Worldhotels Creates New Position to Expand Branded Hotel Offering

FRANKFURT, Germany, March 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Robert van der Graaf appointed Regional Vice President Full Licence Europe, Middle East and Africa

Worldhotels, a leading global group for independent upscale hotels, is growing its branded soft franchise solution as the ideal alternative to traditional franchising and has newly created the position of Regional Vice President Full Licence Europe, Middle East and Africa to head the development and consultancy of the branded hotels. Robert van der Graaf, previously Director of Marketing Services at Worldhotels, has taken over the new role.

Van der Graaf will report directly to Managing Director Robert Hornman, who states, "I am very glad Robert van der Graaf has taken on this new responsibility. He has achieved great things for our group, most recently by introducing the new branding in 2012. He knows the brand and the company inside and out and I am convinced he is the perfect candidate to drive our branded hotels model."

Since introducing the branded soft franchise model in 2011, Worldhotels has already branded 15 hotels and plans to add another 20 by 2014. The offer is extremely competitive, as costs to owners are based purely on brand performance in total net room revenue delivery. The branded solution focuses purely on the commercial side of the business, to generate and capture opportunities for room revenue growth from all segments and all distribution channels. The model does not require any hardware standards, as Robert van der Graaf illustrates: "We've always said that standards don't have to mean standardisation," he states. "Our role is solely to make sure the brand and supporting systems deliver the best possible results for our hotels, without interfering in the actual delivery of an authentic upscale hotel experience."

The model is built on over 40 years of success of Worldhotels' affiliation model and focuses on three areas - first of all full commercial support to maximise the hotel's exposure under a global brand, secondly increase hotel market share through total brand performance, system delivery and finally distribution cost control to ultimately achieve a very healthy return on investment for hotel owners.

About Worldhotels:

• Worldhotels is a global brand that brings together some of the world's most unique independent hotels. With the tagline "Where Discovery Starts" it targets savvy business and leisure travellers that seek an authentic and local experience when choosing a hotel. Worldhotels now offers 500 hotels in 250 destinations and 65 countries worldwide.
  
• With over 40 years of excellence in the industry, the company's mission is to provide access to 4 and 5 star hotels of character and distinction. Each hotel in the Worldhotels portfolio has been carefully selected to ensure it meets the group's strict quality standards. Each hotel is measured against over 1,000 quality criteria every year.  
  
• Guests can also earn miles for each stay thanks to an extensive list of airline partnerships that includes 24 frequent flyer programmes of the world's premier international carriers. Air France, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, United Airlines are just some of the partners that make earning miles with Worldhotels easy.
  
• Through a comprehensive range of services that includes global marketing, sales, training, e-commerce and state-of-the-art distribution and technology, Worldhotels backs independent hotels with the power of a global brand while allowing them to retain their individual character and identity. In addition to its classic "affiliation model", the group offers independent hotels a soft franchise branding solution which is the perfect alternative to standard franchise contracts.   

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Media contact:

Elisabeth Hübner
Worldhotels
+49-(0)69-660-56-257
ehuebner@worldhotels.com