elected board members give fran-chisees a powerful voice within the company and have been instrumental in making changes to the company ’ s breakfast and amenities programs , among many other contributions , Trivedi said .
“ We allow our franchise operators to elect their own repre-sentation to bring their thoughts and suggestions to this body through an elected member ,” he said . “ The board members work hand in hand in designing new programs , testing new programs , providing their thoughts on how we can make the brand better and promoting programs within the franchise community , leading to a much higher level of adoption of our programs . That is a key component of our continued success .”
DISRUPTING THE MARKETPLACE
Though hotel franchising is here to stay , the business model does face several potential challenges . Among them is Airbnb , the online marketplace that allows users to rent out their homes to vacationers and charges a processing fee for the service . Airbnb , founded in 2008 in San Francisco , has more than 2 million listings in 34,000 cities and 191 countries , according to the company ’ s website .
Still , the company ’ s effect on hotels seems to be minimal thus far , Smith said .
“ Many companies are saying that this is a competitor to the hotel business , but we ’ re not seeing that yet ,” Smith said . “ There are a lot of markets where Airbnb is popular , but that ’ s really bringing travelers to that market who wouldn ’ t other-wise be there . Either they ’ re priced out or they ’ re groups who wouldn ’ t otherwise stay in a hotel . But Airbnb is so new , so we ’ re continuing to study it and keep our eye on it .”
In addition , Smith said many travelers feel safer in a hotel – which has security measures in place , must meet fire-safety and building codes , and be kept in pristine condition – than in a private home . The high-end business and leisure traveler that Hyatt caters to also still values the human connection and brand promise that Hyatt delivers , Smith said .
Another market disruptor is the host of third-party travel websites such as Orbitz , Expedia and Trivago , to name just a few of the key players in this highly competitive environment .
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“ They ’ ve been a disruptor for a while , but we also consider them to be a part of our mix ,” Smith said . “ There are people who are loyal to Expedia and Orbitz who are booking with us , so that ’ s a piece of the business that we can ’ t shun , but we are trying to capture that guest and make them a Hyatt-loyal guest .”
The web has made it increasingly important for hotel chains to provide a consistent customer experience at all of its prop-erties , Trivedi said . Customer reviews , pictures of the hotel and rates are all available to consumers with a few clicks of a mouse , making it vital that each of a brand ’ s hotels adhere to the same high standards .
“ Our industry has become so transparent that everything about your property is accessible to a consumer , so you have to be tremendously agile ,” he said . “ Also , search engines have become so dominant , so positioning of your hotels becomes tremendously important . Because of this technology and transparency , guests ’ expectations are changing . Guests come in with certain expectations , so you need to make sure that your team is trained and equipped to meet or exceed those expectations .”
As for franchisors ’ expectations , one thing is clear : The fran-chise model is the present and the future of the hotel industry .
“ It ’ s grown because it ’ s mutually beneficial to operate under this system ,” Joslove said . “ Typically , there ’ s simply a higher ROI from franchising out than by operating your own hotels . It is here to stay for the vast majority of large-scale hotel brands . There is still room for boutique hotels and investor-owned and -operated assets , but they increasingly will be more of the exception .”
Nick Fortuna
Article also published in Today ’ s Hotelier todayshotelier . com
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