Choice Hotels International® is one of the largest and most successful lodging franchisors in the world. Built on the foundation of the venerable Quality Inn® chain a pioneer in consistent mid-priced lodging, Choice Hotels® today is the worldwide franchisor of Comfort Inn®, Comfort Suites®, Quality®, Sleep Inn®, Clarion®, MainStay Suites®, Econo Lodge®, and Rodeway Inn® brand hotels.
Publicly traded since 1996 (NYSE:CHH), Choice Hotels continues to lead the lodging industry as an innovative and growing company.
Choice associates around the world are focused on our strategic plan, 'Unlocking the Power of Choice'. Our plan is built on four main objectives, which are the cornerstones of our day-to-day operations.
Reaching More Consumers.
Introducing breakthrough consumer marketing campaigns with new multi-brand advertising.
Globalizing Choice Privileges®, our frequent guest program.
Delivering Exceptional Services.
Dedicated field staff, in combination with effective training programs and strong technology products, directly help property owners better manage their properties to improve RevPAR (revenue per available room) performance.
Reservations services deliver a high percentage of guests directly to the properties.
Building Strong Brands.
Developing an integrated strategic plan to leverage each brand's strength.
Keeping our brands intensely focused on customer satisfaction.
Leveraging Our Size, Scale and Distribution
The number of hotels in our system provides the opportunity to use that size to reduce costs and improve returns for hotel owners.
A History of Innovation
We have a remarkable history in the hotel industry. We have consistently used our expertise to develop ways to innovate our methods, our systems, our service and our brands.
1940
First to inspect member properties for standards.
1941
First to provide travel directories.
1952
First to mandate wall-to-wall carpet.
1954
First to offer 24-hour desk service, telephones in rooms and swimming pools.
1963
First to guarantee reservations.
1970
First to offer toll-free reservations. We introduced the innovative 24-hour, 800-number reservation system.
1981
Opened a new property every other day.
First to segment in the lodging industry with the introduction of two new lodging products - Quality Royale and Comfort Inn. First company to successfully franchise in the economy and mid-priced categories.
1983
First to develop a global marketing/reservations system. Developed a marketing and reservation system that linked reservations centers in US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Germany and Japan with airline reservations systems and travel agents to create one global marketing network.
1984
First to offer non-smoking rooms in every hotel.
1988
Developed Sleep Inn, a major industry breakthrough. It was the first hotel engineered from the ground up to reduce labor costs.
1990
The company name became Choice Hotels International to better reflect our growing number of brands and locations.
1993
First to offer formal, written impact-protection policy.
First to offer "senior-friendly" rooms. Rodeway Inn began offering "senior" rooms with brighter lighting, grab bars in showers, lever handles on doors and large buttons on phones and alarm clocks.
1995
First to provide "real-time" access to reservation system via web.
Launched the company's Internet site. More than 72,000 pages were accessed during that month and 40,000 hits were recorded in first two weeks alone.
1996
Became a publicly traded company.
Launched MainStay Suites, the first mid-market, extended-stay lodging product developed and franchised by a major chain.
Introduced the Automated Travel Management (ATM®) system, the first commission system that expedites travel agent payments, provides tracking and instant answers for inquiries.
Developed the industry's first geographically based system to identify points of interest near its hotels. Known as geo-coding, this allows reservations agents to easily choose the closest Choice hotel to a specific destination.
1997
Introduced the industry's first Internet site devoted to travel agents.
Launched the first training and certification program in hotel franchising for hotel employees.
2000
On October 19, Choice Hotels became the first to offer wireless reservations via handheld computers.
"I can do my best here. You get the freedom to do what you think is right."
VP, Internal Audit, 3 yrs.
We believe in our people. We believe in the real strength of one person who wants to make a difference... and in the awesome power of individuals committed to working together toward a shared vision.
Please join us. Choice Hotels® is one of the strongest, most financially stable companies in our industry, with eight brands that are recognized and respected around the world. We have a history of innovation and our strategic plan creates sustainable growth even in today's travel market.
Whatever your career path, you will find the resources and encouragement to help you do your best work. Yet you will also get the support you need to create a rare work-life balance. We have received two major awards, the Maryland Workplace Excellence Award and The Washingtonian "Great Places to Work" award, in recognition of our efforts to provide this balance for our employees.
"Choice surveys employees to find out their satisfaction levels. Who else does such a thing?"
Mgr., Internet Admin., 16 yrs.
You will find a strong, competitive benefits package at Choice Hotels, one that enables you to choose the options that make most sense for your specific needs.
We offer a variety of medical, dental, life and accident insurance coverage, as well as legal services for you and your family. You may also set aside pre-tax dollars in special accounts to reimburse yourself for out-of-pocket medical or dependent care expenses.
