“As travelers increasingly using the internet to research and to book their hotel rooms, we are making the experience as easy and enjoyable as possible for consumers – that’s how our brands will thrive and our franchisees will succeed,” explains Chip Elbers, Vice President and COO of America’s Best Franchising.

The company has been an industry leader in launching innovative technology-based marketing programs. For example, last year it became the only hotel franchisor to fund development of a dedicated website for each of almost 300 properties around the world and it also added a full-time social media communication specialist to the corporate staff.

America’s Best Franchising operates four upper economy brands – America’s Best Inns & Suites; Budgetel Inns & Suites; Country Hearth Inns & Suites; and Parkside Hotels & Resorts – plus an upscale brand for independent properties, 3 Palms Hotels & Resorts.

The Company currently operates nearly 250 hotels primarily in the United States with more than 16,000 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 Hotels & Resorts brand for independent hotels.

“The first quarter is traditionally a slower time of year for sales, yet we achieved a solid start to 2012 and have an impressive inventory of openings scheduled,” said Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising, Inc.

“We are confidently on course to achieve our goal of selling and opening 40 new hotels during the year.”

The seven new properties opened during the first quarter were:
America’s Best Inns & Suites

• Fairfield, Alabama near Birmingham – 83 rooms
• Clearwater, Florida – 82 rooms
• Antigo, Wisconsin near Wausau – 40 rooms

Country Hearth Inns & Suites

• Madison, Alabama near Huntsville – 153 rooms
• Greenville, South Carolina – 100 rooms
• Paducah, Kentucky between St. Louis and Nashville – 80 rooms

Budgetel Inns & Suites

• Wilmington, North Carolina – 200 rooms

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Opening this week is the new Budgetel property in Kissimmee, Florida with 170 rooms, while four other properties are opening by December 1:

Macon, Georgia – 80 rooms
Redding, California – 80 rooms
Fort Lauderdale, Florida – 66 rooms
South Lake Tahoe, California – 28 rooms

“This growth is a solid vote of confidence, especially in the current economic environment, for the brand and for our franchise support system,” said Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising Inc., which assumed operation of the brand in November of 2008 under a multi-year licensing agreement.

“Budgetel is a valuable accommodations option both for franchisees and for the traveling public,” added Collins, about the brand which was first introduced in 1974. “It is a great name with a strong history in the hospitality industry, yet it is an under-penetrated brand, so we certainly see continued growth opportunities both domestically and internationally.”

Atlanta-based America’s Best Franchising operates more than 300 hotels in almost 20 countries under six brand names – America’s Best Inns & Suites, Budgetel Inns & Suites, Country Hearth Inns & Suites, Parkside Hotels & Resorts, and 3 Palms Resorts.

It becomes the third hotel and the first management contract in China for America’s Best Hotels China Limited, a partnership which has operated two hotels since January of 2010 in Yiwu, a city of two million people located about 190 miles southwest of Shanghai – a 107-room Budgetel Inn and a 103-room America’s Best Hotel.

The new property in Wuyi, which features 169 deluxe rooms and suites, has been rated by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) as the top hotel in the city and is being rebranded as the America’s Best Koshine Hotel.

Amenities include a gym, a sauna, an in-house laundry, multiple game rooms, eight meeting rooms for groups ranging from 12 to 60 people, and a ballroom for weddings, large meetings, and special events. There is also a lobby lounge, an executive lounge, and a 200-seat restaurant that serves three meals a day featuring both Chinese and Western cuisine.

The America’s Best Hotels China Limited partnership is scheduled to open four additional hotels within the next six months, the first being a 168-room America’s Best Hotel in January of 2012 in Wuxi, which has six million people and is often dubbed “Little Shanghai” because of its close proximity to that city.

The three other new hotels will all be within 200 miles of Shanghai – a 103-room Budgetel and a 250-room 3 Palms in Jinhua, plus an 88-room America’ Best Boutique in Yiwu.

In July of this year, America’s Best Franchising signed another master licensee in China – Golden Wisdom Management Consulting Ltd. of Bejing – which has an aggressive schedule for opening as many as 15 properties a year under various of the company’s brands.

“As travel for business and leisure increases in China both by domestic residents and by international guests, there is a big need for hotels that are dependable and reasonably priced,” said Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising. “Our licensees are providing those accommodations to the traveling public by building on our system of proven brands and support services.”

Atlanta-based America’s Best Franchising operates 303 hotels with about 20,000 rooms in almost 20 countries around the world under its five upper economy brands – America’s Best, Budgetel, Country Hearth, and Parkside – plus its upscale 3 Palms brands for independent hotels.

