New CEO of Choice Misses an Opportunity

Stephen Joyce, the new Choice Hotels CEO, said recently that he is looking to breathe new life and energy into the company. He plans to launch some new brands, heighten the company’s emphasis on business travelers and better differentiate existing ones.

It’s a move he’s quite passionate about, and which he feels he’ll be able to do with the full support of the franchise community.  However, nowhere in the interview does Mr. Joyce make any reference to the subjects that are of the greatest importance to Choice franchisees: guaranteed areas of protection, termination and liquidated damages, encroachment and impact studies, windows of penalty- free exit opportunities choice of venue, etc.

Since Choice Hotels International franchises 5570 hotels, wouldn’t you think that a major part of his responsibilities should be to create a fair franchising environment?  My recent rating of Choice’s compliance with AAHOA ’s 12 Points of Fair Franchising gave Choice a next-to-last finish:

At 40.9%, Choice is failing its franchisees badly.  How is it that Mr. Joyce believes that he can expect the full support of the franchise community?

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Stanley Turkel is available as a featured speaker at on the following subjects:

• From Ragas to Riches: The Origin and Growth of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association
• Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry
• Franchise Advisory Councils: Powerhouses or Powderpuffs?
• Henry Morrison Flagler:  The Robber Baron Who Invented Florida
• Fred Harvey: Great Food, Unique Hotels and the Harvey Girls

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Author: Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC operates his hotel consulting office as a sole practitioner specializing in franchising issues, asset management and litigation support services.  Turkel's clients are hotel owners and franchisees, investors and lending institutions.  Turkel serves on the Board of Advisors and lectures at the NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.  He is a member of the prestigious International Society of Hospitality Consultants.  His provocative articles on various hotels subjects have been published in the Cornell Quarterly, Lodging Hospitality, Hotel Interactive, Hotel Online, AAHOA Lodging Business,  and Blue MauMau.  If you need help in negotiating a franchise agreement or with a problem such as encroachment/impact, termination/liquidated damages or litigation support, call Stanley at 917-628-8549 or email stanturkel@aol.com.