Choice Hotels International franchise reports increase in performance indicators and new developments for 2012.
Choice Hotels International domestic system-wide revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased 6.2% for the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to 2011 as occupancy rates (OR) and average daily rates (ADR) increased 2 percentage points and 2.5%, respectively.Largest growth in RePAR came from the Cambria Suites brand followed by the Suburban, then Comfort Suites.“2012 was a record breaking year for the company in terms of operating performance. We established new company records for the size of the domestic franchise system, total franchising revenues, franchising margins, operating cash flows, operating income and earnings per share," says president and chief executive officer, Choice Hotels International, Stephen Joyce.RevPAR is expected to increase approximately 5% for first quarter of 2013 and increase between 4.5% and 5.5% for full-year 2013.In terms of development, the company executed 473 new domestic hotel franchise contracts for the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to 332 new domestic hotel franchise contracts in the same period of the previous year, representing a 42% increase. Largest increase in terms of room supply came from the Quality brand, with an injection of 6,576, representing a 10% increase over 2011. Rodeway Inn brand in the US added 1,743 rooms to its portfolio, up 5.7%, whilst Ascend Collection 365 rooms, up 9.6%.Meanwhile, Comfort Inn and Comfort Suites brands both record a decline in supply of 3.6% (3,859 rooms) and 3.1% (1,693 rooms), respectively. The number of worldwide hotels under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development as of December 31, 2012 was 482 hotels representing 38,969 rooms.“We are very pleased with our development results which increased 42% over the prior year, highlighted by the conversion of 46 properties, formerly operated as Jameson Inns, to our system and the execution of several Cambria Suites agreements in key markets important for Cambria’s long-term success. We remain optimistic that the development and RevPAR environments will continue to improve and result in further growth of our business in 2013,” adds Joyce.
