Choice nearly doubles its France footprint with 50 new Quality Suites

Published on Oct 3, 2025, 11:01 am CDT

6 min read

Choice Hotels International will onboard 50 Quality Suites across France, adding more than 4,800 rooms and expanding its country portfolio from 57 to 107 franchised hotels. The additions, spread across large cities, mid-sized markets, and high-tourism towns, will participate in the Choice Privileges loyalty program. The France move comes as Choice touts high single-digit international room growth this year and accelerates direct franchising in priority regions.

Key points

Why it matters: Expanded midscale and upscale options across France improve coverage for business and leisure travelers.
Travel impact: Choice Privileges members gain more earn and redeem locations in over 30 new French cities.
What's next: Additional international growth via Canada, Brazil, and China partnerships and franchising.
Portfolio shift: 26 percent urban hubs, 52 percent suburban cities, 22 percent touristic towns.
Strategy signal: Direct franchising and master-franchise deals underpin faster non-U.S. expansion.

Snapshot

The 50 new Quality Suites broaden Choice's French network into more than 30 additional cities and balance demand across urban, suburban, and seasonal destinations. Markets include Marseille, Toulouse, and Bordeaux, plus mid-sized centers like Rennes, Chambéry, and Colmar, and coastal or heritage towns such as Quiberon, Dinan, and Mèze. Choice says the locations cluster near airports, public transit, and city centers, supporting steady business demand and peak-season leisure spikes. All properties will join Choice Privileges, connecting French stays to a 7,100-hotel global redemption network. The France expansion dovetails with Choice's broader international growth thesis, including a direct franchising model in Canada and development agreements in Brazil and China.

Background

Choice has emphasized international scale as a growth engine in 2025. In the June quarter, the company highlighted rising non-U.S. system size and extended a 20-year master franchise relationship with Atlantica Hospitality International in Brazil, representing nearly 70 hotels and more than 10,000 rooms. In July, Choice acquired the remaining stake in Choice Hotels Canada, moving from a master-franchise structure to direct franchising to speed brand deployment. In Asia, Choice signed a landmark distribution and master franchise pact with SSAW Hotels & Resorts in China, bringing more than 9,500 rooms into the Ascend Collection and targeting additional Comfort and Quality growth. Company materials indicate the international room count now exceeds 150,000 outside the United States, reinforcing the pivot to faster non-U.S. expansion.

Latest developments

Choice adds 50 Quality Suites to expand coverage across France

Choice's France expansion brings more than 4,800 rooms under the Quality Suites flag, nearly doubling the company's franchised presence from 57 to 107 hotels. The footprint is intentionally diversified: 26 percent in major urban hubs like Marseille, Toulouse, and Bordeaux; 52 percent in mid-sized suburban markets such as Rennes, Chambéry, and Colmar; and 22 percent in smaller, highly touristic destinations including Quiberon, Dinan, and Mèze. Choice frames the mix as a hedge that balances year-round corporate demand with seasonal leisure peaks. Each property will participate in Choice Privileges, enabling members to earn and redeem across more than 7,100 hotels worldwide. The company pitches the move as part of an ongoing strategy to scale direct franchising in Europe's largest hotel-franchise market and to improve network depth where travelers most often need midscale and upper-midscale stays.

Canada shifts to direct franchising to accelerate brand deployment

In July, Choice completed the purchase of the remaining stake in Choice Hotels Canada from its joint-venture partner, transitioning from a master-franchise to a direct-franchise model. Management positions the step as a catalyst for faster growth, broader brand activation, and improved owner support. Company disclosures tie the transaction to stronger international momentum, noting a 5 percent increase in net international rooms year over year as of the second quarter. Choice cites approximately 350 hotels and 30,000 rooms in Canada, with more than 2,500 rooms in the pipeline. The company expects the consolidated Canadian business to contribute meaningful fee revenue and EBITDA in 2025, supporting continued investment in cross-border development and owner services designed to lift conversion velocity.

China partnership with SSAW expands Ascend Collection and future pipeline

Choice signed a distribution and master-franchise agreement with SSAW Hotels & Resorts that immediately adds more than 9,500 rooms from 68 upscale properties to the Ascend Collection. The pact also includes a commitment to develop Comfort and Quality to 100 properties in China over time. The company highlights this arrangement as a cornerstone of its Asia strategy, growing brand recognition among domestic travelers and creating new earn-and-redeem options for Choice Privileges members visiting China. Together with the France scale-up and Canada restructuring, the SSAW deal signals a coordinated push to deepen inventory in high-value international markets while leveraging soft-brand flexibility to integrate quality, non-standard assets into Choice's distribution stack.

Analysis

Choice's France surge checks several strategic boxes at once. First, it builds density in one of Europe's most visited countries, where fragmented supply and strong domestic leisure help sustain rates outside Paris. Second, the urban-suburban-touristic split diversifies cash flow and should improve occupancy smoothing across quarters. Third, loading the portfolio into Choice Privileges grows program utility for U.S. members planning European trips and entices French owners with a larger direct-booking funnel. The move also aligns with Choice's shift toward direct franchising and soft-brand expansion. Canada's full consolidation reduces friction when rolling out new flags and standards, while the SSAW partnership demonstrates how Ascend can quickly aggregate high-quality independents in Asia. Risks remain, including integration complexity, variable French regional demand, and competitive reactions from European franchisors and management companies. Still, the combination of loyalty scale, owner economics, and mixed-market placement suggests the France tranche should be accretive to Choice's non-U.S. system size and cross-border redemption health over the next 12 to 24 months.

Final thoughts

For travelers, the headline is more Choice Privileges-eligible hotels in more French cities, from business hubs to coastal towns. For owners, the expansion signals a franchisor prioritizing international growth via direct relationships and soft-brand flexibility. As Canada moves to direct franchising and China's Ascend network scales, expect more cross-market offers and points promotions that link North American demand with European and Asian stays. The near-doubling in France is both a practical network upgrade and a clear marker of where Choice plans to compete next, making this a notable milestone in the Choice Hotels France expansion.