Comfort Inn 2005 Annual Report Download - page 6

4 CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL 2005 ANNUAL REPORT
SYSTEM GROWTH: Choice enjoyed yet another record year for system growth, due in no small measure to the
excellence of our franchise sales team. Comfort Suites brands enjoyed strong growth while the Quality and
Rodeway Inn brands proved most successful among our conversion brands.
OWNER PROFITABILITY: The focus on owner profi tability is best refl ected in our corporate vision: To generate
the highest return on investment of any hotel franchise. Our franchise services staff, working at the hotel level
with our owners, provides a signifi cant resource to identify areas where hotel operators can improve topline
revenue performance as well as profi tability.
Each of these four areas remains a major focus for us moving forward in 2006. Industry prospects are bright,
with the preliminary outlook for average daily rate (ADR) to rise another 5% or better, and for industry
revenue to exceed 8% growth for the third consecutive year.
So what does this all mean for Choice in 2006? To leverage the opportunities, we have to focus on strategically
growing our eight established brands while achieving growth in our two new market segments. We have to deliver
to our franchisees a high return on investment by continuing to improve our brands and our property level
performance. And, we have to provide the attributes most important to our franchisees: brand recognition
and business delivery at the lowest cost. We believe that focusing on these strategic areas best positions us to
further maximize fi nancial and shareholder returns.
STRATEGICALLY GROW OUR EXISTING BRANDS AND ACHIEVE GROWTH IN NEW MARKET SEGMENTS
Our Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality, Clarion, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands
continue to provide an outstanding value to our franchisees and guests, and an integral part of our strategy is
to continue to improve our portfolio of properties by leveraging our world-class sales team with brands that
provide strong growth potential and a compelling value proposition for hotel owners.
The introduction of Cambria Suites is successfully underway, with the fi rst Cambria Suites hotel scheduled
to come on line this winter and several more to follow.
The integration of the Suburban Extended Stay Hotel brand into our system is moving swiftly and smoothly.
Coupled with our mid-scale MainStay Suites extended stay brand, we now have two outstanding products to
offer developers in a dynamic part of the lodging industry.
On the international front, we continue to work with our partners in opening up new markets while
building our existing base of operations in Canada, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and Australasia. In 2006,
we aim to achieve market entry into China and to reinvigorate our Continental European business.
IMPROVE OUR BRANDS AND PROPERTY PERFORMANCE
In addition to the brand initiatives underway to improve and strengthen our existing brands by offering
what guests value most, we are working with our franchisees to ensure they have the property management
systems that can link effectively to our central reservations system (CRS) and deliver management
information that can drive business improvement.
We are also introducing new tools to our hotel owners to help them better manage and focus their efforts on
successful business practices. These tools include a property ranking system, which provides owners a valuable
perspective on how their property measures up against other hotels in their brand with respect to quality