Choice Hotels Looking At D.C. Office Buildings For Cambria Brand Conversion
After an upscale rebranding, Choice Hotels International is looking at adaptive reuse as the next development feature for its Cambria Hotel & Suites brand in the D.C. area.
Choice hotels has looked at office, warehouse and industrial-style retail buildings in Arlington, Alexandria, Tysons, Bethesda, Northwest D.C. and Baltimore for potential Cambria conversion, the Washington Business Journal reports. The strategy works best in an urban setting where new construction is usually more difficult and costly, Choice Hotels managing director Steve Stoycos said.
The company typically looks for an office building between 80K and 100K SF, which usually converts to a 150- to 200-room Cambria Hotel. It has previously converted a 22-story office tower in Chicago into a 198-room Cambria and is looking to complete a similar conversion in Long Beach, California.
Choice Hotels, which owns discount flags like Comfort Inn and Econo Lodge, rebranded Cambria as a more upscale chain in 2014 and expanded into more urban environments, as it was a better fit for cities than some of its more economical brands. The company has pledged $400M to $500M for the expansion and conversion campaign.
