A 144-room, three-story Jameson Inn Hotel and Conference Center is opening in Sheffield, Alabama effective May 1.  The mid-scale hotel, which includes a restaurant and extensive meeting space, is a hub for business as well as leisure travelers in northwest Alabama and has operated as an independent property.

“The Jameson brand means better support services, a better contract, and especially we believe better results, so we are very confident making this conversion,” said Alkesh Patel, immediate past chairman of AAHOA and president of Oregon-based Trupadi, Inc., which owns the hotel.

America’s Best Franchising acquired the Jameson brand in December as a mid-scale addition to its portfolio of three upper economy brands — America’s Best Inns, Budgetel Inns, and Country Hearth Inns — plus its 3 Palms upscale brand for independent properties.

“The marketplace has changed what travelers expect from their hotel as well as what owners expect from their franchise partner, and the Jameson brand delivers dependable quality on both counts,” explained Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising.

Atlanta-based America’s Best Franchising operates almost 300 properties located primarily in the United States and also with a presence in China, India, Nigeria, Canada, and Belize.  Founded in 1993, the company is celebrating its 20^th anniversary.

]]> http://www.abestfranchise.com/hotel-news/jameson-inn-hotel-conference-center-opening-in-sheffield-alabama/feed/ 0 http://www.abestfranchise.com/hotel-news/largest-jameson-inn-opens-at-indianapolis-airport/ http://www.abestfranchise.com/hotel-news/largest-jameson-inn-opens-at-indianapolis-airport/#comments Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:23:57 +0000 America's Best Franchising http://www.abestfranchise.com/?p=918 A 236-room, seven-story Jameson Inn has opened at the Indianapolis Airport, becoming the largest Jameson property ever. The hotel has been an independent property.

“The Jameson brand is an exceptional value for travelers and an exceptional opportunity for owners, so this conversion means a smart look as well as smart business for us,” said Harry Ghoman, CEO of Reliance Hotels, LLC.

America’s Best Franchising, Inc. acquired the Jameson brand in December as a mid-scale addition to its portfolio of three upper economy brands — America’s Best Inns, Budgetel Inns and Country Hearth Inns — plus its 3 Palms upscale brand for independent properties.

“Jameson is a classic brand being reborn for modern travelers by offering the latest amenities and style in an atmosphere of distinctive charm,” according to Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising, Inc.

Atlanta-based America’s Best Franchising, Inc. operates almost 300 properties located primarily in the United States and also with a presence in China, India, Nigeria, Canada and Belize. Founded in 1993, the Company is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The Company will offer a $10,000 conversion credit, no initial franchise fee and a free Property Management System (“PMS”) with any approved deal that is signed by May 31, 2013 for one of the Company’s five brands — America’s Best Inns & Suites, Budgetel Inns & Suites, Country Hearth Inns & Suites, Jameson Inns and 3 Palms Hotels & Resorts.

“Good things come in three’s — and these three incentives can be a very meaningful benefit to the bottom line of owners who join our family of properties in the next two months,” said Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising, Inc.

“In today’s economy when every dollar counts, we are making sure our new franchisees have even more ways to be successful and satisfied when they select one of our proven brands.”

Atlanta-based America’s Best Franchising, Inc., which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, operates almost 300 properties primarily in the United States and also in China, India, Canada, Nigeria and Belize.

The new initiative continuously monitors 24 of the most prominent social media and travel internet sites, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare.  This is twice as many sites as were included in the industry-pioneering reputation management program that has been conducted by the company for the past year.

“Every hour of every day, our guests are using mobile devices to share opinions and observations on the internet about our hotels,” explains Chip Elbers, Vice President and COO of America’s Best Franchising.  “These online reviews are a make-or-break world for owners, so it’s essential for us to keep up with comments in real time — and to respond without delay to quality assurance, safety, security, and other vital operational issues.”

By using a combination of selected key words and word combinations, America’s Best Franchising can produce a daily dashboard summary of comments made on the internet during the previous 24 hours about a specific property, about a specific brand, or about all of the company’s hotels in a specific state.

