The 2013 fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people and wounded another 226 in West, Texas, should never have occurred, the chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board said Tuesday. Though the board's report says that at least 14 people were killed, the death toll was updated to 15 people in the days after the blast. The board's investigation, released a few days after the first anniversary of the explosion, indicates the incident was preventable, Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso said.
It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, and operates in 52 countries with more than 400 hotels, usually located in city centers, resorts, coastal towns or near major airports.
On July 21, 2008, Wyndham Hotel Group purchased US Franchise Systems, Inc., owner of the Microtel Inns & Suites and Hawthorn Suites brands, from Global Hyatt. US Franchise Systems had previously sold the America's Best Inn (formerly Best Inns) chain to the Country Hearth Inns chain in 2005. That holding company is now known as America's Best Franchising Inc. A prototype Microtel Inns and Suites located in Jacksonville, Florida. As of 2012, Microtel's logo has changed to match the logo style of Wingate, and Hawthorn Suites, both owned by Wyndham Hotel Group.