Investment Benefits
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
Retirement Savings and Investment Plan
Health and Welfare Benefits
Medical
Dental
Life Insurance
Personal Accident Insurance
Flexible Spending Accounts
Legal Services
Paid Leave
Holiday Pay
Vacation
Sick Leave
Jury & Witness Duty
Bereavement Pay
Other Benefits
Tuition Reimbursement
Adoption Assistance
Hotel Discounts
Employee Banking
Employee Assistance Program
Investment Benefits
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) - You have the opportunity to invest between 1 to 10 percent of your after-tax pay in Choice Hotels each quarter. The company discounts the price of the stock by 10 percent and you pay no commissions or brokerage fees. There is no vesting in the plan; once purchased, the stock is yours to sell, hold or transfer. You may enroll on the first of the quarter following three months service.
Retirement Savings and Investment Plan - This 401 (k) plan allows you to invest up to the IRS maximum on a before-tax basis. If you are a highly compensated associate, your savings rate may be lower and associates over age 50 may invest additional savings as a "catch-up contribution." You are eligible to participate in this plan after one year of employment with Choice.
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Health and Welfare Benefits
Medical - Medical insurance covers health care costs for you and your dependents in the event of illness or injury. Our medical program is offered through CareFirst's BlueCard Preferred Provider organization (PPO). You may choose to enroll in either high or low-option coverage. Both options cover the same treatments, services and tests, but at different levels. You may visit a physician within the CareFirst network or see a physician of your own choosing, but the plan pays a greater benefit for participating providers. This includes prescription coverage, where generic drugs are $7/prescription, brand-name formulary drugs $20/prescription and brand name non-formulary drugs are $35. Maintenance medications may be purchased at an additional discount by mail order.
Dental - Our dental insurance, offered through Aetna's PDO (Preferred Dentist Organization) covers preventive and diagnostic services and orthodontic work for you and eligible dependents.
Life Insurance - Life insurance pays benefits to designated beneficiaries upon your death or of your spouse or dependent children. You receive no cost coverage of one times your annual base pay for you, $2,000 for your spouse and $1000 for each dependent child. You may purchase additional life insurance if you wish.
Personal Accident Insurance - Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage provides a benefit if you or your covered spouse or child are seriously injured or die as a result of an accident. You receive no cost coverage of one times your annual base pay. You may purchase additional insurance if you wish.
Flexible Spending Accounts - We offer two reimbursement accounts: the Health Care Reimbursement Account and the Child and Elder Care Reimbursement Account. You may fund these spending accounts with pre-tax dollars, exempt from federal (and in most places, state) taxes and Social Security taxes. which enables you to pay these expenses tax-free.
Some of the eligible expenses for the Health Care Reimbursement Account include deductibles, co-payments and expenses over reasonable and customary limits or beyond plan limits.
Funds placed in the Child and Elder Care Reimbursement Accounts can be used for day care expenses, nursery school, summer camp tuition or the expense related to the care of an elderly dependent.
Legal Services - Through the legal services plan, you may access a national network of attorneys and obtain certain services and counsel at little or no cost. If you elect family coverage, your spouse and dependent children are also eligible for most services.
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Paid Leave
Holiday Pay - Nine paid holidays annually
Vacation - All full-time associates receive paid vacation time based on length of service.
Sick Leave - We provide paid sick leave for full-time associates unable to work due to illness or injury.
Jury and Witness Duty - We offer up to two weeks (in a 12-month period) paid time off for jury or witness duty to all full-time associates with more than 90 days' service.
Bereavement pay - We provide full-time associates with paid leave in the event of a death of an immediate family member.
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Other Benefits
Tuition Reimbursement - We offer full-time associates tuition reimbursement assistance up to $3,000 annually for eligible expenses. This requires a passing grade of at least a C for undergraduate studies, and a B for graduate work in a job-related, accredited course. You are eligible for this after one year of service.
Adoption Assistance - We offer full-time associates adoption assistance of up to $1,500 for limited expenses incurred in the process of a legal adoption. These include agency fees, placement fees, attorney fees, maternity fees and temporary foster care charges. This benefit is available after one year of service.
Hotel Discounts - You can stay at many Choice hotels for only $25 per night. Reservations and availability of associate discounts must be confirmed in advance through individual hotels. This benefit is available immediately.
Employee Banking - Through relationships with several banks, we are able to offer you free checking and other banking services.
Employee Assistance Program - We are proud of our ability to achieve strong business results while maintaining an environment where people love to work. In order to continue and strengthen this balance, we offer an employee assistance program (EAP) free of charge to all associates.
The EAP is a free and confidential service available 24/7. Life. Family. Money. Work. The EAP can help with all of these by offering advice, support, and practical solutions. You can reach a licensed counselor by phone, or use the Internet to browse a variety of helpful resources and monthly feature articles. No question is too small, no issue is too big. Our EAP is always there whenever there is a need
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