Choice Hotels EMEA highlights the importance of franchising in the hotel industry
InfoWeb Marketplace · Editorial teamPublished on 30 May 2022 · 2 min read
Jonathan Mills, CEO of Choice Hotels EMEA, highlights a significant increase in interest in franchising as a business format, as more and more people choose this model for the first time. A growing entrepreneurial spirit is fuelling the desire to seize opportunities and shape their own future. Choice Hotels EMEA is seeing a marked increase driven by a new generation of dynamic entrepreneurs looking to grow their passion for hospitality and run their own business through franchising. Speaking about the importance of the franchise sector, particularly after the pandemic, and the changing landscape of the hotel industry, Jonathan Mills, CEO of Choice Hotels EMEA, said: ?Without a doubt, the pandemic has affected the hospitality sector and, while the period has been difficult, it has also given the sector the opportunity to review its operations and change its practices in many organisations.
While franchising has been a successful business model for many years, in recent months we have seen increased interest in the franchise model as a business format. More and more people are turning to this format for the first time. We believe this is partly due to people's desire to seize new opportunities, take more control and shape their own future. The franchise sector is now clearly seen as an exciting and diverse industry, particularly for the entrepreneurial opportunities it offers.?
An international hotel group focused on franchisees
?At Choice Hotels EMEA, we are the only international hotel group that chooses to focus exclusively on franchisees and their success, and we have no managed or owned properties to look after in the EMEA region. We empower our owners to work for themselves, but not by themselves. We recently carried out a highly targeted in-depth analysis to determine how our operating model should be adapted for the future of our franchisees and our customers in the EMEA region.
We know that franchisees have their own vision of how they want to deliver an exceptional hotel experience, while optimising return on investment. Our aim is for the franchise of the future to be much more than an exercise in complying with a long list of brand standards. It should be a trusted partnership that makes it easier for small entrepreneurs to access knowledge sharing. As much of the world reopens and the travel demand that the industry had anticipated materialises, we believe it will be interesting to see how operating models continue to adapt and how our hoteliers of the future operate in an increasingly changing environment.?