Choice Hotels ® concentrating on increasing demand for extended stay category
Choice Hotels reports Q1 development gains buoyed by conversions
CEO Patrick Pacious highlighted increasing demand for the brand’s extended stay category, which remained a key growth driver in the first quarter of 2026.
Dive Brief:
Choice Hotels International saw its U.S. RevPAR rise 1.8% year over year during the first quarter of 2026, in line with expectations, according to a Thursday earnings report.
U.S. room openings increased 32% year over year for the period, marking the highest first-quarter level since 2023, CEO Patrick Pacious said on an earnings call. The U.S. development pipeline grew to 71,500 rooms, buoyed by an improved conversion rooms pipeline, which increased 17% year over year.
Pacious said the Q1 results signaled an “inflection point in underlying trends toward room growth, RevPAR improvement and lower capital intensity.” The company maintained its 2026 outlook of approximately 1% global net room growth.
“The extended stay segment remains a “key growth driver,” representing more than 40% of Choice’s U.S. pipeline, with 11 consecutive quarters of double-digit room growth, Pacious said. Demand for the sector remains stable, with employees in the healthcare, construction and utilities sectors fueling bookings, as well as road trippers and “repeat stays from the rising number of retirees.”
“We are also seeing a shift in guest expectations toward accommodations that feel more like home, supporting strong demand for our extended stay portfolio,” Pacious said. “Importantly, these are not future tailwinds. They are trends we are seeing in the business today, contributing to a stable and diversified demand base across cycles.”
He added that Choice’s loyalty program is driving repeat stays and customer demand, while Choice Privileges now has more than 75 million members, up 7% year over year. “ according to CEO Patrick Pacious.
