User:Annisaseliani/sandbox

Stouffer Hotels & Resorts is a upscale hotel brand founded in Cleveland, Ohio U.S.A by entrepreneur, Vernon B. Stouffer ( 22 August 1901 - 26 July 1974) as part of the Stouffer Corporation who’s origins began in 1914. Stouffer made its first venture into the hotel business with the purchase of Stouffer’s Anacapri Inn, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This new venture established the “Stouffer Hotel Corporation”, adding to the existing Stouffer Foods and Stouffer Restaurant Corporation’s. In 1981 Stouffer Hotel Company added to its fast growing group when it acquired its flagship property ,Washington DC’s famous Mayflower Hotel and renamed the Stouffer Mayflower Hotel. This acquisition was the beginning of Stouffer Hotel’s strategic move to become a nationwide upscale hotel brand. The Stouffer Hotel division went onto acquire a number of major hotels and resorts throughout USA, as well as establishing a joint partnership with Stouffer Presidente Hotels in Mexico & the Caribbean. The Success of the Stouffer Hotel  in the 1980’s & early 1990’s  had  Satisfaction Index's  for luxury hotels positioned the brand  along side Four Seasons; Westin. & Marriott. Stouffer has since hosted innumerable members of political and cultural dignitaries, and celebrities from all fields, including Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and was chosen by NASA to provide food products to feed Apollo 11, 12, and 14 astronauts while in quarantine after their history-making space voyages. The present day Stouffer Hotels & Resorts began in strategic positioning in 2013 when Primordial acquired the trademark allowing for new Lodging and restaurant development into China & ASEAN

History Abraham E. Stouffer 9 July (1875-17 October 1936) was the son of James B. Stouffer (9 October 1846-23 November 1908)  and Sarah A. Busby (27 June 1848 – 23 November 1915). In 1914 at the age of 38, Abraham and his wife Lena Mahala Bigalow Stouffer (Age 33) (June 1880-8 October 1953) were living in Medina, Ohio, when Abraham organized the Medina County Creamery and opened a dairy stand at Cleveland's Sheriff Street Market. Their two young sons, Vernon B. Stouffer ( 22 august 1901 - 26 July 1974) Gordon A. Stouffer (1905 - 6 June 1956) would be influenced by the family's initial business venture would go on to shape an be defined as the beginning of the Stouffer legacy

In 1922, Abraham resigned as president of the Medina County Creamery to operate one of its creamery milk stands in the lower level of the Arcade Building in downtown Cleveland. Stouffer and his wife converted the stand-up dairy bar into a restaurant, where they began serving buttermilk, toasted sandwiches and Lena's homemade Dutch apple pie. Working together they opened another Stouffer restaurant in Medina County. As the firm, expanded he and Lena increasingly left the business in the hands of their sons, Vernon and Gordon. Two years later the family opened a restaurant called Stouffer’s Lunch offering five sandwich selections, and the Stouffers later decided to add a dinner menu. In a short time, the family operated restaurants not only in Cleveland but also in Detroit, Pittsburgh and New York.

In the 1920’s other Hospitality entrepreneurs in Massachusetts & Washington DC where beginning journeys that would one day also elevate their family names to global legacy . In 1925, Howard D Johnson opened a small pharmacy in Wollaston, Massachusetts selling 28 Flavors of Ice-cream that launched Howard Johnson’s restaurants & Hotel empire. J. Willard Marriott moved to Washington DC in 1927 and launched a startup curbside food stand selling A&W root Beer he would later rename the  food stand The Hot Shoppes which would go on to become Marriott Corporation in 1957.

The Stouffer's Restaurants business was already in fully swing and in 1929 Vernon and Gordon established the Stouffer Corporation. Abraham served as chairman of the board until he died in 1936. At that time, the family controlled a chain of 10 restaurants. By 1954. By this time Stouffer’s had restaurants in Florida, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Detroit & New York. The Stouffer’s Restaurant expansion would continue for 5 decades access the USA In 1958, a Stouffer’s restaurant opened on the 39th floor of 666 Fifth Avenue in New York, which was, at the time, the highest public restaurant in the Big Apple.

