Choice Hotels International, Inc., one of the world’s largest and most successful lodging franchisors, celebrated another year of development success across key brands and multiple segments in 2024. Choice achieved remarkable milestones over the course of the year that underscore its position as a leader in the hospitality industry and its strong potential for continued growth in 2025 and beyond.
“Choice Hotels ran through the finish line in 2024, and we’re determined to build on that strong momentum in the coming year,” said Choice Hotels International President and CEO Patrick Pacious. “Our unique revenue-intense growth strategy and unyielding focus on driving our owners’ revenue up and their costs down will continue to power the future for Choice and our hotel owners — and that future is bright.”
Leading from the Front in Extended Stay
In the fast-growing extended stay segment, Choice matched its previous annual record with a total of 61 hotel openings, highlighted by the grand opening of its 500th extended stay property in October. That growth included the opening of 25 WoodSpring Suites and six Everhome Suites hotels — both records for the respective new-construction brands — as well as 16 MainStay Suites and 14 Suburban Studios properties. WoodSpring, which was named the #1 economy extended stay brand by the J.D. Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study for a second year in a row, accounted for 70% of all new hotels under construction and 65% of all 2024 ground breaks in the segment, as of November.
The One to Watch in Upscale
In the upscale segment, where Choice has become the industry’s one to watch, the company opened 27 new hotels, including 18 Ascend Hotel Collection properties, an 80% year-over-year increase for the brand, as well as seven Cambria Hotels and a pair of new Radisson properties. The new upscale hotels include The Quincy, Ascend Hotel Collection, in Washington, D.C., the Cambria Hotel Niagara Falls in New York, and the Radisson Fairview Heights – St. Louis in Illinois. In its first full year since Choice’s integration of the Radisson Americas brands in 2023, the upscale Radisson brand saw a nearly 7.5% year-over-year increase in RevPAR, paving the way for continued growth.
Continuing the Momentum in Midscale and More
In midscale, where Choice has long been a leader, the company opened 41 Quality Inn hotels in a year where the brand celebrated its 85-year anniversary. Choice also drove strong development growth across its upper midscale portfolio, with 26 openings for its flagship Comfort brand and six for Country Inn & Suites by Radisson. Choice continued to boost the value proposition offered by Country Inn & Suites in 2024, driving a 19-point increase in RevPAR Index, a 20% increase in direct online contribution and a 10% increase in revenue from the Global Sales team, year-over-year.
Additional highlights from 2024 and early 2025 include:
- Relaunching Radisson Individuals as an upper upscale soft brand to complement the Ascend Hotel Collection and relaunching Radisson Blu and Radisson with new guestroom design packages. Earlier this month, the company unveiled new logos for all three brands.
- Introducing a proprietary “Lobby in a Box” modular design package that enables hoteliers to transform public spaces such as lobby dining areas into multi-functional, revenue-generating spaces in as little as 120 days for its Suburban Studios and MainStay Suites extended stay conversion brands. The innovative solution follows on the success of Choice’s exclusive “Kitchen in a Box” package.
- Opening 20 properties and awarding 37 franchise agreements — both all-time highs — under its Supporting Ownership Access and Representation (SOAR) program, which aims to attract, mentor and support entrepreneurs from historically underrepresented groups on their path to hotel ownership.
Capitalizing on Conversions
Choice is poised for continued growth in 2025 as it capitalizes on its world-class conversion capability, which enables the company to quickly move properties through its development pipeline, providing tremendous value to new or existing owners in any market conditions.
“Industry projections show that hotel demand growth will continue to outpace supply growth this year and in 2026,” explained Dominic Dragisich, Executive Vice President for Operations and Chief Global Brand Officer at Choice Hotels International. “That’s the type of environment in which our unrivaled hotel conversion capability really shines. Our ability to efficiently convert existing hotels into Choice-branded properties is a core competency that will continue to help fuel the growth of our global portfolio in 2025 and beyond.”
