SILVER SPRING, Md. -- There are many ways to grow an independent
hotel chain, including one that, at first, may seem
counterintuitive: Becoming affiliated with a bigger, better-known
chain.
But Crystal Inn, a Utah-based chain encompassing 11 hotels, has
done just that by signing a deal with Choice Hotels that
essentially will enable the independent chain to become part of
Choice's Rodeway Inn and Suites brand while still retaining a level
of autonomy.
"We are expanding our markets and are going away from our
central core of hotels in the Utah area," said Lloyd Richmond,
Crystal Inn's director of marketing. "The farther away we get from
[the chain's home base], the less distinctive our name is. I think
the Choice connection gives us some strength there."
At the same time, he said, Choice is able to pitch its Rodeway
flag in new markets.
Crystal Maggelet, and her husband, Chuck, opened the first
Crystal Inn in Salt Lake City in 1994. The two now serve as
co-managers of MacCall Management, owners of the chain.
Crystal Inn is associated with Flying J, a group of truck and
travel plazas, where Crystal Maggelet's father held a top executive
spot.
"When [Flying J] purchased land in the past, we occasionally
have been able to build on the land," Richmond said.
That's one of the reasons Crystal Inn has properties in
Colorado, Maryland, Mississippi and Montana.
"That has been the opportunity for us in some places," Richmond
said, "but not every place because the land position for a
truck-and-travel plaza may not be really fit for a hotel."
A new model
Now, Crystal Inn is looking to grow beyond that plaza model by
essentially breaking the mold for typical hotel franchise
arrangements.
"Our hotels are already very successful," Richmond said. "Any
franchise arrangement that would cap off gross revenues, at this
point, didn't look feasible for us, in terms of giving away
percentages [of revenue]. So the arrangement we have with Choice is
to see if we can mutually develop additional revenue sources for us
both."
Both sides agreed to the Rodeway designation because "in many of
the locations where [Crystal] exists, a strong Choice brand
opportunity may not exist," he said.
"So the hope is that Choice will benefit by having additional
places to send travelers, and we will benefit by having travelers
who otherwise would not have been aware of the Crystal Inn chain,"
Richmond added.
Typically, Crystal Inns feature larger rooms than most
properties in the limited-service category. Its hotels also have
pools, meetings space and amenities, including high-speed Internet
access.
Inroads with agents
Crystal Inn -- which also owns two Best Rest Inns that will be
rebranded Best Rest Inns, Rodeway Inn and Suites -- also is looking
for the Rodeway affiliation to help it make greater inroads with
travel agents.
"Travel agents, in particular, are more brand-aware in terms of
chain affiliation," Richmond said. "It was difficult for a small
organization like us to hit that many [agents]."
However, through its association with Choice, agents can now
book Crystal Inn on the GDSs and on the Web with other Choice
properties. Agents also can receive commissions through Choice.
"This is a definite opportunity for us," said Richmond.
Conversion plan
"A few years ago," Richmond said, "we decided that instead of
[constructing hotels from the ground up], we would also look for
potential conversions," which refers to purchasing existing hotels
that can be renovated and upgraded to Crystal's standards.
"Our conversion target is more aligned to an older, first-class
hotel," he said. To wit, the chain purchased the Hilton Hotel in
St. George, Utah.
"It is a 100-room property, well-appointed with larger-size
rooms. We put in our full set of amenities, and it turned out to be
a great limited-service property," Richmond said.
Although the St. George conversion was successful, Richmond
said, Crystal Inn's search for similar projects has been
stymied.
"Our standards are fairly high, so if we don't find something
that fits, we just won't go with it," he said.
"We want to stay liquid as we move forward and not use any of
our war chest to actually have to build a hotel. We would rather
leverage that money," Richmond said. "The market since 9/11 has
been a little dicey in that regard, otherwise I think our plans
would have moved faster, but we are still actively pursuing other
locations."
More information on Crystal Inn is available on the Web at www.crystalinns.com.
To contact reporter Michael Milligan, send e-mail to [email protected].