Mike Muir
Senior Vice President, Franchise Sales & Development

Our Microtel and Hawthorn Sales Team is divided into two regions: the eastern and western U.S.

Mike Muir has been Senior Vice President of Franchise Sales & Development since February 2000. He was formerly Vice President of Franchise Sales & Development since Oct. 2, 1995, and one of the founders of USFS. Mike heads up all franchise sales operations for the company's brands for the western half of the U.S. and has spearheaded their growth and development.

Muir came to USFS from Holiday Inn Worldwide, where he was the Director of Franchise Sales and Development for Holiday Inn brands from 1991 to1995. He handled franchise sales and development in California, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and Western Canada, and was consistently the top franchise sales producer, opening more than 150 hotels over a four and a half-year period.

From 1988 to 1991, Muir was with Days Inns of America as Regional Director of Franchise Sales and Development, where he began working with Mike Leven, USFS' founder.

Muir is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he was named to 'Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities' and was Vice President of the student body. A native of North Bergen, NJ, he resides in Atlanta with his wife, Jill, and two children.

Tim Muir
Senior Vice President, Franchise Sales & Development

Tim Muir has been Senior Vice President of Franchise Sales & Development since February 2000. He was formerly Vice President of Franchise Sales & Development since Oct. 2, 1995, and one of the founders of USFS. Muir heads up all franchise sales operations for the company's brands for the eastern half of the U.S. and has spearheaded their growth and development.

Muir came to USFS in 1995 from Holiday Inn Worldwide, where he was Vice President of Franchise Sales, responsible for managing Holiday Inn Worldwide Franchise Sales and Development offices in Chicago, Denver, Portland, Dallas, Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Western Canada.

Muir also worked for Mike Leven, founder of USFS, in operations and selling franchises since May 1987 at Days Inn and Holiday Inn Worldwide. He has personally sold over 300 franchises and closed another 1,000 franchises during his 12-year career.

A native of North Bergen, NJ, Muir is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas College of Hotel Administration, and has studied at the Ecole Hoteliere Lausanne, Switzerland. He currently resides in Atlanta.

Neil Morris
Vice President of Franchise Services & Operations
Microtel Inns & Suites

Neil Morris is Vice President of Franchise Services & Operations for the Microtel Inns & Suites hotel brand with Atlanta-based US Franchise Systems, Inc. (USFS). He is a Certified Hospitality Trainer (CHT) and also received the designation of Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) from the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute. Morris oversees the brand's Franchise Services department - the one-stop-shop for franchisees - and the Field Operation department, whose staff travels nationwide to provide hundreds of hotels with on-site assistance.

With more than 20 years of experience in hotel operations and sales, Morris began his career as a busboy, quickly moving through the ranks to Food & Beverage Manager at the Days Inn in Bath, NY. Before joining USFS in 1999, he worked with such brands as Fairfield by Marriott, Comfort Inns and Hampton Inns. He was also General Manager for the Microtel Inn Allentown, PA and Opening General Manager for the Microtel Inn Greenville, SC.

Morris is a member of the Counsel of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) and holds a degree in hotel management from Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaiguia, NY. He was twice chosen for USFS' "Outstanding Service Provider" by his peers and received Hudson Hotels' "Presidents Award for Hotel Operations Excellence."

David Kemp
Vice President and Brand Manager
Hawthorn Suites

David Kemp heads up the Hawthorn Suites brand. Formerly, he led USFS' frequency marketing programs and national group and tour sales team that produced more than $4 million in sales annually.

Kemp joined USFS in 1989 to develop and implement a national sales strategy and structure for the company's hotel brands. He put in place national sales teams focused on corporate, government and travel agency markets, group and tour sales, as well as hotel sales support.

Before joining USFS, Kemp served seven years with Cendant Corporation as Director of Regional Sales and Director of Corporate Sales representing the Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Park Inns and Ramada brands. He also spent 11 years with Days Inns of America in sales and marketing positions including Director of Intermediary Market Development.

