New food, new look at Choice Hotels properties

Combo deal: Thenew Sleep Inn/MainStay Suites combination prototype

By Mark Chesnut

During its 58th annual franchisor’s convention last month in Las Vegas, Choice Hotels announced new developments at a variety of its brands — with new food, new design and a completely new brand combination among the offerings.

Comfort Inns and Comfort Suites have unveiled a new design, with new furniture, fixtures and equipment. Dubbed the “Truly Yours” prototype, the new look was based on feedback from more than 1,500 guests. By 2013, new bedding and beds will be installed in every guest room. Also new at Comfort Inn and Comfort Suites is the “Your First Impression” program, which includes new uniforms and revamped front desk areas.

Sleep Inn and MainStay Suites, meanwhile, has introduced a new dual-brand combination hotel prototype, which will combine both hotels under one roof in some locations. The new combo will feature a shared front desk, lobby and community room, along with shared fitness centers and laundry facilities — while the exterior design will combine signature decor elements including the Sleep Inn tower and porte-cochere and the MainStay Suites roofline.

All guests at the new-concept Sleep Inn/MainStay properties will be offered the free Sleep Inn “Morning Medley” breakfast, free WiFi and fitness center access. Sleep Inn is positioned as a midscale brand, while MainStay Suites is a midscale all-suites chain focused on the extended-stay niche.

Travelers checking into Choice’s Cambria Suites brand will experience new flavors during their stay, thanks to a new food and beverage program. The new menu and kitchen setup is centered around comfort food such as hamburgers, appetizers and entrees inspired by the location of each individual hotel. The Cambria Suites Raleigh-Durham Airport, for example, features items like Carolina BBQ glazed pork ribs, while the Cambria Suites Traverse City serves Lake Erie yellow perch fish and chips. In addition, Cambria Suites is sporting new china, silverware and uniforms.

Related resources

• Las Vegas hotels
• Raleigh hotels
• Traverse City hotels

Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America. He loves barbecue.

Tagged: Family time, Hotels, Las Vegas