Earlier this month, Mark Williams—managing director, franchise development at Extended Stay America—announced he will be retiring at the end of 2026 after more than 30 years in development.
Williams began his lodging industry career in 1993 with Best Western Hotels & Resorts before leaving as VP, North American development, in 2013. In addition to some 20 years with Best Western, Williams also held senior franchise management positions with G6 Hospitality, Red Lion Hotel Company and Radisson Hotel Group.
Flatly stating that “it’s time,” Williams reflected on his lengthy lodging industry career in an exclusive interview with Hotel Management. During the discussion, Williams addressed a handful of industry issues, including how franchise development has changed, the explosive growth of the extended-stay segment, the most challenging times he’s experienced and the potential impact of disruptors.
What is the biggest changes you’ve observed in hotel development over the years?
The fact that everybody and their brother is giving out key money to jump-start projects. Key money had always been part of the business, but now it’s front-and-center to get a deal done. You’re buying business, you’re not earning it. It's even gotten to the point where some companies are giving key money to maintain relationships in key properties within their system.
Has the pool of potential development partners for brands increased or decreased compared to years ago?
It's most definitely bigger. If you look at the hotel investment community, it's now very diverse. With the advent of AAHOA, for example, these guys are now second and third generation and they’re smart. They're developing and they're being aggressive, which is phenomenal for the industry.
You’ve been with ESA since 2020. To what do you attribute the increased popularity and robust growth of the extended-stay segment?
I joined the ESA in middle of COVID, which was great timing. We'd been around for nearly 30 years … it's just that everybody finally took notice of what this segment was. Since that point every large brand has now rolled out an extended-stay product to compete in the economy and/or midscale segment. It's a hot product and a good product, but it's also made it very competitive for a company like us, which has been doing this for 30 years.
Were there any mentors or leaders who were particularly helpful in forging your hospitality career?
I give a lot of credit to [former Best Western president and CEO] Jim Evans. I had discussions with Jim when I was in the field and he would ask me, "What would you do differently?" I told him, "Here's what I like, here’s what I don't like and here is what needs to happen." Jim took a chance on me and I learned from that it's best not to [mislead] people, just shoot straight and they’ll appreciate it.
You’ve been through a number of economic cycles and downturns. What would you describe as the most challenging period for selling hotel franchises?
I think the ‘08 financial crisis was extremely difficult because it was business as usual and then all of a sudden it hit and everything stopped. It took a while for it to come around. In my situation we were doing "X" number of properties every year, consistently, and it suddenly stopped and things were not getting done, projects were exiting the system. That was a difficult time, more so than even COVID.
The lodging industry has had to combat several disruptors in recent years, such as home sharing channels. Do you believe that’s negatively impacted hotels?
Everybody brings up Airbnb, and to be honest, I don't give it a thought. I don't think we gave it a thought 10 years ago. When they first came on the scene in around 2015, everyone was saying, "They're going to really affect the industry." I don't think they have and I don't think they will. It's just a different segment. If you want to stay [at an Airbnb], you're going to stay, but I don’t think it has negatively affected the industry.
You spent some 20 years at Best Western Hotels, which represents a membership organization as opposed to a traditional franchise company. What were some of the differences in your experience?
As a membership association, we never had to deal with [franchise disclosure documents], we didn't have interference [or] a lot of things that a normal franchise company would have. I appreciated that we didn't become some of the other brands out there where they were cutting corners or trying to push deals; we didn't do it. We just stayed the course and the course worked. When I was there it was a single-branded company and we were taking over 200-plus applications every year to get 150 to 180 deals a year and it was consistent, good business.
What were some of the more memorable development deals you were involved in?
Anything in Manhattan was a windfall because it was Manhattan and it has a high barrier to entry. I got somebody spending $30 million at the time on a new hotel in Manhattan with a brand that was not considered "that type of box." I've had a number of properties in Manhattan and some of the people I've worked with there are among the top developers in the city.
What are some of the personal highlights that you will take away with you?
The relationships. ... That was the biggest thing. The relationships with people I dealt with every day going from California to New York to Canada. The relationships you establish with people in this industry are invaluable.