Kemp has served on the National Business Travel Association's Allied Council as Domestic Hotel Representative and on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Business Travel Association. He is an active member of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA), and is past Vice President for the Society of Government Meeting Planners.

A native of Rome, Ga., he received his bachelor's degree in marketing from Shorter College in Rome, and his MBA degree in marketing from Mercer University in Atlanta.

Benny Stephens
Vice President, Design & Construction

James (Benny) Stephens oversees all aspects of design and construction for USFS and its Microtel and Hawthorn brands. Since joining the Company in 1997, he has worked with hundreds of franchisees, architects and contractors to guide them from development through the planning and construction phase to opening.

Stephens and his team pride themselves in their ability to refine prototype documents in order to control product consistency, efficiency, quality and construction and operating costs. They continually work to improve standards to comply with ever-changing national codes, including the IBC (International Building Code), along with refining the utility structures, materials, systems and technology to provide energy efficient and cost-effective projects built in reasonable time periods.

Stephens has an illustrious 38-year career and a portfolio with myriad hotel projects in the U.S. and abroad. Before joining USFS, he was Director of Mechanical Engineering at W.L. Thompson Consulting Engineers, an international design firm based in Atlanta, where he worked with such hotel chains as Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, Westin and Hyatt, and spearheaded a variety of project and program management services with owners and architectural firms. Stephens was also President of his own residential construction business, and served as Senior Partner and Vice President for the internationally known Britt Alderman Associates Consulting Engineers for 22 years.

Stephens is a native of Atlanta and attended Georgia Institute of Technology's mechanical engineering program. He lives in East Cobb with his wife, and has four children and three grandchildren. He is an avid runner and has participated in several marathons.

Debbie L. Campbell
Senior Vice President, Marketing and National Accounts

Debbie Campbell has overseen consumer and trade advertising, and franchise marketing for USFS since its inception. With extensive experience in marketing, customer relations and finance, she has also developed and executed major conferences and incentive meetings.

Before joining USFS, she was Vice President of Special Events for Hospitality Franchise Systems, the hotel industry's largest franchisor, planning five annual international franchise conferences, each with from 500 to 2000 attendees.

From 1982 to 1992, Campbell held various positions with Days Inns of America. They included Vice President of Guest Services, Director of Franchise Services, Manager of Franchise Marketing, Manager of Franchise Finance, Manager of Credit and Collections, and Internal Control Analyst.

A graduate of Emory University with a degree in marketing, Campbell holds an MBA in management from Georgia State University. She and her husband, Michael, and their two children reside in Atlanta.

Rachel C. Tyler
Vice President of National Sales

Hospitality industry veteran Rachel Tyler created and heads up the company's in-house national sales team for its Microtel Inns & Suites and Hawthorn Suites hotel brands. The department, divided into two groups - Group & Tour Sales and Business Travel Sales - provides franchisees with corporate and group accounts assistance, both nationwide and globally. Key areas of focus include transient and extended stay national accounts, government, travel agency, transportation and group/tour accounts.

Tyler has extensive property level operations and sales experience. With USFS for more than 10 years, she has directed field support, training, reservations and sales account management, marketing the brands at the regional and national levels, and building the company's participation in tradeshows, association, travel agent and industry events across the country.

She has also held positions with Executive Hotel Management of Farmington Hills, MI and with Days Inn Learning Center in Knoxville, TN and Atlanta, GA, where she worked for seven years as a training specialist, quality assurance representative and sales development supervisor of the reservations center. She served as sales manager of the Holiday Inn University Center in Knoxville, TN for two years.

Active in the community, Tyler started the Ronald McDonald House program at USFS, and places an emphasis on active participation in accessible issues. She holds a BA in Speech Communications from University of Tennessee at Knoxville and is currently in the Masters Program at UNLV for Hospitality Administration.