see you there . type public traded as nyse chh industry lodging travel founded 1939 ; 77 years ago 1939 headquarters rockville maryland u.s. number of locations 6 372 area served world wide key people steve joyce president and ceo products comfort inn comfort suites quality inn sleep inn clarion cambria hotel & suites mainstay suites suburban extended stay hotel econo lodge rodeway inn ascend hotel collection revenue us 724 million 2013 net income us 112.6 million number of employees 1 300 employed in headquarters website choicehotels.com choice hotels international inc. is an american hospitality holding corporation based in rockville maryland in the united states . the company owns the hotel and motel brands comfort inn comfort suites quality inn sleep inn clarion cambria hotel & suites mainstay suites suburban extended stay econo lodge rodeway inn and ascend hotel collection . 1 the company manages 6 379 properties worldwide . there are 505 278 rooms with approximately 45.80 in revenue per room totaling 758 million in revenue as of april 2016 . 2 contents 1 history 1.1 founding and early years 1.2 growth and expansion 1.3 recent developments 2 headquarters relocation 3 notable hotels and partnerships 4 brands 5 loyalty programme 6 notes 7 external links history edit founding and early years edit the company was started in 1939 as quality courts a referral chain consisting of seven motel owners in the south . it published the names of all properties complying with its standards and referred guests to the member properties . in 1941 the group incorporated as quality courts united . later the motel chain operated under the name quality motels 1963 1971 and quality inns international since 1972 . quality courts united accepted franchise hotels without strict norms or guidelines from the company . this is different from holiday inn which from its beginning implemented numerous mandatory standards and guidelines e.g. room size and amenities at every one of its locations . also quality inn accepted franchisees with existing hotels . during its early years quality courts operations were entirely in areas of the united states east of the mississippi river and portions of canada . from 1946 to 1964 quality had a marketing partnership with best western whose properties were located mostly west of the mississippi river and thus not in direct competition with quality . it was abandoned in 1964 as best western expanded into the eastern u.s. with its best eastern operation which was replaced by a nationwide best western operation in 1967 . quality courts began its efforts toward national coverage in 1966 when it opened a motel in st. louis missouri and two in texas in houston and arlington . growth and expansion edit comfort hotel stockholm in stockholm sweden comfort suites built 2000 in laredo texas the clarion hotel in hamden connecticut comfort inn in concord new hampshire the company became quality international as the company switched to franchising in 1972 . a few years later the franchising well on its way about 300 hotels were independently owned and only about 38 were still company owned . in 1982 quality inns began segmentation by introducing comfort inns and quality royale . 3 comfort inn competes with such chains such as americinn hotels baymont inn & suites and fairfield inn by marriott ; quality royale was meant to compete with upper mid priced chains like red lion hotels and four points by sheraton . quality royale was converted to clarion hotels in 1987 citation needed . it represented a line of full service hotels that offer travelers a variety of hotel styles and locations from city centers to airports and resorts . clarion provides a full spectrum of services including full service restaurants lounges room service and banquet and conference centers . 3 clarion s boutique line clarion collection now ascend collection is an extension of the brand . ascend collection is designed for high end boutique and historic hotels that have an established local identity . two all suite divisions comfort suites and quality suites were introduced as the first mid market all suite chains . the original quality inn brand competes with holiday inn best western and ramada . many former holiday inns were refranchised as quality inns during the 1990s and 2000s . conversely quality eliminated more than half of its original locations . 3 in 1989 the company introduced mcsleep an economy brand utilizing a consistent interior corridor design prototype and all new construction designed by rob spurr . the name was soon changed to sleep inn after litigation from mcdonald s. 3 4 sleep inn and sleep inn and suites are low to mid priced . since then 320 locations have opened . all offer a morning medley deluxe continental breakfast swimming pools at most locations free local calls and a consistent exterior interior design . the brand received its first major facelift in history with its brand refresh a modernization of all properties by 2012 with new boutique inspired guest rooms and public spaces . in 1990 quality international changed its name to choice hotels international . the company bought three economy oriented chains friendship inns rodeway inn and econo lodge during the early 1990s . friendship inns founded in 1961 in salt lake city utah 3 was later absorbed into the rodeway and econo lodge chains . in 1997 the company introduced the extended stay mainstay suites brand and the guest privileges frequent guest loyalty program the name of which was later changed to choice privileges . mainstay suites was branded as mid priced extended stay hotels franchised by choice hotels international . recent developments edit quality inn built in 2009 beside a holiday inn in long island city new york sleep inn jfk airport built in 2010 in jamaica queens new york city in january 2005 choice hotels introduced a new upscale all suite hotel designed in contemporary style called cambria suites . the first cambria suites opened in boise idaho on april 17 2007 . approximately 20 cambria suites hotels were planned with locations such as bloomington minnesota and savannah georgia scheduled to open in 2007 . in september 2005 choice hotels acquired the suburban extended stay hotel chain which consisted of 67 extended stay hotels . 