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CCNTV6
  • 1 year ago
Chief Secretary Farley Augustine is responding to Managing Partner Garry Olsen and the Manta Lodge being given the right to operate under the same Choice brand. More in this Elizabeth Williams report.
Transcript
00:00Chief Secretary Farley Agustin said the Elephant Tree and Manta Lodge and Dive
00:05Center can simultaneously exist under the Ascend Collection umbrella in the
00:10same geographical area as indeed many other soft brands do throughout the
00:15region. He said the franchise granted to Iacocte in no way impedes the rights of
00:21Elephant Tree as a similarly situated franchise holder. Mr. Agustin said the
00:28hope is that the properties will collaborate and jointly improve Tobago's
00:33room stock and there really is no issue being raised by the Choice franchise
00:38that has already granted Manta Lodge to go ahead to be part of its brand. The
00:43Chief Secretary said after successful discussions and negotiations, Iacocte
00:48was granted franchise rights by Choice Hotels International to become a member
00:54of the Ascend Collection for the operations of the Manta Lodge and Dive
00:58Center in Speyside, Tobago. The Ascend Collection is known in the hospitality
01:03industry as a soft brand meaning that it is an affiliation between an independent
01:09hotel such as Manta Lodge and Dive Center and a hotel chain such as Choice
01:15Hotels International which provides some of the benefits of association with a
01:20brand while allowing the franchise a degree of flexibility not experienced
01:25with hard brands. Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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