Choice Hotels International, one of the world’s largest lodging franchisors, kicked off its 68th annual convention in Las Vegas yesterday, highlighting the company’s strong competitive position and its plans to help owners and operators capitalize on the growing demand for leisure and business travel. With over 6,600 registrants, including more than 1,100 exhibitors, the three-day conference is one of Choice’s largest ever. It will feature more than 100 educational and brand sessions, a trade show and more, all designed to help owners and operators effectively harness the Choice franchisee success system and take advantage of the latest travel trends.
Choice Hotels President and CEO Patrick Pacious opened the three-day event, telling Choice franchisees, “Together, we have achieved a new level of success and positioned our brands to capture even more of the growing demand for travel in the coming years.”
“Choice is a leader in technology and innovation, brand creation, brand renewal and franchisee retention,” Pacious added. “And when we look to the future, we see a portfolio of brands that are getting stronger together: By investing in Upscale, we have become the challenger brands to watch. By being good stewards of our core brands, we are driving our Midscale performance. And by innovating from the front, we will continue our leadership position in Extended Stay.”
Pacious highlighted how Choice is a different company today with a stronger system for all. In the last five years, direct online revenue grew by 23% and revenue per property increased 13% during the same time period. Additionally, the number of Choice Privileges members grew from 40 million to 65 million (as of end of Q1 2024). He also highlighted Choice’s accelerating growth in 2023, including:
- Increasing Likelihood to Recommend scores on average by 13 points across all brands
- Deploying its best-in-class conversion capabilities to execute 135 conversion openings
- Harnessing the integration of Radisson Hotels Americas to improve digital traffic and bookings and lower OTA fees for hotels in its system
- Signing an agreement with AAA to be the first new Preferred Hotel Supplier in a decade
Choice is making strategic investments for its future to increase revenue for hotel owners and operators. The company has a world-class Global Group Sales team that, in the 12 months following the integration of the Radisson Americas global sales team in October 2022, drove nearly $100 million in incremental Gross Room Revenue for hotels across the Choice system. It’s also transforming its Choice Privileges rewards program, from transactional to experiential, to build an emotional connection between guests and its brands. This includes a new agreement to sponsor Trackhouse Racing for the 2024 NASCAR Cup season and offer exclusive access to members. Additionally, the company is investing in refreshing its digital platforms, unveiling a new look for ChoiceHotels.com later this year that’s tailored to highlight each brand and feature richer imagery and content.
“We are focused on being a long-term value-creator for all of you – the owners of Choice-branded hotels. When I look at how far we’ve progressed together, I’ve never been more optimistic about the future,” said Pacious.
