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Smaller hotel chains rely on agents
Smaller boutique hotel chains such as the 12-member Noble House have to depend very heavily on travel agents, says President Marc Pujalet.
“We have to depend on our relationships with travel agents to show them the unique qualities of our properties. We are always making efforts to get agents in to see for themselves why our hotels are different,” he said.
The small chain has two requirements for adding properties: They have to be located in a world class location, and they have to be unique.
An example of that is The Edgewater in Seattle which is located on a pier overlooking the water.
The chain is also renovating the Hilton in Daytona Beach.
“We’re putting $8 million to make it the very most upscale property in Daytona,” said Mr Pujalet. The hotel should re-open by the first of next year.
He speculates that most hotel-goers “don’t want cookie-cutter hotels. We’ve kind of discovered that most people nowadays want something that really embraces the feel of a destination.”
Mr Pujalet said he would like to add two to five new properties a year, although he admitted it was hard to meet his criteria.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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