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Days Inns Worldwide Plans Series of Initiatives to Boost Revenue; Hires 27 Directors of Business Development
to Improve Overall Quality and Consistency 

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KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Jan. 14, 2005) � Days Inns Worldwide today announced a series of initiatives directed to the single goal of boosting revenue per available room while delivering guest value.

Addressing nearly 2,000 attendees during the brand�s biannual conference here today, Days Inn President Joe Kane outlined the key traits that he said comprise the �soul of the brand� and underscore the brand�s �sunsational� service commitment. 

�As we embrace change and move the brand forward, there are four guiding principles that will help us stay true to the soul of the brand and deliver guest value for price paid,� he said. �Treat guests like family; treat your property like home; communicate; and operate your hotel the way you expect other Days Inn properties to operate.�  

Among several initiatives designed to add guest value while boosting franchisees� return on investment, the brand introduced plans for a wireless high-speed Internet service, enhanced breakfast program, new bathroom amenity package and a revamped quality assurance process.
 
The brand�s recently announced Daybreak Breakfast program, designed to ensure a more consistent breakfast experience, was launched this month.  Nationally recognized products including Folgers coffee, Kellogg�s cereals and Minute Maid juice now are a mandatory part of the complimentary breakfast offerings to Days Inn guests.  

Kane said that the program was developed as a result of consumer research that showed a quality continental breakfast �improved value perception and was a minimum guest expectation.� 

Dino Pallotta, Days Inn vice president, hotel services, outlined the brand�s operations initiatives including a simplified program to help franchisees with yield management.  He also told franchisees about a planned revenue enhancement blitz, a new franchisee Intranet portal and new shower amenities, branded under the �SolTerreTM� name. 

Days Inns Worldwide is introducing proprietary Days Inn citrus-scented soap and shampoo products with sunflower and grapefruit extracts aimed at conveying a warm, revitalizing guest experience.  The brand�s �SolTerre Shower Experience� includes a unique �hookless� shower curtain, curved shower rod and a multiaction showerhead that allows guests to adjust water pressure to their personal preference. 

Kane said these initiatives aim to take �a giant step toward the consistent quality� needed to �protect brand integrity and improve return on investment for franchisees� while offering guests a flavor of the brand�s �sunsational culture.�

In another major move to improve overall system quality, the brand introduced a revamped quality assurance process called �Sunsational +GX,� with more stringent scoring that addresses guest concerns as identified in a recent J.D. Powers and Associates study.

In addition, Days Inn franchisees will gain real-time access to quality assurance reports and a new electronic guest satisfaction survey system.  Franchisees also will be given a software program that suggests ways to solve specific deficiencies.

To further improve overall quality and consistency while adding value to its franchisees, the Days Inn brand has hired 27 field-based directors of business development who are focused exclusively on driving performance at the property level.  The brand also realigned its regional marketing structure.

Kane also unveiled a key company diversity initiative by introducing a multilingual translation guide designed to help hotel managers communicate more effectively with their Spanish-speaking staff members. 

The guide converts hundreds of commonly used hospitality industry terms from English and the Indic Gujarati language, spoken by many of the brand�s Asian-American owners and operators, to Spanish.

�As one of the world�s largest hotel franchise systems, the Days Inn brand is naturally composed of a very diverse group of franchisees and property staff,� Kane said. �Our convenient new pocket-sized guide can eliminate many misunderstandings and facilitate smoother communication at the property level. This will ultimately benefit both franchisees and guests.�

Celebrating the chain�s 35th anniversary and his ninth year with the Days Inn brand, Kane said the 2005 conference theme, �Best Under the Sun� is �extremely appropriate,� saying it continues to build on the �brand�s philosophy of value.�

Helping hotel managers communicate more effectively with their Spanish speaking staff members

In a key brandwide diversity initiative, Cendant Hotel Group today introduced a trilingual translation guide designed to help hotel managers communicate more effectively with their Spanish-speaking staff members. 

The convenient pocket-sized guide, named QuickVue®, converts hundreds of commonly used hospitality industry terms from English and the Indic Gujarati language, spoken by many of Cendant�s Asian-American owners and operators, to Spanish.

To produce the 80-page guide, Cendant Hotel Group joined forces with the MultiCultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance, a nonprofit organization that promotes diversity and its economic benefits in the food-service and hospitality industries.  MFHA calls the manual �the first of its kind in the lodging industry.�

Each of the guide�s nine sections offers words and phrases with phonetic spellings to help hotel managers and their employees pronounce words common to the industry, from cleaning a hotel room to hygiene and safety. 

Nicole Johnson-Reece, Cendant Hotel Group vice president of diversity and community involvement, characterized the guide as a �tremendous resource that provides an innovative solution and opportunity for a pressing diversity issue.�

She noted that rapidly changing demographics increase the need for hotel managers to communicate with employees who do not speak English.
 
�The guide is a significant step forward toward bridging the communication gap between bilingual hotel managers and their employees,� she said. �Our goal is to deliver useful tools to our franchisee community that will enable them to operate their businesses more effectively.  We are very proud of this accomplishment.�

Gerald A. Fernandez, president of the MultiCultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance, said the guide is �indicative of the importance of the Asian-American community in the lodging industry.�

Copies of the guide will be made available to managers at Cendant Hotel Group�s franchised Super 8®, Days Inn®, Ramada®, Travelodge®, Howard Johnson®, Knights Inn®, Wingate Inn® and AmeriHost Inn® franchised properties.

Days Inns Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD), franchises 1,892 hotels representing 156,166 rooms in the United States, Argentina, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, United Kingdom, Uruguay and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.       

With approximately 90,000 employees, New York City-based Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD) is primarily a provider of travel and residential real estate services to businesses and consumers in more than 100 countries.  Cendant�s Hotel Group, based in Parsippany, N.J., is the world�s largest lodging franchisor with 6,513 hotels representing 532,311 rooms on five continents under the Super 8®, Days Inn®, Ramada®, Travelodge®, Howard Johnson®, Knights Inn®, Wingate Inn® and AmeriHost Inn® brands.  All hotels are individually owned and operated under franchise agreements with Cendant subsidiaries.


 
Contact:
Evy Apostolatos
Senior Manager, Trade Media Relations
Cendant Hotel Group
(973) 496-0750
[email protected]
 www.daysinn.com
Also See: Cendant Hotel Group Goes to the Web to Disseminate Franchise Information / November 2004
Cendant's Project Restore to Purge Substandard Hotels - 300 Properties Put on Notice; Hotel Group Cutting 15 percent of its Hotel-related Employees / Aug 2002


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