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Show the ENTERPRISE Tri Aire wants out of Travelodge franchise If they can negotiate their way out of the Travelodge franchise, that's exactly what Pearson Enterprises would like to do, Tri Arc gen- eral manager Roger Hansen told the Enterprise last week. Were just basically not very happy with the services we get for the price we must pay," he said. 'But it's all very friendly and things are really only in the talking he explained. Of all the hotels reser- stages, vation business, Hansen esti- mates referrals Travelodge Enforcement ve Back in 1896, $1000 was probably a lot of money, but today, its simply not he said. The new bill would boost penalties for individuals to $50,000 per vio- Continued from page 1 alternative. First of all, when you take it to a federal court using parens patriae, youre not involved in a criminal action, but instead, it's a civil action," Buffmire said. The other problem is a matI just don't ter of equity. think its fair to expect a guy in southern Utah to drive to Salt Lake, and hire an attorney here, to defend himself from a civil suit involving practices. It places an unfair burden on him," he added. anti-competiti- lation. It would slap a corporation with $100,000 for the first violation, and $300,000 for the second and subse- quent violations. Buffmire was quick to point out these penalities If anywere not excessive. thing, compared to other states which arc enacting sim-ilia- r laws, Utah's penalties as proposed in the new law-armiddle of the road, he said. c Local problems The primary reason for the new law and the $191,000 federal grant is the Justice Departments stepped up prosecution of local The Departpractices. ment of Justice fully supports state action in this area for two reasons. First, the Feds like to stick to those cases that arc national in scope. Second, they feel local problems should be dealt with by anti-competiti- constitute only five percent. Thats only reservations, not our total bookings," he emphasized. The Tri Arc is Travel-odge- s showcase franchise, according to Hansen. Travelodge sends prospective franchisees to the Salt Lake property all the time for inspection. But the Travelodge affiliation has often times been a heavy cross to carry when the hotel starts trying to drum up convention business, Hansen said. People get very disap- - there are problems with this authored by Buffmire, was intended to clear up these problems. For instance, the new law contains more precise definitions for Also, the new practices. measure would scale the penalties for violations to a more realistic realm. anti-competiti- n O ve pointed when we say Travelodge, he said. It somehow doesnt have the glamor the Hilton name has, he added. Pearson Enterprises also owns the Hilton Hotel and Hilton Inn, formerly the Rodeway Inn. The Travelodge marriage is proving to be hard one to dissolve, however. Pearson has been affiliated with Travelodge for 7 years and owns other Travelodge properties besides the Tri Arc. I don't think they think were really serious about getting out," he said. Should Tri Arc drop the Travelodge affiliation, Hansen speculates the hotel would probably stand on its own without another franchise He acknowledged, however, the hotel has talked to Sheraton about joining its network as did Sheratons lo 15-1- cal representative Hank Aloia. Aloia emphasized there are other applications ahead of UBI lated story, page Business Investments for $4,300 in commissions Big Sky claims UBI didn't earn. Filed in Third District Court last week, the suit claims UBI is still holding onto commission for a franchise purchase that never The action materialized. claims that on Dec. 12, 1977 signed a deposit Big Sky receipteamest money agreement on a form provided by United Business Investments for the sale of an ABCO Transmission franchise to Roland J. DeRussy." The purchase, the suit further claims, was subject to site approval by the new franchise buyer. That approval never came, it says. The buyer asked for a refund and the suit claims Big Sky returned the purchase price, and then requested UBI return the commission. William Pclley, manager of Salt Lake UBI office, said he was not aware of the action. He commented, however, the transaction was closed and Big Sky never opened the franchise for the guy." Theron T. Beck, owner of Big Sky, could not be reached for comment. ve Hence the rationale behind SB 69 and the federal grant. Buffmire was appointed to the post of Assistant Attorney General in charge of antitrust enforcement early last December. He picked up his antitrust spurs with the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. where he was an attorney with that body's Bureau of Competition for two years. He received his law degree from the University of Utah in 1973. He also holds a Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Let us help with that very particular Valentines gift. Wed love to have you come in, but if your schedule gets tight, just call 328-8- 1 31 and ask for Cathy, Helen or Lila. Well deliver a beautifully wrapped gift of Chloe to your office at no charge. Items in stock include Parfum from $40 - $120; eau de Toilettes from $14 - $30; beautiful bath luxuries from $1 0 - $1 5. ft local authorities." The new measure is aimed at practices which include price fixing, group boycotts, bid rigging, and the allocation of markets and customers. Until now, the state had two options. The first was to prosecute under the 1896 statute. According to Buffmire, however, this has not been a comThere were mon problem. just too many problems with the old law to successfully prosecute offenses." wiifcSs. I o Only civil suit The other alternative was to sue the violators in federal court using federal statues. This is done with the parens patriae doctrine, which is similar to a class action suit brought by the state. But 1) sued for commission Big Sky, Inc., the Salt Lake based franchiser of ABCO Transmission, is suing United a $4,300 Tri Arc, however, that must be acted upon first. (See re- Building No. 2, Suite 250, Arrow Press Square, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101, Telephone (801) Professional Women's Employment Placement 532-669- 9 |