Rudnitsky notes that on-notice properties will be given an opportunity to clean up their acts before their flags are pulled. "We hope our franchisees are going to get this letter and say 'Cendant, what do we have to do to fix what's wrong?'" If the parties can arrive at a "mutually acceptable action plan," Cendant will leave the brand in place. If not, "we'll ask them to take their signs down." If the hotel in question fails to comply, Cendant will take action to see that the signage is removed "within the legal requirements."

Irwin Prince, president and COO of Realstar Hotel Services Corp., Canada's master franchisor for Cendant's Days Inn brand, is another supporter of the hotel group's new tough-love approach. "I'm a big fan of it," he tells GlobeSt.com. "This is almost like a parent giving children castor oil. They may not like it but you know it's good for them."

Prince notes that as a smaller-scale "mirror image" of Cendant's hotel group, Realstar has experience with telling property owners to shape up or ship out. "When you ask hotels to fix up and tell them that there's a consequence, they'll either fix things or exit," he states. Typical deficiencies, according to Prince, can involve anything from capital issues to poor guest service skills or "tired old interior design that just isn't keeping up with today's standards."

In another effort at improving its balance sheet, Cendant yesterday pink-slipped 75 hotel group employees and will leave another 55 vacant positions unfilled. But company officials tell GlobeSt.com that Cendant is "making a proactive effort to identify jobs and give preference to internal candidates" in order to minimize the impact of the cuts.

Cendant hotel group's worldwide franchises total 6,606 properties. Brands in addition to Days Inn and Ramada include Super 8, Travelodge, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Villager, Wingate Inn and AmeriHost Inn. All hotels are individually owned and operated under franchise agreements with Cendant subsidiaries.