An overview of the ASFONA Board of Directors meetings and conference calls: SECOND QUARTER - APRIL - 2006.

April 5th - 2006 - Westin Diplomat - Florida
ASFONA Board Meeting:

PRIMARY FOCUS: The New direction of ASFONA and the list of "Discussion Points" submitted to ASFONA by it's members for the Starwood Management meeting.

The first two hours of the ASFONA meeting were devoted to discussing each of the agenda points that had been submitted to ASFONA by its members for discussions with Starwood. These discussion points are listed bellow and in the “News Updates” section of this Web Site.

STARWOOD - ASFONA Meeting:
April 05, 2006, Florida

The ASFONA Board of Directors meet twice per year with the Senior management of Starwood. The first meeting of 2006 was on April 5th. The Agenda Items and Discussion Points together with a brief overview of the meeting is as follows:

At 10.00 AM Geoff Ballotti and Lynne Dougherty joined the meeting and then at 10.30 AM the group was joined by Steve Heyer, Starwood CEO who had just flown in that morning. The agenda points for discussion were as follows:

In Attendance

STARWOOD

Steve Heyer – CEO Starwood

North American Business:

Geoff Ballotti – President - North America

Franchise & Owner Relations:

Lynne Dougherty – SVP - Franchise Relations

ASFONA:

John Shingler – President - ASFONA

ASFONA Board

Discussion Points:

• Galaxy – Installation Update – Issues – Cost 
• Lightspeed - Reliability - Cost - Training  
• Revenue/Yield Management – Management Initiatives 
• SPG Program – Production – Benefits – Funding-  Expenses – Reserves 
• Status re Starwood’s Commitments re Ken Siegel’s Letter 
• RevPar Statistics in North America verses Comp. Set 
• Response Factors with the GSI Program 
• Design Updates - Process - Response Time 
• Advertising Campaigns – Funding 
• American Express Travel - Relationship 
• Pepsi vs Coke 
• Four Points by Sheraton - Changed Signage Costs 
• LCD TV Year End Timeline - No Specs. 
• Frequency of Changing Standards

Task Force – Status and Agreement on Committee Assignments:

ALL

• Brands Strategy 
• Brands Standards 
• Food & Beverage Initiatives 
• Worldwide Sales Initiatives 
• Fees "The Fee Matrix" 
• SPG Program

ASFONA – Future Direction

The ASFONA Board:
The ASFONA Board notified Steve Heyer and his management team of the expanded focus of ASFONA and that membership would now be open to Franchisees and Owners of all Starwood Brands. The By-Laws have been amended and the acronym of ASFONA now represents “ASSOCIATION OF STARWOOD FRANCHISEES & OWNERS – NORTH AMERICA”.

The Board also informed the Starwood team of John Shinglers appointment as the President of ASFONA and Steve Heyer offered his congratulations to John.

At the conclusion of the meeting John Shingler, on behalf of the ASFONA Board and its members, thanked Steve Heyer, Geoff Ballotti and Lynne Dougherty for allocating so much of their time and valuable input into the meeting.

OVERVIEW OF THE MEETING:

Each of the above mentioned agenda items were addressed and discussed in detail at the meeting. Most of the areas discussed were brought to a satisfactory conclusion/resolution, with an improved level of understanding. In some cases there was a commitment to implement action of change. However, there were some agenda points that required further investigation and action back at White Plains - New York. The issue of GALAXY - LIGHTSPEED being one such item.

Geoff Ballotti and Lynne Dougherty committed to report back to the ASFONA Board on the action being taken, conclusions drawn and updates on all areas requiring further work on their part.

The Next Meeting will be on November 8th & 9th of November 2006 at the W Hotel in Dallas.

TO ASFONA MEMBERS

ASFONA Members who would like to receive more detailed information on any of the above discussion points should contact John Shingler at [email protected] or 619-756-2424.