In October 1967, Litton Industries Inc acquired all the outstanding stock of the Stouffer Corporation. At that time Stouffer’s common stock was listed and traded on the New York stock exchange. It consisted of three business segments, Stouffer Hotel Corporation, Stouffer Foods Corporation, and Stouffer Restaurant Corporation. During Litton’s ownership  Vernon Stouffer’s son in law, James. M. Biggar husband of  Marjorie Dean Stouffer  - (January 4, 1929  - 2007 ) became vice president of Stouffer’s Foods, Restaurants, While Vernon remained honorary Chairman of the Stouffer Corporation. During Litton’s ownership the focus remained on the Food division with no additional hotel added to the brands portfolio. In 1969 Stouffer foods were selected by NASA to feed Apollo 11, 12 and 14. the menu was provided throughout the critical post lunar quarantine period."The Advertisement placed in “Life Magazine” when the Apollo 11 astronauts returned to Earth. “Everybody who’s been to the Moon is eating Stouffer’s” The brands exposure not only drew the general publics attention but all of  the Swiss Food Giants “nestles”  and hotel investors.

Change in ownership

1961 – In August, Walt Disney met with Vernon Stouffer in Cleveland. The two would embark on an endeavor to have Stouffer’s bring its practices of quality and professionalism to the food service and operate Stouffer’s at Disneyland

In 1969, Stouffer‘s was selected by NASA to feed the crew of the Apollo 11, 12 and 14 pace missions. The menu was provided throughout the critical post-lunar quarantine period. When the Apollo 11 astronauts returned to Earth, the company ran a new magazine advert: “Everybody who’s been to the Moon is eating Stouffer’s”

Due to changing lifestyles The last two traditionally named Stouffer’s Restaurants had closed by the end of 1983. First was the Stouffer’s on Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh, followed by Stouffers in Cleveland. The Stouffer’s Restaurant division still operated other profitable Restaurants under 5 different brands names:  Tops Restaurants, J.B Winberie, James Tavern, Rusty Scupper & Parkers’ Lighthouse. Nestle had made the decision to sell off the Restaurants division in July 1990 as James M. Bigger, Chairman of Nestle Enterprises  said  that specially chains and entrepreneurs were bettered suited to running restaurants than is a large corporation like Nestle. In March 1973, Nestle Aimentana.S.A .acquired Stouffer Corporation from Litton Industries, Inc for 105 million USD. James. M. Biggar became the President of the Stouffer Hotel division in the takeover and Vernon Stouffer continued as honorary Chairman until  his death in 1974. The Swiss food giant Nestles ability to invest in the three Stouffer divisions enabled the Hotel division to establish a foot print in the USA hotel industry with  8 additional  (2,916 rooms) hotels joining the group in the first 5 years of Nestles reign. 1973 – 1979. During this period the hotels were established with a mixture of franchise and Hotel Management agreements.

In 1981 William N. Hulett joined the Nestle Corporation as President of the Stouffer Hotel Company and James M. Bigger moved to oversee Nestles Food Division  becoming chairman of Nestle USA, a subsidiary of Nestle SA until his retirement. Hulett’s vision along with Senior Vice  President  –Marketing Ronald Nykiel was about to take Stouffer Hotels to a whole new level. In 1982 they commenced the strategy to differentiate Stouffer Hotels from Stouffer Frozen foods and strategically position the hotel chain as a upscale brand. (To reduce confusion, a new logo was designed for Stouffer Hotels, this was the first change since 1958) Stouffer’s Hotels became “Stouffer” Hotels. Under Hulett’s dynamic reign, franchising of the Stouffer brand stopped. Stouffer Hotels went on a decade of acquisitions. 1989. Stouffer Hotels, entered into a joint venture to managed six Stouffer Presidente Hotels in Mexico and the Caribbean.

