National operations of Choice Hotels’ International’s presence in India will now be managed by the company’s Australia-based subsidiary, Choice Hotels Asia-Pac, as part of an expansion of its regional responsibilities, the company has announced.
In addition to taking control of the Indian portfolio, which currently comprises 32 hotels, Choice Hotels Asia-Pac will take a major role in providing support to the group’s master franchise operations in Japan and China. The Japanese market is currently made up of over 50 hotels with a current pipeline of 15 to come, while China presently offers eight hotels.
The move sees the Choice Hotels Asia-Pac network grow overnight by 50% to more than 300 hotels and builds further on a management agreement signed earlier this year with Thailand-based Krest Hospitality, which will see a Quality-branded hotel open in Phuket in 2020 amidst plans for more.
Choice Hotels Asia-Pac CEO, Trent Fraser, said the move is part of a broader business strategy to grow the company’s footprint across its three key territories, of which the Asia-Pacific is one alongside Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Latin America (LATAM).
“We’re seeing strong performance and growth right across Asia which can be attributed to increasing demand for affordable and quality accommodation both amongst business and leisure travellers, and we look forward to working with our partners and owners across the region to continue to service this demand,” Fraser said.
Following the assumption of the expanded responsibility, Choice Hotels will continue to be based in Melbourne. It is unclear at present whether the company plans to expand its successful Choice Privileges loyalty program, Revenue Management training syllabus and expanded digital offerings including its new website and mobile app into its three new markets.