CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL GOES TIMESHARE

LEISURE TRAVEL NEWS

March 27, 1999
Executives from Choice Hotels International said the recent decision to purchase its existing franchise contracts from Quality Division Management Inc. will give Choice a more flexible approach towards growth in the Caribbean. The chain will now negotiate directly with its franchisees, according to Bruno Geny, senior vice president international for Choice Hotels International.

Choice Hotels International currently has nine properties open and operating in the Caribbean under the Comfort, Quality and Sleep Inn brands, and there are plans to have 12 by the end of 1999, Geny said. The company's Caribbean development plans call for the opening of 25 hotels within the next four years, bringing Choice's room count to about 3,000 rooms. That's triple the number of rooms the company now has in the region.

Choice has targeted the Dominican Republic for future development. A Comfort Suites is already under construction in Barahona and slated to open this summer. Choice also has two projects under consideration in the DR.

"We feel the DR is pretty ripe," said Sharpless, adding that the country has the fastest growing economy in the Western Hemisphere. Choice is also looking at Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo in the DR.

The planned 266-room Comfort Suites Resort Curacao has faced numerous delays, but Sharpless said the hotel is expected to open within the next six months. Choice is also interested in Aruba and Barbados. In addition, Choice is looking at St. Thomas to develop properties under the Comfort, Quality or Sleep Inn brands, as well as on St. Croix, where the company would likely reflag an existing property. On Antigua, the company is looking at a condo/timeshare arrangement, or possibly a joint venture. Officials are also looking at possibilities in Antigua, Trinidad, and St. Martin among other locations.

"There is certainly a market [in the Caribbean] for conversions, some less for new constructions," Geny said. "It would be quite reasonable to have at least two properties on each of those islands in the next four to five years." Choice already has hotels in The Bahamas, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, Curacao and Turks & Caicos.