Cendant introduces motel brand

International hotel chain Cendant is planning to enter the motel market in Romania with its own brand, Super 8. This will make Super 8 the first foreign player to arrive on this particular segment of the tourism industry, which is though to have great potential.
“We want to build motels on all the main routes, on highways and major national roads. The motels will be developed on main roads, outside the cities,” Tinu Sebesanu, general manager of Trend Hospitality, which coordinates Cendant’s operations in Romania told ZIARUL FINANCIAR.
Super 8 will tackle the motel segment by developing at least 10 sites, Cendant officials say.
“This is a large untapped market. Everything that is there now does not have standardised services,” Sebesanu says.
“The thing about motels is to do a lot of things. You don’t just get a plot and build a motel on it; you need at least ten plots of land to begin development,” a Trend Hospitality representative explains.
The company is part of the Altrom group, controlled by businessman Gabriel Popoviciu.
The investment, which is estimated at 2-2.5 million euros per location, will be made either by the group of companies owned by Popoviciu, or by private investors that will receive the franchise for the Super 8 brand.
On average each motel will have 50 rooms and prices will vary depending on location.
The development of the project will take about a year and a half once locations have been selected, Sebesanu says.
The Cendant hotel chain is already present on the Romanian market with the Howard Johnson (the five-star Howard Johnson Grand Plaza, Bucharest) and the Ramada (Ramada Majestic, Bucharest). By 2007, the group plans to have added four more locations to its portfolio, three of which will be in Bucharest and one in Sibiu.

Cendant
First foreign player on the motel segment
Will introduce its Super 8 brand on the market next year
Will open at least ten motels
Investment per location is estimated at 2-2.5m euros
Development set to take about 18 months after locations are chosen
Each motel will have an average of 50 rooms
Already present with Howard Johnson and Ramada hotel brands