ATLANTA, Dec. 1, 1998 � U.S. Franchise Systems� (Nasdaq:
USFS) Microtel Inn & Suites has been ranked the top hotel brand in
the U.S. by numbers of projects and rooms in the development pipeline in
the latest Development Outlook report of Lodging Econometrics, the research
division of National Hotel Realty, Portsmouth, N.H., which monitors hotel
real estate development. With 13,565 rooms in permitting, Microtel
far outpaced all others, with second place going to Marriott with 9,317
rooms. Microtel was also ranked among the top 10 brands by number
of rooms under construction, and in its budget segment, Microtel placed
number one.
U.S. Franchise Systems� Hawthorn Suites brand also received high marks.
Hawthorn was ranked among the top 10 by number of rooms in permitting,
ringing in at sixth place with a total of 3,227 rooms. When ranked
by market segment, Hawthorn Suites had the most number of hotels recently
opened or in development in the extended-stay/upper tier and the second
most number of rooms to Residence Inns.
In an article in the November 1998 issue of Lodging magazine which reported
on the survey, Patrick H. Ford, president of Lodging Econometrics, noted,
�In viewing the Development Outlook, the prominence of U.S. Franchise Systems
is interesting. Both the Microtel and Hawthorn Suite brands started
development late in the cycle. Today, thanks to a very successful
franchise sales team, Microtel has quietly accumulated the highest number
of projects in the development pipeline nationally. The brand soon
will reach critical mass, a notable accomplishment in such a short time.�
Further focusing on the Company�s growth, the trade publication, Hotel
& Motel Management, recently cited U.S. Franchise Systems as the 24th
largest hotel company in the U.S. (up from number 51 last year).
PricewaterhouseCoopers Lodging Research Network also named Microtel the
number two performing economy brand with a RevPAR growth of 8.3 percent
in the second quarter of 1998 over the same period last year.
Atlanta-based U.S. Franchise Systems was formed in 1995 by Mike Leven,
a 38-year veteran of the lodging industry, and Neal Aronson, former principal
of a leading New York investment firm. USFS� three brands include Microtel
Inn & Suites, the all-newly constructed, interior corridor, budget/economy
hotels; Hawthorn Suites, an upper-end extended-stay all suite brand; and
Best Inns & Suites, a mid-level economy brand. USFS also offers
hotel management services to its franchisees. |