Dive Brief:
- Choice Hotels International has continued its strategic expansion of its upscale Cambria brand with the recent opening of three hotels in Imperial, California; Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; and Spokane, Washington, the company announced Wednesday.
- Choice plans to break ground on two additional Cambria hotels in new markets O'Fallon, Missouri; and Bend, Oregon, this fall, the company detailed in the Wednesday release.
- The openings and planned groundbreakings build on Choice’s rapid growth of Cambria over the last two years. Cambria’s expansion is part of Choice’s larger push in the upscale segment, as it works to differentiate itself to meet changing traveler and owner demand.
Dive Insight:
Last month, Choice opened Cambria Hotel Pigeon Forge, offering visitors a “blend of adventure and leisure in the Smoky Mountains,” according to the company. The 118-room hotel, the fourth Cambria to open in Tennessee, has 738 square feet of meeting space, a pool and onsite dining.
Choice also opened Cambria Hotel El Centro – Imperial, a boutique property offering 108 rooms and 2,050 square feet of meeting space. The hotel is the fifth Cambria to open in California.
Cambria Hotel Spokane Airport, the first Cambria hotel in the state of Washington, also opened earlier this fall. The 91-room property offers 1,020 square feet of meeting space and an on-property restaurant with local and seasonal dishes, according to Choice.
“Each of these new openings represents our commitment to bringing Cambria to every state,” Indy Adenaw, senior vice president and general manager of upscale brands, said in a statement. “Our strategic investments in upscale are reaping rewards and there's little doubt that the Cambria brand is a vital part of this success.”
Later this fall, Choice plans to break ground on the 131-key Cambria Hotel Bend Oregon as well as the 118-room Cambria Hotel O'Fallon Missouri in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Both hotels are slated to open in 2026.
With the recent openings, Choice has added 18 new Cambria properties to its portfolio over the past two years, including in downtown Denver and Nashville. The groundbreakings, meanwhile, join a pipeline of 62 Cambria hotels, including the Cambria New York Times Square, set to open in 2025.
Choice’s expansion of Cambria comes amid the company’s larger push in upscale. Choice Chief Segment and International Operations Officer Raul Ramirez previously told Hotel Dive that the company is focused on upscale because demand for the space is growing, from consumers as well as from owners and developers.
In line with its upscale strategy, Choice has relaunched several of its Radisson brands this year, including Radisson Individuals last month, Radisson and Radisson Blu in June and Park Inn by Radisson in May. Choice has also focused marketing efforts on its upscale brands this year.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated Cambria Hotel Bend Oregon’s proximity to Oregon State University.
