Villager Franchise Systems today announced that it has bulked up its regional marketing team in an effort to provide more local and regional sales and marketing support to franchisees. Falling under the title of revenue consultants, the new staff members are David Newcomb, Linda Bigi and Michael Zambrano, with director of field services Rui Barros serving as their manager.

“As the brand continues to grow, this was a perfect time to enhance the service levels and provide more personalized `in the field` service to our franchisees,” says Anthony Falor, Villager president and chief executive officer. “Among the many areas and topics that this team of professionals will be helping owners and general managers with are CRS/HOST system management, sales and marketing, rate/yield management and numerous others that should help them enhance revenue.”

Here is some additional information on the new team:

Rui Barros, director of field services (New Jersey-based):
A 12-year hospitality industry veteran at both the property level and in the corporate arena, Rui has been with Cendant Corporation since 1998. He was most recently director of regional marketing for Howard Johnson.

David Newcomb, revenue consultant (Northeast):
David has been with Cendant for eight years and is a 15-year industry veteran. He was most recently the corporate director of field marketing and operations for Knights Inns, responsible for the ongoing operations of the brand.

Linda Bigi, revenue consultant (Southeast):
Before joining Cendant in 2001 as the regional field director for Knights Inns, Linda worked for six years at Lodge Keeper Group, Inc. She held various positions, as a district manager, general manager and trainer and was responsible for recruiting, training, advertising and opening new construction properties.

Michael Zambrano, revenue consultant (West Coast and Midwest):
New to the Villager headquarters team, Michael was most recently general manager of the Sherwood Hotel & Casino in Tacoma, Wash. Before that he was the general manager of the Villager Lodge Hotel Gaslamp in San Diego. With over 17 years of experience in operations, marketing and sales within the hotel industry, Michael is a welcome addition to field services.

Villager Franchise Systems Inc., an extended-stay chain of 116 hotels representing more than 11,500 guestrooms in the United States, Canada and Mexico, is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD). For reservations or further information, call the Villager toll-free reservations number, (800) 328-7829, or access the chain`s Web site at www.villager.com.

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