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Choice Hotels (CHH) Expands Brand Presence in South Carolina

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Choice Hotels International, Inc. (CHH - Free Report) continues to expand through franchise agreements. To this end, the company recently announced the opening of Cambria Hotel Fort Mill — an upscale brand under its Cambria brand.

Notably, this four-story, 127-roomed property is the company’s third hotel under the Cambria brand in South Carolina. It is situated just a few miles from the state line of Charlotte, NC. The hotel was developed by Weinstein Development Company and FHF Hotel, LLC.

Choice Hotels is confident about the success of this new property as it offers easy access to the nearby business corridors of Charlotte, NC and Rock Hill, SC. Additionally, it is in close proximity to the city’s attractions like Cedar Fair's Carowinds amusement park, antique shops and restaurants.

Several well-known corporations like LPL Financial, AmerisourceBergen, Shutterfly, Schaeffler Group are also located at a distance of few mins from Cambria Hotel Fort Mill.

Strategic Expansion to Drive Growth

Alongside domestic growth, the company continues to expand its international footprint in new countries. Key international operating markets include Spain, Colombia, Panama, the Caribbean and Canada.

Recently, Choice Hotels also announced the opening of Cambria Hotel Milwaukee Downtown, under its Cambria brand. Notably, the four-story, 132-roomed hotel is the third location in Wisconsin and the first in the city. Notably, the hotel will be managed by Concord Hospitality.

Moreover, Choice Hotels strengthened its presence with the launch of Clarion Pointe. Expansion of the brand is expected through 21 Clarion Pointe franchise agreements.

Last year, the company announced an alliance with Sercotel — a leading hotel operator and franchisor based in Spain. This alliance will enable the extension of Choice Hotels’ global footprint in Spain and other markets as well as the creation of opportunities for additional hotel development across Europe and Latin America.

Notably, the Cambria brand has been doing solid business. In second-quarter 2019, Cambria's RevPAR increased 2.2%, which outpaced the industry and the upscale chain scale by 110 and 260 basis points, respectively. Also, Cambria’s pipeline expanded to 82 hotels in the same period. The addition of these hotels will increase its upscale room count by 11,000.

The year 2019 is turning out to be an exceptional one for Cambria and the brand has already opened six hotels. It intends to open seven more hotels, with over 1,100 rooms in top-tier markets before the year-end. Choice Hotels will be soon opening its new properties in Anaheim and South Boston.

Backed by solid expansion strategies and a strong brand presence, shares of Choice Hotels have gained 30% so far this year, comparing favorably with the industry’s 20.5% rally. That said, the hotel opening will drive revenues. The company’s revenues have improved over the past few quarters. In second-quarter 2019, total revenues came in at $317.7 million, up 8% from the year-ago quarter and outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $303 million by 4.8%.

 

Zacks Rank

Choice Hotels, which shares space with Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H - Free Report) , Huazhu Group Limited (HTHT - Free Report) and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT - Free Report) in the Zacks Hotels and Motels industry, carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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