Newsmaker: LaQuinta Taps Feliz Jarvis To Head Sales

LaQuinta Corp., which operates 330 LaQuinta Inns and Inns & Suites around the country, this month announced the appointment of Feliz Jarvis to head its national sales effort as vice president of sales. Chief among her responsibilities will be building relationships with corporate buyers interested in bolstering the presence of midprice without food and beverage chains in their hotel programs.

"We're looking to take advantage of the trading down trend where buyers broaden the range of price points represented in the program, either because they're driven by potential cost savings in the weak economy or simply because the particular locations make sense," Jarvis said. "As typically happens, once buyers see the range of amenities that the properties offer—from two-line phones to continental breakfast to workout facilities—a lot of their preconceptions about the sector disappear."

As for the lack of a full-service onsite restaurant, she said business travelers don't tend to eat dinner in the hotel anyway, opting instead for freestanding restaurants often within walking distance of the hotels.

Jarvis acknowledged, however, that some midprice without F&B chains, including LaQuinta, can face a property design challenge. "The first generation of hotels is aging. They're the ones with exterior corridors that are less attractive to business travelers," she said. "But as our franchising efforts grow, one-third of LaQuintas are virtually brand new, so consistency is less of a problem." In LaQuinta's case, the older generation of properties also quickly is adding the brand's king-bedded business class rooms, which book at a premium in rate and include enhanced features for the target traveler. "The exterior may look dated, but when they step inside the room they find all the bells and whistles business travelers expect today," said Jarvis, who earlier in her career was vice president of sales and marketing for Bristol Hotels & Resorts, before Six Continents subsequently acquired it.

The biggest concentration of Dallas-based LaQuintas is in Texas, California and Florida, "though we're making strides into markets as diverse as Colorado and the Carolinas," Jarvis said.

With only a few weeks on the job, Jarvis is hesitant to describe any long-term strategy for the brand. "Considering how competitive the midprice market is, though, my sense is that each brand needs to articulate as best it can its own unique attributes," she said. "At LaQuinta, I'd say that uniqueness was about service—how visible our general managers are, for example, in being available to interact with guests during checkin or checkout. In the same way, on the sales side we certainly want to be known as a brand that nurtures mutually beneficial long-term relationships with buyers."