Bob McKinnon named to lead Western Division sales for Century 21 Real Estate Corp

Business Wire, Jan 10, 1996

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 1996--Bob McKinnon, a well-known educator and executive in California residential real estate for more than 20 years, has returned to the state to assume leadership of sales activities for the 13-state Century 21 Real Estate Corp., West Division.

McKinnon, one of four divisional presidents, will be based in Santa Ana.

McKinnon's assignment to this position from a two-year post as president and general manager of Century 21 Real Estate's South Central States Division in Dallas comes at a time when the entire 6000-office Century 21 Real Estate system is undergoing a restructuring by Bob Pittman, best known as the creator of MTV and a past Time Warner executive, and Century 21 Real Estate parent Hospitality Franchise Services of Parsippany, N.J.

``The CENTURY 21 name, from a series of independent studies we've conducted over the years, continues to rank as one of the leading consumer brands in America,'' explained McKinnon.

``So just as consumers choose a brand name of a product for its reliability and service, so too will they choose a real estate company that is recognizable, trustworthy, smart, and offers them one-stop shopping for everything they need, right in their neighborhood.''

McKinnon's progressive career began in 1971 when he received his real estate license and began practicing in Bakersfield, Calif. Three years later, McKinnon served as founding president of a chain of independent real estate offices in the Bakersfield area known as the Real Estate 7.

It was during this time, that McKinnon created a program entitled ``How to Sell Like the Masters'' which was used extensively in the marketplace for years. McKinnon's expertise in sales took him to the Century 21 Real Estate in 1978, first in a broker services capacity and then as regional director for CENTURY 21 sales activities in Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and northern Los Angeles counties.

Prior to leaving for Texas two years ago, McKinnon worked for CENTURY 21 International as vice president of the Performance Division, which oversees innovative training and development programs for sales agents throughout the system.

Specific among McKinnon's achievements was the integration of Operation Orbit, an advanced real estate office management training course that is proprietary to the CENTURY 21 system, and implementation of the 21 Plus training program, a revolutionary new consultative approach to real estate sales.

``The Century 21 system will grow with senior executives like Bob who've learned the real estate business from the ground up and are not afraid to take a new look at the way real estate properties are marketed,'' stated Pittman. ``We are pleased to have him running the West Division, an important bellwether area for us.''

A foremost trainer and educator who has successfully negotiated several up and down cycles in two volatile markets -- California and Texas -- McKinnon is enthusiastic about the new direction of the company under Pittman's leadership.

``We have once again focused our attention to giving our brokers the tools they need to support a national brand like CENTURY 21 and then take that product to the buyers and sellers.'' said McKinnon. ``To do this, we've taken our best people, at all levels in the company, and put them next to our customers to provide the finest services and results.''

The Western Division that McKinnon will oversee includes all 13 states west of the eastern border of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, which encompasses 984 offices and more than 30,000 independent sales agents.

The CENTURY 21 system, a division of HFS Inc., has a presence in 16 countries and territories, including approximately 6,000 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices worldwide. HFS is the world's largest franchisor of hotels and residential real estate brokerage offices. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ``HFS.''

In lodging, HFS has approximately 4,500 Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Park Inn International, Ramada, Super 8 and Villager Lodge franchised hotels with approximately 435,000 rooms in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe. -0-

EDITOR'S NOTE: Photos available upon request.

CONTACT: The Leavitt/Bell Group

Russell Bell, 818/564-9500