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AFM Hospitality Corporation's Franchise Division Sets Record In First Half Of 2003 - Canadian Franchise Division Hits 55% Growth Year Over Year |
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TORONTO July 8, 2003 AFM Hospitality Corporation (TSX:AFM) announced today that for the six months ending June 30, 2003 its Canadian Franchise Division completed a total of 31 new franchise applications, representing a dramatic increase of 55 percent over the same period last year. |
Glen A. Blake, President & CEO of the AFM Hospitality Franchise Division, stated "In addition, we have 31 franchise applications scheduled to become franchisees of one of our multiple franchise brands over the next six months, and seven franchise applications already scheduled for 2004 openings."
One of Canada's top hotel franchise companies as well as one of the 20 largest hospitality management companies in North America, AFM Hospitality is the master Canadian franchisor of Howard Johnson(R), Aston(R), La Quinta(R), Park Plaza(R), Hawthorn Suites(R), Best Inns(R) and other internationally recognized and prominent hotel brands.
Of the 31 new franchise applications processed during the first six months, the Howard Johnson brand lead the way with 16 applications; seven applications were processed for Knights Inn; three for Villager Lodge; the remaining five were among the Best Inns, Hawthorn and Park Plaza brands.
Of special interest is the introduction of the first Villager Lodge(R) branded hotel to London, Ontario and the first Park Plaza branded hotel to the Toronto International Airport market.
For the first half of 2003, AFM Hospitality Franchise Division reported a combined total of 119 committed applications and open and/or executed license agreements representing 9,879 rooms - an increase of 35 percent in the combined total of committed applications and open and/or executed license agreements versus the same period in 2002 for continuing operations.
Lawrence P. Horwitz, Chairman & CEO of AFM Hospitality Corporation, said "Despite the current challenges in the Canadian travel and hospitality environment, we are proud of the growth achieved during the first six months of 2003. This tremendous growth is due in part to the ability of our Franchise Division to provide our customers, the franchisees, with more alternatives and better service than any other hotel franchisor in Canada, with brands ranging throughout the economy and middle market segments."
Mr. Blake concluded, "As we continue to build franchise systems in Canada, we fully anticipate welcoming our 100th property into our franchise systems by the end of July 2003."
About AFM Hospitality Corporation
Through its subsidiaries, AFM Hospitality Corporation owns AFM Preferred Alliance Group Inc., AFM Asset Management Inc., AFM Hospitality (USA) Corporation, Northwest Lodging International (USA) Inc., Northwest Lodging International (Canada) Inc., AFM Asset Management Services, Inc., Trigild International, Inc., Special Asset Services, Inc. and Staffing Services International, Inc.
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