NEWS
Ascend Collection Surpasses 400 Hotels Globally
Choice Hotels International is celebrating a major milestone for its Ascend Collection, which has now surpassed 400 open properties worldwide, reaffirming its position as a global leader in the upscale soft brand segment. Alongside this achievement, the brand has launched a new logo that honors its pioneering legacy while embracing a modern identity, as it continues its strategic expansion into high-demand urban and leisure markets.
Founded in 2008 as the industry’s first soft brand, the Ascend Collection has evolved into a benchmark for independent upscale hotels that deliver distinctive, experience-driven stays. Now boasting 423 open hotels across the globe and over 70 more in the pipeline, Ascend continues to attract owners and travelers seeking bespoke hospitality with the operational support of Choice Hotels’ powerful platform.
The rebranding effort introduces a simplified and elegant new logo, giving balanced prominence to the words “Ascend” and “Collection”. This refreshed visual identity highlights the individuality of each property while reinforcing the brand’s long-standing ethos of celebrating local character and charm. As part of this repositioning, the brand also streamlined its name to simply Ascend Collection.
Mark Shalala, Senior Vice President of Development for Upscale Brands at Choice Hotels, emphasized the growth opportunity the brand represents, especially in emerging travel hotspots. In 2024 alone, Ascend increased its global room count by over 40% and entered key new markets including Washington, D.C., Park City, Utah, Vancouver, Mexico City, and Queensland, Australia. The brand recently signed a property in Calama, Chile, gateway to the Atacama Desert, signaling continued momentum in adventure tourism markets.
This growth comes amid a broader expansion of Choice Hotels’ upscale and upper-upscale portfolio, which now accounts for nearly 20% of its total rooms, with over 110,000 rooms in this segment. A 2024 refresh of ChoiceHotels.com and the mobile app has driven a 16% increase in direct bookings for upscale properties, further boosted by the Choice Privileges loyalty program, which now includes up to 180,000 bookable upscale rooms.
The Ascend Collection portfolio is known for its unique and storied properties, such as:
- Ice Hotel, Sweden – An iconic experience in the world’s first ice hotel with both frozen suites and cozy chalets.
- Amberes 64, Mexico City – A contemporary boutique property in one of the city’s most vibrant districts.
- Copperhill Mountain Lodge, Åre – A design-forward Scandinavian resort with dramatic views of Sweden’s winter landscape.
- Inn at I'On, South Carolina – A charming Southern retreat near historic Charleston.
- St. Charles Coach House, New Orleans – A reimagined 1921 car dealership-turned-boutique hotel, rich in local culture.
As part of Choice’s owner-first strategy, Ascend Collection franchisees benefit from industry-leading platforms like ChoiceMAX for revenue optimization, ChoiceConnect for performance tracking, choiceEDGE for global reservations, and choiceADVANTAGE for seamless property management.
According to Megan Brumagim, Vice President of Upscale Brands at Choice Hotels, the Ascend Collection continues to fill a critical niche in today’s hospitality market: “In a sea of sameness, Ascend lets owners deliver truly differentiated stays while still leveraging the scale and support of Choice.”
Source: Choice Hotels International
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