AUSTINTOWN Owner converts hotel off I-80 to Comfort Inn

Owners hope the franchise switch will bring in more national reservations.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The former Howard Johnson Express Inn at the busy, Interstate 80-state Route 46 interchange has been converted to a Comfort Inn.
Owner Universal Development, a Girard-based development firm best known for its upscale condominium complexes, is investing about $600,000 in improvements and franchise-related expenses.
Richard Cecil, the hotel's general manager, said the owners were dissatisfied with Howard Johnson's national reservation system. The inn was getting only about 5 percent of its reservations through the chain's 800 number, he said, while the national average ranges from 20 percent to 25 percent.
They're hoping the Comfort Inn brand is stronger in this part of the country and that its reservation system will increase occupancy. Owners also hope to retain the strong local support, he said, which has been providing a substantial share of the hotel's reservations.
The change took effect in July, but Cecil said it's too soon to say if the franchise change is improving occupancy because the computer reservation conversion wasn't complete until mid-August.
Contractors are converting 40 rooms into two-room suites. Each suite will include a sleeping room and a living room equipped with a dining table and a micro-fridge -- a combination microwave oven and refrigerator. When work is complete, the inn will offer 79 regular rooms and 20 suites.
Universal Development invested more than $2 million in an interior and exterior renovation when it converted it from a Budget Luxury Inn to a Howard Johnson Express four years ago. The inn is managed by Janus Hotels and Resorts, based in Boca Raton, Fla.
Comfort Inn is one of eight hotel chains operated by Choice Hotels International. The company has more than 5,000 hotels, inns, and resorts open or under development in 48 countries under the Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Sleep Inn, Rodeway Inn, Econo Lodge and MainStay Suites brands.
Choice Hotels International stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CHH.
vinarsky@vindy.com