Accor North America Honors Franchisees Of The Year

Outstanding performance and dedication to quality and service leads to Accor's highest franchise mark of distinction

(Monday, March 27, 2006) - Accor North America, the nation's largest owner and operator of economy lodging, recently recognized the Franchisees of the Year for Red Roof Inn and Motel 6 at the company's annual convention. Vijay Dandapani, owner of the Red Roof Inn in New York, N.Y., and Keith and Patricia Stotereau, owners of the Motel 6 in Avoca, Iowa, received this prestigious award.



"Our Franchisees of the Year consistently deliver exceptional quality and service to our customers and continuously go above and beyond to ensure guest satisfaction," said Dean Savas, senior vice president for Accor Franchising. "By reflecting our values and high standards, Dandapani and the Stotereaus help Accor North America further position itself as a leader in economy lodging."



For these awards, Accor North America judges franchisees on compliance with brand standards, quality, guest service and overall operational performance. Franchisees must also consistently reflect Accor philosophies and excel in Guest Satisfaction Surveys in order to be considered for this prestigious designation.



The Red Roof Inn Franchisee of the Year, Vijay Dandapani, is well respected and highly sought after for his expertise in the hotel industry in the nation's largest city. As chief operating officer of Applecore Hotels, Dandapani has been instrumental in the company's growth and development, including acquisitions, six hotel renovations and the implementation of state-of-the-art computer systems. The hotel industry veteran currently serves as chairman for the Hotel Association of New York City.



The Stotereaus, Franchisee of the Year winners for Motel 6, moved to Avoca, Iowa, and built a Motel 6 a little over a year ago. Their previous experience as owners/operators of Big A Automotive and their exceptional customer service largely contributed to their success as a Motel 6 franchise owner. Keith Stotereau is heavily involved in The Avoca Business Development Committee, which meets to discuss ways to recruit new businesses in Avoca. He is currently running for City Council.



As part of Accor's ongoing commitment to quality and guest satisfaction, the hotel company also recognized additional franchisee leaders at the annual conference. The franchise owners of Motel 6 State College, Penn., and Red Roof Inn Ontario, Calif., were named Franchisee of the Year Runner-ups for their respective brands.



Accor North America also named the Red Roof Inn franchise owners of the Watsonville, Calif., and the Ocoee, Fla., properties and the Motel 6 franchise owners of the Athens, Tenn., and the Clarkston, Wash., properties as the winners of the Quality Award. The Quality Award symbolizes a property that consistently meets or exceeds the brand's quality standards and provides a consistently enjoyable guest experience.



Accor North America plans to double its franchise owners for its leading economy brands Red Roof Inn, Motel 6 and Studio 6 in the next several years. To accomplish this goal, Accor North America will increase field support, offer financial and management incentives and increase outreach to women and minority business owners.



For more information on franchise opportunities with Accor North America, please visit www.accor-na.com.



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About Accor North America
Headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, Accor North America operates more than 1,200 upscale and economy properties including nationwide economy leaders Red Roof Inn, Studio 6 and Motel 6 and the upscale Sofitel and mid-scale Novotel and Ibis hotel locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more information, visit www.accor-na.com.




About Accor
With 168,000 people in 140 countries, Accor is the European leader and one of the world's largest groups in travel, tourism and corporate services, with two major international activities:
· hotels: nearly 4,000 hotels (463,000 rooms) in 90 countries, casinos, travel agencies, and restaurants
· services to corporate clients and public institutions: 19 million people in 34 countries use a broad range of services (food vouchers, people care and services, incentive, loyalty programs, events) engineered and managed by Accor.





About Motel 6

Motel 6 offers a low price and great value at more than 850 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Standard amenities include free local phone calls with no long distance access charges, free morning coffee, phones with data ports, and an expanded cable channel line-up with premium channels including HBO, ESPN and ESPN2. All Motel 6 properties welcome pets, and most locations offer swimming pools and guest laundry facilities.



Click 6 Internet bargains are available only at motel6.com. For reservations or information, visit www.motel6.com or call 800-4-MOTEL6.





About Red Roof Inn
With more than 350 locations nationwide, Red Roof Inn offers free local phone calls, complimentary coffee and USA Today in the lobby. Rooms are equipped with clock radios, voicemail, and an enhanced in-room entertainment package featuring video-on-demand, pay-per-view, Internet TV, iGames and digital music-on-demand, in addition to free-to-guest programming. Red Roof Inn provides pet friendly accommodations, snack centers and photocopy and facsimile services. Red Roof RediCard Preferred Members TM enjoy faster reservations via a dedicated toll-free number, express check-in, complimentary room delivery of USA Today, priority room requests and free faxes, along with a generous awards program for free room nights or Delta SkyMiles. RediCard members can track stays in real-time, manage award options and receive special member communications with the new member-only website, www.redicard.com. Committed to providing guests 100% satisfaction, Red Roof Inn offers a money-back guarantee policy that ensures a positive guest experience. For more information or reservations call 1-800-RED-ROOF (800-733-7663) or visit www.redroof.com.

Tamsin Ayre
Elmore Public Relations
311 W. Saulnier
Houston, TX 77019
713-524-0661
281-414-8439, cell
713-524-2561, fax

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