Guest room at America’s Best Koshine Hotel in Wuyi, China

Lobby of America’s Best Koshine Hotel in Wuyi, China

Atlanta-based America’s Best Franchising, Inc. now operates 302 hotels around the world with almost 20,000 rooms under its five upper economy brands – America’s Best Inns & Suites, Budgetel Inns & Suites, Country Hearth Inns & Suites, Parkside Inns, and Vagabond Inns & Suites – plus its upscale 3 Palms Hotels & Resorts brands for independent hotels.

“We are on target to achieve our goal of selling and opening 50 new hotels during 2011,” said Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising, Inc.  “Expansion is accelerating both domestically and internationally, as we concentrate on building a network of hotels that are profitable for franchisees and affordable for travelers – qualities which are especially important in the current economy.”

The 17 new properties added during the third quarter are:

America’s Best Inns & Suites

• Altamonte Springs, Florida, north of Orlando – 107 rooms
• Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth – 46 rooms
• Sylacauga, Alabama, southeast of Birmingham – 46 rooms
• South Lake Tahoe, California – 34 rooms
• Alexandria, Minnesota, between Minneapolis and Fargo, North Dakota – 18 rooms
• Big Lake, Minnesota, northwest of Minneapolis – 34 rooms

Vagabond Inns & Suites

• South San Francisco, California – 117 rooms
• Santa Rosa, California, north of San Francisco – 107 rooms
• Modesto, California – 100 rooms
• Bakersfield, California – 57 rooms
• Klamath Falls, Oregon, east of Medford – 52 rooms

Country Hearth Inns & Suites

• Madison, Alabama, west of Huntsville – 153 rooms
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – 79 rooms
• Ripley, Tennessee, northeast of Memphis – 40 rooms

Budgetel Inns & Suites

• Memphis, Tennessee – 65 rooms
• South Lake Tahoe, California – 28 rooms

3 Palms Resorts

• Bay City, Michigan, north of Saginaw – 97 rooms

Problems arose when some folks in black hats used stolen credit cards to pony up $1,000 in contributions toward sending 11 riders, 11 coaches and volunteers, plus five horses to the Georgia Special Olympics at the end of August. After the fraud, however, travel plans were back to scratch.

Riding therapy is provided to patients with neurological disorders and developmental disabilities by the non-profit Bethany’s Equine & Aquatic Services (BEATS) in Canton, Georgia.

America’s Best Franchising CEO Doug Collins learned about the riding group’s plight from a local television station and immediately put the kids back in the money with a corporate gift that replaced the fraudulent contributions.

The Special Olympians were chomping at the bit to compete – and won seven gold medals at the state championship event! Click here to see photos and videos from this event.

Atlanta-based America’s Best Franchising operates more than 300 properties across the country under its upscale 3 Palms Resorts brand for independent hotels and its five upper economy brands – America’s Best Inns, Budgetel Inns, Country Hearth Inns, and Parkside Resorts.

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Golden Wisdom Management Consulting Ltd. of Beijing has become the licensee for 3 Palms Hotels & Resorts, Parkside Hotels & Resorts, and Budgetel Inns & Suites under a multi-year agreement that spans 45 years – an initial 25-year term and four extensions of five years each. In addition, the company has exclusive rights to introduce a new 5 Palms brand in China as an ultra-luxurious version of the existing upscale 3 Palms name.

“China is one of the biggest growth markets in global tourism for three reasons – a more affluent middle class, massive government investment in transportation infrastructure, and an easing of travel restrictions for both residents and foreign visitors,” explains Doug Collins, Chairman and CEO of America’s Best Franchising.

This travel boom is reflected in Golden Wisdom’s development plans, which call for at least 15 new properties to be opened every year, according to the company’s CEO Liu Xiaodong.

“There are four times more people in China than in the United States, so the potential hotel market in our country is very large,” says Jenny Jiangling, Deputy President of Golden Wisdom Management Consulting. “This agreement provides our company with an excellent group of brands for growth and for service to travelers.”

Adds Collins, “We certainly expect Golden Wisdom to be a significant partner as it quickly grows its hotel operations in China,”

America’s Best Franchising already operates two properties in China through an existing licensee. One hotel is a Budgetel Inn and the other is an America’s Best Inn & Suites; both are located in Yiwu, which is about 190 miles southwest of Shanghai. Another America’s Best Hotel is scheduled to open this fall in Wuxi, which is also near Shanghai.

Currently, America’s Best Franchising has more than 300 properties in almost 20 countries. Its family of brands includes the upscale 3 Palms name plus five flags which are known as upper economy in the United States but are often rated higher in foreign countries – America’s Best Inns, Budgetel Inns, Country Hearth Inns, and Parkside Inns.

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