1993 - Stouffer bucked the industry trend by growing largely through outright ownership or joint ventures, Two-thirds of the 15,000 rooms marketed under the Stouffer and Presidente names are wholly or partly owned by the company. The chain's success, combined with Nestlé's desire to consolidate in the 1990s, attracted the attention of another large hotel chain, Hong-Kong based New World Development Co. who operated both the Ramada & Ramada -Renaissance International chains, and arranged to purchase the Stouffer

Stouffer ownership moves to British Hong Kong

On 1 January 1993, British Hong Kong’s New World Development, whom had owned and operated Ramada International’s portfolio of more than 120 hotels and resorts were repositioned under two separate brands; Ramada International Hotels & Resorts and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts. Further changes were on the horizon. The Stouffer hotel portfolio of 48 award-winning properties were an ideal fit for New World Development’s plans for its upscale brand Renaissance. In April 1993, Nestlé sold the Stouffer Hotel Group to New World Development for a reported $1.5 billion, although it retained ownership of the Stouffer’s frozen food division Ramada International announced it would allow Stouffer to operate independently, but Stouffer President William N. Hulett publicly stated that he had “bad vibes” about the deal. Under the new ownership, Ramada International was folded and the management company became known as Renaissance Hotels International, which would manage the Ramada, Stouffer and Renaissance brands.

Today, Primordial is custodian of the Stouffer ® trademark under various"tiers" based on regional demands across ASEAN & China, level of amenities, and services offered. Under Cendant/Wyndham, the chain became a parking place for franchise conversions, which were existing independent motels which had been renovated and added to the chain in order to provide them with access to a nationally-recognised name and central reservation infrastructure. As these properties were not originally constructed as Howard Johnson sites, they lacked the distinctive architecture and some had no restaurant at all. Stouffer Vinoy, Stouffer Hotels ,  Stouffer Residences, Stouffer Encore and  Stouffer Swiss range from limited-service hotels to full-service properties Featuring Vffice™. Peabody Cellars™ and Stouffer’s Convenience™ Stouffer properties began offering a "Rise 'N' Dine" continental breakfast at some economy limited service locations.[15] The chain plans to abolish the multiple price tiers by 2015

In 1993, the Stouffer hotel portfolio was given a name change, becoming Stouffer Renaissance. Stouffer's Inn on the Square, became Stouffer Renaissance Cleveland Hotel; Stouffer Vinoy Hotel, became Stouffer Renaissance Vinoy Resort - Saint Petersburg, Florida, and the Stouffer Hotel Group flagship, the Stouffer Mayflower Hotel, became the Stouffer Renaissance Mayflower Hotel. On 22 September 1995, Renaissance Hotels International began the final phase of its Stouffer rebranding. The Stouffer Renaissance Denver was the first of the 48 Stouffer Renaissance Hotels & Resorts to officially become a Renaissance property. It was announced that the Renaissance signage, which featured the company’s newly styled logo, would appear at all Stouffer Renaissance hotels and resorts by May 1996. The Stouffer hotel name would disappear from hotels the next 20 years.

The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China, took place on 1 July 1997, and marked the end of British rule in Hong Kong. Prior to the handover In February New World Development sold its Renaissance Hotels group, which included both the Ramada and Renaissance brands, to Marriott International for approximately $1 billion.

