Choice Hotels Expands Marketing Alliance with Outrigger Enterprises Group with Ten More Hawaii Hotels Joining the Choice Family

SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Worldwide lodging franchisor Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH) and leading hospitality services company Outrigger Enterprises Group today announced an expansion of their alliance in which ten additional Outrigger-managed and/or affiliated properties representing over 1,700 rooms will be added to its existing relationship, which currently includes six properties representing over 3,000 rooms. The ten properties that have been added through this expansion are located on Kauai, Maui, Oahu and Hawaii (Big Island). All sixteen properties are members of Choice's upscale Ascend Collection, an elite network of historic, unique and boutique hotels across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. The announcement was made from the site of the America's Lodging Investment Summit in San Diego.

"These ten Outrigger hotels are a perfect example of the distinctive, high-caliber properties for which Ascend Collection was created," said Stacy Ragland, vice president, Ascend Collection, Choice Hotels International. "These ten new properties exemplify exactly the type of product travelers can expect from Ascend Collection at any of its member hotels across the country and internationally."

"We are very excited to add ten more properties to Choice's Ascend Collection and harness the power of one of the lodging industry's most powerful central reservations systems," said Rob Solomon, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Outrigger Enterprises Group. "The first two years of this alliance have been beneficial for both companies, and I'm confident the future of this relationship will be just as bright."

The properties joining Ascend Collection through this expansion offer all elements of the perfect Hawaii escape, including some of the most spectacular beaches travelers will find anywhere, premier snorkeling through rainbows of tropical fish, world-class shopping, championship golf, fine dining, majestic cliffs, lush rainforests and golden Pacific sunsets. The new Ascend Collection members are:

• Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort, Kapa'a, Kauai
• Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation, Poipu, Kauai
• Outrigger Kanaloa at Kona, Kailua Kona, Big Island
• Outrigger Royal Sea Cliff, Kailua Kona, Big Island
• Outrigger Palms at Wailea, Kihei, Maui
• Outrigger Maui Eldorado, Kaanapali, Maui
• Outrigger Aina Nalu, Lahaina, Maui
• Outrigger Royal Kahana, Lahaina, Maui
• OHANA Waikiki Malia, Honolulu, Oahu
• OHANA Waikiki East, Honolulu, Oahu

These newly added member hotels join other Hawaii Ascend Collection properties in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii's Big Island (Keauhou Beach Resort) and Honolulu, Oahu (Hotel Luana Waikiki, Ala Moana Hotel, OHANA Waikiki West, OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber and OHANA Honolulu Airport Hotel).

"By adding ten more hotels in Hawaii, we're able to give our guests more opportunities to earn and redeem their Choice Privileges rewards points in one of the most desirable vacation destinations in the world," said Gregory Brown, vice president, loyalty and relationship marketing, Choice Hotels International. "We continue to step up and enhance our rewards program for our 9.5 million global members."

As guests at these new Outrigger affiliated Ascend Collection member hotels, travelers can enjoy the charms of smaller, independent hotels, while also earning loyalty points toward free nights through the Choice Privileges rewards program, plus reliable reservations through Choice's central reservations systems, including choicehotels.com and 800-4-CHOICE.

For more information on Choice Hotels and its Ascend Collection hotel membership program, please visit choicehotels.com.

About Outrigger Enterprises Group

Outrigger Enterprises Group is one of the largest and fastest growing privately-held leisure lodging and hospitality companies in the Asia Pacific and Oceania regions and continues to expand its presence throughout the area. A family-owned company with more than 60 years of hospitality experience, Outrigger runs a highly-successful, multi-branded line of hotels, condominiums and vacation resort properties, including Outrigger® Hotels & Resorts, OHANA® Hotels & Resorts, Outrigger Condominium Collection®, Embassy Suites, Best Western®, Courtyard®, and Wyndham Vacation Ownership®. Currently, Outrigger operates and/or has under development nearly 50 properties with close to 12,000 rooms located in Hawaii, Australia, Guam, Fiji, Bali, Phuket, Thailand, and Hainan, China. Outrigger Enterprises Group also operates and develops hotel properties and hospitality-related retail and real estate opportunities for partners in Hawaii, the Pacific, the mainland USA and Asia. For on-line information, log on at www.outriggerenterprisesgroup.com and www.outrigger.com.

About Ascend Collection

Ascend Collection made its debut the end of 2008 and now has more than 30 hotels throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Members include The GEM Hotels with three properties in New York City; Inn of Chicago, one-half block from The Magnificent Mile; O'Brien Historic Hotel, one block from the lively San Antonio River Walk in Texas; the historic Hotel Bothwell, Sedalia, Mo.; Porto Vista Hotel & Suites in the historic Little Italy neighborhood of downtown San Diego, Calif; and Le Consulat, within walking distance from Condado Beach, San Juan, Puerto. For more information on this network of Historic, Unique and Boutique hotels, visit www.ascendcollection.com.

About Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels International, Inc. franchises more than 6,000 hotels, representing more than 485,000 rooms in the United States and more than 35 other countries and territories. As of September 30, 2009, more than 700 hotels are under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in the United States, representing more than 59,000 rooms, and more than 100 hotels, representing approximately 9,400 rooms, are under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in more than 20 other countries and territories. The company's Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands serve guests worldwide. In addition, via its Ascend Collection membership program, travelers in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean have upscale lodging options at historic, boutique and unique hotels.

Additional corporate information may be found on the Choice Hotels International, Inc. Web site, which may be accessed at www.choicehotels.com.

Choice Hotels, Choice Hotels International, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn and Ascend Collection are proprietary trademarks and service marks of Choice Hotels International.

© 2010 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Choice Hotels International, Inc.