Value Place Hotel-Apartments Gain 350 Franchise Commitments

Here's an interesting opportunity. Wichita-based Value Place hotel-apartment chain has a franchise concept as a "short-term residential" hotel-apartment combination, and has received some 350 franchise commitments for properties in 27 states. Its executives expect that the fairly new firm of three years will have 60 franchise and corporate-owned properties by the end of 2006, up from 14 now.

The founder of this new chain is Jack DeBoer, who created such brands as Residence Inn, Summerfield Suites and Candlewood Suites.

Value Place president and franchisee Gina-Lynne Scharoun told real estate journal GlobeSt.com

Due to a relatively fool-proof concept...only 20% of the franchisees have a history in the hotel business. "There's a former owner of a successful regional tuxedo chain, a gentleman who used to run a regional auto dealership, a homebuilder," she says. "They are typically former business owners and their similarity is their entrepreneurial nature; beyond that, they are as diverse as the day is long."