Franchising and Change in the Hotel Industry
By: Edward (Ned) Levitt
Franchising today has evolved from a little understood, almost quirky, alternative to traditional distribution models of the 60’s and 70’s to become one of the fastest growing and most widely used options in an ever-expanding range of industries and markets. It has also become a global phenomenon. However, changing demographics, volatility in energy costs, natural and man-made disasters, and government regulations are just a few of the alphabet soup of problems that face franchise companies and their franchisees every day.
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Are you a "Steward" under Ontario's Blue Box Program?
By: Chad Finkelstein
As a franchisor with franchised units in Ontario, you may have been contacted by Stewardship Ontario with respect to your obligation to register as a “steward” under Ontario’s Waste Diversion Act. Stewardship Ontario was created to ensure that certain companies that introduce packaging and printed paper into the Ontario consumer marketplace share in the funding of "blue box" recycling programs.
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Who, What, Where and When
- Congratulations to Len Polsky and Ned Levitt who were awarded certification as Certified Franchise Executives at the recent International Franchise Association Convention. Certification by the Institute of Franchise Executives is a globally recognized endorsement of the highest levels of professionalism in franchising best practises.
- Debi Sutin has been selected to Co-chair the Ontario Bar Association’s 10th Annual Franchise Law Conference, being held in Toronto on November 4, 2010.
- Len Polsky’s article “Practical Issues in Making Proper Disclosure: Case Comment - Hi Hotel Limited Partnership v. Holiday Hospitality Franchising Inc.” was published in the December 2009 issue of Franchise & Distribution Journal.
- Debi Sutin, Ned Levitt, Chad Finklestein, Guy Poitras and Joelle Boisvert will be attending the Annual Convention of the Canadian Franchise Association May 2 – 4, 2010 in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec. Ned Levitt will lead a workshop at the Convention entitled “What the Hell Happened” which will focus on the intersection of franchisee discontent and franchise litigation.
- Len Polsky, Ned Levitt, Peter Snell, Debi Sutin and Chad Finklestein will be attending the International Franchise Association’s Annual Legal Symposium, being held May 16-18, 2010 in Washington, D.C. Len Polsky and Peter Snell will also attend the International Bar Association/International Franchise Association Joint Conference May 18-19, 2010.
- Len Polsky, Peter Snell and Melanie Choch will lead a Franchise Breakfast Roundtable on March 26, 2010 in Calgary on protecting a Franchise system’s brands on Social Media sites. Len Polsky and Peter Snell will lead one in Vancouver on April 8, 2010 on the same topic.
