scaling new heights - Franchisee@Choice - Choice Hotels

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properties in Brisbane, Townsville and Hervey Bay; Perth and Fremantle ... Anthony Stanley - General Manager Franchise S
THE BUSINESS OF ACCOMMODATION IN ASIA-PACIFIC Vol 18. No.6 Bi-monthly December 2014

Choice Hotels Australasia

SCALING NEW HEIGHTS

Print Post approved PP255003/07998

Led by CEO TRENT FRASER, Choice Hotels Australasia continues to be a chain in demand across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific

Tech savvy

A special report on the hottest trends in hotel technology

Golden keys

Meet the three hotel Concierge teams with a wealth of experience

Franchising rules

Why franchising is in demand across Australia and NZ

Choice Senior Management Team: Anthony Stanley - General Manager Franchise Services, Matt Taylor - Marketing Manager, Clare Rudland - Melbourne Contact Centre Manager, Trent Fraser - Chief Executive Officer, Paul Bromley - Chief Financial Officer, Aileen Cobern - General Manager Distribution & Revenue, Daniel Kitch - General Manager Development

Thank you to Hardrock Climbing Company, Melbourne CBD for working with the Choice Hotels Australasia team. www.hardrock.com.au

Choice Hotels climbing new heights Growth, growth growth! That’s what the management team at Choice Hotels Australasia has been all about in 2014, achieving some remarkable results for Choice properties while also experiencing a record year of development. Australia’s largest hotel franchisor will have added more than 30 new hotels to its portfolio by the end of 2014, including strategically-located properties in New South Wales including in Sydney; Queensland-based properties in Brisbane, Townsville and Hervey Bay; Perth and Fremantle hotels in West Australia as well as Kew and the Yarra Valley in Victoria. Choice Hotel’s Ascend Hotel Collection membership has proven to be a valuable addition to the business with eight new properties joining this group of hotels, allowing Choice to expand its presence into different markets. Some of these new additions include Balgownie Resort Estate in the Yarra Valley, Oceans Resort Hervey Bay and The Kingsford in Brisbane. Coupled with record growth in the Australian and New Zealand markets, earlier this year Choice Hotels signed a development agreement with Hangzhou-based Boli Hotel Management Co., Limited, an independent authorised licensee of Choice Hotels, which will be responsible for the development and operation of 30 hotels in China, across the Clarion and Quality brands. Construction of the first new Clarion build is underway in Hangzhou, one of China’s most popular tourist destinations, with plans to move ahead and deliver the remaining 29 properties in additional cities across the Greater China region by 2021. Attracting new properties has been central to the group’s strategic plan, while delivering business to existing properties to stimulate growth, has also been a key focus. Through a range of new and innovative sales and marketing initiatives, Choice properties across Australia and New Zealand have experienced double-digit increases through Choice’s CRS (Central Reservations System). From a technology perspective, it has also been a very busy year. The Choice proprietary property management system (PMS), choiceADVANTAGE, has continued to evolve with many new releases throughout the year that cater for this market’s local needs as well as the establishment of many direct connections with major OTAs. More than 100 properties are now running this system and experiencing a Choice business delivery increase of over 40%. Choice expects this roll out to continue across the group throughout 2015.

There have also been other technology advancements across the group this year with the establishment of the revenue management system, ‘RateCenter’. This system integrates directly with Choice’s CRS and ChoiceADVANTAGE and helps to simplify the management of rates and inventory and ensures that properties are yielding optimally. Properties using the system are already experiencing some great results. The Choice Privileges® loyalty program has also reached new heights in 2014 with the total number of members now approaching 200,000 in the Australasian region. This is almost double the number of members in the program 12 months ago. With 20 million members globally, the Choice Privileges program drives significant revenue for all properties. Stays by members over the past 12 months have increased by over 30%. This is testament to the success of the program and demonstrates that members value the program and their relationship with Choice brands and hotels. Even bigger and better things are expected for the Choice Privileges program in 2015, with the Choice team having access to new tools and systems that will dramatically change the marketing and member communications portion of the program. The Choice team will have access to more data than ever before and plan to implement many targeted campaigns to deliver members more relevant and timely offers. This is expected to further increase stays by members, thus increasing the value of this loyalty program to all Choice Hotels franchisees. The marketing team has also been busy developing other systems that will simplify the lives of its members. Property managers will be able to access the new local area marketing portal which will provide an easy way for properties to design, print and pay for all of their property-based stationery, collateral and other marketing materials. On top of this, a new intranet and communications platform is also being rolled out which will further enhance the way Choice communicates with its franchisees. It has been a big year for the Choice Hotels team in 2014 and the group has certainly reached new heights. We look forward to driving many more exciting new initiatives, which will no doubt drive further growth in 2015.

The Kingsford, an Ascend Hotel Collection member

The Ascend Hotel Collection is a group of hotels and resorts providing an experience like no other. Prepare to be wowed by this unique, boutique and historic group of hotels and resorts who’s passion is to connect you with the real essence of their local culture. They will share with you all those things that are true and genuine about their surroundings and give you a meaningful and lasting feel for the true fabric of their community.

For franchise enquiries please contact

Balgownie Estate Resort, an Ascend Hotel Collection member

Oceans Resort, an Ascend Hotel Collection member

Daniel Kitch General Manager Development +61 (0)408 563 527 [email protected] For more information, please visit www.choicehotelsfranchise.com

choicehotels.com.au

For enquiries please contact Leigh Johnston | 0439 578 139 [email protected]