The hotels will be the first Choice-brand properties in Haiti.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, January 7, 2010 – An American hotel franchise is about to open two new hotels in Haiti.

Choice Hotels International said Comfort Inn and Ascend Collection would be launched in the Caribbean island, to add to the company’s 6,000 franchised properties worldwide.

The hotels will be the first Choice-brand properties in Haiti. The Comfort Inn hotel which will open this year will mark the first global hotel brand that the island of Haiti has hosted in more than a decade.

“Choice is extremely proud to take a leadership position in revitalizing Haiti's tourism product,” said Brian Parker, vice president of emerging markets and new business development for Choice Hotels.

Both hotels will be located in Haiti's historic township of Jacmel, known as the island's cultural centre. The Comfort Inn hotel will feature 32 guest rooms with views of the shores of the Caribbean Sea.

The newly-built luxury Ascend Collection member hotel will offer 120 elegantly-appointment guestrooms and is planned as part of the area's new Belle Rive development project, which will also include a residential community, retail, dining, entertainment, recreational and marina facilities.

This Ascend Collection member hotel will be the second Caribbean location for the membership programme after its first location in the region – Le Consulat hotel of San Juan, Puerto Rico – opened in late 2008.

"Our Ascend Collection programme is an excellent membership opportunity for upscale independent hotels and we are thrilled that the Caribbean is at the forefront of our international expansion," said Kevin Lewis, brand president of upscale and extended stay for Choice Hotels.

Lesley Kernisant, President of SIMACT which owns the new Comfort Inn hotel and Ascend Collection member hotel added: “The new collaborative relationship between Choice Hotels and SIMACT will have a significantly positive impact on the burgeoning tourism industry of the southeastern coast of Haiti.”

Choice Hotels currently boasts nine Caribbean properties, a total of 815 guestrooms, in the Bahamas, Cayman Island, Curacao, Puerto Rico, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.