Choice Hotels International Opens 46 New Hotels in Q1 2012

SILVER SPRING, Md., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world's largest lodging franchisors, continues to grow its system size with the announcement of 46 newly-opened franchised properties during the first quarter of 2012. Additionally, the company has executed a total of 64 new domestic contracts within the first quarter of 2012, a 14 percent increase over the same period last year.

The openings include hotels in 23 states and six additional countries including Australia, Brazil, France, Honduras, Italy and Norway, adding more than 3,800 rooms to the company's existing 495,000-plus rooms. The company previously opened a total of 256 new hotels throughout 2011.

"Despite the challenging economic climate, we've continued to be able to grow our system size and meet our development goals," said David Pepper, senior vice president of global development for Choice Hotels. "Financing is slowly returning across the industry and transactions are starting to pick up as our development pipeline continues to grow."

Select properties that opened during this year's first quarter include:

Cadillac Jack's Gaming Resort, an Ascend Collection hotel – Deadwood, S.D.

The Cadillac Jack's Gaming Resort is the first casino member hotel within Ascend Collection—the upscale membership program from Choice Hotels featuring historic, boutique, and unique hotels that offer guests a personalized experience with local flair. The 103-room, full-service hotel is located in the heart of historic Deadwood. With an award-winning casino and the Black Hills as its backdrop, Cadillac Jack's invites guests to hit the slopes in the winter, the trails in the summer and the gaming tables year-round. The hotel occupies a charming, redbrick building on historic Main Street with a full-service restaurant, state-of-the-art fitness center, indoor pool with hotel tub and steam room, business center, and banquet and meeting space accommodating up to 300 guests. Guests of the hotel can choose from standard rooms and one- and two-bedroom suites with ample space for groups. All rooms are plush will pillow-top mattresses, high-definition flat screen TVs and free Wi-Fi. Some rooms also have fireplaces and separate living rooms with sofa beds, hot tubs, and wet bars.

Sleep Inn – Haysville, Kans.

This new Sleep Inn hotel is one of the brand's "Designed to Dream" properties, meaning that it proudly features the brand's entirely new refreshed look and feel. The new design works to provide guests with a simply stylish and reliable stay experience that leaves them feeling well rested. Among some of the hotel's design highlights are a new lobby design with warm, natural finishes, unique lighting features, and graphic accent walls. Also featured are redesigned guestrooms with accent walls, new media boards with flat screen TVs, sleek new furniture lines, striking zebra-patterned wood finishes, innovative bedding coverlets plus bedscarfs, and eye-catching collages of black and white photography. The hotel also boasts spa-like baths featuring chic freestanding vanities, modern wall sconces, accent walls, frameless glass showers, and bamboo-like tiles.

Quality Hotel Convention Center – Marilia, Brazil

The Quality Hotel Convention Center property is the latest to join the company's portfolio of 60 hotels in Brazil. It is located in the heart of Marilia and features several amenities such as free continental breakfast, a seasonal outdoor pool, sauna, exercise room, free airport shuttle, business center, and banquet and meeting rooms that can accommodate most functions. In addition, the hotel offers a game room with billiards and table tennis, indoor parking, afternoon tea service, and lit outdoor tennis and volleyball courts, Guestrooms have high-speed Internet access, spacious work areas, cable television and hair dryers. The hotel is also pet-friendly.

In addition to these franchised hotels, the first quarter of 2012 also introduced:

• Eight new Comfort Inn and Comfort Inn & Suites brand hotels in Gunnedah, Australia; Kissimmee, Fla.; Weirton, W.Va.; Dover, Del.; Lawrence, Kans.; Oak Grove, Ky.; Edgewood, Md.; and Niles, Mich.
• 11 new Quality Inn, Quality Inn & Suites, and Quality Suites brand hotels in Roncadelle, Italy; Oslo, Norway; Mystic, Conn.; Portland, Ore.; Dunmore, Penn.; Williamsburg, Va.; San Ysidro, Calif.; Escondido, Calif.; Davenport, Fla.; Woodland, Wash.; and Saint Antoine, France.
• One additional new Sleep Inn brand hotel in Center, Texas.
• Four new Clarion Hotel, Clarion Suites, and Clarion Collection brand properties in Loano, Italy; Jackson, Miss.; Columbus, Ind.; and Roatan, Honduras.
• The Cambria Suites brand recently announced plans for a new property in Miami, Fla.
• Two new extended stay properties—a MainStay Suites hotel in Bismarck, N.D. and a Suburban Extended Stay Hotel property in Worcester, Mass.
• Ten new Econo Lodge brand hotels in Fairfield, Calif.; Daytona Beach, Fla.; Clearwater, Fla.; Lavale, Md.; New Ulm, Minn.; Buckeye Lake, Ohio; Lincoln City, Ore.; York, Penn.; Glade Spring, Va.; and Fife, Wash.
• Seven new Rodeway Inn and Rodeway Inn & Suites brand hotels in Apopka, Fla.; Auburn Hills, Mich.; Lincoln, Neb.; Smyrna, Ga.; Richland, Miss.; Bend, Ore.; and San Antonio, Texas.

About Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels International, Inc. franchises more than 6,100 hotels, representing more than 495,000 rooms, in the United States and more than 30 other countries and territories. As of March 31, 2012, more than 350 hotels were under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in the United States, representing more than 30,000 rooms, and approximately 80 hotels, representing approximately 7,000 rooms, were under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in approximately 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.

 

(c) 2012 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Choice Hotels International, Inc.