Value Place Signs its First Hotel-Apartment
Franchisee
Whitt Properties will build seven new Value
Place properties in four states, with the first property now under
construction in Bentonville, Ark. The company is the first franchisee for the
Value Place hotel-apartment concept recently launched by industry visionary
Jack DeBoer. Whitt Properties is a real estate development firm based in Ft.
Smith, Arkansas.
DeBoer — who also founded Residence Inn,
Summerfield Suites and Candlewood Suites — opened the first company-owned
Value Place property in October 2003 (www.myvalueplace.com).
He announced Value Place Franchise Services in May 2004. DeBoer has dubbed
the new concept "short-term residential lodging."
Prior to founding Residence Inn in 1975, DeBoer
was the second-largest apartment developer in the United States.
"We were immediately impressed with the
uniqueness of Value Place and its profitability potential," says Storm Nolan,
Whitt Properties vice president of development (www.whittinc.com).
"We wanted to get in on the ground floor of another successful Jack DeBoer
project."
Value Place is a hotel and apartment hybrid, a
unique lodging approach that benefits franchisees and residents alike.
Franchisees enjoy lower start-up and operating costs, which yield greater
potential revenue per square foot compared to traditional rental properties.
Residents get clean, safe and low-cost accommodations for weekly or longer
stays.
"Whitt is just the kind of franchisee we’re
looking for to build the brand," says Gina-Lynne Scharoun, president of Value
Place Franchise Services. They have a proven record of success in real estate,
hotels and many other entrepreneurial ventures."
Under the terms of the agreement, Whitt will
develop properties over the next three years in Bentonville and Little Rock,
Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Reno, Nevada, and Addison, Texas. Whitt will own
and manage the properties.
Whitt Properties owns or manages a wide variety
of other real estate investments, including hotels, storage facilities,
convenience stores, a shopping center and a business park.
Construction is also underway in Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina – the first Value Place in the southeastern U.S. Aurora
Investments of Anderson, S.C., will own and manage the hotel-apartment
property, which is expected to open by mid-summer.
Value Place has headquarters in Wichita,
Kansas, where two company-owned properties are already open. More than 20
others are under development. Potential franchisees — hotel owners, real
estate and apartment developers and general investors — can benefit from the
new brand’s investment potential and operating efficiencies.
Many Value Place residents are business owners,
contractors and others who need temporary lodging for job assignments, or
individuals who need short-term housing. Value Place — with rates starting in
some locations at $149 weekly — plans to be the national low-cost provider of
safe, clean, apartment-style lodging. Residents can choose from three standard
room options — studio, studio sleeper and studio double.
Company founder Jack DeBoer — in addition to
inventing the extended-stay hotel concept and founding three successful hotel
brands — developed more than 16,000 apartments in the 1960s and 1970s. He
considers Value Place to be his best real estate investment yet. It is his
first venture in the economy-lodging segment — one he feels is greatly lacking
in suitable, affordable accommodations.
Franchised Businesses Urge Congress
to Act on Key Issues
With the 109th Congress getting underway, the
International Franchise Association said it will renew its push for the
sector's top priorities: affordable healthcare, litigation reform, robust
Small Business Administration lending programs, immigration reform and the
collection of key franchising data by the U.S. government.
"Franchising accounts for more than
one-and-a-half trillion dollars of economic output in the United States," said
Matthew Shay, president of the world’s oldest and largest association
representing businesses that utilize the franchising format. "It's in the
nation's best interest that this sector continues to grow, create more
entrepreneurial opportunities for future small-business owners and generate
jobs. In 2005, we plan to steadfastly urge Congress and the administration to
remove obstacles to that vital engine of economic growth."
As a prime example, Shay said, the cost of
providing healthcare continues to spiral upward for franchisees, franchisors
and their employees. Association Health Plans, which would offer many small,
franchised businesses a chance to enjoy the economies of scale that many of
their competitors enjoy, is a great place to start, he said.
"Frivolous litigation is another issue of great
concern among franchised businesses," Shay said. "Whether it is being targeted
in a ‘drive-by’ Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit scam, getting caught
up in a class-action case before a trial-lawyer-friendly state court judge, or
being blamed in court for causing someone's obesity, franchisees and
franchisors are wasting too much time and resources on lawsuits that seem to
benefit no one but the lawyers. Congress must step up to address this needless
cost of business."
Another priority of the franchise association
is aiding the continued growth of SBA loan programs, which are critical
sources of funding for prospective franchisees. The two most important to
franchising are the 7(a) program and the 504 loans, which together, last year
helped more than 80,000 small businesses.
Shay said the association also co-chairs the
Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, and will look to play a lead role in
the immigration reform debate.
"A growing economy, long-term demographic
trends, and a dysfunctional U.S. immigration system have combined to make
finding workers a serious challenge for many franchisees and franchisors," he
said. "In recent years, businesses have discovered that employees they thought
were authorized to work were in fact undocumented."
The association executive said Congress and the
president must act to fix the broken immigration system to allow employers to
bring in foreign workers when no American workers can be found, and to create
a mechanism for many of the millions of undocumented workers in our industries
to be able to earn legal status. "Not only will this help the economy, but it
would also improve our national security by allowing the Department of
Homeland Security focus vital resources on threats such as suspected
terrorists and drug smugglers."
In 2004, the IFA Educational Foundation
released a groundbreaking study that revealed the staggering impact of
franchising on the economy. It found that more than 18 million people owed
their livelihoods to the nation's 767,000 franchised businesses. Shay said it
is crucial that the U.S. Bureau of the Census take into account such a crucial
part of the nation's economy by including franchising in its information
collection activities, a goal that the association plans to pursue.
IFA also plans to continue playing a lead role
in such regulatory issues as the new Federal Trade Commission's Franchise
Rule, said Shay, who noted it is important that Congress and the Bush
Administration understand franchising legislative priorities as they begin
work in the 109th Congress. IFA and its members pledge to work with
Republicans and Democrats to get this job done, he said.
Changes at Carlson Restaurants
Richard Snead,
president and CEO of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide (CRW), announced changes
within the executive ranks. Jeff Warne will assume the position of
president and chief operating officer of Pick Up Stix® restaurants, a leader
in the quick-casual dining segment. Warne, who joined CRW in 1998 as
vice president of finance and chief financial officer, has held the position
of executive vice president and chief operating officer of T.G.I. Friday’s
international business for the last three years. Warne assumes
the position previously held by Tim Pulido.
Steve King has been named executive vice president and chief operating
officer of T.G.I. Friday’s International business. King brings a wealth
of knowledge and experience to his new position, including chief operating
officer of T.G.I. Friday’s USA and his most recent role as executive vice
president, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer for CRW.
"As COO of our International business, Steve will focus on growing our brands
globally and continuing our direct foreign investment," added Snead.
According to Snead, an external search for a
new chief financial officer/chief administrative officer has begun. In
the interim King will continue to oversee these areas in addition to his new
responsibilities.
As of December 2004, Carlson Restaurants
Worldwide operates, franchises and licenses more than 840 restaurants in 54
countries in three divisions – T.G.I. Friday’s U.S.A. (T.G.I. Friday’s®,
Friday’s Front Row® Sports Grill and Friday’s American Bar®);
International (T.G.I. Friday’s, Front Row® Sports Grill,
Friday’s American Bar); and Pick Up Stix. For more
information, visit www.Fridays.com
or www.pickupstix.com.
