THE FRANCHISING

A brief introduction to Franchising

Commercial standing and distribution
Marketing and communication
Training, quality checks and Customer Satisfaction
Centralised buying, Technical Office and IT
Research, management and personnel training

WHAT WE EXPECT:

Respect for Standard of Service and Image
Payment of charges

UNA Hotels & Resorts and UNAWAY Hotels are the brands of an entirely Italian owned hotel chain which also makes use of franchising to spread the enterprise nationwide.

Franchising or commercial affiliation means that any hotel exhibiting one of our brands is in fact an independent firm, with its own proprietor and independent legal and economic standing. Becoming affiliated to the UNA Group, a hotel company, while remaining entirely independent, chooses to take part in a single business project, sharing common strategies and objectives and become part of a name which stands for Italian hospitality.

Coherence within a franchising system is guaranteed by a unified image and operating methods applied to all affiliates. The franchiser UNA supplies a package of services to maximise the efficiency of management, it will deal with any brand publicity campaign, guarantees a promotion targeted for the market segment concerned using all sales channels.

All the affiliated hotels share the same distinctive features: from the sign outside to the staff uniforms, from the forms to fill in to hospitality products. The same methods and the same work instruments are used.

THE AFFILIATE PROFILE

The success of our chain depends on the success of the affiliate. UNA group affiliates are business people, men or women, who are fully responsible for their own business and who cooperate actively with our main office to increase sales, improve services and train personnel.

INVESTMENT

The affiliate has to bear the costs of production of the brand logo and any material to identify the hotel as belonging to the UNA group. This means staff uniforms, products for the comfort of the guest, brochures and headed paper.

In order to make the early stages of operating easier for the affiliate, and taking into consideration the initial investment, there is a percentage discount on affiliation fees for the first three years.

THE AGREEMENT

The agreement covers a series of rights and regulations for both parties. Wanting to offer a streamlined and advantageous formula we have decided not to charge royalties on turnover: there is a fixed fee, depending on the brand and the size of the hotel.

WHAT WE OFFER:

COMMERCIAL STANDING AND DISTRIBUTION:

Affiliated hotels benefit from all sales activities undertaken by our group. We have three sales offices (Milan, Florence, Rome) which deal with commercial activity aimed at companies, tourist operators and conference organizers. Our sales staff take part in the most important trade fairs in this sector, workshops and promotional presentations at companies and consortiums, both in Italy and abroad, where all our hotels are advertised.

All the hotels are included in our web sites, with an online booking system, kept constantly up to date and cross-indexed in order to be clearly visible and easily found on internet.

An operator at our call centre is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There are two free-phone numbers both for Italy and abroad.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION:

Marketing and communication which are constant and carefully targeted, are dealt with by a special office which makes use of external firms for contact with the media and for the image.

We take care of all the publicity material, advertising campaigns and partnership with companies and institutions to ensure maximum visibility for our hotels.

Cooperation with press release agencies specialized in the hotel sector means that we can be assured of a constant presence in papers and magazines.

TRAINING, QUALITY CHECKS AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:

Training applies to Revenue Management, Sales & Promotion and Housekeeping. It is carried out both by those responsible for management and hotel personnel.

All hotels undergo quality checks regularly to ensure that a uniform standard of service is maintained.

Quality checks, carried out by internal personnel and by specialized firms, is both a challenge and a motivating element for staff.

There is a special customer relations office which monitors customer satisfaction and is active in direct promotion. It also deals with complaints, special requests, comments and suggestions.

PURCHASE OFFICE, TECHNICAL OFFICE AND IT SYSTEMS:

Any nationwide agreements made with suppliers for goods or services, are at the disposal of our affiliates. Being a large group means that we can ask for and get lower prices.

This means considerable savings in money, time and resources.

Our technical office is open for advice on rebuilding, modernization and maintenance. Here they produce graphics for the hotel and street signs.

Network connection means that all can share the database, forms to fill and any information necessary to keep the affiliated hotel in touch with head office and the other hotels.

RESEARCH, MANAGEMENT AND PERSONNEL TRAINING:

We can provide assistance in finding qualified personnel: our human resources office keeps a database with C.V. s and job applications from the whole of Italy.

We also offer a consultancy service regarding the administrative management of personnel and any aspects to do with workplace regulations.

Apart from the initial training both for staff and management of the affiliate, we offer regular training sessions carried out by internal personnel or specialized firms.

WHAT WE EXPECT:

RESPECT FOR STANDARDS OF SERVICE AND IMAGE:

What we expect from affiliated hotels, which retain autonomy both legally and with regard to management, is a respect for standards of service and image, in order to ensure that all hotels in the group have the same high quality standard: this can be summed up as a series of simple rules which help to make people appreciate and remember a hotel.

We refer to uniforms, signs, promotional material, various sundries offered to guests and other instances such as answering the phone, attitude towards the client, cleanliness and tidiness.

For this purpose, we have prepared a Coordinated Image Manual containing rules for the use of the name and all the necessary guidelines for the preparation of promotional material. There is also a Standards Manual which contains a list of minimum standards expected with regard to the structure and the service.

CHARGES

Affiliation fees are clear and limited and above all there are no variable charges related to the general turnover of the hotel itself.

A commission is charged on bookings made through our distribution channels, which vary according to the channel used (web or call centre) or through intermediaries (3 part web, travel agencies).