Choice Hotels International Executives Address Delegates at Prestigious Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) (United States)
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Choice Hotels International Executives Address Delegates at Prestigious Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) (United States)
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Category: North America & West Indies / Carribean islands - United States - Industry economy
- Trends / Expert's advice
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2009-01-29
Choice Leaders Share Expertise and Insight On Franchising And The Extended Stay and Upscale Select Service Segments
Three executives from Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) today addressed attendees at the annual Americas Lodging Investment Summit, the hospitality industry's premier investment conference, held this year in San Diego, California. Choice executives speaking at this event included David Pepper, president, upscale and extended stay brands and senior vice president, franchise development; William Edmundson, president, Cambria Suites; and Kevin Lewis, president, extended stay brands.
David Pepper, who oversees Choice's domestic franchise development efforts and its emerging market brands, shared his perspectives in the Brands & Owners panel. He is responsible for the company's franchise sales efforts and for the strategic oversight of Choice's newest brands, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites and Suburban Extended Stay Hotel.
"Choice franchises ten brands that are designed to meet all stages of a hotel's lifecycle and we are keenly focused on our owners' profitability and return on investment," noted Pepper. "With a well-segmented family of value-oriented brands, strong central reservations system, and growing global loyalty program, we are well-positioned to deliver brand equity to our properties. Additionally, in this current downturn, we have seen great interest in our Ascend Collection program, which offers independent historic, boutique and unique hotels the ability to leverage our robust reservations and distribution system while retaining their local identity and individuality."
William Edmundson, who directs upscale, all-suites, contemporary Cambria Suites brand from Choice Hotels, was a part of the Select Service Segment panel. He highlighted the brand's attributes that have led it to receive rave traveler reviews, including its proactive service culture, stylish design, use of the latest in technology, and a wealth of amenities such as a casual dining and gathering area, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and a 24-7 convenience store. The Cambria Suites brand has ranked as the first, second or third best hotel among TripAdvisor ratings in every market nationwide that has a Cambria Suites hotel.
"Our brand is being warmly embraced by travelers that want a full-service hotel experience at a cutting-edge, new and inviting hotel that offers those services they need - such as a fitness center like they work out in at home - at a reasonable price point," said Edmundson. "Level of interest from developers in the Cambria Suites brand remains very strong, and we are extremely confident in our future growth prospects, which is further enhanced by consumer acceptance of the brand."
Kevin Lewis was a member of The Extended Stay segment panel. Lewis is responsible for the strategic direction of the company's extended stay brands, MainStay Suites and Suburban Extended Stay Hotel. He also currently serves as Chair of the Extended Stay Council of the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
"The extended stay segment remains one of the best options for domestic hotel developers, with so many markets having little or no extended stay hotels," noted Lewis. "The segment has historically performed better than transient hotels in a down market. Additionally, we are working diligently to drive profitability for our franchisees by controlling costs for our hotels under construction and our open and operating MainStay Suites and Suburban Extended Stay Hotel properties."
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