Choice Hotels International welcomes two new milestone hotels in Haiti

While hotel development across the globe has slowed, leading lodging company Choice Hotels International, Inc.

While hotel development across the globe has slowed, leading lodging company Choice Hotels International, Inc. is pleased to announce the future addition of two new Caribbean hotels to its portfolio of more than 6,000 franchised properties worldwide. The new Comfort Inn hotel and Ascend Collection member hotel mark the first-ever Choice-brand properties for the island of Haiti, further expanding the great Choice Hotels lodging options for travelers across the Caribbean.

The Comfort Inn hotel, which will open in 2010, will mark the first global hotel brand that the island of Haiti has hosted in more than a decade. “Choice is extremely proud to take a leadership position in revitalizing Haiti’s tourism product,” said Brian Parker, vice president of emerging markets and new business development for Choice Hotels. “We are equally excited to work with a company the caliber of SIMACT to bring two of our brands to the island.”

Both hotels will be located in Haiti’s historic township of Jacmel, known as the island’s cultural center thanks to its popular carnival festivities and arts, music, and film festivals. The Comfort Inn hotel will feature 32 guest rooms with breathtaking views of the shores of the Caribbean Sea, featuring all the amenities travelers can expect from Comfort Inn hotels, including free breakfast and free high-speed Internet access.

The newly-built luxury Ascend Collection member hotel will offer 120 elegantly-appointment guestrooms and is planned as part of the area’s new Belle Rive development project, which will also include a residential community, retail, dining, entertainment, recreational, and marina facilities. This Ascend Collection member hotel will be the second Caribbean location for the membership program after its first location in the region – Le Consulat hotel of San Juan, Puerto Rico – opened in late 2008. “Our Ascend Collection program is an excellent membership opportunity for upscale independent hotels, and we are thrilled that the Caribbean is at the forefront of our international expansion,” said Kevin Lewis, brand president of upscale and extended stay for Choice Hotels.

“The new collaborative relationship between Choice Hotels and SIMACT will have a significantly positive impact on the burgeoning tourism industry of the southeastern coast of Haiti,” said Lesly Kernisant, president of SIMACT, owner of the new Comfort Inn hotel and Ascend Collection member hotel. Choice Hotels currently boasts 9 Caribbean properties, a total of 815 guestrooms, in the Bahamas, Cayman Island, Curacao, Puerto Rico, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Ascend Collection is an elite network of historic, unique, and boutique member hotels that made its debut at the end of 2008 and now has more than 30 hotels throughout the United States, Canada, and now, the Caribbean.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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