“Several years ago we began a multi-year, $2.5-billion transformation of the brand,” said Pat Pacious, president/CEO of Choice Hotels. “It started with a pretty bold decision by our company to exit more than 600 properties from the brand that were not up to the increased brand standards, and [we]then turned our focus on growing our new-construction pipeline. Then, along with owners, we focused on upgrading the guestrooms and the public spaces, and we capped it all off with a new logo, as well as new signage. It really underscores our commitment as a company to grow the right brands in the right segments and in the right markets in order to drive the returns for our owners and to drive the revenue intensity particularly of the Comfort Inn brand.”
Pacious pointed out that Choice was expecting to announce the new prototype at last year’s Hunter Conference, “but the unfolding pandemic required us at Choice to really pause on our launch plans as we turned our full focus to helping our current owners and operators really navigate this really challenging travel environment.”
The brand’s hallmarks are designed to balance two things: what’s going on in trends, but also those things that are timeless, according to Pacious, who added, “The design elements that we put into this brand I think have been done in a really smart way to provide flexibility both inside and outside the hotel in order to satisfy the guest and the owner preferences, no matter where the properties are located in multiple types of markets here in the United States, as well as around the world.”
The Comfort pipeline is growing with nearly 300 hotels, about 80% of which are new construction, noted David Pepper, chief development officer, Choice Hotels, who added, “We’re expanding on well-loved Comfort brand hallmarks to meet developer needs including maintaining Comfort’s low cost of building advantage over its competition with competitive costs per key; the ability to select from three design options across the exterior, public space and guestroom, so developers can customize to fit their needs in any given market; improved efficiency in functionality with a building footprint; and access to Choice’s best-in-class technology in innovative resources with this prototype.”
The first new-construction prototype hotels will open in 2023, with many to follow in 2024, according to Pepper.
The Rise & Shine design package comes in three color schemes, which “honor the diverse destinations guests love to experience when they stay at Comfort,” said Kade Wane, Choice’s director of architecture & design.