Days Inn China

Days Inn China's origins lie in the early-2000s development of China's emerging mid-market lodging sector. In mid-2003, Harry Tan, David Tan, and Ted Fang established Frontier Group with backing from Tera Capital. The founders believed that China's hotel supply was concentrated at two ends of the market: luxury properties and low-cost accommodation. They also saw a growing middle class whose travel and business needs could support dependable, internationally affiliated hotels at moderate price points. Frontier Group approached Cendant Corporation to obtain rights for the Days Inn brand in Greater China. Cendant was then a major international hospitality company and later became associated with Wyndham Worldwide. The parties reached an arrangement under which Frontier Group obtained the master franchise for the territory. Days Inn China was established in 2004 as the local platform for developing that opportunity through franchise and management agreements. The initial concept was linked to the traditional Days Inn economy-hotel identity, but the China operation broadened its market proposition. It developed a portfolio of related formats intended to cover different customer segments and property types. Days Hotel & Suites was associated with luxury hotels and holiday resorts; Days Hotel targeted superior four-star accommodation; Days Inn Business Place addressed full-service business lodging; Days Inn served as a three-star city-hotel format; and Days Suites focused on hotel-style serviced apartments. This architecture enabled the business to seek opportunities beyond a single economy product and to present itself as a broader hotel-management group. Expansion proceeded through projects in multiple Chinese cities and provinces. A Beijing hotel opening near the Forbidden City was reported in 2007, indicating a focus on high-profile urban locations. In 2008, the company was reported as receiving recognition as an international hotel management group in China. A 2009 report described an eco-friendly hotel planned in Shandong, adding an environmental dimension to the development pipeline. The company's reported scale reached approximately 140 projects and more than 20,000 rooms in 80 cities and 22 provinces by the end of 2013. This growth was presented as evidence of the rapid development of the Days Inn platform in China and of the attractiveness of the franchise and management model to local hotel owners. The model allowed property partners to use the international brand while receiving support associated with brand standards, hotel development, and operations. The available reference material does not provide a reliable account of the business after the 2013 expansion figures. It does not confirm the current number of properties, the current leadership team, the continuing operation of the listed sub-brands, or the precise present-day legal and ownership structure. The historical master-franchise relationship is linked to Days Inns Worldwide and the Wyndham corporate family, but no stronger current-status conclusion is supported by the supplied sources.

• 2013

  Reported network reaches 140 projects

  [1]Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org

  At the end of 2013, the network is reported at approximately 140 projects and more than 20,000 rooms in 80 cities and 22 provinces.

• 2009

  Eco-friendly hotel project is reported in Shandong

  [1]Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org

  The company announces or develops plans for an environmentally oriented hotel project in Shandong.

• 2008

  Recognition as an international hotel management group

  [1]Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org

  Days Inn China is reported to have received recognition as an international hotel management group operating in China.

• 2007

  Beijing hotel opens near the Forbidden City

  [1]Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org

  A reported Beijing opening demonstrates the brand's expansion into a prominent central-city tourism and business market.

• 2004

  Days Inn China is established

  [1]Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org

  The Greater China Days Inn business begins after Frontier Group secures the territory's master-franchise arrangement from Cendant Corporation.

• 2003

  Frontier Group is formed

  [1]Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org

  Harry Tan, David Tan, and Ted Fang establish Frontier Group with Tera Capital backing to pursue the Days Inn master franchise for Greater China.

A mid-market, multi-format hotel platform in China, spanning economy and three-star city hotels through higher-service business hotels, luxury-oriented hotels, resorts, and serviced apartments.

• Luxury hotels and resorts

  Days Hotel & Suites

  A higher-end format in the reported China portfolio, aimed at luxury hotels and holiday resorts. It represented the brand platform's move beyond its traditional economy association and allowed the group to pursue destination and leisure properties as well as conventional city accommodation.

• Superior full-service hotels

  Days Hotel

  A superior hotel format described as serving the four-star segment. It was intended for guests seeking more services and amenities than a standard economy property, while remaining part of the broader Days Inn China franchise and management system.

• Business hotels

  Days Inn Business Place

  A full-service business-hotel concept designed for corporate travelers and urban commercial locations. The format broadened the China portfolio toward meeting business-guest requirements and higher service levels than the core city-hotel proposition.

• Three-star city hotels · 2004

  Days Inn

  The core city-hotel format and the closest fit with the traditional Days Inn economy-to-midscale identity. In China it was described as a three-star product intended to provide standardized, accessible lodging in urban markets through franchise and management agreements.

• Serviced apartments

  Days Suites

  A hotel-style serviced-apartment format intended for guests who need more residential space or longer-stay functionality. Its inclusion gave Days Inn China an offering suited to extended business travel and accommodation markets outside conventional transient hotel stays.

• 2004

  Adopt a Greater China master-franchise strategyStrategy

  Background

  Frontier Group identified a shortage of mid-tier and economy-oriented branded hotels in China and sought to serve a growing middle-class travel market.

  Action taken

  The group secured the master franchise for Days Inn in Greater China from Cendant Corporation and built a local franchise and hotel-management platform.

  Aftermath

  The strategy supported a multi-city expansion program and later produced a reported portfolio of approximately 140 projects and more than 20,000 rooms by the end of 2013.

  Source

• 2004

  Broaden the brand beyond economy lodgingStrategy

  Background

  Days Inn was traditionally associated with economy accommodation, while the Chinese market also offered opportunities in business, resort, luxury, and extended-stay lodging.

  Action taken

  Days Inn China developed a family of formats including Days Hotel & Suites, Days Hotel, Days Inn Business Place, Days Inn, and Days Suites.

  Aftermath

  The portfolio gave the China operation a wider market position, although the supplied sources do not establish which formats remain active today.

  Source

• 2013

  Days Inn China reports broad expansion across China[1]Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  By the end of 2013, the business was reported to have about 140 projects and more than 20,000 rooms across 80 cities and 22 provinces.

• 2009

  Days Inn China announces an eco-friendly hotel project in Shandong[1]Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  The reported Shandong project connected the brand's expansion program with an environmentally oriented hotel concept.

• 2008

  Days Inn China is named an international hotel management group in China[1]Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The reported recognition reflected the company's positioning as an international hotel-management and development platform in the Chinese market.

• 2007

  Days Inn China opens a Beijing hotel near the Forbidden City[1]Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  A reported Beijing opening illustrated the brand's expansion into prominent urban destinations and its effort to build visibility in China's major hotel markets.

1. 1Days Inn Chinaen.wikipedia.org