Since the November arrival of Choice Canada's new President and CEO, Gary Decatur, the senior team has been hard at work developing a new strategic vision that incorporates a five-point focus: strategic growth, operational services, sales, marketing and communication.

"Our strategic vision has been a work in progress," said Decatur. He continued, "After formulating the initial plan, we took it on the road in an interactive forum where we received valuable input from our licensees. We have since amended the plan to include much of this input and now we are moving full steam ahead!"

There were ten "Town Hall" meetings that covered the country from Vancouver to Moncton with a total of nearly 300 licensees and general managers in attendance. The interactive format of the meetings allowed for open dialogue, which was enjoyed by all in attendance.

"It was an extremely useful meeting," said Fareeda Tejpar, co-owner of the Econo Lodge Motel Village (CN610) and the Econo Lodge Banff Trail (CN659), both of Calgary, Alberta. "The team effort proved that they wish to grow with us and the encouragement and assistance in helping us succeed is appreciated. It was an excellent, effective meeting, and I thank Gary and his team for taking the time to see us."

Strategic Growth
As Canada's leading hotel chain, with more than 250 properties, representing seven brands across the country, Choice Canada's plan is to achieve continued growth in a responsible and strategic manner. In 2001, the company will focus on further developing all of its brands with an emphasis on two: Econo Lodge will drive conversion opportunities and the Sleep brand will be targeted as the new construction vehicle. 

Operational Services
Several new initiatives have been launched to further enhance operational services at Choice Canada. An in-house purchasing manager was recently introduced and continues to implement enhanced design services, contacts and new programs for licensees. As well, an innovative Preventative Maintenance Program has been put in place to help licensees strategically plan and budget for capital improvements. Furthermore, the operations team will now be assisting with enhancing the sales and marketing efforts at the property level.

Sales
A four-pronged approach to drive business into hotels from local, regional, national and international sources is the 2001 strategy being developed by the sales team, headed up by Katrina Sagan. Choice Canada will continue to work closely with its U.S and global counterparts to maximize sales potential. In response to discussions at the Town Hall meetings, sales efforts will also be focused on assisting properties at the local level to help licensees and general managers further enhance their own sales initiatives.

Marketing
The marketing team, led by David Beers, is currently hard at work gathering input from licensees and customers to determine a reward component to Choice Canada's existing guest recognition program, Choice Club. Based on discussions at Town Hall meetings, there will also be an increased focus on regional marketing, including proposed increased contributions from Choice Canada to the regional marketing funds. CHC will continue to leverage its relationship with Choice Hotels International, Inc. to maximize its share of the inbound business. Finally, an enhanced website is planned for launch this summer.

Communication
"Communication is definitely the key element of our new strategic plan and to that end we plan to involve our licensees on an on-going basis," emphasized Decatur. Plans for a continued two-way communication stream include, regular Town Hall Meetings, frequent newsletters, updated contact lists and an increased number of training programs.

Choice Hotels Canada Inc. is the leading hotel chain in the country with more than 250 properties representing seven brands from coast to coast, including Comfort, Quality, Clarion, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway and MainStay Suites. Choice Canada is part of Choice Hotels International, which has 5,000 properties across North America, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Australia. Further information about Choice Canada and its locations can be accessed at www.choicehotels.ca.

Contact:
Melissa Kenney
melissa_kenney@choicehotels.ca|