Choice Hotels International's SOAR — or Supporting Ownership Access and Representation — program has a simple edict: expand hotel ownership for underrepresented groups.
On the latest episode of the Next Gen in Lodging podcast, Choice executives said the resources needed to achieve that goal include providing education and overall support for franchisees, particularly for those who are Black, Hispanic, Native Americans, women or veterans.
Jacquelyn Peterson, one of the three SOAR program directors, said there's been a particularly encouraging uptick in interest and energy from hotel investors who are women.
"We are the main decision-makers in a lot of other areas, and so [we're] now stepping into the entrepreneurship role where we're reaching new heights," she said. "With the upcoming presidential election, we could have our first female president, but with that being said, we make a lot of decisions for our families, friends, financial aspects, things of that nature, and so we're now starting to emerge and step into a lot of the entrepreneurial roles."
Another of Choice's SOAR directors, Marcus Thomas, said the program has reinvented itself after originally launching more than two decades ago and being billed as "Emerging Markets" as more hotel brand companies sought to widen their pool of owners.
"We have got competitors that are out there that are promoting their programs, as well," he said. "So Choice felt like they needed to reinvent what we've been doing now for going on 21 years. We've been walking the walk, and this has been way before George Floyd. So I would say that that pretty much is the impetus. It was time to rebrand. It was time to reemerge as something bigger and even better."
Ken Townsend, Choice's regional vice president of extended stay development for the North Eastern region, said the resources provided through SOAR have been vital for growing the ownership pool.
"I usually work with a lot of experienced developers with new construction, but for those who are interested in getting into the space, I would recommend ... a conversion opportunity," he said. "So when I get those type of clients, I kind of involve Marcus and Jackie in that process to kind of qualify them and kind of educate them. And we educate them together as far as the process to buy the hotel. We talk about certain terminologies, like the [property improvement plan], your capital stack, things of that nature. The management company, all those type of things that we're trying to educate them on."
For all of Next Gen in Lodging host Omari Head's discussion with the Choice SOAR team, listen to the podcast above.
The Next Gen in Lodging podcast is also available to download on Apple or Spotify, where you can also subscribe to future podcast content.
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