Business delivery top of the agenda as hotel franchisor appoints marketing and development managers
Choice Hotels Australasia announced the appointment of a new general marketing manager plus two new development managers to support continued growth across the region.
Matt Taylor was appointed general marketing manager following his significant contribution to the company during a period of growth. The promotion followed Taylor’s integral leadership and strategic marketing direction for Choice Hotels across Australasia, the company said.
As a result of his management and marketing initiatives, the company experienced significant increases in brand awareness, consumer engagement and bottom line growth.
“Matt has done a terrific job in leading the business, achieving strong results and implementing innovative initiatives for our franchisee network over the last few years but especially over the past 12 months,” Choice Hotels CEO, Trent Fraser, said.
With over 20 years’ experience within tourism hospitality and events, Brendon Smith also joined Choice Hotels as development manager, New Zealand. The move followed his successful period with H3 Group in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Bolstering the Australian market, Michael Skinner joined Choice Hotels as development manager, QLD, NSW & ACT. Skinner will have a focus on growth and development across key regions in NSW and QLD, following 30 years of experience across operational and corporate environments.
“Brendan and Michael will use their relationships and experience to leverage this and we look forward to seeing our portfolio continue to grow, which in turn continues to increase the experience we offer to our customers,” Fraser said.
The announcements reinforced Choice Hotel’s commitment to expand on their global reservations and distributions network. The new appointments have been further aligned with the Choice Privileges international loyalty program, which is delivering considerable business incentives to all properties, as well as dedicated field support, innovative sales and marketing programs and industry leading technology resources.
Choice Hotels attributed the loyalty program’s success to Taylor’s strategic leadership, which resulted in membership almost double to more than 200,000 members, with unique member stays in Choice properties increasing by almost 40 per cent. This subsequently translated into increased revenue through the program to all Choice hotels.
Taylor also led the implementation of many digital, online and social strategies for the brand. In 2015, the Choice Hotels’ Marketing team launched the local area marketing kit (LAMkit), a cloud-based platform allowing franchisees to create their own marketing collateral and stationery remotely.
The portal then links directly to printers and digital advertising systems to ensure the process is simple and all-encompassing for franchisees.
For Fraser, the Choice Hotels proposition will continue to be taken up by many hotels in the industry.
“We continue to put a strong emphasis on increasing our business delivery and value offering to all franchisees which makes joining our group very attractive for many properties within the industry,” he concluded.
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