When Warren Kan of Seaside
looks at a situation, he generally puts his own spin on it. "My
basic approach is that we don't really do things the same way
as everybody else. My edge is to do things that are different
and come up with a better way to compete," he said. His philosophy
applies even when buying into a pre-packaged franchise like Microtel
Inn & Suites.
The concept for Microtel is a discovery of Mike Leven, a 38-year
veteran of the lodging industry, involved in management levels
of Americana Hotels, Days Inn of America and Holiday Inn Worldwide.
According to the company literature released June 24, 1999, Microtel
had almost nine thousand rooms in permitting process for construction
and was ranked sixth among top ten brands for number of rooms
under construction. The release goes on to state that Microtel
placed first for number of projects and rooms recently opened,
under construction and in the pipeline in it's category of "budget"
hotels and Inns.
Microtel Inn & Suites offer properties that do not include
a restaurant, have smaller guest room sizes and a packaged development
and management plan available to hold down room rates by trimming
costs for the property owner. A single guest room with a queen-sized
"chiropractor-approved" quality mattress, night stands,
small desk, television, etc. and private bath fits in only 192
square feet. A double room, with the same amenities plus a second
queen bed fits in 264 square feet and a suite with one queen bed,
a mini-kitchenette and a small sitting area encompasses only 324
square feet. Fifteen percent of the rooms will be either handicap
accessible or designed to accommodate the hard of hearing. Plans
are to charge $39.95 to $49.95 for a single room seasonally, $49.95
to $59.95 for a double room and an additional $10 for suites.The
Inns are designed with interior corridors and limited entrances
for safety and the literature boasts that fewer employees are
needed to run the operation.
Above and beyond the budget-minded franchise benefits included,
Warren Kan is creating his own version of a heat exchanging system
and planning to utilize other aspects of his entrepreneurial enterprises
to lower costs for staffing and Microtel amenities. For example,
given the seasonality of Seaside it is difficult to hire enough
people to properly run a sixty-room property in the summer, and
yet have enough work for those same people to do in the winter.
Warren plans to utilize employees of his movie theater, Cannes
Cinema, and other property and retail businesses in a more fluid
training process to fill in where needed. As for meeting space,
while Seaside's Microtel will not have a conference room on the
property, a program may easily be accommodated just up Highway
101 at Cannes when movies are not playing. An auditorium offers
seating, acoustics, staffing and refreshments that could handle
many presentations and training sessions quite nicely.
"My intent is not to steal business from existing hotels,
but rather to increase the amount of business for all." A
community benefit mentioned is to provide quality affordable rooms
as Seaside's "front door image" since the property will
be located on Highway 101 just as you are entering the main part
of Seaside.
Warren's childhood friend Barbara Pollman has retired from her
65-acre cattle ranch and moved to the coast to help Warren coordinate
these new activities.
The $2.5 million property is targeted for opening April, 2000.
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