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| Howard room |
Choice Hotels International, Inc., the company behind the Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands in Europe and part of Choice Hotels International, announced the introduction of it’s top end Ascend Hotel Collection to the UK, with Edinburgh’s five-star The Howard and four-star Channings Hotel, joining as the first UK Ascend Hotel Collection members.
“The launch of Ascend Hotel Collection in the UK is part of our strategy to continue diversifying our portfolio and provide the UK with a new upscale hotel offering. These two Edinburgh properties, which perfectly fit the Ascend Hotel Collection portfolio, give us a critical foothold in the UK that will support the accelerated rollout of the Ascend Hotel Collection in the UK and across Europe. We are delighted to welcome both the The Howard and Channings Hotel as the first UK Ascend Hotel Collection members,” said Mark Pearce, senior vice president, international division, for Choice Hotels.
Ascend Hotel Collection members are distinctive, independent hotels that are located in prime business or leisure travel destinations, providing guests with an upscale boutique hotel experience with superior service, backed by one of the world’s largest hospitality franchisors. Choice pioneered the soft brand concept with the launch of the Ascend Hotel Collection in 2008 and now has 148 hotels in key business and leisure travel destinations such as New York, Miami, Napa Valley, Sydney, Stockholm and Dublin.
The two new properties, to be known as The Howard, an Ascend Hotel Collection member and Channings Hotel, an Ascend Hotel Collection member, join the portfolio with immediate effect.
The Howard is an intimate and discreet 5 star luxury Edinburgh hotel that occupies three Georgian townhouses in the heart of Edinburgh's New Town. Its bedrooms, suites and two bedroom serviced apartment Mews Cottage are served by a collection of butlers, who take care of everything from valet parking to ironing to late-night room service to theatre bookings.
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| Channings Hotel is a “quirky” property that comprises a number of townhouses with a Scottish country house feel |
Channings Hotel is a wonderfully quirky property that comprises a number of townhouses with Scottish country house feel, full of charming Victorian paintings, prints, books, furniture and memorabilia. One of the Channings’ townhouses was home to Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer.
The two hotels will continue to be owned and operated by The Edinburgh Collection and become Ascend Hotel Collection Members under franchise agreement with Choice Hotels Europe. Part of Palm Holdings, the international hospitality and business services group, The Edinburgh Collection own and operate a number of hotels in Edinburgh and have a proven track record of successful hotel development, branding, sales and marketing and operations.
Ricky Kapoor, Commercial Director, The Edinburgh Collection, commented; “Joining Choice’s Ascend Hotel Collection enables us to maintain autonomy and the hotels’ distinctiveness while leveraging Choice’s industry leading technology, marketing and distribution to optimise demand for the hotels and generate more revenue.”
The Choice Hotels Europe portfolio of franchised hotels offers business and leisure travellers a full spectrum from premium economy to upscale hotels. Choice Hotels Europe franchises nearly 500 hotels across Europe that are either open or under development. Brands franchised by Choice Hotels Europe include Clarion Collection, which is three to four star rated; Quality, which is three-star rated and provides a mid-scale full service offering, and Comfort, which is two to three star rated and is the largest Choice Hotels International brand worldwide, known for value, customer service and reliability.
Choice also provides guests with an upscale, boutique hotel offering through Ascend Hotel Collection, a portfolio of 4-5 star rated independent hotels located in key cities and destinations.
