Birmingham’s Neal Jackson, franchisor of the Key West Inns brand, said he expects to grow his business in 2009 – during what some economists are predicting will be the worst recession in decades.
He said he’ll grow not by building new hotels as he did in the past, but by converting other economy hotel owners over to the Key West brand, with fees he said are 15 to 20 percent lower than the competition.
Jackson joins the more than 85 percent of franchise business leaders in the country that expect growth in their establishments this year, despite the lack of credit in the marketplace, said a recently published franchise forecast.
And he and others remain cautiously optimistic in the face of forecasted franchise declines and plan to use the downturn – and the franchise business model – to their advantage.
“There’s a lot of business out there, but you have to work harder to get it,†said Jackson, whose Key West Inns business is part of Birmingham-based Jackson Hospitality Services. Read more.