“Especially unique is a geo-code feature which identifies the brand and location of the property that is the subject of a post — regardless if the writer uses the hotel name or address in the post,” adds Elbers.  “We will now be able to act even faster and smarter to improve our day-to-day operations, to enhance guest satisfaction, and to improve franchisee profitability.”

This new program continues industry leadership by America’s Best Franchising in technology-based marketing initiatives, including:

• being the only hotel franchisor to fund development of a dedicated website for each of its properties
• being among the first hotel franchisors to have a full-time social media communications specialist on the corporate staff
• being the first hotel franchisor to enhance its reservations booking engine to enable simplified instant reservations by consumers directly from their mobile devices
• completing a major re-design and technology upgrade of its brand websites

Atlanta-based America’s Best Franchising operates almost 275 hotels under four upper economy brands — America’s Best Inns & Suites, Budgetel Inns & Suites, Country Hearth Inns & Suites, and Parkside Hotels & Resorts — plus the upscale 3 Palms brand for independent hotels.

The Company now operates almost 275 hotels with more than 18,000 rooms primarily in the United States, but it also has expanded aggressively in India and China and it has hotels in Canada, Nigeria and Belize.  Its brands include three upper economy brands — America’s Best Inn & Suites, Budgetel Inns & Suites and Country Hearth Inns & Suites — plus the upscale 3 Palms Hotels & Resorts brand for independent hotels.

“We are not the biggest hotel company, but our properties are among the best in the reputation and in the value they offer to Franchisees as well as to travelers,” said Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising, Inc.

“We represent extraordinary dependability, attention to detail and customer service, which are among the reasons we expect to sell and open 40 new hotels this year.”

The 10 new properties opened during the Third Quarter were:

3 Palms Hotels & Resorts

• Sarasota, Florida — 147 rooms
• Helen, Georgia north of Atlanta — 54 rooms

America’s Best Inn & Suites

• Tampa, Florida — 160 rooms
• Yiwu, China — 80 rooms
• Galveston, Texas — 49 rooms
• Breckenridge, Texas west of Dallas-Fort Worth — 35 rooms
• Ranger, Texas west of Dallas-Fort Worth — 29 rooms

 Budgetel Inns & Suites

• Fairfield, Texas east of Waco — 65 rooms
• Glen Ellyn, Illinois near Chicago — 50 rooms

Country Hearth Inns & Suites

• Decatur, Illinois east of Springfield — 40 rooms

The eight-floor, 80-room property becomes the fourth hotel in China for America’s Best Hotels China Limited, a partnership which has operated franchise properties in that country since January of 2010.  Already in operation are two other properties in Yiwu and Wuyi, which is located within 250 miles of Shanghai.

“Despite a sluggish worldwide economy, the Chinese hospitality industry has been growing at about 6% to 7% a year for the past five years and occupancy at luxury hotels is typically at 60% or higher — due to a healthy market of international tourists and a wealthy market of domestic travelers,” according to Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising, Inc.

“Our franchise partners are an important part of this growth and we expect to add five to ten new properties a year for the next ten years.”

Features at the new Yiwu hotel include meeting rooms, a lobby lounge, café, Western-style restaurant, swimming pool, health club and a ballroom of almost 3,500 square feet for weddings and conferences.  Each floor features a different design theme and style.

America’s Best Franchising, Inc. operates more than 250 hotels primarily in the United States, but also in China, Canada, India, Nigeria, and Belize.  The Company has five brands — America’s Best Inns & Suites, Budgetel Inns & Suites, Country Hearth Inns & Suites, Parkside Hotels & Resorts and 3 Palms Hotels & Resorts.

“Dean Davis and his staff routinely go above and beyond with their attention to details — they are exceptional representatives of the brand, of our Company and of the hospitality industry,” said Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising, Inc. in presenting the award.

America’s Best Franchising, Inc. operates more than 250 hotels under its three upper economy brands — America’s Best Inns & Suites, Budgetel Inns & Suites and Country Hearth Inns & Suites — plus its upscale 3 Palms brand for independent hotels.  The Company’s properties are primarily in the United States, but in recent years it has expanded aggressively in India, China, and Nigeria.

