Clarion Hotels

Clarion is an international hotel brand founded in 1987 by Quality Inns International (now Choice Hotels),[1] with a primary presence in the United States and Europe and additional locations in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. [2] Competitor brands include IHG's Holiday Inn and Wyndham Hotels's Ramada.[2]

History

Clarion Hotels and Resorts was launched in 1987 as a joint venture between Quality Inns International and the Associated Inns and Restaurants Company of America (AIRCOA).[1][3][4] Properties rebranded as Clarion included AIRCOA locations and those from Quality’s Royale Inns brand.[1] Originally positioned as an upscale brand, Clarion Hotels focused on attracting business travelers.[3][5]

By 1993, there were 52 Clarion Inns in the U.S.[1] The brand’s first New England location was the full-service Clarion Somerset in Nashua, New Hampshire.[6] Clarion’s introduction to the Asia-Pacific region was in New Zealand, when in late 2003 Choice Hotels announced its plans to convert Flag Hotels properties to Clarion Hotels, Comfort Inns, and Quality Inns.[7] In 2005, the Clarion Hotel Stockholm opened, designed by Swedish architect Gert Wingårdh.[8][9]

In 2014, Choice Hotels launched the first Clarion locations in China, in partnership with the Boli Hotel Management Company.[10] In 2016, Choice Hotels opened three Clarion Hotels in Turkey: Golden Horn, Istanbul Mahmutbey, and Kahramanmaraş.[11] 2019 saw Clarion Hotel The Hub debut in Oslo, Norway.[12]

In 2024, Choice Hotels signed a deal with Zenitude Hôtel Résidences, a French hotel operator, to convert 33 Zenitude hotels to Choice brands. Locations converted to the Clarion brand included a 460-room hotel near Charles de Gaulle Airport, and a 110-room hotel in Toulouse.[13]

Corporate Affairs

As a franchise operation, Clarion is targeted at owners of existing hotels looking to simplify operations while continuing to offer core amenities like restaurants, meeting rooms, and fitness facilities.[2] In Europe and Asia-Pacific, some locations are managed as full‑service hotels with on‑site restaurants, conference facilities, fitness centers, and in some cases, saunas and rooftop pools.[14] Sub‑brands include Clarion Hotels, Clarion Resorts, Clarion Suites, and the select‑service Clarion Pointe.[15]

Clarion Pointe was launched in 2018 as a brand extension aimed at the midscale select-service segment, competing against the likes of Best Western and Wyndham Hotel's Wingate.[2][16] The first Clarion Pointe hotel was a 72-room hotel in Sulphur Springs, Texas.[17] In 2019, Choice Hotels introduced a new Clarion logo as part of a wider refresh of the organization's midscale brands.[18]

See also

• List of hotels
• Choice Hotels