At the start of 2006, London-based easyHotel.com had no franchised hotels. Within the next three years, it plans to have 60 across Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Asia. The fact that a start-up franchisor, even one backed by the muscle of easyJet, could set these kinds of franchising goals and attract master franchisees such as Dubai based investment powerhouse Istithmar Hotels (committed to building and operating 38 hotels in EMEA and Asia) and Germany's real estate/hotel specialist, i.gen Hotels (which signed a 10-hotel deal for Germany), shows how much EMEA's attitudes toward the franchise model have changed.
展开▼
