Choice relaunching brand in ‘premium value’ space

LAS VEGAS — Choice Hotels International is relaunching Park Inn by Radisson as a conversion “premium value,” which it considers a space between economy and midscale that represents a strong growth opportunity. The announcement was made during the company’s 68th annual convention in Las Vegas.

Park Inn by Radisson currently has three locations: one in Salt Lake City, Utah; San Jose, Costa Rica; and Santos, Brazil. Choice said it has awarded its first contract for a conversion hotel in San Antonio, Texas.

“Interest in joining the brand is very high. We believe there is meaningful runway for this brand, with the potential to expand domestically in the next several years,” said Tom Nee, senior vice president of foundation development for Choice Hotels.

The Park Inn by Radisson has three locations in North and South America.

Choice brands

Park Inn by Radisson is one of 22 Choice brands, ranging from full-service upper upscale to midscale, extended-stay and economy. That number has grown significantly from its 12 brands in 2019 (some via M&A and others through new brand launches). Twenty of the 22 can also be conversion brands (the company had 135 conversion openings last year).

Choice CEO Patrick Pacious said the company has restructured following its acquisition of Radisson Hotels Americas in 2022. This includes elevating Dom Dragisich, the company’s CFO for the past seven years, into the new role of executive vice president of operations and chief global brand officer. The company is now organized internally around three segments: core brand, upscale and extended-stay.

“When you’ve gone through a transformational acquisition like we have, it required a new organizational structure to get closer to the customer. That was the whole purpose of it,” Pacious said during a corporate roundtable on Wednesday. “It’s allowing our teams to interact more closely with the extended-stay owners or the upscale owners... and the growth opportunity.”

Premium value

Dragisich said the company’s push into the “premium value” space with the Park Inn by Radisson (underneath its Quality Inn brand) came from looking for opportunities.

Dom Dragisich

“We looked at the portfolio, and we said there is an untapped market in that core segment,” he said. “We’re optimistic and the buzz around here [from franchisees] is certainly extremely encouraging in terms of the growth prospects… We feel great about that brand.”

Chief Development Officer David Pepper said the new brand represents an opportunity for hotels in the economy and midscale space. “Investors have told us [they] see a real opportunity… That’s going to be a big opportunity for us going forward,” he said.

Choice growth since 2019

At the conference’s opening on Tuesday, Pacious highlighted the other ways Choice has grown over the past five years, including direct online revenue increasing 23%, RevPAR up 14% and revenue per property up 13%. The company’s loyalty program has grown from 40 million in 2019 to 65 million now (with a 9% organic increase in the first quarter of 2024).

Pacious also noted how Choice has grown in 2023, including “Likelihood to Recommend” scores increasing on average by 13 points across all brands. Choice has driven nearly $100 million in incremental gross room revenue since the Radisson Americas sales teams were integrated in October 2022. It is also redesigning its digital platforms, which will launch later this year.

We’re in upper upscale and we’re a major player, and we’re the leader, from a growth perspective, in extended-stay. Those things weren’t true five years ago.

Patrick Pacious

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“We have a wide array of brand offerings,” Pacious said. “We’re in upper upscale and we’re a major player, and we’re the leader, from a growth perspective, in extended-stay. Those things weren’t true five years ago.”

Pacious said the company’s marketing effort, led by Chief Marketing Officer Noha Abdalla, has also hit another gear (which is why the company’s theme this year's conference was “Next Level”).

“You can also look at our guests’ profile, and when you look at the younger traveler, the business traveler and the upscale traveler, we have more of those in our customer reach today than we did back in 2019,” he said. “A lot of the partnerships and relationships that we have developed are a result of this expansion.”

The Radisson acquisition has also doubled the company’s international offerings. Pacious noted that, for the first time, a Latin American brand session will be conducted in Spanish because that’s the primary language for 90% of the company’s franchisees in that region.

“Choice continues to be an international business, and we see a lot of growth coming our way in the future,” he said. 

Choice will have its first quarter earnings call next week on May 8, which will be its first since the company withdrew its attempt at a hostile takeover of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.