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Coronavirus
The secret to Choice Hotels’ relatively quick bounce back from pandemic losses to profitability? Location, location, location.
Cameron Sperance, Skift | 3 years ago
If you can't make a long-haul trek to Paris this summer, why not just a short hop, skip, and a jump to a roadside hotel two towns over? That mindset seems to be working in Choice Hotels' financial favor.
Cameron Sperance, Skift | 4 years ago
Media and PR
The most popular travel ads on TV in the United States in July were aspirational, but they also emphasized booking flexibility and low pricing. Pandemic formulations.
Dennis Schaal, Skift | 4 years ago
Hotels
"The Open Road Is Open Again." With that message to tap Americans' pent-up demand to get the hell out of the house and escape lockdowns, Choice Hotels went big on U.S. TV and was the most-seen brand. Being in the right place at an opportune moment helps, but backing it up with effective creative wins the month.
Choice Hotels' permanent job cuts show even companies that rely more on the rapidly recovering drive-to, leisure travel segment aren't immune to coronavirus' negative business impact.
Partnering with colleges and universities to turn hotel rooms into temporary student housing is a viable short-term revenue stream for Choice Hotels, but it still won't be enough to snap the company back to 2019 performance levels anytime soon.
Roomkey.com's demise (temporary or not) shouldn't be seen as a sign hotel companies can't compete with OTAs. But if revived, the brand will likely need a more in-your-face approach than pop-under ads to drive traffic.
Residential hall deals with universities may be the rare type of group booking the hotel industry gets in 2020, and provide some operators with enough occupancy and revenue to buoy into recovery mode.
The U.S. hotel industry may already be inching into recovery territory while hotel construction has yet to begin a decline that could last years.
Depending on whether global brands or independent operators are the ones talking, there is a lot of money to be won or left on the table in a hotel brand conversion. Run the numbers on renovation costs and fee structures before making the plunge into one of these deals.
