Mike Bobbitt Named Director Distribution & Revenue for Choice Hotels Canada

Most recently he held the position of chief operating officer at Royal Host Hotels, which is the master franchisor for Travelodge in Canada.

As part of its ongoing growth strategy, Choice Hotels Canada is adding to its executive team with the hire of Mike Bobbitt as director, Distribution & Revenue. The Distribution & Revenue department is newly created as part of an internal restructure, which includes a merger with the Sales department.

Bobbitt comes to Choice Hotels Canada with more than 26 years of hospitality experience working in various senior management roles including vice president of operations at Westmont Hospitality Group, general manager of sales and catering at World Trade and Convention Centre and regional director of sales and marketing at Atlific Hotels. Most recently he held the position of chief operating officer at Royal Host Hotels, which is the master franchisor for Travelodge in Canada.

"Mike has a wealth of experience having spent his career in the hospitality industry where he worked with various Choice properties and other like-minded brands," says Tim Oldfield, managing director, franchise performance for Choice Hotels Canada. "He has a thorough understanding of what it takes to grow hotel revenue and will undoubtedly be an invaluable member of our team."

The Distribution & Revenue department was created in an effort to leverage the company's advances in distribution strategy and also includes e-commerce and revenue management.

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Choice Hotels International announces new vice president of brand strategy

Choice Hotels International, Inc, one of the world’s largest hotel companies, today announced that Anne Engelking Smith has joined the company as Vice President of Brand Strategy. Smith joins the company from AARP where she was responsible for overseeing the AARP brand in commercial marketing and driving membership growth including the organization’s multicultural membership base.

At Choice Hotels, Smith will oversee the brand strategies for nine of the company’s midscale, economy and extended stay brands: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality Inn, Clarion, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, Suburban and MainStay Suites. Smith will lead the overall strategy for this portfolio of brands to promote a compelling value proposition to both franchisees and consumers, with goals of optimizing unit growth, and driving central reservations. She will report to Alexandra Jaritz, Senior Vice President, Brand Strategy and Marketing.

“Choice Hotels enjoys some of the strongest brands in the industry from our iconic Comfort Inn to our storied Quality Inn which was the first of our brands. Under Anne’s leadership our portfolio of brands will become even stronger,” said Alexandra Jaritz, Senior Vice President Brand Strategy and Marketing.

Smith’s extensive brand management experience includes leadership roles at Frito-Lay, Inc., a division of Pepsico, where she was responsible for overseeing multiple award-winning campaigns and product launches including the relaunch of SunChips. She also led innovation for a $5 billion portfolio that included the Lay’s, Tostitos and Rold Gold brands. Smith also led an effort that highlighted the company’s environmental sustainability practices to evolve the company’s corporate identity.

Anne received her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Earlier in her career, Anne worked in the publishing field, where she produced compelling content for science and technology textbooks to engage children in learning and demystifying these subjects. The creative skills she honed developing scholastic content combined with her educational background and consumer packaged goods experience, have sharpened her ability to create a compelling brand strategy and tell the “story” of a brand.

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Choice Hotels International enters joint venture to develop multiple Cambria Suites

Choice Hotels International, one of the world’s largest hotel companies, today announced that it has entered into a joint venture with private investment firm Fillmore Capital Partners, LLC and its affiliates to develop multiple Cambria Suites hotel properties, adding to the upscale brand’s growing clout. This marks the brand’s first institutional investor, underscoring the confidence developers and Choice Hotels have already expressed for the emerging brand’s performance potential. 

Designed as a lifestyle hotel brand, Cambria Suites offers more than just a place to sleep at night. It features a larger lobby to give guests a more social atmosphere, spacious all-suite rooms that include separate areas to work and rest, providing business and leisure travelers room to relax, socialise and network.
All Cambria Suites hotels are currently located in the US and are new-construction and the brand leads the rest of the upscale lodging segment in guest satisfaction scores as measured by guests’ likelihood to recommend (LTR). Currently, many Cambria Suites hotels are ranked #1 and #2 in their respective markets on TripAdvisor.

The brand is making its mark for delivering a consistently high level of style at an equally attractive price guests have come to count on.
“This is further proof to the investment and development communities that we are truly making great strides with Cambria Suites,” said Stephen P. Joyce, president and chief executive officer of Choice Hotels International. “Institutional investors bring instant influence to the table and Fillmore Capital is as good as it gets. Their team has the relationships with investors and access to capital coupled with a deep understanding of the hospitality industry.”

The venture with Fillmore provides for the future development of multiple Cambria Suites hotels at locations within urban markets. This strategic partnership aligns perfectly with Choice Hotels’ plan to establish Cambria Suites as a major brand in such key markets. Earlier this year the company announced that it was working with property developers Concord Hospitality, We Care Trading Co., Ltd, and Meyer Jabara Hotels to build three new Cambria Suites hotels in New York, to be located in Times Square and Chelsea in Manhattan, and downtown White Plains in nearby Westchester County.

“We have long admired the Cambria Suites brand’s strong product design and appropriateness for today’s lifestyle-oriented traveler,” said Ronald E. Silva, president and chief executive officer of Fillmore Capital Partners. “The current hospitality environment presents a unique opportunity to partner with Choice Hotels and expand this emerging brand through development in major markets. Further, our affiliate, Fillmore Hospitality, will manage the Cambria Suites hotels that we develop. Fillmore Hospitality has extensive experience in establishing and supporting new and emerging brands along with independent hotels and resorts, which will provide a natural management fit for our properties.”

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