micwan32

I know that this could be the wrong fourm, but I was wondering how much would it cost to run an econo lodge (assuming that all constuction costs are covered)

I am aware of the inital costs of running one but I would like the cost of supplies, matressies, TV's, and many other things that are needed to run a Econo Lodge.

Also, where is a good place to buy the foods that are needed to have the continental breakfast?

sdsearch

Every EconoLodge is different, and so each one will have different costs.

There are EconoLodges in small towns with low property taxes, and EconoLodges in big cities with high property taxes.

There are smaller EconoLodges with at most a couple dozen rooms, and there are bigger EconoLodges with many more rooms than that (I don't know what the biggest one is).

Many of the costs are on a per-room basis, some of the costs are on how many square feet all the rooms add up to, some of the costs are based on the exact location, and only a few the of costs may be about the same for each hotel.

MSPeconomist

Don't forget that labor costs, including minimum wage, overtime/sickpay. and employee benefit rates, can vary greatly based on location.

micwan32

How would I get the information on where to get the supplies to run an EconoLodge?

sdsearch

From someone who runs one?

FlyerTalk is not a discussion board for people who run hotels. It's a discussion board for people who stay at hotels (and/or fly on passenger planes).

Over in the Best Western forum, there's one person who does run an individual Best Western property, but I don't remember ever seeing anyone in the Choice forum who said they run any Choice property, let alone specifically EconoLodge. (In fact, I don't think I've seen a hotel operator announce themselves as such in any FlyerTalk hotel program forum I frequent other than Best Western.)

Have you stayed in an EconoLodge? If so, you'd know that certain supplies, such as the bathroom amenities (soap, shampoo, etc), are EconoLodge branded, and thus obviously must be obtained through Choice.

I suspect some of the breakfast stuff might come from bulk food stores a la Smart & Final, but I don't really know. (And that's assuming a USA-based EconoLodge. I've stayed at one EconoLodge, which appears to no longer exist as such, in Canada, and it had a completely different breakfast than USA EconoLodges typically have. It seemed to be have everything in packages (even the hard-boiled eggs), so who knows where they got their supplies from.

There are specific companies which cater airplane food. That's obvious by looking out the window from your plane and seeing GateGourmet trucks at airport after airport. Perhaps there are similar companies that pull together supplies needed by various hotels? I dunno, although I stay at hotels well over a hundred nights a year, I don't spend my time on the lookout for how and when their supplies might be delivered.

micwan32

Where do I find the guy that runs a Best Western on this forum?

mad cow disease

Sysco, obviously. Food? Sysco. Shampoo/etc. in guest rooms? Sysco. Trust me, the general manager is not running over to Smart & Final and picking up eggs every single morning. A few items here and there might be picked up at a local store but the day-to-day consumables are going to be dropped off by a distributor.

sdsearch

I don't think it's a guy. I think it's more likely a woman (based on the user name).

And unfortunately, she may not be active on FlyerTalk anymore. Her last activity shows as in September 2014.

Here was her introductory post from October 2013:
I've been reading various hotel forums on FlyerTalk for over a decade, and it took until October 2013 for me to see a post by a hotel manager that I remember seeing, and so I think it's extremely rare (at least for a hotel manager to announce publicly that's what they are; obviously some hotel managers might be FlyerTalk members but not admitting they're hotel managers on FlyerTalk).

Owning and operating an individual location of a chain (be it a hotel chain or a restaurant chain or whatever) is called "franchising". FlyerTalk is not about that, but if you're really interested in this you might search the web for information about franchising hotels and perhaps you'll find an organization that can give you information on how it works (as there must be someone who gives information to people who are looking to invest in franchises). Just make sure it's legitimate, as I wouldn't be surprised if there were also franchising scams out there.

ChoiceHotels

For what it's worth, please use the PDF URL below for more detail about Econo Lodge franchising. There are contact details for follow up with our franchise development folks as well. Good luck!

http://www.choicehotelsdevelopment.c...actSheet_F.pdf

RoyalFlush

As stated above, costs vary highly dependent upon location. An airport location Econo with a shuttle adds significantly to cost.

Along with labor overhead, a fixed cost includes regular franchise co-op fees and FFE (fixtures, furniture and equipment) prescribed by Choice brand standards.

Many properties' franchise holders do, indeed, stock up at a Sam's or Costco on a frequent basis.

The largest Econo, 300+ rooms, is in the Orlando area.

To give an example of the cost of running a entry/mid-scale lodging property, three turns of towel and terry for a 100-room place is about $10k.