ROCKVILLE, Md.,?July 30, 2013?/PRNewswire/ –?Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world’s largest hotel companies, announced robust system growth with the addition of 113 domestic and international newly opened franchised properties during the second quarter of 2013. Additionally, the company has executed a total of 187 new domestic franchise agreements during the first six months of 2013, a 10-percent increase over the same period last year.
The second quarter of 2013 saw the opening of hotels under the new generation?Comfort Inn?and?Comfort Suites?new construction prototypes. These design concepts for the company’s largest and iconic brand were created in collaboration with Gensler, a leading design and strategy firm with world-renowned brand and hospitality practices. The overall aesthetic of the prototypes is contemporary while still maintaining the Comfort brand’s warm and inviting signature look and feel.
In?May 2013, the upscale?Ascend Collection?reached a milestone 100 properties. In total, the second quarter of 2013 welcomed the opening of 29 new?Ascend Collection?member hotels, including the newly constructed?Hotel Florence?in?South Carolina, the first Ascend member hotel inAustralia?and the addition of 20?Bluegreen Vacations?properties located in highly desirable destinations including?Orlando, Florida;?Savannah, Georgia;?Cape Cod, Massachusetts; and?New Orleans, Louisiana. Ascend Collection is made up of unique independent hotels and resort properties.
Choice Hotels International’s?emerging, all new-construction upscale brand,?Cambria Suites, continues to make great strides. During?May 2013,?Choice Hotels?reached an agreement in principle to create a joint venture with private investment firm?Fillmore Capital Partners, LLCand its affiliates to develop multiple Cambria Suites hotels. This marks the brand’s first institutional investor, underscoring the confidence developers have already expressed for the emerging brand’s potential. During the second quarter of 2013, the brand also celebrated groundbreaking events in?Plano, Texas?and?Fargo, North Dakota, propelling the portfolio to 30 hotels open or under development in 2013.
During the second quarter of 2013, openings included hotels in 38 U.S. states and 9 countries, including the first?Choice Hotels?branded property in?Panama. This development activity adds more than 8,000 guestrooms to the company’s existing rooms, which now stand at more than half a million. The?Choice Hotels International?portfolio of franchised hotels offers leisure and business travelers a full spectrum of options from economy to upscale hotels and resorts.
“It has been a very exciting quarter, especially with the landmark growth of Ascend Collection and its continued expansion into key travel destinations. We are also extremely pleased with the positive response we are experiencing with our Comfort refresh strategy for the company’s largest brand,” said?David Pepper, senior vice president of global development for?Choice Hotels International. “Choice Hotels?is fully committed to refreshing the Comfort brand through its investment of?$40 million?of incentive funds in the existing system of?Comfort Innand Comfort Suites hotels, as well as moving forward with a contemporary new look for new properties.”