Choice Hotels

The company was started in 1939 in Maryland as Quality Courts United, a referral chain consisting of about seven motel owners. Later, themotel chain operated simply under the name Quality Motels (1969–71) and Quality Inns (since 1972). Quality Courts United acceptedfranchise hotels without strict norms or guidelines from the company. This is different from Holiday Inn which from their early beginnings implemented numerous mandatory standards and guidelines (e.g. room size and amenities) at every one of their locations. Also, Quality Inn accepted franchisees with existing hotels.

During its early years, Quality Courts' operations were entirely in areas of the U.S. east of the Mississippi River and portions of Canada. From 1946 to 1964, Quality had a marketing partnership with Best Western, whose properties were located mostly west of the Mississippi River, and thus not in direct competition with Quality. While this partnership made sense geographically, it did not work well in the long run, and was abandoned in 1964 as Best Western expanded into the Eastern U.S. with its Best Eastern operation (which was replaced by a nationwide Best Western operation in 1967). Quality Courts began its efforts toward national coverage in 1966 when it opened a motel in St. Louis, Missouri and two in Texas at Houston and Arlington.

The company became Quality International as the company switched to franchising in 1972. A few years later, the franchising well on its way, about 300 hotels were independently owned and only about 38 were still company-owned.

In 1982, Quality Inns pioneered segmentation in the lodging industry by introducing Comfort Inns and Quality Royale. Comfort Inn competes with such chains such as AmericInn Hotels, Baymont Inn & Suites, and Fairfield Inn by Marriott; Quality Royale was meant to compete with upper mid-priced chains like Red Lion and Four Points by Sheraton. Comfort Inn experienced impressive growth in the 1980s and 1990s.

Quality Royale was converted to Clarion Hotels in 1987. It represented a line of full-service hotels that offer travelers a variety of hotel styles and locations, from city centers, airport, and resorts. Clarion provides a full spectrum of services - including full service restaurants, lounges, room service, and banquet and conference centers. Clarion's boutique line, Clarion Collection (now Ascend Collection), is an extension of the brand. Ascend Collection is designed for high-end, boutique and historic hotels that have an established local identity. Clarions compete with hotel chains like Red Lion, Radisson, and Four Points by Sheraton. Internationally, over 300 Clarion Hotels are open with several more under development. wikipedia.org