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EXCLUSIVE: Sarah McCully talks shifting development at Choice Hotels

The former general manager of Star Ratings and BIG4 alumnus spoke with accomnews about her brand-new role at Choice Hotels Asia-Pac, one of Australia’s largest hotel franchise groups.

Sarah McCully, Choice Hotels Asia-Pac General Manager of Development.

“Coming from BIG4, I believe that I have a foundation of knowledge on why people buy into a franchise as well as an understanding of what makes a franchise model successful,” she said when we caught up during her first month on the job. Indeed, Sarah’s four years spent working as the general manager of park services and acquisition at BIG4 Holiday Parks should stand her in good stead. It was here that she developed and rolled out a value-based account management support structure.

On the topic of loyalty, Sarah noted that the company’s own loyalty system Choice Privileges would continue to be a focus. “Not only is it important to the consumer but it’s also a big reason for properties to come onboard; they can bypass the OTAs and retain their own clientele.”

Sarah told us that the role of development is twofold: “Not just bringing new properties onboard, but making sure that when it comes to renewing their agreements, our properties stay with us.

“My ultimate objective is property acquisition and increasing the group’s room number count in Australia and New Zealand.

“There’s a huge focus on marketing at the moment, which will become clearly apparent over the next few weeks,” Sarah said, indicating she shouldn’t reveal too much too soon. “But it’s genuinely really, really exciting.” The new marketing push will aim to attract lots of new properties.

For Sarah, culture plays a huge role in making something an attractive choice. She originates from the UK and fell in love with Australia when she came over 19 years ago, wooed by the “lovely people” and amount of opportunity. “It’s like comparing apples and pears really, Australia wins hands down!”

Her move to Choice Hotels was similarly heart-warming: “One thing that was very important to me was the culture of the organisation I would be working with and the culture at Choice is phenomenal. It’s very nurturing and genuine and has a high level of integrity.

“This is what attracted me to the role and is what makes me so excited about the future. I’ve made it quite clear that I want this to be a very long-term role for me: I want to make a real difference.”

As the newly appointed general manager of development, Sarah has every opportunity to make a difference here; responsible for the growth and retention of Choice Hotels’ portfolio across the Econo Lodge, Comfort, Quality, and Clarion brands as well as the Ascend Hotel Collection in Asia-Pac.

“We’re about to enter a really exciting phase of growth and retention,” she added, explaining that the group was busy strategising its expansion. accomnews gleaned that Choice Hotels’ historically more regional focus might be about to shift. “We are looking at franchise partners very strategically but, yes, there is a particular focus around CBD locations and also around the potential opportunities for our Ascend brand.”

First on the to-do list? “To work with my team, developing a strategic pipeline of potential properties that we would like to talk to.”

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