<B>Wielgus Sr. VP Of Choice</B>
Choice Hotels International has announced the appointment of Wayne Wielgus as its senior vice president of marketing, effective Sept. 18. Wielgus joins Choice from Best Western International, where he held the same title and was responsible for all sales, marketing and advertising.
"Wayne brings to Choice a wealth of experience from his tenure at Best Western," said Charles Ledsinger Jr., president and CEO of Choice, whose brands include Comfort, Quality, Clarion, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn and MainStay Suites. "His industry expertise and ability to craft aggressive marketing strategies that appeal to business as well as leisure travelers will greatly enhance our ability to put 'heads in beds' on behalf of our franchisees." Wielgus will report directly to Ledsinger.
"In particular, we're looking to Wayne to build on existing successful business traveler programs, such as the Clarion Class Business Room and the Quality Executive Room," Ledsinger added. This special class of rooms features such amenities as oversize desks, speaker phones with dataports and enhanced lighting and furnishings.
At Best Western, Wielgus was a strong proponent of that brand's comparable Business Plus rooms program. "To attract these travelers, you have to provide a room product that allows them to be as productive as possible while they're away from their offices," Wielgus told BTN earlier this year. Under his watch, more than 600 properties in the Phoenix-based membership association participated in the program, meaning that at least 10 percent of those hotels' rooms had to meet business class standards.
A second priority for Wielgus is technology--behind the scenes as well as in the guest room. At Best Western, he spearheaded the effort to install software that would ensure single image inventory across the system. This allowed hotels in the association to offer travel buyers last room availability. "In key destinations especially, where rooms midweek can be so hard to book, this has become crucial," he said.
At Choice, Wielgus also should be a strong voice for continued global expansion. The Silver Spring, Md., company's brands now have franchises in 39 countries. More than 4,300 hotels presently are open, representing in excess of 343,500 rooms; another 685 hotels are in development. "The challenge is bringing consistency of service to a portfolio that spans so many countries and cultures," Wielgus said. "Frequent business travelers especially want to know there are consistent standards in place when they check in."
Wielgus, a 20-year industry veteran, also has filled marketing roles at Forte Hotels, Inter-Continental Hotels, Ramada Hotels and Holiday Inns.