ROCKVILLE, Md.—Choice Hotels’ Comfort brand revealed a new logo to thousands of franchisees at the company’s annual conference taking place in Las Vegas from May 1-3. The unveiling marks a milestone for the brand which has been making updates nationwide since committing to change seven years ago.
“This redesigned logo serves as a beacon for the new Comfort. It’s more than a change of symbol, it’s a symbol of change,” Anne Smith, vice president of brand management and design for Choice Hotels, says. “From new lobbies to upgraded guestrooms, Comfort hotels are being renovated across the country to deliver a more consistent, up-to-date guest experience. Together with our owners, we will have invested $2.5 billion in the Comfort brand by the end of 2019.”
Landor, a brand consulting and design agency based in New York City, created the vivid orange and yellow logo with a blue color for the Comfort name.
“The design of the new logo reflects the brand’s warm and welcoming heritage and its refreshed, modern look and feel,” Megan Brumagim, head of Comfort brands, explains. “It’s the capstone of our transformation, inviting guests to check out the new Comfort.”
The new logo also represents a shift for the brand across its locations, unifying the Comfort Inn, Comfort Inn & Suites, and Comfort Suites brands as one brand family, which is the way guests perceive them, according to the company’s consumer research.
In 2012, a review of all Comfort properties resulted in the company’s decision to exit more than 600 properties that were not up to increased brand standards. The brand then introduced Move to Modern, an initiative focused on property upgrades, and announced Comfort as the largest 100-percent smoke-free hotel brand in North America. All Comfort properties across the United States will have completed their renovations and updated their signage by the end of 2020. The upper midscale brands now has over 1,800 properties across North America.
“The Comfort brand is unstoppable,” Brian Quinn, head of development, new construction brands, Choice Hotels, says. “Comfort now has one of the largest pipelines in its history, with nearly 300 properties, 80 percent of which are new construction. With our commitment to the brand, strong value proposition and tremendous return on investment, we continue to attract developers and owners to build Comfort hotels across the country.”
