! fr DESIGNS IN DECORATOR LAMINATES, LTD. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO COST A FORTUNE...ONLY LOOK LIKE IT! FEATURING • • • • • • 14:"0.7n Wall Units Bedrooms Dining Rooms Credenzas Tables Offices Rooms At The Top Company chairman drops by for opening of Jerusalem Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza. SPECIALTIES • • • • • Formica Woods Stones Glass Lucite HAIM SHAPIRO SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS LOIS HARON A 8516989 Allied Member ASID . STOCKS TAX-FREE BONDS MUTUAL FUNDS F X First of Michigan Corporation Members New York Stock Exchange, Inc N A FoM A Herman SChwartz L Senior Vice President - Investments P L L Branch Manager A Travelers Tower / Suite 1020 26555 Evergreen Road / Southfield, Mich. 48076 (313) 358-3290 N N G Toll-Free 1-800-826-2039 TAA DEFERRED.ANNUITIES IRA MOVE s chairman of Holiday Inn - which franchises over 1,800 hotels, with some 340,000 rooms worldwide - he should know. "We have been opening a new hotel every day for the past 18 months, and we intend to contin- ue expansion at that rate," Bruce Langton said during a recent vis- it to Israel for the official opening of the Jerusalem Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, formerly the Hilton. Mr. Langton said the only se- rious competition for Holiday Inn worldwide comes from the French Accor chain, which has ex- pressed an interest in Israel and which Mr. Langton describes as the most aggressive in the world. Africa-Israel, which holds an exclusive franchise agreement with Holiday Inn for Israel, ac- quired the Jerusalem hotel last October and effected the changeover without losing a.day of business. Africa-Israel and Holiday Inn also own the Tel Aviv Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, the capital's for- mer Diplomat Hotel, the Tiberias Holiday Inn, the former Ganei Hamat and the Eilat Holiday Inn, a new property. Mr. Langton said Israel is one of the few countries in the world in which a single company has an exclusive concession. Many international hotel chains have been eyeing Israel as a promising destination since the signing of the agreement with the PLO. But Mr. Langton said Hol- iday Inn's interest and the deal with Africa-Israel came before that agreement. Mr. Langton, who hails from Lancashire, England, came to Holiday Inn from Bass, the British brewery that took over the chain in 1990. Holiday Inn has the largest marketing budget in the world $100 million a year. He said it will become increas- ingly difficult for the local inde- pendent hotel, or even the relatively small chain, to compete with the technology and market- ing resources that the worldwide chains can enlist. "It's OK for the domestic mar- ket and working well now, but the cost of technology will be too much for them," he said, noting that in most of the world a one-touch tele- phone call will secure instant reservations in a hotel which is LEADING ISRAELI STOCKS TRADED ON U.S. EXCHANGES 100 OFF youRcLosim; COSTS WITH THIS AD Mercedes Benz THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS • 17 Years Experience With Mercedes Benz 34 • • • • • • The Best in Personalized Service The Best Price with No Hassle No High Pressure - Only STRAIGHT TALK! Pick-up & Delivery with a Loaner Car From "C" Class to "S" Class - Whatever You Desire! Lease or Buy - New or Used PAUL MILGRIM Gratiot at 8 Mile 11111 ID WOOD MOTORS (313) 245-0619 or 372-2600 COMPUTERS 'N MORE NEW LOCATION 6400 FARMINGTON RD. STE. 105 WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI 48322 (810) 7884770 COME SEE OUR LARGE SELECTION OF COMPUTER PRODUCTS We Service, Buy & Sell New & Used IBM Compatible Computers. Symbol SCIXF ECILF TEVIY I EC ELBTF ELT ELRNF TAD CMVT LANTF ISL Name Scitex ECI Telecom Teva Pharm PEC Israel Elbit Computers Elscint LTD Elron Electronics Tadiran Comverse Lannet Data First Israel Fund Exchange NASDAQ NASDAQ NASDAQ NYSE NASDAQ NYSE NASDAQ NYSE NASDAQ NASDAQ NYSE June 10 June 17 '17.00 '16.63 '18.25 '17.88 '25.19 '24.63 '28.13 '27.50 '26.00 '24.75 '2.25 '2.00 '12.50 '11.88 '16.88 '15.50 '8.63 '8.63 7.88 '7.88 '14.00 '13.50 Change -s0.38 -$0.38 -$0.57 -$0.63 J0.25 J0.63 '0.00 '0.00 Source: Allen °lender, Prudential Securities, West Bloomfield. part of the chain anywhere in the world. "It's sad in a way because I'm an old-fashioned hotelier," Mr. Langdon said, referring to the in- creasing dependence on technol- ogy. It is the same technology that enables each hotel to determine how many rooms are sold at what rate at any particular time. Mr. Langdon also said Holiday Inn has the largest marketing budget in the world - $100 mil- lion a year. The smaller chains just can't match that. Despite his insistence on the virtues of technology, Mr. Lang- don said his worst nightmare would be to have hotels run by machine. A hotel, according to Mr. Langton, should have a good lo- cation and be clean, comfortable and friendly. He was full of praise for Africa- Israel and Shlomo Grofman, chairman of Africa-Israel Hotels and Resorts Ltd. Holiday Inn nev- er even considered doing business with any other company in Israel, he said. During his trip to Israel, Mr. Langton visited every hotel in Eilat to keep in touch with the competition. He said the steadily increasing number of hotel rooms could result in a buyer's market there. "If the number of rooms dou- bles and the supply doesn't, some of the hotels will suffer," he said. He also expressed concern about the character of the Red Sea resort town: "I just hope you don't turn it into a concrete jun- gle." Just as he said a resort can be overbuilt, he also insisted a hotel can become too luxurious. As it happens, the chain's newest venture is Holiday Inn Ex- press - popularly priced hotels without frills, intended primari- ly for the domestic market. The first such hotels are opening in India. "You have to be careful about overproviding what the customer can't afford," he said. "Hotels of- ten make the mistake of adding touches that cost money, but are not what the guest wants or is willing to pay for. "Look at that light," he said, pointing to a simple fixture in the ceiling. "We could put a crystal chandelier in there and you might like it, but you wouldn't be will- ing to pay extra for it. You have to treat the guests at the level they are prepared to pay for." El