AmeriHost Inn brand since November 2001. He will continue to serve those brands as president while additionally overseeing Cendant�s Ramada brand and the Hotel Group�s Design and Development department. Gentile, who had served the Hotel Group as senior vice president, strategic development, since 2002, will be responsible for managing the administrative functions associated with franchise sales, transfers, renewals, contract compliance and terminations. Cendant Corporation�s Hotel Group, based in Parsippany, N.J., franchises 6,374 hotels representing 515,362 rooms on five continents under the Super 8®, Days Inn®, Ramada®, Travelodge®, Howard Johnson®, Knights Inn®, Villager, Wingate Inn® and AmeriHost Inn® brands. Cendant�s franchised hotels sell nearly one out of every four economy and midpriced room-nights in the United States, and Cendant franchises 11 percent of the entire U.S. hotel room supply, according to Smith Travel Research and Cendant financial data. All hotels are individually owned and operated under franchise agreements with Cendant subsidiaries. |
Contact:
Rich Roberts
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