Choice Hotels International Named Among Top 50 Franchises for Minorities

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Worldwide Lodging Franchisor is Selected Among Best of the Best by National Minority Franchising Initiative for a Second Year

Silver Spring, Md.,// PRNewswire-FirstCall // -- Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH) is proud to announce that for the second time, it has been named by National Minority Franchising Initiative (NMFI) as one of the top 50 franchises for minorities. According to the NMFI, Choice was selected as a direct result of their commitment to the recruitment and advancement of minorities within the Choice Hotels system.

"We're proud to receive this honor for the second year because of our aggressive and exceptional focus on recruiting and supporting minority franchisees into the Choice Hotels system," said Brian Parker, vice president of emerging markets and new business development for Choice Hotels. "Acknowledging and addressing the issue of significantly underrepresented ethnic minorities in the lodging industry is very important to us."

Thanks to its efforts, the emerging markets and new business development team has steadily increased the number of minority franchisees in the Choice system over the past two years. This increase in minority-owned hotels can be attributed to several key initiatives set forth by the team including minority incentive programs for new construction and conversion projects and the lodging industry's first web site specifically designed for minority franchise recruitment. Through the creation of networking opportunities, Choice Hotels has been able to provide its minority hotel owners with a way to share knowledge and best practices while providing a platform to recruit new minority franchisees into the Choice system. In addition to these networking opportunities, the Choice Hotels African American Owners Alliance and the Choice Hotels Hispanic Owners Alliance were created to provide additional support for the company's minority franchisees. The department also conducts franchise seminars across the country in an effort to educate minority entrepreneurs about the lodging industry and benefits of hotel ownership.

Over 300 companies were evaluated by the NMFI using a specific set of qualifying requirements. Selection factors were based on a variety of aspects including historical performance, brand identification, market dynamics, franchisee satisfaction including the level of initial training and on-going support and financial stability, as well as the results of the completed questionnaire, which noted the number of minority-owned franchises and the number of minorities in senior management.

The full list was published in the November 7th 2008 issue of USA Today - Franchising Today.

About Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels International franchises more than 5,700 hotels, representing more than 465,000 rooms, in the United States and more than 35 countries and territories. As of September 30, 2008, 955 hotels are under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in the United States, representing 76,269 rooms, and an additional 119 hotels, representing 9,647 rooms, are under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in more than 20 countries and territories. The company's Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands serve guests worldwide. In addition, via its Ascend Collection membership program, travelers in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean have upscale lodging options at historic, boutique and unique hotels.

Additional corporate information may be found on the Choice Hotels Web site, which may be accessed at http://www.choicehotels.com.

Choice Hotels, Choice Hotels International, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn are proprietary trademarks and service marks of Choice Hotels International.

2008 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Choice Hotels International

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