The eight-floor 80-room property is the fourth hotel for America’s Best Hotels China Limited, a partnership which has opened franchisee properties in that country since January 2010. Already in operation are two other properties in Yiwu, and another in Wuyi, which is located within 250 miles of Shanghai.

“Despite a sluggish worldwide economy, the Chinese hospitality industry has been growing at about 6 to 7% a year for the past five years and the occupancy at luxury hotels in typically at 60% or higher — due to a healthy market of international tourists and a wealthy market of domestic travelers,” according to Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of Americas Best Franchising.

“Our franchise partners are important part of this growth and we expect to add five to ten new properties a year in China for the next 10 years.”

Features at the Yiwu hotel include meeting rooms, a lobby lounge, cafe, western style restaurant, swimming pool, health club and a ballroom of almost 1,500 sq. ft. for weddings and conferences. Each floor features a different design, theme and style.

Americas Best Franchising operates more than 250 hotels primarily in the United States, but also in China, Canada, India, Nigeria and Belize. The company has five brands — America’s Best Inn and Suites, Budgetel Inn and Suites, Country Hearth Inn and Suites, Parkside Hotels and Resorts, and 3 Palms Hotels and Resorts.

For more information on Americas Best Franchising, see the www.abestfranchise.com. For more information on the new hotel, including photographs, visit the www.meisenhotel.com

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The Company now operates almost 275 hotels with more than 18,000 rooms primarily in the United States, but it also has expanded aggressively in India and China and it has hotels in Canada, Nigeria and Belize. Its brands include three upper economy brands — America’s Best Inn & Suites, Budgetel Inns & Suites and Country Hearth Inns & Suites — plus the upscale 3 Palms Hotels & Resorts brand for independent hotels.

“We are not the biggest hotel company, but our properties are among the best in the reputation and in the value they offer to Franchisees as well as to travelers,” said Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising, Inc.

“We represent extraordinary dependability, attention to detail and customer service, which are among the reasons we expect to sell and open 40 new hotels this year.”
The 10 new properties opened during the Third Quarter were:

America’s Best Inn & Suites

•  Tampa, Florida — 160 rooms
•  Yiwu, China — 80 rooms
•  Galveston, Texas — 49 rooms
•  Breckenridge, Texas west of Dallas-Fort Worth — 35 rooms
•  Ranger, Texas west of Dallas-Fort Worth — 29 rooms
• Budgetel Inns & Suites
•  Fairfield, Texas east of Waco — 65 rooms
•  Glen Ellyn, Illinois near Chicago — 50 rooms

3 Palms Hotels & Resorts

•  Sarasota, Florida — 147 rooms
• Helen, Georgia north of Atlanta — 54 rooms
• Country Hearth Inns & Suites
• Decatur, Illinois east of Springfield — 40 rooms

The company now operates more than 250 hotels with 18,000 rooms under its four upper economy brands- America’s Best Inns &Suites, Budgetel Inns & Suites, Country Hearth Inns & Suites, and Parkside Hotels & Resorts- plus its upscale 3 Palms brand for independent hotels.

America’s Best Franchising properties are primarily in the Unites States , but the company has also expanded aggressively around the world in recent year, notably in India, China, and Nigeria.

“In an economy that continues to be uncertain, we odder a hotel product you can feel certain about- whether you are a franchisor or a traveler,” said Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising, who expects to sell and open 40 new hotels during 2012.

The 12 new properties opened during the second quarter were:

America’s Best Inns & Suites

• Davenport, Florida near Orlando- 150 rooms
• Abilene, Texas- 102 rooms
• Fort Smith, Arkansas- 70 rooms
• Merrill, Wisconsin near Wausau- 57 rooms
• York, Alabama near Birmingham- 41 rooms
• Savannah, Georgia0 32 rooms
• Lake George, New York-29 rooms
• Niagara Falls, New York- 25 rooms

Budgetel Inns & Suites

• Glen Falls, New York-19 rooms
• Niagara Falls, New York- 17 rooms

Country Hearth Inns & Suites

• Mackinaw City, Michigan- 31 rooms

3 Palms Hotels & Resorts

• Dhikala Corbeti, India- 28 rooms