Home AdvocacyFair Franchising 2009 Progress Report

THE ROAD TO PROGRESS:
The Process Behind The Progress Report

These are unprecedented and demanding times, and many of us in the industry are wondering when it will end. We have experienced massive job layoffs, seen the stock market drop to 12-year lows, and watched the value of our capital investments, assets, and retirement accounts go into free fall. The challenges are immense, and there appears to be very little good news for the business community and hotel owners.

As we face these challenges, we are encouraged by the efforts of many industry leaders to pull together to make changes that will benefit the entire country. During the past year, these have included advocacy initiatives to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, discussions with the Obama administration to support travel and tourism, and a renewed effort to build strong relationships with one another that will last through good times and bad.

With this backdrop, in March 2009, AAHOA sent letters to the leading hotel franchisors and membership organizations, and invited them to work with AAHOA to provide information to our members and the industry at large concerning some of the positive and beneficial accomplishments that they had realized over the past 12 months. Indeed, AAHOA informed them that we often hear about the remarkable achievements of the hotel brands via press releases or at their respective annual conferences, but have never seen them highlighted in one comprehensive report. AAHOA wanted to change that, and offer them an opportunity to showcase some of the progress that they had made in the past year for the benefit of their respective hotel brands, franchisees, and members.

Last year, during the Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas, AAHOA released its 2008 Progress Report. In the 2008 Report, AAHOA discussed the progress that it had achieved in working with several leading hotel franchise companies concerning their compliance with AAHOA’s 12 Points of Fair Franchising. This 2009 Progress Report, however, is markedly different from the 2008 Report. Rather than having AAHOA report on how each hotel company is complying with the 12 Points, and/or supporting its franchisees and members, AAHOA offered them an opportunity to do so.

Specifically, for the 2009 Progress Report, AAHOA invited each of the franchisors and membership organizations to identify the top programs or plans that they implemented during the past year to support their franchisees and members for the benefit of their hotel brands, to promote fair franchising, and to comply with AAHOA’s 12 Points. We also invited them to address the impact that these programs or plans have had on their hotel brands, franchisees and members over the past 12 months, or will have in years to come.

Upon receipt of the individual accounts, we compiled them, and are publishing them verbatim and in their entirety in the 2009 Progress Report. AAHOA has not provided any analysis or commentary as part of this Report. Instead, AAHOA is allowing each of its members to use the Report for their own educational purposes, so they can better understand the programs and plans being implemented by each franchisor and membership organization, and make informed decisions about the organizations with which they want to do business in the future.

AAHOA encourages each of its members to review the 2009 Progress Report in its entirety, and is making it available online.  Click on the link(s) below to begin downloading progress reports in the Adobe PDF format. Thank you for supporting AAHOA.