5 in 2008 the company introduced the ascend collection formerly clarion collection an elite upscale membership collection of historic boutique and unique hotels . in 2009 choice hotels announced the opening of 33 franchised properties in november . 6 in 2010 ceo steve joyce was featured on an episode of undercover boss a television program on cbs . 7 he pretended to be an intern doing entry level jobs such as working the front desk housekeeping and maintenance work such as unclogging toilets . in april 2015 a group of african american high school students staying in the live oak florida econo lodge reported that hotel staff harassed them stating they wanted to get those niggers off our property . 8 after the story received national attention the national company issued a statement that it was investigating the incident . 9 the naacp also launched an investigation . 10 headquarters relocation edit in october 2010 officials in maryland and montgomery county announced that choice hotels international would move its headquarters from suburban silver spring to rockville about 20 minutes northwest of its current location in 2013 . choice hotels new headquarters is now located in rockville town center . 11 in august 2011 choice hotels broke ground on its 197 866 square feet 18 382.4 m2 corporate headquarters in rockville . 12 notable hotels and partnerships edit the ascend hotel collection joined with bluegreen vacations an international timeshare company in 2013 . choice hotels started managing 21 bluegreen resorts in 2013 . 13 in 2015 choice hotels partnered with pearl properties a real estate investment company out of philadelphia . they announced a new 206 room cambria hotel & suites in philadelphia . the new property will be on 219 225 s. broad street along avenue of the arts . it is intended for business travel and leisure . 14 in 2015 choice hotels began offering day use and day rooms for business and airport cruise port travelers in certain hotels . day rooms allow customers to purchase a room while waiting for a flight cruise meeting or business event . they are typically less expensive than purchasing an overnight stay in a room . rodeway inn and suites fort lauderdale airport and port everglades cruise port was the first to implement this . 15 in 2015 a new cambria hotel & suites was opened in manhattan . it was the first of its kind to be opened in new york . the hotel is located in chelsea in new york s flower district and features floral themes . 16 in 2016 choice hotels partnered with a green technology solution provider called future energy solutions out of florida . the upgrades will include exchanging exterior lighting fixtures for energy efficient models for up to 6 400 hotels globally . 17 brands edit logo used until 2015 . choice hotels includes the brands ascend hotel collection cambria hotels & suites clarion hotel comfort suites comfort inn econo lodge mainstay suites quality inn rodeway inn sleep inn suburban extended stay hotel loyalty programme edit choice privileges formerly guest privileges . notes edit profile choice hotels international inc chh . reuters . retrieved 2 september 2014 . who owns what making sense of the hotel chains and their brands . skift.com . retrieved 27 march 2016 . a b c d e jakle john a. ; sculle keith a. ; rogers jefferson s. 1996 . the motel in america . johns hopkins university press . pp. 165 172 . isbn 0 8018 5383 4 . mcsleep loses to big mc . the new york times . 19 september 1988 . retrieved 10 august 2013 . choice hotels acquires suburban franchise systems . choicehotels.com . 2005 09 28 . retrieved 2006 10 19 . choice hotels international opens 33 new hotels in november . december 9 2009 . retrieved jul 11 2013 . choice hotels ceo cleans up his act on undercover boss . daily finance . retrieved 2 september 2014 . flint high school students take a college tour and get an unfortunate lesson on racism . jackman caresse april 27 2015 . hotel chain responds to claims of racism made by students at florida motel . abc12.com . retrieved july 19 2015 . zizaza nicky april 21 2015 . flint naacp launches investigation following racial harassment allegations . minbcnews.com . retrieved july 19 2015 . choice hotels moving to rockville . the washington post . 2010 10 26 . retrieved 2011 10 09 . construction starts on choice hotels headquarters in rockville . gazette.net . 2011 08 31 . retrieved 2011 10 09 . choice hotels bluegreen join forces . zacks.com . retrieved 2016 03 22 . choice hotels and pearl properties partner to develop new cambria hotel & suites in philadelphia pa . hotel online . retrieved 2016 04 15 . cruise port hotel has day rooms for late flight travelers . scholarshipsnow . retrieved 2016 04 28 . grand opening choice hotels opens first cambria hotel & suites in manhattan . outandout.com . retrieved 2016 04 20 . choice hotels taps florida s future energy solutions as vendor . florida business daily . retrieved 2016 04 28 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to choice hotels . choice hotels international choice hotels international analysis on wikinvest v t e hotel chains accor adagio formule 1 f1 formula 1 ibis budget styles mama shelter mercure grand mercure mgallery novotel suite novotel pullman the sebel sofitel thalassa sea & spa carlson rezidor country inns & suites park inn park plaza quorvus collection radisson radisson blu choice hotels ascend collection cambria hotels & suites clarion comfort inn comfort suites econo lodge mainstay suites quality inn rodeway