TORONTO, ON (September 18) – AFM Hospitality Corporation (TSX:AFM) announced today the 524-room Carlton Place Hotel – the largest hotel at the Toronto Pearson International Airport – has officially been renamed and “reflagged” as the Park Plaza Toronto Airport.
“The introduction of the Park Plaza brand to a critical market like the Toronto airport area represents a major step to establishing the worldwide Park Plaza brand in key Canadian markets,” said Glen A. Blake, President & CEO/Franchise Division of AFM Hospitality, parent company of Park Plaza Franchise Canada Inc. “The new Park Plaza Hotel is the largest hotel in the airport area, and we expect it to attract a solid mix of both domestic and international visitors and guests.”
The new Park Plaza Toronto Airport also is the largest hotel in AFM Hospitality’s franchise portfolio, which consists of 117 open and/or executed franchise agreements under ten brands throughout Canada. Hotel Association of Canada listings as of December 31, 2002, include AFM Hospitality Corporation among the top ten hotel companies in Canada and, according to Mr. Blake, the company has experienced record-setting growth in 2003.
“The decision to convert to a Park Plaza Hotel was based on a careful analysis of the hospitality market in general and the Toronto Airport area specifically,” said William Brown,
Managing Director of Royal Equator, the hotel’s owner. “We believe the international growth of the Park Plaza brand under the guidance and support of Carlson Hotels Worldwide and the strong Canadian presence of AFM Hospitality’s sales and marketing team will enable us to re-position the hotel successfully and exceed our fair share of the business traveler to Toronto.”
The Park Plaza Toronto Airport is undergoing a $4.5 million dollar renovation, which includes a new, enlarged lobby, totally refurbished business guest rooms with upgrades, redecorated meeting and conference rooms, dining facilities and lounge.
With 12 meeting rooms and more than 12,000 square feet of flexible meeting/banquet space, the hotel can accommodate groups of up to 475 persons. Hotel features include a beautiful indoor atrium, restaurant and lounge, room service, fitness room, indoor swimming pool, sauna and outdoor sundeck. The hotel offers a wide range of guest room amenities, including cable television with on-command movies, refrigerator, two telephones with voice mail, and many more.
“In conjunction with the 220-room Park Plaza Hotel at the Vancouver Airport in British Columbia,” added Mr. Blake, “we believe we are properly positioned to expand the Park Plaza brand in the major urban centers across Canada over the next three years, and we anticipate further announcements in the near future.”
Park Plaza is an internationally recognized global brand known for its great value and customer-focused service culture. Park Plaza Hotels are located throughout Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary, Belgium and the Netherlands), Australia, India, Israel and South Africa in addition to the United States and Canada. In North America, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts are positioned in the mid-scale to upscale segment of the full-service hotel category.
Park Plaza Hotels generally consist of 150 rooms or more, and tend to be located in downtown, suburban and airport locations. With restaurants, meeting rooms, catering and recreational facilities, the hotels serve the travel needs of business guests, people who attend meeting and weekend leisure guests.
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