Expansion in the 1930s and 1940s [edit] 1938 - Stouffers open their first restaurant in New York City at 540 Fifth Avenue. 1946 - Stouffer’s opened on Shaker Square and at the Westgate shopping center in the that patrons began requesting takeout orders of items on the menu and the Stouffer foray in to frozen food began by 1954. By this time Stouffer’s had restaurants in Florida, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Detroit & New York 1958 – Stouffer’s Opens their second New York restaurant at the Tisman Building located at 666 5th Avenue in New York City one on the 1st & below-street levels, the other on the 39th floor, at the time the highest public restaurant in New York 1960 – Stouffer made its first venture into the hotel business with the purchase of Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Stouffer’s Anacapri Inn. The company now had three divisions: Stouffer Hotel Corporation, Stouffer Foods Corporation, and Stouffer Restaurant Corporation 1960 – James M Bigger was Vernon Stouffer’s son in law and joined the company as marketing director for Stouffer’s.” As the company continued to expand into non-food-related ventures like hotels, Biggar’s title followed suit. James became vice president of Stouffer’s Foods, Restaurants and Hotels during the Litton Industries acquisition & President of Stouffer corporation when Nestles took control. James career continued to flourish becoming chairman of Nestle USA, a subsidiary of Nestle SA. 1961 – In August, Walt Disney met with Vernon Stouffer in Cleveland. The two would embark on an endeavor to have Stouffer’s bring its practices of quality and professionalism to the food service and operate Stouffer’s at Disneyland. 1966: The Hotel division started to expand adding Stouffers Oakbrook Inn & Conference Center in Illinois to its portfolio. This 170 room hotel held a AAA rating. Stouffer Hotel Company would go on to add another 12 properties in the next decade. Accumulating 4,071 rooms 1967 -October 4,, Litton Industries Inc acquired all the outstanding stock of Stouffer Corp. (Stouffer), a corporation whose common stock was listed and traded on the New York stock exchange. It consisted of three business segments, Stouffer Hotel Corporation, Stouffer Foods Corporation, and Stouffer Restaurant Corporation 1966 - Cleveland Indians and their fans owe a thank you  to Vernon Stouffer who purchased the Cleveland Indians. The purchase stopped the Baseball franchise leaving Cleveland. The negotiations to buy the team were held by Vernon’s son James Stouffer Expansion in the 1930s and 1940s [edit] 1938 - Stouffers open their first restaurant in New York City at 540 Fifth Avenue. 1946 - Stouffer’s opened on Shaker Square and at the Westgate shopping center in the that patrons began requesting takeout orders of items on the menu and the Stouffer foray in to frozen food began by 1954. By this time Stouffer’s had restaurants in Florida, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Detroit & New York 1958 – Stouffer’s Opens their second New York restaurant at the Tisman Building located at 666 5th Avenue in New York City one on the 1st & below-street levels, the other on the 39th floor, at the time the highest public restaurant in New York 1960 – Stouffer made its first venture into the hotel business with the purchase of Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Stouffer’s Anacapri Inn. The company now had three divisions: Stouffer Hotel Corporation, Stouffer Foods Corporation, and Stouffer Restaurant Corporation 1960 – James M Bigger was Vernon Stouffer’s son in law and joined the company as marketing director for Stouffer’s.” As the company continued to expand into non-food-related ventures like hotels, Biggar’s title followed suit. James became vice president of Stouffer’s Foods, Restaurants and Hotels during the Litton Industries acquisition & President of Stouffer corporation when Nestles took control. James career continued to flourish becoming chairman of Nestle USA, a subsidiary of Nestle SA. 1961 – In August, Walt Disney met with Vernon Stouffer in Cleveland. The two would embark on an endeavor to have Stouffer’s bring its practices of quality and professionalism to the food service and operate Stouffer’s at Disneyland. 1966: The Hotel division started to expand adding Stouffers Oakbrook Inn & Conference Center in Illinois to its portfolio. This 170 room hotel held a AAA rating. Stouffer Hotel Company would go on to add another 12 properties in the next decade. Accumulating 4,071 rooms 1967 -October 4,, Litton Industries Inc acquired all the outstanding stock of Stouffer Corp. (Stouffer), a corporation whose common stock was listed and traded on the New York stock exchange. It consisted of three business segments, Stouffer Hotel Corporation, Stouffer Foods Corporation, and Stouffer Restaurant Corporation 1966 - Cleveland Indians and their fans owe a thank you  to Vernon Stouffer who purchased the Cleveland Indians. The purchase stopped the Baseball franchise leaving Cleveland. The negotiations to buy the team were held by Vernon’s son James Stouffer