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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