Dive Brief:
- Choice Hotels International is on track to integrate Radisson Americas’ nearly 600 properties into its reservation delivery engine and loyalty program by the end of this summer, ahead of schedule.
- By the end of Q3, Choice also plans to begin migrating eligible Radisson Americas hotels to its choiceADVANTAGE property management system and its ChoiceMAX cloud-based revenue management system.
- Choice acquired Radisson Americas in August. The company credits its faster-than-anticipated timeline to its “integration expertise and its investments in advanced technology.”
Dive Insight:
According to Choice, Radisson Americas’ business is already benefiting from the acquisition, with expected revenue contribution and cost savings for 2023 and 2024 “significantly” ahead of original expectations.
Since the deal, Choice has enabled status matching and point transfers between Radisson Rewards Americas and Choice Privileges ahead of a full merger of loyalty programs this summer.
Choice has also opened seven Radisson Americas branded properties, awarded contracts for eight more and renewed contracts or signed relicensing agreements with 27.
Additionally, by the end of the year, Radisson Americas hotels will be bookable on ChoiceHotels.com and connected to the ChoiceEDGE central reservations system.
"Our proven expertise in integrating hotel brands is enabling us to complete the onboarding of the Radisson Americas properties onto our industry-leading business platform well ahead of plan," said Choice Hotels President and CEO Pat Pacious in a statement. "Complete integration of the nearly six hundred hotels will enable us to help drive their performance and profitability to the next level."
Choice has also made improvements to the Radisson Americas website and given franchisees benchmarking data and profitability consultation to further drive revenue, Bob Patel, owner of four Country Inn & Suites hotels, said in the release.
Choice previously acquired WoodSpring Suites in 2018. Since then, it has rapidly expanded the brand as part of its extended stay push across the country. The brand has 300 more hotels in its pipeline, and Choice opened six WoodSpring Suites properties in May alone.
In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that Choice was seeking to acquire Wyndham Hotels & Resorts as well, though neither company has confirmed the news.
Choice had a record Q1 this year with $332.8 million in total revenue, a first-quarter record and a 29% increase compared to the same period in 2022.
